Lawmakers in Springfield passed a slimmed-down Medicaid omnibus bill this year as state budget constraints and federal funding uncertainties loomed large.
by Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Nearly every year, Illinois lawmakers pass a package of measures dealing with the state’s Medicaid program, the joint federal and state health care program that covers low-income individuals.
Known as the Medicaid omnibus bill, it sometimes includes bold components, like a 2021 initiative that made millions of dollars available to local communities to help them plan and design their own health care delivery systems. Other packages have focused on smaller changes like guaranteeing coverage for specific conditions and medications or adjusting reimbursement rates for different categories of health care providers.
And most years, the packages receive bipartisan support because they are negotiated, largely behind closed doors, by an unofficial, bipartisan Medicaid Working Group.
This year, however, lawmakers passed one of the narrowest packages in recent memory, due mainly to the Trump administration’s vows to make sweeping cuts in federal funding for the program while state lawmakers faced their own set of budget constraints.
“There were many, many, very worthy program expansions, rate increases that we considered during this process that we were unable to include because of the uncertainty in Washington,” Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the current chair of the Medicaid Working Group, said on the House floor Saturday.
The Illinois Medicaid program currently costs about $33.7 billion a year, according to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Of that, $20.9 billion, or about 62%, comes from the federal government while much of the state’s share comes from taxes levied on hospitals, nursing homes and managed care organizations – money the state uses to draw down federal matching funds.
The program covers nearly 3.5 million people in Illinois, or about a quarter of the state’s population. According to the nonpartisan health policy think tank KFF, the program pays for 40% of all child births in Illinois while covering 69% of all nursing home residents.
This year’s Medicaid omnibus bill, a 231-page amendment inserted into Senate Bill 2437, contains items that could be hugely beneficial to many Medicaid enrollees, but which don’t carry large price tags. In fact, the entire package is estimated to cost just under $1 million.
One of this year’s additions would make it easier for family members of medically fragile children who qualify for in-home nursing care to receive training to become certified family health aides, a designation that would enable them to administer medications, help with feeding and perform many of the same tasks as a certified nursing assistant.
Another provision would require all hospitals with licensed obstetric beds and birthing centers to adopt written policies that permit patients to have an Illinois Medicaid certified doula of their choosing to accompany them and provide support before, during and after labor and delivery.
Although those provisions enjoyed bipartisan support, another provision that extends coverage to certain categories of noncitizens drew Republican opposition Saturday, resulting in a partisan roll call vote.
The program covers noncitizens who meet the income requirements for Medicaid and have pending applications for asylum in the United States or for special visas as victims of trafficking, torture or other serious crimes. Those individuals can receive coverage for up to 24 months, provided they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Moeller said the language was not a new extension of health care benefits to noncitizens, but instead a “technical and administrative fix” to an existing program that had been requested by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
But for Republicans, the programs sounded too similar to the more controversial programs, Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors and Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults, that extend health care to a large category of people who are not U.S. citizens, including some who are in the country illegally.
“For us on this side of the aisle, that is the poison pill,” said Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, the deputy House minority leader. “So in spite of the fact that we have article after article in here, that is very worthy of a yes vote, I would urge a no vote.”
At Gov. JB Pritzker’s request, the budget bill lawmakers passed Saturday night cancels the program for immigrant adults, which had covered about 31,000 noncitizens age 42-64. But it provides $110 million over the next year, all in state funds, for the immigrant seniors program, which covers about 8,900 noncitizens age 65 and over.
The Medicaid bill passed the House late Saturday night, 76-39. It then passed the Senate shortly after midnight, 36-19.
It next goes to Pritzker’s desk for his consideration.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
New bill would allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities.
Photo: Cheng Xiao/Unsplash
Drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test says new bill waiting for the Illinois governor's signature. by Jade Aubrey
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - A bill unanimously passed by the Senate on Thursday and on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk will increase the age that senior drivers in Illinois are required to take an annual driver’s test.
Currently, if a driver renews their driver’s license between the ages of 79 and 80, they are required to take a driving test. Drivers between 81 and 86 are required to take a driving test every two years, and drivers 87 and older have to take the test annually.
If Pritzker signs House Bill 1226, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, only drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test. Illinois drivers between 79 and 86 won’t be required to take a driver’s test to renew their license; instead, they’ll only have to take a vision test, and if they have a driving violation, a written test.
The bill would also allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities. Currently, only medical officials, police officers and state’s attorneys can submit such information.
HB 1226, also called the Road Safety and Fairness Act, has garnered bipartisan support. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced his support for the bill in January alongside lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. The bill was conceived by a constituent of Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, last year.
The bill has 86 cosponsors in the House and 35 in the Senate.
Illinois is the only state that requires seniors to pass a driving test solely due to their age. But state data indicates that older drivers tend to have lower crash rates.
In 2023, the crash rate for drivers aged 75 and older was 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, which was lower than any other age group, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The low crash rate has been consistent since at least 2018, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s 2023 Study on Age-Related Driving Abilities.
The crash rate is more than double for many of the other age groups.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Jade Aubrey contributed to this article.
Price hike due to lack of energy supply comes alongside rocky transition to renewable power. “We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills,” says Gina Ramirez.
Photo: Hans Isaacson/Unsplash
Downstate Ameren Illinois says customers can expect an 18% to 22% increase in their monthly bill, or about $45 per month depending on usage. Long-term underlying issues affecting the rising costs could lead to even higher prices or rolling blackouts.by Andrew Adams
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Customers around Illinois will see significantly higher prices on their electric bills next month.
The average residential customer of northern Illinois’ Commonwealth Edison will pay about $10.60 per month more this summer, according to a company statement. Downstate Ameren Illinois says customers can expect an 18% to 22% increase in their monthly bill, or about $45 per month depending on usage. Prices will likely decrease in October once winter electric rates go into effect.
Increasing energy prices are causing alarm among some consumer advocates and state policymakers, who worry that the long-term problems underlying the rising costs could lead to even higher prices or rolling blackouts.
Clara Summers, who advocates for consumer-friendly energy policy on behalf of the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board, said the ComEd price increases were for two reasons: increasing demand from data centers and large manufacturing as well as procedural issues slowing down new renewable projects.
CUB officials said the issues underlying Ameren’s increase were similar, while noting that both were due in part to the way grid regulators structure pricing.
The price hikes are a major undercurrent of escalating tensions over a package of energy reforms making its way through Springfield as lawmakers race toward their scheduled May 31 adjournment.
Extreme weather events are “likely” to cause shortfalls in energy reserves.
“We’re trying to keep prices low while combating climate change,” Jen Walling, head of the Illinois Environmental Council, told Capitol News Illinois. The IEC has been heavily involved in advocating for parts of the bill.
In December, federal officials at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation — the nonprofit oversight agency for grid operators — designated the grid for central and southern Illinois as “high risk” for not having enough electricity to meet demand on hot days in the summer and cold days in the winter over the next five years. The grid that stretches from central Canada to the Mississippi river delta is the only power grid in the nation to have that designation, with much of its risk stemming from power plants closing.
Illinois’ northern grid, which includes parts of 13 states and Washington, D.C. from Illinois to the east coast, faces “elevated” risk. That means extreme weather events are “likely” to cause shortfalls in energy reserves.
The increased demand stems from data centers, increasing adoption of electric heat pumps and the rise of electric vehicles, according to NERC.
David Braun, an executive at the energy technology company Intelligent Generation, said demand on the electric grid is the highest it’s been in the 30 years he’s worked in the energy sector.
“We haven’t seen this in a long time,” Braun told Capitol News Illinois. “So, it’s catching planners by surprise, and it takes a long time to build power plants.”
Shrinking supply
That demand, according to NERC’s December report, is coming at the same time supply is going down — increasing pressure on the grid.
Downstate Illinois’ grid might run out of energy reserves as soon as 2034...
Around the country, fossil fuel plants are closing as states move to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. While Illinois exports energy overall, plant closures elsewhere in the country can affect the price of energy, raising prices for Illinoisans. Grid operators nationwide, meanwhile, face yearslong red tape-induced backlogs on new renewables.
Downstate Illinois’ grid might run out of energy reserves as soon as 2034, per NERC. Northern Illinois’ grid has more reserves but will face decreased levels throughout the next decade. If nothing is done to either reduce demand or increase supply, this means prices could continue to increase or blackouts could become necessary to stabilize the grid.
To address these issues, lawmakers in Springfield are weighing sweeping energy legislation. The bill’s proponents say its provisions to incentivize new developments are the only way to prevent serious problems without walking back the state’s climate goals.
Republican critics contend that the main reason for the legislation is to fix problems with the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. Gov. JB Pritzker’s marquee climate policy, they say, is a major cause of the supply shortfalls because it requires fossil fuel-burning power plants to shut down by 2045.
Others say provisions aimed at reducing data centers’ energy demands on the grid will hurt businesses in the state.
Lawmakers and advocacy groups are currently reviewing draft language for the bill, which has not been made public. Even with complex procedural maneuvering to avoid long-passed deadlines, lawmakers face a tight turnaround to reach an agreement before the legislative session ends.
The process could have become more complicated, some suggest, after the U.S. House passed a wide-ranging bill early Thursday that could drastically alter federal energy incentives if it becomes law.
Higher prices
Bills for customers of private electric utilities — most notably ComEd and Ameren — will go up in June.
The increase was determined at two recent capacity auctions, which are how grid operators set energy prices for years into the future. High prices at these auctions can indicate low supply relative to demand.
Consumer watchdogs at CUB estimate that the policy cut the increase for ComEd customers by about 17%.
PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for northern Illinois, saw a roughly eight-fold jump in its most recent capacity auction compared to the year prior. Downstate’s energy grid, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, saw more than a 20-fold year-over-year price jump at its capacity auction in April.
Representatives of the state’s two largest electric utilities stressed that these increases occurred beyond their purview.
“ComEd does not profit from this increase, was not part of the auction, does not supply capacity, and does not retain any proceeds of the capacity charge payments,” ComEd spokesperson John Schoen said in a statement.
An Ameren spokesperson echoed the sentiment, noting that the state requires utilities to pass this type of cost to customers “dollar-for-dollar, without markup.”
The price is lower for ComEd customers than it could have been due to a provision in CEJA, which credits customers when energy generated by nuclear power plants is above a certain level. Consumer watchdogs at CUB estimate that the policy cut the increase for ComEd customers by about 17%. Customers in the Ameren area, which has much less nuclear power, are not eligible for the credit.
Other energy providers
While millions of Illinoisans get their power from ComEd and Ameren, some get their electricity through other means, including alternate retail suppliers, municipal utilities and electric cooperatives. Many of these energy suppliers are not affected directly by the capacity auctions.
Municipal customers in towns like Naperville, St. Charles and Rantoul are largely insulated from the spike, according to Staci Wilson, the head of government affairs for the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The IMEA is a private entity that provides electricity to 32 of the 42 municipal electric systems in the state.
IMEA sometimes participates in capacity auctions. But Wilson said the agency tends to secure energy through other means, such as having ownership stakes directly in power plants.
“IMEA member municipalities have rates that are currently lower than private utilities and our ownership model continues to gain value as we transition to a carbon-free future in an affordable and reliable manner,” Wilson said.
But other municipal utility officials, including those at Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power, are less optimistic about future prices.
“Regulations are forcing plant retirement a little too soon,” CWLP spokesperson Amber Sabin said. “And the grid operators that are here, they have resources that they can't connect to the grid. They're waiting, or they don't get financing or ever developed. They have supply chain issues, workforce issues, right? There's a cost to all of that.”
CWLP didn’t participate in the recent MISO auction, although it could have. The utility shut down several coal-fired generators over the past five years but continues to operate one coal-fired power plant on the southeast side of Springfield. That plant will need to shut down permanently at some point in the next two decades under state law.
“In the future, all the costs are going to go up,” Sabin said. “We do expect that capacity auction prices will affect our customers.”
That echoes what some state officials expect as well. Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, has worked on energy legislation for years and said that there is “nothing we can do” to reduce prices for this summer as capacity auctions have concluded, but he said lawmakers should do what they can to address the root causes of the spike.
“We think this is going to be the new normal,” Cunningham said.
Legislative moves
Negotiations over energy reforms in Springfield have included lawmakers, the governor’s office, and interest groups including environmentalists, organized labor and business associations. The process is sparking heated debate.
Over the past week, a draft of legislation began circulating among lawmakers and advocates, many of whom discussed portions of the bill with Capitol News Illinois.
“I don’t think, by any stretch, you’ll see a bill the size and scope that CEJA was, that we passed four years ago — certainly won’t see that,” Cunningham, who was involved in the negotiations, said.
Potential provisions deal with incentives for renewable power, energy efficiency regulations, nuclear power, data centers and more.
We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills.
Environmental groups clashed with business and labor this week over a provision meant to lower the energy burden brought by data centers. That proposal would require large energy consumers to build their own energy generation through renewable sources like wind or solar power or pay the state to do so.
The pitch sparked fierce pushback from business and labor groups, which sent a collective letter to Pritzker, urging him to oppose the specific provision. The letter was co-signed by groups including the AFL-CIO, Climate Jobs Illinois, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Constellation Energy — the last of which operates all the state’s commercial nuclear power plants.
The proposal is being pushed by environmentalists, who say they want more accountability from data centers and other large consumers.
“We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills,” Gina Ramirez, director of Midwest environmental health at the National Resources Defense Council, said at a Wednesday rally.
Other issues are less controversial, largely because they’ve been negotiated for months.
Cunningham, a prominent player in the passage of CEJA, has his own proposal in the current draft: incentives for the energy storage industry. The current draft of that provision closely parallels recommendations made by the Illinois Commerce Commission. That agency was directed by a bill passed earlier this year to study how to handle energy storage projects.
While legislative Republicans have largely been shut out of negotiations over the bill, some of their ideas are being considered.
Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, put out a pitch to ease the pressure on electric demand earlier this year by expanding nuclear energy. She was the architect of a bill two years ago that eased the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power plants, lifting it for next-generation, small generators.
This year, Rezin introduced a bill that would eliminate the remaining state restrictions on new nuclear power plants. Language similar to Rezin’s was included in draft legislation circulated this week.
Rezin, who leads several energy-related groups of lawmakers as part of her involvement at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said all states are facing similar issues around electricity.
“All energy buildout will take years because of the regulatory process,” Rezin said. “That's why it's important now. The state of Illinois needs to send positive messages to companies that are looking to invest in technology — whether it's nuclear or any other kind of energy producing plant — that we are open for business.”
The feds’ ‘big, beautiful bill’
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday morning passed a bill containing many domestic policy priorities of President Donald Trump that many fear could upend state energy policy.
The bill contains provisions rolling back several clean energy tax incentives. Several key solar company stock prices fell sharply Thursday morning in response, including NextEra Energy, FirstSolar and Enphase Energy among others.
Photo: American Public Power Association/Upsplash
The solar industry has been a key part of Illinois’ renewable energy plans and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Lesley McCain, the head of the Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association, said that the bill could “cause solar energy companies of all sizes to cancel projects, and many will be forced to shut their doors.”
Environmentalists were quick to criticize the federal bill, which still requires negotiation and an eventual vote in the U.S. Senate before it can become law.
“It strips funding for climate programs, guts clean energy manufacturing, kills good union jobs, drives energy prices up, and abandons farmers and small business owners,” Walling said in a statement.
Illinois Republicans, meanwhile, expressed optimism that some of the bill’s provisions could help the fossil fuel sector in the state.
“If the federal government is going to help us to, you know, power up coal, power up gas — we want all energy,” Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said at a news conference. “We want solar, we want wind, we want nuke, we want coal. We want all of it.”
Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, noted that the federal bill should not “be used as an excuse to rush forward” on the energy legislation under consideration in Springfield.
A bill in response to Massey’s death that would give Sangamon County residents the power to recall an elected official, like the sheriff. Cook County already has the power to hold recall votes. Here are other Illinois laws in the works.
by Ben Szalinski & Bridgette Fox
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - A long-awaited bill to reform the Prisoner Review Board will soon go to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk after receiving approval in the legislature Tuesday.
The House voted 74-37 to approve Senate Bill 19, which contains a series of reforms designed to include victims’ participation in Prisoner Review Board decisions. The measure now needs only a signature from the governor to become law.
The bill would give victims the right to file victim impact statements ahead of hearings, provide them with additional notice when their offender is granted early release, and allow them to seek an order of protection against an offender who is incarcerated.
It would also create the Office of the Director of Victim and Witness Services, which would ensure the board complies with victims’ rights, and mandates the board provide victims with contact information for the State Victim Assistance Hotline.
The bill also extends the terms for PRB members from six to eight years.
“The bulk of this bill is focused on ... making sure that victims, survivors, are more engaged in the process at PRB because unfortunately, too often, we’ve heard from victims and family members that they simply haven’t been given a voice in this process,” bill sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said.
Reforms pushed by the General Assembly last year failed to advance to the governor’s desk despite nearly unanimous support from the legislature. Pritzker opposed a requirement in the bill that board hearings to be livestreamed, and the bill was never called for a vote in the final days of last year’s session.
WINDHORST
Guzzardi said the bill passed Tuesday includes many of the portions lawmakers agreed on last year, but many Republicans have expressed concerns the latest version was too weak compared to the previous version.
The reforms come after Crosetti Brand allegedly murdered an 11-year-old Chicago boy in 2024. That February, the board voted to release Brand, finding there was not enough evidence he had violated his conditions of release. His ex-girlfriend, Laterria Smith, was denied an emergency order of protection by a Cook County judge while Brand was imprisoned at Stateville in Crest Hill.
Brand was charged with attacking Smith the day after his release and killing her 11-year-old son, Jayden Perkins, who attempted to protect his mother. Two PRB members, including the board chair, resigned in the wake of the incident.
Response to Sonya Massey’s death
Another bill needing only the governor’s signature to become law would change hiring practices for law enforcement agencies after it passed through the House on May 15.
Senate Bill 1953 would require all law enforcement agencies in the state to obtain all of the investigations, examinations and records about a potential hire from all entities that previously employed them. Previous employers and law enforcement agencies are required to release the information within two weeks of receiving such a request.
Photo:Nikhil Mistry/Unsplash"
Senate bill requires all law enforcement agencies in the state to obtain all records about a potential hire from previous employers to weed out bad actors.
Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, has been pushing for legislation in response to the death of Sonya Massey, a Springfield resident who was shot and killed in her home by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy in July 2024.
The former sheriff’s deputy, Sean Grayson, was originally called to Massey’s home in Springfield about reports of a prowler. After not finding anything outside, Grayson and his partner spoke with Massey inside her home.
Grayson was disciplined at a previous job for disobeying orders from superiors, general aggression and posting about drug busts online. Grayson was also found to have lied about being honorably discharged from the Army.
The deputies stood in the living room while Massey, with permission, removed a pot of boiling water from the stove in the adjoined kitchen. Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” after comments from deputies about the hot water, then Grayson threatened to shoot her. Body camera video showed Grayson shooting her seconds after the threat as Massey apologized.
Grayson is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Following Massey’s death, Capitol News Illinois unearthed documents showing Grayson was disciplined at a previous job for disobeying orders from superiors, general aggression and posting about drug busts online. Grayson was also found to have lied about being honorably discharged from the Army.
The measure passed through the House on a vote of 101-12.
JAMES WILBURN
“We can't legislate for judgment,” said the bill’s House sponsor Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, during a news conference last week. “What we can do is make sure that the answer that we got from the Sangamon County Sheriff's Department was that they did not know. That will no longer be the case when we pass this bill.”
Turner sponsored another bill in response to Massey’s death that would give Sangamon County residents the power to recall an elected official, like the sheriff. Cook County already has the power to hold recall votes.
Senate Bill 1954 passed through the Senate but hasn’t made its way through a House committee, meaning its passage could be an uphill battle.
“It's not done for this year,” Buckner said. “We just need to figure out what's going to happen in these next couple of weeks.”
Tornado-safe warehouses
A mile-wide EF3 tornado tore through St. Louis on Friday afternoon before crossing into Illinois and inflicting more damage in parts of Madison County. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado passed less than a mile from a complex of warehouses where a man was killed when a similar strength tornado demolished an Amazon warehouse in December 2021.
In response to the 2021 tornado, Illinois lawmakers convened a task force to issue recommendations on how to make warehouses safer in a tornado. In response to those recommendations, the House voted 83-28 Tuesday to pass House Bill 2987, which creates a series of new requirements warehouses must follow to protect their employees during a tornado warning.
The tornado first impacted the west-facing wall, causing it to collapse. That caused other structural failures, including the roof to collapse.
"It’s very timely that I’m calling this today as I spent part of my Friday and the last three weekends hunkered down in the basement with a tornado coming through my area,” Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said.
The bill now heads to the Senate. It requires warehouse operators to work with local first responder agencies to craft safety plans for severe weather. New warehouses would need to be built with shelter spaces compliant with building codes for tornadoes and other types of natural disasters.
The 2021 tornado hit as the Amazon warehouse was bustling ahead of the holidays. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado traveled through the south half of the building. The tornado first impacted the west-facing wall, causing it to collapse. That caused other structural failures, including the roof to collapse.
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into Amazon did not find any violations, according to the task force report. OSHA recommended the company review its severe weather procedures, ensure employees are provided training and participate in drills, have site-specific information about severe weather plans, and ensure audible warning devices are accessible. The warehouse was rebuilt and reopened in September 2024.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Jade Aubrey contributed to this article.
One in 31 children in the U.S. is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.
by Judith Ruiz-Branch Illinois News Connection
CHICAGO - Illinois is the first state to block the federal government from accessing state data on autism.
The order, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last week, is in response to federal efforts to create a mass data collection on autism.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to use Medicare and Medicaid data to create an autism registry with the goal of finding the cause of what he called an "autism epidemic." Pritzker's order prohibits the collection in Illinois without consent from an individual or guardian.
Federal agencies said they would protect sensitive health information.
Jeff Chan, associate professor of special education at Northern Illinois University, said along with concerns about accidental disclosure of protected health information, right now there is no single cause or cure for autism and he is skeptical a database could change it
"I don't even know if we will ever find that one, single cause," Chan acknowledged. "There's a variety of factors in play on the genetic side and the environmental side that are all affecting parents and mothers and children, which eventually lead to the expression of those symptoms."
Federal agencies said they would protect sensitive health information. More than a dozen autism organizations and advocates are pushing back against the planned database and any rhetoric claiming autism is "curable" or is caused by vaccines.
One in 31 children in the U.S. is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Chan noted in Illinois the rate increased from one in 333 children in 2002 to one in 51 children in 2023. He added while cases are rising, the numbers are also influenced by earlier diagnosis and improved data collection.
Chan emphasized the importance of oversight of data and interpretation and cautioned about the potential for drawing conclusions from incomplete information or cherry-picking evidence.
"Anyone could collect data and they can interpret it differently, and they can spin it differently," Chan stressed. "That happens all the time. And that's happened in the past, especially about the causes of autism."
Chan advised caution regarding individuals with extreme theories. He acknowledged the difficulty parents and caregivers face in evaluating information and the importance of institutions to help navigate the evidence.
"There's people out there that, for whatever reason, are true believers about a particular narrative about autism," Chan explained. "You have to be a very careful consumer about what you take in and what evidence you choose to believe."
Uphill battle for legislation this session comes as Israel faces protests for its war in Gaza.
Photo: Mohammed Abubakr/PEXELS
Protestors demonstrate for Palestinian human rights. Lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law, penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians.
by Simon Carr & Sonya Dymova Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD - A growing number of state lawmakers are moving to repeal a 2015 Illinois law penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians.
Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law. But so far, these bills have stalled.
Illinois’ 2015 law prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies engaging in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction, or BDS, movement against Israel, making Illinois the first U.S. state to enact such legislation, with dozens of other states following suit. The measure, signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, was modeled after similar post-9/11 measures restricting Illinois’ pension funds from investment in companies that engage in business with the governments of Iran and Sudan.
Medill Illinois News Bureau/Simon Carr
Students at DePaul University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment face counterprotesters in May 2024. This encampment was one of at least 130 similar campus protests last year, which highlighted concerns that Israel was engaging in human rights violations.
When boycotting Israel became grounds for blacklisting, Illinois lawmakers established the Illinois Investment Policy Board, tasked with investigating companies' investment choices. Opponents of the laws have warned they curtail free speech. Israel is the only country for which boycotting is penalized in Illinois by the board.
To repeal this policy, Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, introduced House Bill 2723, and Sen. Mike Porfirio, D-Bridgeview, introduced Senate Bill 2462 earlier this year. Since then, some 22 co-sponsors were added in the House and Senate, while two of those later had their names removed.
“This is about the right for people to advocate for what they believe — in this particular case, for human rights advocacy — without the state telling you what you have to believe and how you have to act,” said Rashid, the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives. “It is a matter of making sure that Illinois is on the right side of history — not participating in the oppression of the Palestinian people – but it is also about making sure the Illinoisans and companies that do business in Illinois are not being forced and bullied and retaliated against because they chose to stand for human rights.”
Thirty companies are currently on the Illinois Investment Policy Board’s prohibited entity list for boycotting Israel.
In 2021, Unilever, for example, was added to that list after its subsidiary — ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s — announced it would stop selling its products in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as defined by the United Nations. While remaining a supporter of Israel, the company said it did not support “an internationally recognised illegal occupation.”
Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons.
Chicago-based investment firm Morningstar narrowly avoided state divestment in 2022, when the Illinois Investment Policy Board accused the firm’s subsidiary, Sustainalytics, of having an anti-Israel bias. The company then commissioned an independent report that found evidence of anti-Israel bias in Morningstar’s standalone product, Human Rights Radar.
Morningstar agreed to accept a series of recommendations, including discontinuing the Human Rights Radar and no longer taking input from the United Nations Human Rights Council, in order to avoid state divestment.
Wavering support
While President Trump-supporting Republicans and right-wing activists rail against a bipartisan national bill that would toughen penalties for boycotting Israel’s government, Illinois’ Democratic supermajority legislature appears hesitant to put an end to its 2015 anti-boycott law, which passed unanimously in both houses.
Rashid’s and Porfirio’s bills have stalled in committee despite the initial support from about one-fifth of the Democratic caucus, including the leaders of the Latino, Black and Progressive caucuses.
Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons. In HB 2723’s case, the holdup can be attributed in part to the political costs of supporting the bill, advocates said.
Deanna Othman ... said HB 2723 is urgent, citing both a humanitarian crisis and a crisis of free speech.
Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, was listed as a cosponsor on March 20, and Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, signed onto the bill on April 2, but both had their names removed on April 8. Neither senator responded to a request for comment on their reasoning.
Porfirio, the Senate bill’s chief sponsor, said “I will continue to discuss the measure with my colleagues, to ensure that our pension system is well-informed, equitable and responsible” in an email. Its chief cosponsors — Karina Villa, D-West Chicago; Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, and Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet — all declined or failed to respond to requests for comment.
“Even though it had quite an impressive list of sponsors and cosponsors, it's a controversial piece of legislation that is likely to engender a lot of debate that most legislators don't want to vote on, because they either have Jewish or Palestinian constituents, or both,” said Dick Simpson, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and former Chicago alderman. “Why should they vote on something that isn't going to pass and then cause some constituents to be mad at them?”
But Deanna Othman, member of the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, said HB 2723 is urgent, citing both a humanitarian crisis and a crisis of free speech.
“Unfortunately, it's more relevant now than ever, because we've seen all of the crackdown on student protesters and people who engage in boycott and people who are just voicing their First Amendment rights,” Othman said. “If I cannot stand up for the rights of my fellow Palestinians, whose rights can I stand up for?”
‘It’s impossible to tell if this bill will ever pass’
Activists say they are hopeful a repeal of the anti-BDS law will pass in 2026 if it continues to stall this year. But it remains an uphill battle, even as they point to a steady decrease in American popular support for Israel.
About 53% of Americans express an unfavorable opinion of Israel, according to a Pew Research Center study conducted last month. This is an increase from March 2022, when that figure was 42%.
The survey found the share of Americans with little or no trust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do the right thing for global affairs” increased significantly from 2023 to 2024. Since Oct. 7, over 52,000 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. An estimated 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and around 250 Israelis were taken hostage.
The pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group J Street does not oppose boycott initiatives “that explicitly support a two-state solution and recognize Israel’s right to exist,” according to a statement of its policies. “It is critical to maintain the distinction between boycott efforts that work against the interests of Israel, and initiatives which are limited to opposing the occupation. We neither oppose nor call for these initiatives,” the group said in a statement.
But J Street does oppose the broader Global BDS Movement, which advocates for three tenets: That Israel should stop policing the border on and occupying legally Palestinian land, that Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel should have full equality with Jewish citizens and that Palestinians be allowed to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
Lesley Williams, an activist with Evanston Ceasefire who has been lobbying to repeal Illinois’ anti-BDS law, said the three tenets don’t mean “Israel needs to stop existing.”
“That doesn't mean that non-Palestinians should be forced to leave Israel,” she said. “It just says the Palestinians should have equal rights in that territory and that Israel should be following United Nations resolutions.”
Pritzker is going to try to run for president in 2028, and he doesn't want anything to happen in the GA that could be used as an albatross on his neck ...
The original sponsor of the 2015 anti-BDS law in the House, then Rep. (now Sen.) Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, declined several requests for comment. However, when a 2022 Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed criticized Feigenholtz’s legislation, arguing it was “raising the specter of McCarthy-like scrutiny.” Feigenholtz issued a statement defending her law.
“Israel is the singular democracy in the Middle East that has historically been a consistent ally to the United States,” Feigenholtz said at the time. “Boycotts of Israel, like Ben & Jerry’s/Unilever, are intended to harm and weaken Israel.” She added, “No one’s free speech is curtailed.”
Ben and Jerry’s co-founders Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who no longer run the company, denied the boycott was anti-Israel or antisemitic in a 2021 op-ed. They said it was merely a rejection of Israeli policy, and that Ben and Jerry’s was in fact advancing justice and human rights, both “core tenets of Judaism.”
Given the controversy surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian divide, many political obstacles to these current bills passing will probably remain next year. Politicians are less likely to discuss controversial issues like the BDS movement when there’s a supermajority of one party — in Illinois’ case, Democrats — for fear of factionalizing, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University.
Even if a repeal of the anti-BDS law makes it through the legislature, Gov. JB Pritzker may still be an obstacle, Burge added.
“Pritzker is going to try to run for president in 2028, and he doesn't want anything to happen in the GA that could be used as an albatross on his neck when he runs for the primary in a couple years,” Burge said. Should anti-BDS legislation reach Pritzker’s desk, “The Governor will carefully review this piece of legislation,” the governor’s press secretary, Alex Gough, said in an email.
“It’s impossible to tell if this bill will ever pass, and the reason for that is it's impossible to predict where the Israeli and Palestinian war will be next year,” Simpson said. “I don't know, if Israel does carry through on its threats to move all the Palestinians out of Gaza and to permanently take control, that might provide enough anger to cause it to pass. But it is just predicting.”
Simon Carr and Sonya Dymova are students in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and are fellows in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Editor's Note:
This story has been updated to include a comment from Sen. Mike Porfirio that was received before publish and inadvertently omitted from a previous version. Capitol News Illinois regrets the error.
"When you add this mistake of awarding the wrong contractor the contract, pulling them off and putting someone else in, the total adds up to $44.6 million more than the initial contract."
By Jim Talamonti.::. Illinois Reporter The Center Square
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is being asked to explain a costly mistake to taxpayers.
State Rep. Tom Weber, R-Fox lake, said a report from The Daily Herald highlights how a contract for tollway construction west of Chicago went to the wrong company. Weber said the work agreement on the I-88, I-290 and I-294 interchange was given to a company from out of state, even though state law gives preference to Illinois companies bidding up to 4% higher.
“The new contractor came in who, because of our 4% Illinois preference law, that was the mistake that was made,” Weber said.
Photo: Chris Duran/PEXELS
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced it is asking the public to provide feedback on the state's transportation system and the agency’s overall performance.
The tollway agency realized the error and switched to the Illinois company after work on the project began, resulting in higher labor expenses and legal costs, Weber said.
Weber said the initial contractor received a $25 million legal settlement: $15 million for work performed and $10 million in damages.
An Illinois legislator is asking the state’s tollway authority to explain a contracting error which will cost taxpayers nearly $45 million.
According to Weber, the Illinois contractor’s bid was $3.1 million higher than the out-of-state contractor. Weber said the new contractor is getting an additional $16.5 million to finish the job by the July, 2027 deadline.
“When you add this mistake of awarding the wrong contractor the contract, pulling them off and putting someone else in, the total adds up to $44.6 million more than the initial contract,” Weber said.
Speaking on the floor of the Illinois House, Weber asked for an explanation.
“I would hope that the tollway authority or the director or someone, I would invite them to please come to Transportation Committee and explain exactly how taxpayers just got a bill for $44.6 million more than the initial contract,” Weber said.
In a statement to The Center Square, an Illinois State Toll Highway Authority spokesman said that the work performed by the initial contractor included about $15 million for construction already performed, which the agency would have been required to pay even if the contract had been retained.
“The total amount of additional costs paid by the Tollway regarding this contract amounts to nearly $27 million,” the statement said.
The mistake comes as state lawmakers finalize budget discussions in the final weeks of the spring legislative session. Transportation is a major focus as regional public transit agencies face an estimated $770 million fiscal cliff.
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, said last month that Illinois needs a $1.5 billion revenue stream to create the type of mass transit system people want.
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Monday that it is asking the public to provide feedback on the state's transportation system and the agency’s overall performance by taking its annual Traveler Opinion Survey. Conducted through May 30, the survey is available online at idot.illinois.gov.
Raoul has seen some success in the more than a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration.
by Ben Szalinski Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 19 other Democratic attorneys general filed a pair of lawsuits Tuesday against Trump administration policies designed to block federal funding to states that don’t carry out U.S. immigration enforcement.
According to the lawsuits, recently enacted policies at the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Transportation illegally tie grant funding for items such as natural disaster recovery and road construction to whether the state participates in federal immigration enforcement. The attorneys general say the goal of the policies is to illegally force states to carry out federal immigration responsibilities.
“This FEMA and transportation funding has nothing to do with immigration,” Raoul said during a news conference. “However, it has everything to do with the safety of our residents after natural disasters and as they travel our roads, railways and in the sky.”
Under the 2017 TRUST Act signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois law enforcement is prohibited from arresting and, in most cases, detaining a person based solely on their immigration status or assisting immigration officials. State law does not protect people in Illinois from deportation, and federal officers can still make arrests and deport people in Illinois.
The federal policy is illegal, according to the attorneys general, because Congress controls spending and executive branch agencies cannot withhold appropriations allocated by Congress. Furthermore, they argue the states cannot be coerced into enforcing federal immigration laws.
President Donald Trump has signed executive orders designed to cut off federal funding to “sanctuary” states like Illinois. The U.S. Department of Justice also sued Illinois in February over the TRUST Act.
“The administration seeks to jeopardize readiness for disasters and safe roads to try to force Illinois law enforcement officers to shift their focus away from addressing serious crime in our communities in order to instead do the federal government’s job of civil immigration enforcement,” Raoul said.
Billions of dollars of federal funding could be at risk for Illinois, Raoul said. This includes $122 million Illinois received last year for disaster recovery, $2 billion for highways, $60 million for counterterrorism, and $24 million to protect nonprofits from attacks by extremists.
Raoul has seen some success in the more than a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration
“At a time when the disaster relief and transportation needs of this country are significant, we deserve to know our federal agencies are focused on the welfare of all of us,” Raoul said.
The lawsuits come a week after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited Illinois to criticize the state’s “sanctuary” policies.
“This governor has bragged about Illinois being a firewall against President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, and it is very clear that he is violating the constitution of the United States because it is a federal law that the federal government set and enforce immigration policies,” Noem said.
Raoul also argued the federal government has never before allocated funding based on whether a state agrees with the president’s political agenda.
No states have lost funding so far as a result of these policies, but it’s “imminent,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. He did not say why the lawsuits were filed in Rhode Island federal court, which is where Democratic attorneys general have filed many other lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Raoul has seen some success in the more than a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration his office is involved in. A federal judge in New York last week issued a preliminary injunction blocking a U.S. Department of Education effort to cut off some federal funding to states, giving Illinois access to $77 million.
Illinois has also joined other lawsuits to prevent the Department of Education from being dismantled, ensure the state continues to have access to various types of federal funding, and prevent the federal government from limiting birthright citizenship among others.
The cases appear to be straining his offices’ resources, however, as Raoul is asking state lawmakers to increase funding for his office by $15 million this year to hire more attorneys.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly joins Democratic primary to fill Durbin’s Senate seat. Former state party chair once again challenging a Pritzker-backed candidate.
by Ben Szalinski Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly is the second Democrat to step into the 2026 primary race to succeed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Kelly, a resident of south suburban Matteson, has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and recently served a short stint as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
“This moment requires proven leaders who have the experience to take on the toughest battles,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’ve never backed down – not from gun lobbyists, not from MAGA extremists, and certainly not from a fight for what’s right.”
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jerry Nowicki
State Rep. Lisa Hernandez embraces U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly in 2022 after unseating her as Democratic Party of Illinois chair.
Kelly won a crowded 16-person primary in a 2013 special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, who resigned while under investigation for misuse of campaign funds and eventually went to prison. Kelly received more than half the primary vote before easily winning the special election.
Kelly currently represents one of Illinois’ most geographically diverse congressional districts. The 2nd District stretches from the South Side of Chicago more than 100 miles south to Danville.
Kelly also served two terms in the Illinois House and unsuccessfully ran for state treasurer in 2010.
As a member of Congress, Kelly has focused much of her time on health care and gun violence issues. In a video launching her campaign, Kelly reflected on the time she refused to stand for a moment of silence in the U.S. House following a mass shooting.
“And the next time, someone else sat down with me,” Kelly said. “And then another, until a moment of silence felt more like an echo of inaction.”
Kelly joins Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the race. Stratton has already received endorsements from Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Her entrance into the race also sets up another battle with Pritzker.
With Durbin’s support, Kelly was elected chair of the state Democratic Party in 2021 to replace Mike Madigan after the long-time party head bowed out of politics amid a then-ongoing federal investigation. Kelly beat Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris for the party leadership job, but her success was short-lived.
Kelly ended her bid for reelection as party chair in 2022 after it became clear she would not have enough support to beat State Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, for party leadership. Pritzker supported Hernandez while Kelly continued to have Durbin’s support.
In the 2026 primary, however, Durbin told reporters last month he likely won’t endorse any candidate for his Senate seat in the primary. Durbin announced last month he will retire when his term ends in 2027 following 44 years in Congress.
Kelly enters the primary with $2 million in her campaign account, according to federal election records.
“You could say I’ve been an underdog my whole life,” Kelly said in the video.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Lauren Underwood and Raja Krishnamoorthi are still contemplating entering the race for Senate, but Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs announced Monday he will not join the fray.
State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, posted on social media Tuesday he is considering next steps in his career and possibly running for Kelly’s congressional seat in 2026.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Six ways Trump's budget will damage rural Americans' way of life
Right now, Congress is working on a giant, fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
by Peter Hancock
