Illinois

Reinserts provisions of the bill with these changes. Authorizes a circuit court clerk of any county to develop and maintain a will depository. Provides a procedure for the clerk to accept for safekeeping a will that is defined as a document intended to be a testamentary instrument. Defines "depositor" as the person who is delivering the will for deposit and includes the testator, who is a resident in the county where the will is being deposited or a person authorized by court order. Creates a procedure for the clerk to follow in accepting, keeping, and returning these documents. Allows the clerk to charge a fee of up to $25 for each will deposited, and the clerk may not collect a separate fee for additional documents concurrently deposited in relation to a single testator or for a single joint will prepared for a husband and wife. During the lifetime of the testator, the clerk may release the deposited will only to the testator in person upon proof of identity or pursuant to an order. Makes other changes.

Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Prison Education Fund. Provides that moneys in the Prison Education Fund shall be used by the Illinois Community College Board and Illinois Board of Higher Education to make grants to prison education programs that award associate degrees or bachelor's degrees to currently incarcerated students. Makes changes concerning the allocation of money from the Cannabis Regulation Fund. Provides that 0.5% of the moneys in the Cannabis Regulation Fund, after certain allocations have been made, shall be transferred from the Cannabis Regulation Fund to the Prison Education Fund.

Congratulates Rabbi Andrea London on the occasion of her retirement from Beth Emet The Free Synagogue.

Commends Philip H. Lewis and Maureen V. Lewis for their years of community service to the people of Kane County and the State of Illinois.

Appropriates $300,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for grants to the Les Turner ALS Foundation for research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Effective July 1, 2025.

Congratulates the Canadian Friendship Caucus on its formation to promote and strengthen economic, cultural, educational, and governmental relationships between the State of Illinois and Canada, to facilitate the exchange of information on matters of mutual interest, and to support policies and initiatives that enhance cross-border cooperation.

Creates the Combating Health Misinformation Act. Establishes the Health Misinformation Response Unit within the Department of Public Health to monitor and counter health misinformation. Requires the Department to offer public health literacy grants. Requires the Department of Public Health to recruit and train trusted messengers to assist in communicating accurate health information. Requires certain entities that distribute or communicate health-related information in the State to disclose funding sources, as well as to provide citations for alleged facts. Allows the Department of Public Health to request that information from those entities. Provides that specified entities that knowingly violate certain provisions of the Act commit an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Defines terms. Amends the School Code to require health literacy to be taught as part of a comprehensive health education program, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health. Makes conforming changes to the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Declares May 2026 as ALS Awareness Month in the State of Illinois. Urges all Illinoisans to engage in supporting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, advocating for increased funding, and standing in solidarity with those affected by this relentless disease.

Commends Dr. Ken Hendriksen on his extraordinary career and his many contributions to the educational advancement of the youth of the State.

Amends the Chicago Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that beginning in State fiscal year 2027, the State (instead of the Chicago Board of Education) shall contribute for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2059, a minimum contribution to the Fund in an amount determined by the Fund to be sufficient to bring the total assets of the Fund up to 90% of the total actuarial liabilities of the Fund by the end of fiscal year 2059. Provides that, in making these determinations, the required contribution shall be calculated each year as a level percentage of the applicable employee payrolls over the years remaining to and including fiscal year 2059 and shall be determined under the projected unit credit actuarial cost method. Amends the School Code to make a conforming change in provisions concerning evidence-based funding. Effective immediately.

Congratulates Elizabeth "Betsy" Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D. on her outstanding career in dentistry. Commends her many contributions to the American Dental Association, the Illinois State Dental Society, and the profession at large. Wishes her continued success in her service to organized dentistry.

Congratulates the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of the first chapter of the YMCA that was based in the United States, and commends the YMCA's role in responding to community needs, connecting people, fostering support, and building relationships and a sense of belonging.

Amends the Election Code. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Voting Rights Act of 2025. Creates the Voting Rights Act of 2025 Article. Provides that a political subdivision, State agency, or any other government official or entity responsible for election administration shall not implement or enforce any election policy or practice, or take any other action or fail to take any action that results in, is likely to result in, or is intended to result in disparate outcomes. Creates the Language Access in Elections Article. Provides that a local election authority shall provide language assistance for elections conducted in a political subdivision if that political subdivision meets specified conditions. Creates the Voting Rights Act of 2025 and the Language Access in Elections Articles in the Code. Effective July 1, 2025.

Commends the Chakota Therapeutic Riding Center (Chakota-TRC), a community-based human service organization in Germantown, for its important work in providing therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities. Wishes the organization continued success in advancing therapeutic activities to improve the quality of life for individuals living with disabilities.

Declares March 2026 as Illinois Whole Child Month to recognize the value of assuring that each student is challenged, supported, healthy, safe, and engaged. Urges parents, educators, and community members to support a whole child approach to education for each student. Urges every school in Illinois to celebrate Whole Child Month by adopting at least one of the whole child tenets to promote and encourage throughout the month.

Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning the award of certain contracts to the lowest responsible bidder, provides that a contract for goods, services, or management in the operation of a school's food service entered into between a school board and a food service management company shall (1) be for a duration of no longer than one year, with options for yearly renewal of the contract not exceeding 4 additional years and (2) include a termination clause whereby either party may cancel for cause after a 60-day notification. Provides that all competitive bids for a contract for goods, services, or management in the operation of a school's food service entered into between a school board and a food service management company are subject to standardized evaluation criteria created by the State Board of Education for scoring that have been published on the State Board's website in advance. Provides that the school board shall maintain a record of the evaluation scoring, to be disclosed to all bidders within 10 days after the date of the award of the contract.

Creates the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act. Provides that all individual in the State have the right to wear protective medical equipment in any place of public accommodation where they have a lawful right to be without obligation to disclose health status or any other protected information, and no person, entity, or authority shall deny, restrict, or infringe upon this right. Provides that operators and public officials shall not discriminate against or penalize medical device wearers for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment. Provides that discrimination under the Act includes, but is not limited to: denial of service; eviction from premises; any form of harassment to remove or refrain from wearing such equipment for any amount of time; specified actions taken by employers; and provision of unequal goods, services, facilities, advantages, or accommodations. Sets forth provisions concerning the protection against retaliation, the exceptions for security requirements, operational safety, age and identity restricted products, and financial institution customer identification, and an undue hardship exemption. Effective immediately.

Creates the Transit-Oriented Overlay and Opportunity Retail Integration Zoning Act. Provides that the area located within a one-mile radius of a transit-oriented development is an ORI zone. Provides that the ORI zone is created automatically by operation of law. Provides that, if a conflict exists between the provisions of the ORI zone and a county or municipality, then the provisions of the ORI zone shall control. Provides that, within the ORI zone, the following uses shall be permitted by right: (1) retail, restaurant, and personal service establishments; (2) office, professional, medical, and administrative uses; (3) residential uses of all types, including single-family, multifamily, and mixed-use residential; (4) light manufacturing, research and development, storage warehousing, maker spaces, and innovation or technology-oriented industrial uses that do not involve heavy industrial processes; (5) institutional, educational, cultural, and governmental uses; (6) lodging and hospitality uses; (7) structured and accessory parking facilities; and (8) any other substantially similar use. Provides that a county or a municipality may enforce objective development standards applicable within the ORI zone. Provides that, if a county or municipality does not approve a proposal for a development in an ORI zone for a use that is permitted within an ORI zone within 90 days after receiving the application for the project, then the development proposal is deemed approved. Limits home rule powers. Effective January 1, 2026.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that if a continuance is requested and granted for a hearing on pretrial detention, the hearing shall be held within 72 (rather than 48) hours of the defendant's first appearance if the defendant is charged with first degree murder or a Class X, Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 felony.

Amends, repeals, and reenacts various Acts. Restores the statutes to the form in which they existed before their amendment by Public Acts 101-652, 102-28, and 102-1104. Makes other technical changes. Effective immediately.

Creates the Human Services Workforce Sustainability Act. Requires the Departments of Human Services, Children and Family Services, Juvenile Justice, and Public Health, and other specified State agencies, to complete, by June 30, 2027, a look-back calculation for each contracted human services organization that compares the funding amount awarded to the human services organization in State fiscal years 2026 and 2021 in order to identify the percentage change in funding, if any, to the human services organization between those fiscal years. Provides that based on the look-back calculations, each State agency shall identify the total aggregate amount of additional appropriations needed to ensure that grant amounts awarded by the State agency in State Fiscal Year 2028 are at least 25% more than the grant amounts awarded to grantees in State Fiscal Year 2021. Contains provisions concerning implementation of increased grant funding, subject to appropriation; additional percentage increases in grants amounts beginning in State Fiscal Year 2029; expenditure and certification requirements on contracted human services organizations that receive increased grant funding; oversight by the Department of Central Management Services; the adoption of administrative rules; and other matters. Effective July 1, 2026.

Restores certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 to the form in which they existed before their amendment by Public Act 101-652 by amendment or reenactment. Retains provisions that crime victims shall be given notice by the State's Attorney's office of the preliminary hearing as required in the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act and shall be informed of their opportunity at this hearing to obtain an order of protection under the Protective Orders Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Amends the Statute on Statutes to provide that whenever there is a reference in any Act to the term "pretrial release", "denial of pretrial release", "conditions of pretrial release", or "violations of the conditions of pretrial release", the terms shall be construed to mean "bail", "denial of bail", "conditions of bail", or "forfeiture of bail" respectively. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Practice Act of 1987. In provisions concerning legend drugs, provides that, at the request of a person dispensing a drug or medicine, the label affixed to a box, bottle, vessel, or package containing mifepristone, misoprostol, or any generic alternative may include the name of the dispensing health care practice instead of the name of the person dispensing the drug or medicine. Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. In provisions concerning the label of a drug, medicine, or poison that is lawfully sold or dispensed, provides that, at a prescriber's request, the label affixed to a box, bottle, vessel, or package containing mifepristone, misoprostol, or any generic alternative may include the name of the prescribing health care practice instead of the name of the prescriber.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that an individual operating a bicycle approaching a stop sign may proceed through the intersection without stopping if the individual slows to a reasonable speed and the individual yields the right-of-way to pedestrians and traffic. Sets forth exemptions.