Illinois

Amends the School Code. Provides that if the provider of the micro-credential or digital badge determines and can demonstrate that a student meets all of the criteria required to earn State Global Scholar Certification, then the school district or nonpublic school shall designate that the student has earned State Global Scholar Certification on the student's diploma and transcript.

Amends the Adoption Act. Provides that the surviving adult children and adult grandchildren of a deceased adopted or surrendered person may petition for the appointment of a confidential intermediary to obtain nonidentifying information as authorized under the Adoption Act. Provides that the confidential intermediary shall have access to certain child welfare agency records if the agency has assisted in the placement of the adopted or surrendered person. Provides that the confidential intermediary shall have access to information from closed child welfare agencies if the petitioner is an adult child or grandchild of a deceased adopted or surrendered person.

Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill. Deletes provisions that a person commits the crime of violation of an order of protection if the person, knowingly transfers a firearm or firearm parts to the respondent or otherwise allows the respondent access to a firearm or firearm parts. Makes other changes to protective order remedies. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits unlawful sale or delivery of firearms when the person gives a firearm or firearm parts to or allows a respondent in an order of protection action access to a firearm or firearm parts in violation of a court order under the Protective Orders Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 or the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Provides that a violation is a Class A misdemeanor for a first violation and a Class 4 felony violation for a second or subsequent violation.

Amends the School Code. Allows a school district to comply with provisions concerning school unused food sharing plans by implementing a share table. Provides that the school district may develop and follow a policy on standard operating procedures for share tables. Effective August 1, 2027.

Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill, as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1. In provisions amending the Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act of 2002, removes provisions concerning waiver valuations. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

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 Healthy Forests, Wetlands, and Prairies Act. Provides that all grants issued under the Act shall be cost-share grants. Provides that the cost-share approved by the Department of Natural Resources may include in-kind contributions of the applicant. Provides that grants issued under the Act may be used as matching funds for federal grant awards whose purpose is in line with the Act.

Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that deer, turkey, and combination permits shall be issued to specified Illinois resident landowners and tenants without charge. Provides that the total number of deer, turkey, and combination permits that may be issued by the Department of Natural Resources and the fees for those permits shall be set by rule. Provides that Illinois resident that wish to hunt only on land on which they are resident tenants shall be issued deer permits without charge for Illinois land located in a county where the Department of Natural Resources has positively identified chronic wasting disease cases in the deer herd. Provides that no person shall be issued more than (i) one either-sex deer permit and one antlerless-only deer permit for the deer firearm season and (ii) one either-sex deer permit and one antlerless-only deer permit for the deer archery season under the amendatory Act. Defines terms. Requires permits to be on a hunter's person at all times while hunting.

Amends the Small Estates Article of the Probate Act of 1975. Provides that the following shall not be considered an excluded motor vehicle in determining the value of a decedent's personal estate: (i) motor vehicles used as living quarters; (ii) motor homes, mini motor homes, and van campers; (iii) a non-self-propelled vehicle; (iv) a commercial vehicle; (v) an implement of husbandry; or (vi) a bus or commuter van.

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. In provisions concerning written notification to specified persons on the final determination of an indicated finding of abuse or neglect, requires the Department of Children and Family Services to include in such notification: (1) a statement of the allegation and the indicated finding; (2) the length of time the indicated finding shall be maintained in the State Central Register; (3) notice of the right to request an administrative appeal of the indicated finding; (4) the time period within which an administrative appeal must be requested; (5) the manner in which to request an administrative appeal; and (6) notice of the right to request a copy of the investigative file that pertains to the subject, including the manner in which such a request may be made, regardless of whether the subject requests an administrative appeal, and that any records provided are subject to redaction or withholding as required by State or federal law.

Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall allow for an alternative rural staffing model for vehicle service providers that serve a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or fewer inhabitants and exclusively use volunteers, paid-on-call, or part-time employees, or a combination thereof (now, the use of part-time employees is not an option). Effective immediately.

Amends the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities Act. Changes the name of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired to the Illinois School for the Blind. Makes conforming changes to the Personnel Code, the School Code, the School Safety Drill Act, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and the MRSA Prevention, Control, and Reporting Act.

Amends the Public Employee Disability Act. Provides that, whenever an eligible employee suffers any injury or illness in the line of duty (rather than suffers any injury in the line of duty) which causes that employee to be unable to perform the employee's duties, the employee shall continue to be paid by the employing public entity on the same gross pay basis, inclusive of all pensionable salary, as the employee was paid before the injury (rather than paid by the employing public entity on the same basis as he was paid before the injury), with no deduction from and with continued accrual of any sick leave credits (rather than with no deduction from his sick leave credits) and specified other compensation, with other requirements. Makes technical changes.

Amends the Common Interest Community Association Act and the Condominium Property Act. Requires an association under both Acts to adopt policies and procedures concerning the collection of unpaid assessments. Prohibits an association or a holder or assignee of the association's debt from taking legal action to collect common expenses unless the association has adopted a written policy governing the collection policy for unpaid assessments. Specifies what the policy, at a minimum, must contain.

Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Provides that parties, their attorneys, or their other agents appointed to receive service of process must receive notice of a contested hearing and final decision or order. Deletes a requirement that a party and attorney of record must request a copy of the final decision and order. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that service to a party of a decision in a final administrative review must be served as provided in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act instead of by the United States Postal Service. Provides that the decision must also be sent to the party's attorney or agent. Effective immediately.

Repeals the Educational Loan Default Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Board of Higher Education Act and the Public Community College Act. Provides that, by September 1, 2028 and every September 1 thereafter, the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board, respectively, shall compile and make available to the public an annual report that contains the following information for public institutions of higher education: (1) the number of credit hours taught by full-time instructional faculty, organized by institution, tenure status, including tenure-line and nontenure-line, and discipline; and (2) the number of credit hours taught by part-time instructional faculty, organized by institution and discipline.

Amends the Animal Welfare Act. Provides that the animal shelter or animal control facility shall register a microchip in a national database with the adoptive owner's information at the time of adoption. Provides that the animal shelter or animal control facility shall retain documentation of the microchip and registration, and shall be searchable by microchip number. Provides that, if at any time after adoption, the adopted animal comes into the possession of an animal control agency, a law enforcement agency, another animal shelter, or a veterinarian, and that agency, shelter, or veterinarian requests information pertaining to the identity and location of the animal's adopter or the history of the animal, the adopting agency shall immediately provide that information to the requesting agency, shelter, or veterinarian. Provides that the information an animal shelter or animal control facility must provide to the adopter prior to the time of adoption shall include any behavior noted during interactions with the dog, including intake, walks, playgroups, socialization sessions, medical examinations, and other assessments; if the dog has killed a companion animal or livestock; and if the dog or cat has bitten any person at the facility or prior to admission. Provides that an animal shelter or animal control facility is prohibited from offering for adoption or transfer, giving away, rehoming, or placing any dog determined to be vicious or dangerous under the Animal Control Act.

Amends the Regional Superintendent of Schools Article of the School Code. With respect to the requirement that institutes provide instruction on trauma-informed practices and include the definitions of trauma, trauma-responsive learning environments, and whole child before the first student attendance day of each school year, makes changes to the definitions of "trauma" and "trauma-responsive learning environments". Defines "trauma-informed practices" to include awareness of populations for whom trauma may be ongoing, relational, and developmentally expressed over time. Effective immediately.

Amends the Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents Reporting Act. Includes any facility licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act in the definition of "long term care facility". Amends the Adult Protective Services Act. Removes a supportive living facility from the definition of "domestic living situation".

Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning in-service training programs, provides that the instruction on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, as it pertains to the school environment, includes, without limitation, service animals.

Amends the Jury Act and the Jury Commission Act. Requires employers to compensate employees at the employee's regular rate of pay for time that the employee served on jury duty.

Amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act to make a change concerning the topics of the base survey. Amends the Board of Education Act to remove the requirement that each student member of the Board of Higher Education shall serve beginning on July 1. Amends various Acts relating to the governance of public universities. Provides that the academic major report provided by a university's governing board shall include, among other information, the average monthly student loan payment over a period of 10 (rather than 20) years based on the estimated cost of a student's education and the percentage of graduate jobs in which a graduate who holds a degree in a particular major or program of study remains continuously employed with the same employer in the State for 3 consecutive fiscal quarters (rather than the average job placement rate within 12 months after graduation for a graduate who holds a degree in a particular major or program of study). Effective immediately.

Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Provides that deputy county medical examiners and deputy coroners (in addition to county medical examiners and coroners) are first responders for the purposes of provisions requiring a county to provide health insurance coverage for its employees who are first responders without imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement.

Amends the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources shall prioritize projects that incorporate construction, materials, designs, products, or technologies that increase accessibility and usability beyond the highest standards established under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or federal regulations promulgated under that Act. Requires the Department to adopt rules to establish this priority within its grant application review process under the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act. Effective immediately.