NOWICKI’S SUMMARY: With just 10 days left in the legislative session, many big-ticket items await resolution. Inevitably, some will sink and some will swim. Here’s a rundown of the major legislation:
THE BUDGET: If you’re betting on any of the bills on this list passing, this one’s assuredly the favorite. It hasn’t been easy in recent years, but supermajority legislative Democrats have always come together to OK a spending plan. But if they want to spend what the governor proposed in February, they’ll need to come up with nearly $900 million in new revenue (about $728 million of which was included in Pritzker’s proposal). Will Dems be able to easily balance the books, or will we once again see a middle-of-the-night scramble for 60 in the House?
Here’s our latest on that. And a rundown of our budget coverage. It’s subject to change, but the House and Senate introduced the governor’s proposed budget as House Bill 131 and Senate Bill 2512.
CHICAGO BEARS/MEGAPROJECTS: Few issues have drawn more ink than a megaprojects bill aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois. They want to build a domed stadium and mixed-use site in Arlington Heights, but they also want property tax certainty. The 40-page original bill passed by the House now is nearly 400 pages. Is it too big for its own good? Sources have expressed confidence to our Capitol News Insiders that some type of Bears incentive will pass by May 31.
Find our steady drip of coverage here. The latest measure is House Bill 910.
CREDIT CARD CHAOS?: This one’s perhaps the biggest roller coaster of the session. Retailers and banks are going all out, with the bankers funding driving billboards, a digital and TV campaign and full-page newspaper ads. They want a full repeal of Illinois’ first-in-the-nation Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, but legislators last told us another one-year delay is more likely. It was initially pushed back from a 2025 effective date via broader budget legislation. This one has major national implications and is also tied up in courts.
For the full picture, read this story. But note that since it was published, two federal agencies have weighed in, and it’s been sent back to a federal district judge who already sided with the retailers and the state.
BUILD PLAN: Pritzker made housing one of his top initiatives for the year — to the chagrin of local governments — and his campaign is running ads to boost his BUILD plan. That would create a statewide zoning law, drastically limiting the authority of local governments to control what types of housing structures can be built on land that’s zoned residential. It calls for relaxed restrictions on the development of multi-unit housing, allowing homeowners to build “granny flats” and cutting other forms of red tape that have slowed homebuilding. While the various measures only ever went for subject matter hearings thus far, with the governor’s backing, things can move quickly.
Read our February story, and more on municipal opposition.
OTHER PRITZKER MEASURES: BUILD isn’t the only measure Pritzker put his clout behind. He wants to regulate social media algorithms (House Bill 5511) as they reach children, limit cellphones in schools (Senate Bill 2427), and establish a state grant program to pay for abortions (House Bill 5408) for uninsured or underinsured people. We covered those bills here, along with legislation authorizing Illinois community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in high-demand fields (House Bill 5319).
340B AND DRUG PRICING: Another big-money battle pits big pharma against safety-net hospitals and other healthcare providers. The providers say a bill pertaining to a federal 340B drug discount program preserves its original intent, while pharma calls it an expansion. Pharma has funded a massive advertising campaign and warns that it could cost the state, though providers question the data.
Read our latest story here, and an earlier look here at House Bill 2371.
Big pharma is also battling a prescription drug advisory board measure, Senate Bill 3496.
DATA CENTERS: Data centers are gobbling up energy and water as tech companies race to bring new artificial intelligence products online. Environmental advocates want lawmakers to regulate and force new data centers into more transparency, but the effort thus far has largely stalled. Environmentalists are miffed at the governor’s lack of “engagement” despite his public comments calling for accountability and a pause on tax incentives for new data center developments. A regulatory bill could rise from the ashes, but it would have to take shape quickly.
Read our latest here. House Bill 5513 and Senate Bill 4016 are the introduced measures, again subject to change.
AI REGULATION: President Donald Trump doesn’t want states regulating AI, but that hasn’t stopped Democrat-led jurisdictions from getting into the fray. The Senate recently unveiled an eight-bill package that mirrors, in many instances, what’s been put on the books in California and New York. The bills all flew through committee, boding well for floor action in the upper chamber. But the House is the bigger question.
For background and bill numbers, read our latest story here, and our Insider look here.
INSURANCE REGULATION: The House combined — then the Senate separated — a pair of measures regulating the homeowner and auto insurance industries. It’s something Democratic leadership has seemingly agreed upon, but the chambers’ two different approaches to advancing the measures encapsulates a broader discord that’s evidenced in several measures this session.
The bills are now Senate Bill 714 and House Bill 4273.
CANNABIS/HEMP: It’s been a relatively quiet session for this issue, but there have been some rumblings of a late effort to revive an omnibus bill that passed the Senate but wasn’t called in the House in 2024. It would create a new regulatory structure for low-THC, hemp-derived products. And, mirroring an upcoming change in federal law, it would narrow the definition of legal hemp and effectively remove intoxicating products from general retail and into the state-regulated cannabis market. Given the legislature’s track record on this issue in recent years, a wait-and-see approach seems appropriate.
That bill was filed as House Bill 5784 on Wednesday, with a press release announcing the two chambers were working together — a development that’s notable in 2026.
EARLY CHILDHOOD: The newly created Department of Early Childhood officially takes over many duties from other agencies starting July 1, including licensing and regulation of preschools and childcare facilities. Senate Bill 3907 spells out how the new agency is supposed to tackle those functions. A lot of eyes are watching the process to see whether the new agency will improve those operations or go too far in regulating them.
HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING: Lawmakers have long debated a higher education funding overhaul, but nothing that’s happened thus far indicates that this is the year it’ll happen. A House committee passed a bill earlier this year, though House Bill 1581 got rereferred to the Rules Committee.
SAFE-T ACT CHANGES?: While there was some whispering among Democrats that small changes to the SAFE-T Act could happen, nothing has materialized to this point despite a drumbeat of criticism from the GOP.
OTHER SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL MEASURES: There’s a few other controversial measures that we’ve covered thus far waiting in the wings. To name a few there’s human composting (Senate Bill 2427); a bill limiting where the federal government can place immigrant detention centers (House Bill 5024); and rideshare unionization (House Bill 4743).
AND A CAVEAT: Inevitably, things pop up at the end of May. So probably, we’ll end up seeing some type of controversial measure that moves fast through the legislature. So check back here, subscribe to our Capitol News Recap newsletter for Wednesday and Saturday updates, and sign up for our Capitol News Insider Tuesday and Friday newsletter. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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