Government Affairs Roundup
“Your Timely Roundup of Local, State, and Federal Updates”
Chamber members:
Here is some follow-up information from what happened and didn’t happen at the end of May as well as throughout the state legislative session.
We do have a Legislative Update breakfast scheduled for Wednesday, June 25 from 7:45 to 9:00 AM at Harrah’s Joliet. State Senators Ventura and Loughran Cappel will join State Representatives Avelar, Walsh Jr., and Benton to talk about the state budget and other items of note. Here is the link to join us: https://members.jolietchamber.com/events/details/2025-member-breakfast-june-25-legislative-update-7692
*Government Affairs Roundup brought to you by CITGO*
Illinois Lawmakers Hint at Potential Summer Return
Illinois legislative leaders are hinting at a possible return to Springfield this summer, even before the traditional fall veto session, as tensions and unresolved issues linger following the end of the spring session early Sunday morning.
Lawmakers passed more than 430 bills during the final stretch of the session, including a record-high state budget with new tax and fee increases, changes to pharmacy benefit managers, regulations affecting gun owners—such as mandatory secure firearm storage—and measures expanding access to abortion medications.
Despite the volume of legislation, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) issued a stark warning in her final floor speech before adjournment. “The outcomes of this session are well predicted to be disastrous,” McCombie said. She criticized the direction of the Democratic majority, adding, “You are on a path that ensures leadership at the highest levels will have many challenges.”
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) defended the majority’s actions and signaled readiness for future political battles. “We will be vigilant. We will be compassionate. And if Washington’s agenda warrants, yes, we will be back here to continue that effort,” Welch said, alluding to ongoing tensions with the Trump administration.
On the Senate side, Minority Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove), who voted against the budget, thanked Democrats for maintaining professionalism despite policy differences. “Everyone here works very professionally, and that is so incredibly important. You leave the politics to the amateurs,” Curran said.
Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) echoed the sentiment, praising the conduct of the session but also leaving the door open for an early return. “We wrap up our work for the spring, but we’re not going out of business,” Harmon said. “We’ll be back when the world requires us to be back. But for the next weeks or months, the world is safe because the General Assembly is not in session.”
While lawmakers are expected to reconvene for the fall veto session—dates still to be announced—a special session later this summer remains a distinct possibility.
Illinois Transit Overhaul Collapses Amid Division
A major plan to rescue Illinois’ mass transit systems fell apart in the final hours of the spring legislative session, leaving the CTA, Metra, and Pace staring down steep service cuts and layoffs in 2026.
The Illinois Senate narrowly passed a reform-and-funding bill minutes before adjournment, but the House never called it for a vote. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the bill’s amended revenue package—including a $1.50 delivery fee and new taxes on rideshare and EV charging—had not been discussed in caucus. He also cited unresolved concerns over the governance structure of a new Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA), which would replace the RTA and oversee the region’s transit agencies.
Sen. Ram Villivalam, the Senate’s lead negotiator, argued those governance issues were resolved and said the funding was critical to avoid 40% service cuts and 3,000 layoffs. “We passed it to prevent those doomsday scenarios,” he said. Welch disagreed, saying reform must come before new funding. “We can’t ask taxpayers to put more money into a failing system,” he said.
Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson remained largely on the sidelines. Pritzker declined to take a public stance on the Senate’s revenue plan, while Johnson didn’t endorse specific proposals, instead calling for the wealthy to “pay their fair share.”
Meanwhile, uncertainty hangs over CTA leadership, as Johnson backed off naming a permanent president amid ongoing legislative negotiations. Under the proposed NITA structure, he would lose majority control of the CTA board.
Without action, transit agencies say they will be forced to outline drastic cuts during fall budget hearings, with layoff notices likely going out in advance. Legislators will now need a 60% supermajority to pass the bill if it’s revived later this year.
Rep. Kam Buckner, D–Chicago, defended the House’s decision to pause. “We have a little bit of time—just not a whole lot—to avoid these doomsday cuts,” he said.
Lawmakers Boost Funding for Childcare, Early Childhood Programs
Illinois lawmakers approved an FY26 budget that invests significant new state resources in childcare services that are vital to kids, their working parents, and employers. The following is an overview of highlights from spring legislative action.
The state budget, which still requires the Governor’s final approval:
- Invests $85 million more in the Child Care Assistance Program, extending services to additional low-income, working parents and boosting reimbursements for home-based providers. The FY26 plan also puts $90 million more into Smart Start Workforce Grants to replace expiring federal dollars that bolstered compensation for the underpaid childcare workforce. Another, $7.5 million increase will support further development of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC), a core recommendation of the bipartisan commission on birth-to-5 matters.
- Directs no additional funding to PreK or the home-visiting programs of “coaching” help for new or expecting parents. The budget does designate $10 million in federal dollars to support a modest reimbursement-rate increase for the providers of Early Intervention therapies for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities — but no new state funding is committed to reducing lengthy waits for service experienced by their families. Neither does the spending plan boost funding for critical scholarship help for early childhood providers, whose resources shrank last year.
- Represents a mixed bag for other priorities. It adds $10 million to one Illinois State Board of Education budget line for after-school programs while eliminating another $50 million in after-school funding that had been approved — but never committed to programs or spent by ISBE — in the past fiscal year. Teen REACH after-school program remains flat-funded from FY25 levels. The new spending plan also adds $10 million to the Monetary Award Program’s tuition assistance for low-income college students.
In other matters, lawmakers approved measures:
- Calling upon the state to better prioritize the bricks-and-mortar needs of early childhood facilities. HR137 was a central initiative this session, a bipartisan resolution asking IDEC to develop a more comprehensive survey of birth-to-5 programs’ capital needs to help inform state decision-making. It further urges state leaders to commit all remaining Early Childhood Construction Grant funding to badly needed building-and-repair projects — and to refuel this grant initiative as soon as feasible.
- Improving childcare licensing in a number of ways. HB3439 requires staff background checks every five years rather than the current three, and the bill codifies in law and retains several DCFS guidelines regarding the provisional hiring of staff — all moves to help simplify things for providers and stabilize childcare’s “workforce behind our entire workforce.”
- Directing IDEC’s establishment of an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (via SB406) to further guide policy and program decisions as the new state agency streamlines and improves birth-to-5 services throughout Illinois.
Nuclear Power Back in the Spotlight in Illinois as Lawmakers Decline to Lift Moratorium
Illinois produces more electricity from nuclear power than any other state, yet some say that still isn’t enough to meet growing energy demands. A renewed push to expand nuclear energy hit a roadblock this spring when legislation to lift the state’s moratorium on building large-scale nuclear facilities failed to pass the General Assembly.
“Nuclear energy is safe, efficient, and essential for a stable energy grid and lower costs for consumers,” said Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris), the bill’s sponsor. “It’s time to move forward and finally end the ban on nuclear energy.”
In 2023, Illinois took a partial step in that direction by lifting the moratorium for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), signaling growing interest in next-generation nuclear technology.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has expressed cautious openness to further expanding nuclear energy. “We’re looking forward to having a bill that comes to my desk that will allow us to expand the options for nuclear in the state of Illinois, but it has to be done in the right way,” Pritzker said.
However, not everyone is on board. David Kraft, director of the Illinois-based Nuclear Energy Information Service, raised concerns over weakened regulatory oversight following executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump that curtailed the authority of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“With the questionable level of current regulation—and now the further erosion of even that—these are not conditions that call for more nuclear power,” Kraft warned. He also pointed to aging infrastructure at existing nuclear plants and argued that any new facilities would require stringent oversight during startup, something he believes is currently lacking.
Meanwhile, nuclear energy remains a key player in Illinois’ energy landscape. The Clinton Nuclear Power Plant in central Illinois, once slated for closure within two years, is getting a second life. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to use power from the plant to support its growing electricity needs—particularly those driven by artificial intelligence.
“As we’ve worked to understand and support the growth of nuclear energy in the U.S., we’ve heard across the industry that existing nuclear plants cannot stay online indefinitely without partners and investments to extend their licenses and expand capacity,” Meta said in a statement.
Illinois Freedom Caucus Sues Over Budget Process
Members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus have filed a lawsuit challenging the procedural tactics used to pass the state’s $55 billion budget in the final hours of the legislative session. The lawsuit, filed against Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, argues that the Democratic majority bypassed constitutional requirements to rush the record-setting spending plan through just before midnight on May 31.
At the heart of the challenge is a legislative rule that requires every bill to be read on three separate days in both chambers before final passage. Conservative lawmakers claim Democrats sidestepped this rule by introducing placeholder bill titles days earlier, only to swap in hundreds of pages of budget language through last-minute amendments.
“Democrats ignored these rules to push through a record spending bill in the dead of night when no one is paying attention,” the Freedom Caucus said in a statement. State Rep. Adam Niemerg echoed the criticism, saying, “Springfield insiders have resorted to taking unrelated bills, gutting them with amendments and forcing through thousands of pages of last-minute government spending — often just hours before a vote is called.”
This is not the first time Republicans have raised concerns about the legislative process. They point out similar tactics were used to pass other controversial measures, including the Protect Illinois Communities Act, the SAFE-T Act, and previous state budgets.
Bills of Note:
HB2982 Tip Credit Elimination
This minimum wage bill impacting gratuities stalled for the second year, but the legislation is likely to continue to re-emerge in the future.
HB1600 Plastic Disposable Foodware
This bill would have required a customer to request disposable foodware items rather than a restaurant providing them automatically. It passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
SB1486 Junk Fee Ban Act
This legislation would have created the Junk Fee Ban Act, which created labeling restrictions for service charges and additional fees. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House.
SB1531 Disposable Food Container Act
The Disposable Food Service Container Act would have prohibited the sale of any food container containing polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam, after January 1, 2030. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House.
Stay well,
Mike Paone
Executive Vice President
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
mpaone@jolietchamber.com
815.727.5371 main
815.727.5373 direct