* Capitol News Illinois…

Criminal justice reform advocates say legislation to seal criminal records for certain nonviolent crimes, which passed Friday in the House, would unlock economic opportunity for thousands of Illinoisans.

The so-called Clean Slate Act has failed twice before, but activists see renewed fiscal messaging as the key to reinvigorating the campaign. This time, the bill’s sponsor points to a “diverse coalition of stakeholders” and backing from business groups as signs Illinois could become the 13th state to enact similar legislation. […]

Like earlier proposals, Senate Bill 1784 would require law enforcement agencies to automatically seal records for nonviolent criminal convictions twice a year — Jan. 1 and July 1. The records would no longer be public, although law enforcement and state’s attorneys would retain access. […]

Within two days, it passed the House mostly along partisan lines, and is headed for debate on the Senate floor.

The session ends at midnight Saturday, although the bill could still pass after that deadline. […]

The bill would automate the process for individuals with nonviolent convictions to have their records sealed, once they have served their sentences, completed probation, and remained crime-free.

Many eligible individuals are deterred by steep fines, complex paperwork and long waiting periods, Gordon-Booth said. The “burdensome” process has contributed to massive court backlogs, according to Clean Slate Illinois.

* NBC Chicago…

As the final hours of the legislative sessions tick away, Illinois lawmakers are expected to vote on a measure that would limit how far away hospitals can transfer rape victims, an issue NBC 5 Investigates first reported on last fall.

Illinois’ current law, advocates say, creates a chilling effect for survivors because hospitals can opt to transfer sexual assault victims for treatment to another hospital, which an NBC 5 Investigates’ analysis found can be 40 to 80 miles away.

Under the current version of the Sexual Assault Survivors Treatment Act – SASETA – Illinois hospitals are required to provide adequate care to victims of sexual assault, including offering them access to a variety of services, such as collecting a forensic rape kit if they so choose, collecting forensic photographs, contacting law enforcement, offering them a rape crisis counselor and access to a shower, sexually transmitted disease testing and other services. […]

A months-long investigation by NBC 5 Investigates last year found of the 85 hospitals with transfer agreements, nearly half required sexual assault victims to travel 40 to 80 miles away.

* National Association of Social Workers, Illinois…

The National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter (NASW-IL) is sounding the alarm: If lawmakers fail to pass House Bill 1085 sponsored by Sen. Karina Villa, the mental health workforce crisis in Illinois will deepen—and access to care will become a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

Across the state, clinical social workers and other mental health professionals are leaving insurance networks in record numbers. Why? Because they are burned out by insurance red tape, denied payments, clawbacks, and ultimately they are forced to accept rates that don’t cover the cost of care. Increasingly, providers are opting out of commercial insurance altogether and shifting to private pay models—leaving behind those who can’t afford out-of-pocket treatment.

“We are rapidly moving toward a two-tiered mental health system,” said Kyle Hillman, Director of Legislative Affairs for NASW-IL. “If you’re wealthy, you’ll have your choice of providers. If you rely on insurance, your choices will become highly limited. We are moving toward a system where you will be stuck on a waitlist—if you can find someone taking your plan at all.”

While the insurance industry and state agencies push back on HB1085, citing complexity, NASW-Illinois insists the real cost is already being paid—by every Illinoisan who can’t find care when they need it most.

“If the state fails to act, we are cementing a system where only the affluent get access to timely, consistent mental health care,” Hillman said. “We cannot afford to wait. The window to fix this is now and it starts and ends with rates.”

About NASW-Illinois

The National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter represents more than 30,000 professional social workers across the state. NASW-IL champions mental health access, professional equity, and policy reforms that strengthen the social work profession and protect vulnerable communities.

* WAND…

A state Democratic bill to add AI as a part of cyberbullying school code passed the Illinois Senate Friday.

The proposal would put into state law that no kid can bully another by using AI. Students cannot spread explicit AI images of another person and also cannot create a digital replica of the person they’re bullying.

State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Crest Hill) said this is just one of the first steps when it comes to how Springfield will regulate AI. […]

The plan passed out of the Senate unanimously. It now heads to the House floor on a concurrence vote.

* WAND…

The proposal to lower drug prices by cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers is heading to Illinois House floor.

Gov. JB Pritzker has argued the state needs to limit how pharmacy middlemen negotiate prices for drugs, as PBMs continue to drive up the cost of healthcare.

This legislation could stop PBMs from spread pricing, where they charge Medicaid more money than was paid for the drugs and receive a cut of the profit. […]

House Bill 1697 passed out of the House Executive Committee unanimously Friday. The proposal received a 56-1 vote in the Senate Thursday night.

* Tribune…

In the final days of the spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers this week advanced a bill to the Senate that would prohibit public schools from denying a student access to free education based on that child’s immigration status or that of their parents — a move aimed at reinforcing long-standing constitutional federal protections amid renewed scrutiny of immigrant rights at the state level.

The bill, sponsored in the House by Chicago Democratic Rep. Lilian Jiménez, would prohibit a child within Illinois from being deprived of free public education through high school “based on the child’s perceived or actual immigration status or the child’s parent’s or guardian’s perceived or actual citizenship or immigration status.” The legislation also says a school must not exclude a child “from participation in or deny a child the benefits of any program or activity” for those same reasons. […]

The Illinois measure, which seeks to create clear statutory language protecting immigrant school-age children or children of undocumented immigrants, passed Wednesday night by a 70-40 vote through the Democrat-led House. Two Democrats sided with Republicans in voting against it: Diane Blair-Sherlock of Villa Park and Michael Kelly of Chicago. The bill is now in the Senate for its consideration. […]

The bill would require a school to develop procedures for reviewing and authorizing requests from law enforcement agents trying to enter a school by July 1, 2026. It would also allow anyone aggrieved by a violation of the measure to file a civil lawsuit up to two years after the alleged infraction occurred.

* Crain’s…

A bill banning the use of artificial intelligence as a replacement for a real, live therapist is headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk following unanimous support in the Illinois House and Senate.

House Bill 1806, called the Wellness & Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, was sponsored by state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Highwood, and championed by the National Association of Social Workers’ Illinois chapter, or NASW-Illinois.

The act would require all therapy services be conducted by a licensed professional, prohibiting AI from providing direct patient care.

Licensed professionals may use AI if they maintain full responsibility for its interactions, and therapists cannot rely solely on AI to make patient decisions or treatment plans, Morgan said in a press release. He said the act would safeguard consumers from mental health care delivered by either AI chatbots or unlicensed individuals.

* Center Square…

A group that advocates against lawsuit abuse is warning that last-minute changes made to an unrelated bill working its way through the Illinois legislature in its final hours of legislative session would open businesses up to lawsuits from around the country.

Senate Bill 26, a bill originally intended to amend the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, was gutted and replaced Thursday with new language that would change Illinois from a “specific jurisdiction” state to a “general jurisdiction” state, expanding Illinois courts’ reach over out-of-state businesses. […]

“With this last-minute amendment, S.B. 26 is now one of the single worst pieces of legislation, nationwide, that we have seen this year,” Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, said in a statement. “This would open the floodgates to lawsuits from around the country, making every business registered in Illinois a target. For lawmakers to sneak this in at the final hour is incredibly telling of just how detrimental this legislation would be for hardworking Illinois families.” […]

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, signed on as a sponsor shortly before the amendment was filed. Welch, ATRA noted, received $80,000 from the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s political action committee, more than any other state legislator, during a recent reporting period. Welch’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

* WAND…

The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill Friday night to give landowners and farmers more flexibility to hunt deer on their property.

Farmers across the state have told Democrats and Republicans that deer have caused expensive and costly damage to their crops and farmland.

This legislation would allow the state to issue antlerless-only deer removal permits based on the percentage of permits redeemed in the previous season. It could also expand youth hunting tags from one to two. […]

Senate Bill 710 previously passed unanimously out of the Senate. The proposal now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.