* Tribune…

A bill introduced in response to the 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey in the Springfield area by a downstate sheriff’s deputy now awaits Pritzker’s signature.

Sean Grayson was fired from his job as a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy after the killing and charged with murder. After Massey’s death, it was revealed that Grayson previously worked for five law enforcement agencies and had been the subject of citizen complaints and criticism from superiors who questioned his competence. Grayson also had two DUIs on his record before he went into law enforcement.

The legislation would bar law enforcement agencies from making a final offer for employment without getting a signed release from the applicant directing “any and all entities that previously employed the individual to produce or make available for inspection all employment records, including background investigation materials collected in connection with making a final offer of employment.”

* Crain’s…

Illinois lawmakers’ effort to reign in pharmacy benefit managers, the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, passed both houses of the General Assembly on the last day of the legislative session May 31.

The act targets the health insurance middlemen that manage members’ prescription drug benefits on behalf of the plans, negotiating prices with drug manufacturers, setting reimbursement rates for pharmacies, creating in-network lists for plan members to get prescriptions filled and creating formularies, or “preferred drug lists.”

The Illinois law, modeled after provisions being debated or passed by other states, forbids PBMs from engaging in spread pricing, charging insurance plans more than they reimburse pharmacies for, and keeping the difference; steering individuals to specific pharmacies or pharmacy companies; and limiting access to a covered drug by designating it a specialty drug contrary to the specified definition.

In addition, the law levies a fee, per each covered member, on PBMs that will be used in a fund award up to $25 million a year in grants to independent pharmacies and pharmacies located in rural counties, medically underserved areas, low-income communities and pharmacies that serve high concentrations of Medicaid patients.

* Governor JB Pritzker…

“Predatory pharmacy benefit managers have been the middlemen whose business practices too often jack up prescription drug prices and shut down small, independent pharmacies that are frequently rural communities’ lone options when people are seeking medications they need. I’m grateful for the General Assembly’s broad bipartisan partnership with me to require pharmacy benefit managers to become responsible actors and lower prescription drug prices. ​

“For far too long, pharmacy benefit managers’ business practices have operated with little regulation, transparency, and accountability. Illinois is putting an end to that. We will lead the nation in bringing transparency to PBM drug pricing. This bill grants the state full access to their books and records so we can follow the money and prevent exploitation of patients.

“It’s clear that we must do everything we can to lower the cost of medications and hold big corporations accountable. I look forward to signing this bill into law alongside its co-sponsors Sen. David Koehler and Rep. Natalie Manley, and I thank them for achieving a major step forward in the fight for affordable prescription drugs.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

If signed by the governor, a bill would mandate high school seniors and community college students automatically be offered enrollment to all state schools for which their GPA qualifies them.

The bill does not change universities’ and colleges’ GPA standards or admission requirements. Schools can revoke a student’s automatic admission if, after reaching out to the student, they discover they don’t meet other eligibility requirements.

The main sponsor of House Bill 3522, Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said the state wants to encourage students not to leave Illinois for other institutions.

“Every student who is what we – I don’t love the term – but college material, for lack of a better term, knows the opportunities that they have in higher education in the state of Illinois,” Stuart said.

If it becomes law, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board would start the program during the 2027-28 school year.

* CBS Chicago…

A bill proposed by an Elgin high school student that will put supplies of opioid antagonists like Narcan in Illinois libraries passed the Illinois Senate unanimously.

House Bill 1910, proposed by Illinois Math and Science Academy senior Jordan Henry through Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin), is now on Governor JB Pritzker’s desk. He is expected to sign it into law.

The law mandates Illinois public libraries maintain a supply of medications like naloxone, a nasal spray that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose with almost no side effects, and also have at least one staff member on duty at all times who is trained on administering the medication, Capitol News Illinois reports. […]

Unlike the Chicago program, which allows any member of the public to take and administer Narcan at libraries, the Illinois law allows only trained library staff members to administer the opioid antagonists. The medications will be kept on or near library grounds, and also at library-sponsored events, according to the legislation.

* WAND…

A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could ensure safe drinking water standards in Illinois.

The legislation allows the Illinois Department of Public Health to impose civil penalties against non-community water supplies that violate drinking water standards.

It would also clarify that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is the primary agency responsible for implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act.

“Illinois would no longer be able to control our non-community water supplies if this bill does not pass,” said Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Palatine). “It would be taken up by the federal government. So, this is a federally required mandate. If we don’t do right now, we will lose our authority over these.” […]

Senate Bill 2266 passed out of the House on a 75-39 vote. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 44-11 vote.

* Pantagraph…

Legislation that would ban carbon sequestration activity within the footprint of a massive source of drinking water for Central Illinois is heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

The Illinois House voted 91-19 on Tuesday to approve Senate Bill 2317, which would prohibit sequestration — the process of capturing and storing carbon by injecting it underground — within an area that “overlies, underlies, or passes through” a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-designated sole-source aquifer. Only one aquifer in Illinois meets that definition: the Mahomet Aquifer.

The aquifer, a deep underground layer of sand and gravel, underlies 15 counties and is the main source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Central Illinois, including Normal, Champaign and Urbana. […]

The legislation comes as Illinois, especially downstate, has been targeted by the nascent carbon capture and sequestration industry due to its favorable geology and the availability of federal tax credits incentivizing the technology.

* Sen. Karina Villa…

Following the federal government’s rescission of a 2021 Department of Homeland Security policy memo that prohibited immigration enforcement in protected areas, State Senator Karina Villa championed a measure to secure students’ safety at school. […]

House Bill 3247 would prohibit schools from disclosing or threatening to disclose information about a student’s immigration status or the immigration status of a person associated with the child. The bill also requires schools to develop procedures for reviewing and authorizing requests from law enforcement agents attempting to enter a school or school facility.

Additionally, the measure would ensure that children are not denied a free public K-12 education based on their or their parents’ perceived or actual immigration status, codifying the right to free public education for immigrant children. […]

House Bill 3247 passed the Senate on Saturday.

* WAND…

A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could require seat belts for all new Illinois school buses.

The legislation could mandate that any school buses manufactured in Illinois have three point seat belts starting in 2031. […]

This plan will grandfather in any school buses purchased before 2031.

Senate Bill 191 passed out of the House on a 83-27 vote. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 39-13 vote.

* Sen. Kimberly Lightford…

All too often, students of color feel the brunt of being expelled or suspended from school, rather than being provided restorative approaches to help with their emotional and mental health – a phenomenon Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is fighting to change. […]

Expulsion of students in kindergarten through second grade would not be permitted under Lightford’s measure. Additionally, pre-k through second graders would not be able to be suspended without the principal receiving written or verbal consent from the district superintendent.

Research from the University of Chicago using data from Chicago Public Schools shows that restorative practices are effective in reducing not only suspension and expulsion but also student arrests. As reported by Chalkbeat in 2019, early exclusion from school can trigger “a domino effect of negative interactions between schools and families,” increasing the risk of future exclusions and setting a child on the path of the so-called school-to-prison pipeline.

The measure builds upon Lightford’s previous work – Senate Bill 100 from the 99th General Assembly – which addressed the frequency and racial disparity of suspensions and expulsions by limiting their use, creating policies that re-engage students and avoiding interrupting a student’s learning as much as possible. […]

House Bill 3772 passed the Senate Saturday.

* State Journal-Register…

Legislation has advanced that would free senior citizens of the need to take a behind the wheel driving test to maintain their drivers license, until they reach the age of 87.

If signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, the law would also create a process for family members to report any concerns about driving ability. […]

Legislation would amend the Illinois Vehicle Code to raise the age from 79 to 87 when drivers need to take a behind-the-wheel test to renew their license, in addition to allowing family members the ability to report concerns.

* WQAD…

An Illinois bill hoping to improve care and raise awareness of a rare pregnancy complication is headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.
The Illinois House passed SB1814 on Friday, May 23. It passed the senate back in April.
The bill would require the Illinois Department of Health to create a public education campaign and help train more healthcare workers on amniotic fluid embolism. The condition is essentially an allergic reaction to the amniotic fluid entering the bloodstream. This reaction can lead to cardiac or pulmonary failure. […]

AFE is extremely rare, affecting approximately one in every 40,000 deliveries in the United States. Its cause remains unknown, and studies suggest the death rate may be as high as 60%.

* WCIA…

Illinois lawmakers passed a bill that would prevent insurance companies from putting time limits on anesthesia coverage to protect patients from financial burden.

This comes after the fall of 2024, when Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield tried do just that in New York, Missouri and Connecticut by tying payments to the length of time a patient was under anesthesia. In other words, they would stop covering the patient after an arbitrary length of time, and the rest of the anesthesia would be billed to the patient directly.

Now, that bill has passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support and is heading to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk. This would cover anesthesia regardless of how long the procedure takes. […]

If the governor signs the bill into law, it will take effect next year for all insurances.