HB 5385 Illinois House · 104th Regular Session

PUBLIC ATTORNEY ASSISTANCE

Summary
Amends the Public Interest Attorney Assistance Act. Allows a solo practitioner in or employed by a private practice in a county with 20 or fewer attorneys in private practice to be considered a "public interest attorney" who may apply for loan repayment assistance under the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance Program. Allows a graduate of a law school located in the State who is a licensed attorney in another state in good standing to be eligible for assistance. Adds as an eligibility requirement that an applicant must not have earned more than $120,000 from the practice of law in the prior 12 months. Raises the maximum amount of assistance to $10,000 (rather than $6,000) per year and $50,000 (rather than $30,000) during a program participant's career. Makes other changes.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 6, 2026 Last action Mar 27, 2026
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
0
Committee
3
Mar 27, 2026
Committee
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Committee
Assigned to Appropriations-Higher Education Committee
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Dave Vella
Dave Vella
DDemocratic
IL
68