Condemns President Donald J. Trump's racist social media post and his attempts to erase history. Expresses that members will continue to honor the 100th recognition of Black History Month in the State of Illinois by committing to learn from history rather than hiding from it.
Rep. Suzanne Ness
Sponsored bills
Amends the Nursing Home Care Act and the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to hold semiannual joint training sessions for surveyors, nursing home providers, and assisted living establishment providers. Provides that the Department shall include the State long-term care ombudsman, or the State long-term care ombudsman's designee, and representatives of each nursing home provider association and assisted living provider association in the State in the planning process to create the topics and content of the joint training sessions as well as the coordination and presentations for the joint training sessions. Provides that, at least annually, a joint training session shall include, but not be limited to, regional citation patterns relating to complaints, standards, and outcomes in the nursing home and assisted living survey process. Requires the Department to develop standardized training for establishments to prevent common citations in the assisted living survey process.
Urges the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Pritzker Administration to delay cuts to Direct Service Professional (DSP) service hours set to begin January 1,2026, until such time as the State is prepared to implement the "Zero Hour" Staffing Model, to protect the services depended on by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that upon notification of a child's death through the State Central Register that is subsequently accepted for investigation of abuse or neglect, the Department of Children and Family Services shall conduct a formal review of all available internal records if any of the following conditions are present: (i) the deceased child was a youth in care at the time of death; (ii) the deceased child or the child's parent is or has been the subject of a permanency or intact family case with the Department; or (iii) the Department has a history of one or more prior investigations of abuse or neglect involving the deceased child or the child's parents. Requires the Department to evaluate the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness of previous actions taken and services provided to address identified safety and risk issues. Contains provisions concerning information that the Department must include in its report, including, but not limited to, the manner of the child's death, a summary of the abuse or neglect report made to the State Central Register, and other information. Requires the Department to complete its review within 10 days of receiving a case. Contains provisions requiring annual reports. Removes provisions concerning reporting requirements on cases where a child has experienced a life-threatening injury.
Maddy summaryThis Illinois House Resolution (HR 620) calls on Congress to reinstate healthcare subsidies that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which expired on January 1, 2026. It directly addresses Illinois residents, small businesses, and self-employed individuals who rely on the Get Covered Illinois marketplace, as they face significantly higher premiums and deductibles without these subsidies. The resolution requests immediate action to reverse the expiration of these cost-saving subsidies, which the bill claims would prevent up to 140,000 Illinoisans from affording coverage. Note: The resolution inaccurately attributes the subsidy expiration to former President Trump; the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted under President Biden, and subsidies expired due to legislative inaction, not Trump's policies. This is a symbolic resolution, not a binding law.
Maddy summaryHB 762 makes a technical amendment to the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan Act. Specifically, it modifies a section related to the short title of the Act, which is a minor, non-substantive change.
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Establishes reimbursement rates for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services for all group or individual policies of accident and health insurance or managed care plans that are amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027 or for any contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer. Requires a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 or any contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer to cover certain medically necessary mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. Provides that, if the Department of Insurance determines that an insurer or a contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer has violated a provision concerning mental health and substance use parity, the Department shall by order assess a civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation. Excludes certain health care plans serving Medicaid populations who are enrolled under the Illinois Public Aid Code or under the Children's Health Insurance Program Act from provisions concerning mental health and substance use parity. Requires the Department to review the impact of the proposed mental health and substance abuse mandate on network adequacy for mental health and substance use disorder treatment and access to affordable mental health and substance use care. Permits the Department to examine out-of-network utilization and out-of-pocket costs for insureds for mental health and substance use treatment and services for all plans to compare with in-network utilization. Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, and the School Code to require coverage under those provisions. Effective immediately.
Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the Governor shall annually designate by official proclamation the third Friday of September in each year as POW/MIA Recognition Day (rather than the third Friday of September in each year is designated as POW/MIA Recognition Day) to be observed in honor and remembrance of the men and women who, as POWs, have suffered captivity in foreign countries while in active service with the United States armed forces or who, as MIAs, have been recognized as missing in action in a time of war or during a period of hostilities (rather than who were recognized as POWs or MIAs in a time of war or during a period of hostilities). Provides that the Governor shall request, in the Governor's annual designation by official proclamation, that some portion of the third Friday of September be used for solemn contemplation on the plight of members of the United States armed forces who have been held prisoners of war and members of the United States armed forces who have been missing in action and the resolve of families and friends who continue to seek the fullest possible accounting for missing loved ones. Effective immediately.
Calls upon the Trump administration to end the government shutdown and restore funding to SNAP and other critical federal government programs rather than continuing to put partisan politics before their obligation to the American people. That if an expedient end to the shutdown cannot or will not be achieved, then the Trump administration is urged to release the reserve funds held by the United States Department of Agriculture specifically for just this eventuality, thereby enabling SNAP beneficiaries to retain access to adequate nutrition while negotiations continue. States that using hunger as a weapon to obtain a desired political outcome is reprehensible and unequivocally condemns the Trump Administration's actions in this regard.
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that, if a quorum of the members of the public body is physically present, a majority of the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the meeting by other means if the member is prevented from physically attending because of performance of active military duty as a service member. Defines "active military duty" and "service member". Effective immediately.