Rep. Suzanne Ness

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall develop a program of technical assistance in support of regional manufacturing partnerships. Provides that the program shall include a collaboration with: (1) employer associations representing manufacturers; (2) secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, including public universities and community colleges; and (3) workforce stakeholders, including local workforce innovation boards and local workforce innovation area.

Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that penalty fees collected for violating the Act and application fees for permits shall be deposited into the Water Resources Fund (rather than the State Boating Act Fund).

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) Act. Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program is inoperative after June 30, 2026 and is replaced by the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) program. Contains provisions concerning persons eligible for CASH assistance, including pregnant persons without dependent children and assistance units headed by a caretaker relative, as defined; income thresholds; immigration status; the amount of aid paid to eligible assistance units; application requirements; income verification requirements; eligibility redeterminations; substitute payees; transitioning assistance units from TANF to CASH; and Department rules to implement the CASH program. Makes conforming changes in other Articles of the Code. Effective July 1, 2026.

Creates the Right to Play Act. Provides that a student who is a member of a school athletic activity may participate in a nonschool athletic activity that is of the same sport as the school athletic activity during the season in which the student participates in the school athletic activity without losing eligibility to participate in the school athletic activity, provided that the student may not participate in both the nonschool athletic activity and a school athletic practice or competition for the same sport on the same day.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that, in accordance with federal guidance issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall exempt from electronic visit verification requirements all live-in caregivers who provide Medicaid-funded personal care services or home health care services under the Illinois Title XIX State Plan or a waiver of the plan, including personal care services and home health care services provided under various home and community-based services waiver programs authorized under the Social Security Act. Defines "live-in caregiver". Grants the Department rulemaking authority. Effective immediately.

Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.

Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are receiving Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) residential services under the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Program for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, beginning July 1, 2025, the Department of Human Services shall increase CILA site modification reimbursement maximums as follows: (i) a $10,000 maximum for rented locations with a lease of less than 5 years; (ii) a $15,000 maximum for new construction; and (iii) a $30,000 maximum for existing structures that are owned by the CILA recipient or the CILA agency or have a long-term lease of 5 years or more with a renewal at the end of the lease. Provides that implementation of the increases is contingent upon federal approval, if required. Requires the Department to adopt rules, including emergency rules as authorized under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that certain property on which a community-integrated living arrangement is located is entitled to a reduction in its equalized assessed value in an amount equal to the product that results when the number of occupants who use the community-integrated living arrangement as a primary residence is multiplied by $2,000. Effective immediately.

Amends the State Board of Education Article of the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall pay one-half of the salary of an employee that is employed by a manufacturing company and working within a school district at a high school as a licensed career and technical education teacher.

Amends the State Board of Education Article of the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall establish and administer a grant program to reimburse school districts for providing stipends for classroom Career and Technical Education teachers who participate in externships with a manufacturing company in this State. Provides for rulemaking. Effective July 1, 2026.