Sen. Elgie Sims

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that every insurer that amends, delivers, issues, or renews a group or individual policy or certificate of disability insurance or disability income insurance shall ensure parity for the payment of mental, emotional, nervous, or substance use disorders or conditions. Changes the definition of "treatment limitation" to include benefit payments under disability insurance or disability income insurance.

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Designates July 25 of each year as Emmett Till Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day to honor and remember Emmett Till.

Amends the School Code. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, requires a school district maintaining any of grades 9 through 12 to provide all eligible students graduating from high school with the opportunity to register to vote. Effective immediately.

Amends the Court of Claims Act. Provides that the Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction to hear all claims against the State for time unjustly served in State prisons, in county jails, in county juvenile detention facilities, or in Illinois Youth Centers, on parole or probation, or registered as a sex offender if the person was unjustly convicted or adjudicated a delinquent and received a pardon from the Governor on the ground of innocence of the crime for which the person was convicted or adjudicated a delinquent or the person received a certificate of innocence. Removes language providing the amount of the award the court may give for a successful claim. Provides instead that the court shall make an award of $50,000 per year during which the person was wrongfully incarcerated and $25,000 for each year during which the person was wrongfully on parole or probation or required to register as a sex offender. Provides that the changes made by the amendatory Act apply to claims pending or filed on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Allows any person who is convicted or adjudicated a delinquent and then serves any part of a sentence of incarceration in a State prison, in a county jail, in a county juvenile detention facility, or in a Illinois Youth Center, on parole or probation, or registered as a sex offender (rather than convicted and subsequently imprisoned) for one or more felonies by the State that the person did not commit may file a petition for certificate of innocence. Requires the court to make an award of reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses after awarding a certificate of innocence. Provides that any person seeking a certificate of innocence based on the dismissal of a juvenile delinquency petition or an acquittal that occurred before the effective date of the amendatory Act shall file a petition within 4 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act, and any person seeking a certificate of innocence based on the dismissal of a juvenile delinquency petition or an acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall file a petition within 2 years after the dismissal or acquittal. Effective immediately.

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Safeguards to Ensure Continuity and Uphold Rights and Equity (SECURE) Act. Sets forth several legislative findings, including that (i) Illinois retains a non-delegable duty to safeguard the safety, health, dignity, and well-being of all youth in the care or custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, and (ii) the Department must respect and meaningfully consider a youth's expressed preferences in placement options while conducting transparent, individualized risk assessments. Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Adds provisions concerning case plans for youth in care and the specific tasks and responsibilities a caregiver must complete to ensure each youth is provided with safe, proper, and supportive care based on the youth's needs and best interests, including, but not limited to, the youth's protected characteristics as defined under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Contains provisions concerning requirements for interstate placements of youth age 8 or older, including, but not limited to: protecting a youth's access to lawful health care and civil immunities for Department employees who protect a youth's access to lawful health care; individualized assessments on the suitability and risks of the proposed interstate placement; ongoing Illinois-based case worker contact and monitoring; and a prohibition on consent to conversion therapy. Contains provisions on youth requested in-state or out-of-state placement and other related matters; annual Department reports on out-of-state placements; performance audits; private right of action; and other matters. Amends the Child Care Act of 1969 by adding provisions on supportive care for youth in care; youth-directed placement rights; licensure and contractual compliance. Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Adds provisions on the appointment of an attorney for a youth in care with special needs; required Department attestations on caregiver conduct when a youth is placed in an out-of-state residential treatment center; assessments and monitoring for minors in out-of-state placements; and other matters. Effective July 1, 2027.

Creates the Transparency in Downcoding Act. Provides that the Act applies to certain policies of health insurance amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act, except for employee or employer self-insured health benefit plans under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and health care provided pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. Prohibits a health insurance issuer from using an automated process, system, or tool to downcode a claim; from downcoding a claim based solely on the reported diagnosis codes; and from using downcoding practices in a targeted or discriminatory manner against physicians who routinely treat patients with complex or chronic conditions. Requires downcoding decisions to be made by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches in any United States jurisdiction and of the same or similar specialty as a physician who typically manages the medical condition or disease. Sets forth provisions concerning notification requirements for downcoded claims; the appeal process for downcoded claims; enforcement by the Department of Insurance; and penalties. Provides that any pattern or practice of discriminatory downcoding identified by the Director of Insurance or another regulatory authority shall be subject to enforcement actions, including fines, restitution, or suspension of the health insurance issuer's license in this State. Effective immediately.

Amends the Local Governmental Acceptance of Credit Cards Act. Provides that the governing body of a governmental entity accepting payment by credit card may enter into agreements with third-party software providers for the purpose of ensuring that the governmental entity receives the correct remittance for payment. Provides that, if a governmental entity enters into an agreement with one or more financial institutions or other service providers to facilitate the acceptance and processing of credit card payments, then the agreement may not restrict or prevent the governmental entity from using the payment processing system outlined in the State Treasurer Act or any other payment processing system that the governmental entity has procured. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Allows the school board of a school district to use an adopted and verified program for e-learning days district-wide that permits student instruction to be received electronically while students are not physically present on an election day because a school was selected to be a polling place (rather than adopt a research-based program for e-learning days district-wide that shall permit student instruction to be received electronically while students are not physically present because a school was selected to be a polling place). Provides that e-learning days used for this purpose may not be counted in lieu of the district's scheduled emergency days.

Amends the School Code regarding the establishment of kindergartens. With respect to a provision stating that kindergarten should provide opportunities for play-based learning, defines: (1) "play-based learning" as either guided play or student-initiated play; (2) "guided play" as intentional teacher-directed play with activities set up and led by a teacher that are aligned to learning goals or standards; and (3) "student-initiated play" as child-selected opportunities to build, pretend, create, move, or explore in an environment intentionally curated by a teacher to align with learning goals or standards.

Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Prohibits an evaluator from using an artificial intelligence tool to assign a numerical score or qualitative rating for any component of a teacher's evaluation or any evaluation task that requires professional judgment. However, allows an artificial intelligence tool to be used to support the evaluator in administrative tasks.