Budget, Springfield Recap, and Upcoming Events
- Janet
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
In This Issue:
FY2027 Budget Highlights
Legislative Session Recap
June Coffee & Conversation
Citizen Advisory Panels
Dear Friends,
The Illinois House recently concluded our spring legislative session, passing the fiscal year 2027 budget and advancing legislation on issues ranging from education and public safety to consumer protection and energy policy.
In this newsletter, you'll find highlights from the recently signed state budget, a recap of several notable bills that passed the General Assembly this spring, and information about upcoming opportunities to connect with me, including a Coffee & Conversation this Saturday and two upcoming Citizen Advisory Panels.
As always, thank you to everyone who has contacted my office, attended a town hall or community event, completed a survey, or shared feedback throughout the legislative session. Your input helps guide my work in Springfield and here in the district.
Sincerely,
Janet
Speaking on the Illinois House floor.
FY2027 Budget Highlights
One of the General Assembly's most important responsibilities each year is passing a balanced state budget. This year, my colleagues and I approved a fiscal year 2027 budget totaling $55.9 billion, marking our state’s eight balanced budget in a row while also fully funding our commitment to Illinois’ public school funding formula, maintaining our Rainy Day Fund, and making our full required pension payment, among other milestones.
At the same time, we developed this year's budget against a backdrop of economic uncertainty. As a state, we’re facing reduced federal support for healthcare, education, and other critical programs while also responding to rising costs from continuing inflation pressures. Despite those challenges, the budget makes significant investments in priorities important to families across our district:
Education
Education remains one of the state's largest investments. This year’s budget includes:
$350 million in additional funding for our Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula for K-12 schools, bringing total EBF spending to $9.2 billion.
Almost $68 million in additional support for the Free and Reduced Lunch program, special education transportation, and other mandated categorical programs.
Continued investments in early childhood education and services, including an increase of $55 million to serve up to 155,000 children of working families to pay for child care.
These investments help schools hire and retain teachers, expand student supports, and continue progress toward more equitable school funding statewide.
Healthcare and Human Services
The budget preserves funding for healthcare services, behavioral health programs, developmental disability services, and programs serving seniors and vulnerable residents.
This includes an additional $5 million commitment to our state’s medical debt relief program, which has already erased over $1 billion in medical debt, where every $1 spent has erased over $100 of debt. This program has benefited over 530,000 Illinoisans across every county in the state.
These investments help ensure that Illinois families continue to have access to healthcare and community-based services while reducing pressure on local governments and nonprofit providers.
Local Governments and Infrastructure
The budget maintains the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) at 6.47%, preserving approximately $60 million that would otherwise have been shifted away from municipalities and counties. This measure was heavily lobbied for by our mayors in our district from Bolingbrook, Naperville, and Warrenville after being initially reduced in the Governor’s introduced budget in February.
My colleagues and I advocated hard for this measure in budget negotiations, as maintaining LGDF helps support essential services without placing additional burdens on local taxpayers.
Paying for the Budget
The enacted budget closes what would have otherwise been a revenue gap largely through a combination of spending cuts, new revenue from emerging industries, and targeted changes to corporate tax structures, including:
Capping accelerated corporate net operating loss (NOL) deductions
A new Digital Asset Tax on certain cryptocurrency transactions
New taxes on emerging gaming and prediction market exchanges tied to sporting contests and events
Ending Illinois' alignment with the federal Qualified Small Business Stock Exclusion
Changing the tobacco products tax structure, shifting from wholesale to actual costs paid by distributors or remote sellers
Together, these changes provide the revenue needed to balance the budget while continuing investments in education, healthcare, public safety, and local communities.
The vote count for House Bill 111, one of the four bills that make-up the fiscal year 2027 budget.
Legislative Session Recap
In addition to passing a state budget, the General Assembly considered thousands of bills during this year's spring session. I’ve covered legislation from our district in detail in recent past newsletters, such as our May 2026 issue. Below are several other notable measures that my colleagues and I supported and have been sent to the Governor for his signature.
Supporting Students and Schools
This year, my colleagues and I passed Senate Bill 2427, which requires school districts to establish policies addressing student cellphone use during the school day. The goal is to reduce distractions in the classroom while giving educators and districts flexibility to create policies that work best for their students and communities.
We also approved House Bill 5107, known as Alyssa's Law, which requires schools to consider mobile panic alert systems as part of their emergency response plans. This legislation will help improve communication and coordination with first responders during emergencies.
Expanding Healthcare Access
Healthcare access and affordability continue to be priorities for communities across Illinois. This session, we passed Senate Bill 3365, a comprehensive healthcare package designed to strengthen our healthcare system and support providers facing financial challenges. The legislation creates a Distressed Hospital Loan Program, invests in behavioral health services, and improves oversight and accountability within the healthcare system. It includes up to $85 million in one-time funding to help support hospitals experiencing financial distress.
We also approved House Bill 2371, which protects access to discounted prescription medications through the federal 340B drug discount program and ensures eligible healthcare providers can continue serving patients in their communities.
Strengthening Energy Reliability
As Illinois continues transitioning to a cleaner energy future, it is critical that we also maintain a reliable and affordable energy supply. My colleagues and I approved House Bill 1700, which makes updates to the implementation of Illinois' clean energy laws and provides additional tools to address energy reliability, grid needs, and renewable energy project development.
Unfortunately, during the regular session, we were not able to come to an agreement on how to regulate large-scale data centers. I supported the proposed Protecting Our Water, Energy, and Ratepayers (POWER) Act via House Bill 5513, and I’m committed to continue working with my colleagues during this fall’s veto session to pass this crucial legislation.
Preparing Illinois for Emerging Challenges
This session, we also took steps to ensure Illinois remains a leader in responsible innovation, especially related to artificial intelligence. These included measures to increase transparency and establish safeguards around the use of AI via Senate Bill 315 and the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act. This bill requires companies and developers of large or “frontier” models to conduct risk assessments and report safety incidents, among other provisions.
We also passed House Bill 5511, the Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act, which strengthens protections for minors when they’re online. Crucially, the bill limits the ability for companies to develop the algorithms that lead to potentially harmful and addictive platform features.
The vote count for House Bill 5511, Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act
June Coffee and Conversation
I hope you'll join me for my monthly Coffee & Conversation this Saturday. These informal gatherings are one of my favorite ways to hear directly from constituents about state and local issues. Whether you'd like to discuss the budget, legislation passed this session, or challenges facing our community, I hope you'll stop by and share your thoughts.
What: June Coffee & Conversation
Where: 41st District Office, 475 River Bend Rd., Suite 500, Naperville
When: Saturday, June 20, 10:00-11:00 AM
Citizen Advisory Panels
Our Citizen Advisory Panels bring together residents with expertise, professional experience, and community perspectives to help inform future legislation and policy priorities. While we’ve already hosted several panels throughout June, two upcoming panels remain:
Senior Issues Citizen Advisory Panel
Monday, June 22, 6:30PM
This discussion will focus on issues affecting older adults, including healthcare access, affordability, transportation, and community resources.
Space is limited, so I encourage interested residents to RSVP through my website.
Business & Economy Citizen Advisory Panel
Monday, June 22, 7:30PM
This panel will focus on economic development, workforce challenges, affordability, and opportunities to support local businesses and workers throughout our region.
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