Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law 124 of the 436 bills sent to him by lawmakers in the spring legislative session.
The measures signed last week expand what must be covered by state-regulated insurance plans, require libraries to stock opioid antagonists, and add new training requirements for law enforcement officers, medical professionals and food handlers.
Two of the most closely followed measures aim to protect the drinking water of a wide swath of central Illinois and boost the pension benefits for first responders in Chicago.
Carbon sequestration ban
After the state moved to regulate carbon sequestration last year, advocates called on lawmakers to codify protections for the Mahomet Aquifer — a measure which Pritzker signed last week.
The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for more than a dozen counties in Central Illinois, including communities in and around Peoria and Champaign.
Supporters of carbon sequestration technology, which sees carbon dioxide pollution buried deep underground, say that the process wouldn’t affect any drinking water because the carbon dioxide is hundreds or thousands of feet below where water sits.
But environmental advocates pointed to leaks last year at ADM, a major agriculture business that operates one of the few active carbon sequestration wells in the country in Decatur.
“While mitigating the effects of climate change should be a priority, it cannot be at the expense of the clean drinking water of nearly one million Illinoisans,” Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign, said in a statement last week.
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and with bipartisan support in the House.
Chicago police, firefighter pensions
Despite pressure from government watchdog groups to veto the bill, Pritzker signed House Bill 3657, which will provide Chicago first responders under the Tier 2 pension system with better benefits. Its supporters argued the bill was needed to bring Chicago first responders in line with their colleagues in other departments around the state.
The bill cleared the General Assembly with just one Republican senator opposing it, despite Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski warning a Senate committee it could increase the city’s unfunded pension liability by $11 billion, adding millions more in annual costs and decreasing the system’s funding ratio. The city is already facing a roughly $1 billion deficit in 2026.
“The city outlined the benefits and challenges related to Tier II pensions during the spring session, pointing out repeatedly that this was an unfunded mandate in what will already be a challenging budget cycle,” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement. “In recognition that this particular amendment passed with a veto-proof majority, we will continue to work with the Illinois General Assembly, and our City Council members to find long term solutions that stabilize the City’s pension funds with dedicated, progressive revenue so that Chicago’s workers can know that their retirements are secured.”
A spokesperson for Pritzker said in a statement that the governor expects Chicago to “implement these changes with careful planning and fiscal discipline.”