The fight for equity and opportunity for ALL continues as Heartland Alliance celebrates multiple legislative victories during the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session. Nine of our legislative priorities passed and are headed to the Governor’s desk for signature. These bills support our ongoing efforts to connect the people we serve with safety and justice, health and healing, and economic opportunity – and were advanced with our coalitions and partners, including the Illinois Asset Building Group and Protect Our Care Illinois. These victories include:
Health and Healing
- The state budget consists of expanding health care coverage for all low-income adults, ages 55 and over, regardless of immigration status. Illinois is the first in the country to achieve this reform;
- HB2595 prevents insurers, including Medicaid managed care organizations, from using flawed medical necessity criteria to deny patients the mental and behavioral healthcare they need and is recommended by their providers;
- SB2133 ensures the state reports data related to race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disabilities for public health indicators, such as COVID infections;
- HB1745 lowers the out-of-pocket cost for Illinoisans’ prescription drugs by requiring insurers to offer plans that use predictable co-pays or have a cap; and
- HB3498 makes permanent innovative telehealth approaches, so Illinoisans can continue to access critically needed care beyond the pandemic regardless of transportation, scheduling barriers, and with less stigma or risk to safety.
Safety and Justice
- SB506 makes permanent a program that provides medical, food, and cash assistance to immigrant survivors of human trafficking, torture, and other serious crimes. This program was developed in response to and informed by the needs and experiences of Heartland Human Care Services program participants;
- HB88 provides that a criminal record for a drug-related felony will no longer make an Illinoisan ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF provides temporary financial assistance for pregnant women and families with children experiencing extreme poverty; and
- HB369 allows immigrant youth who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents to be eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status up to age 21.
Economic Opportunity
- HB117 expands the Secure Choice retirement savings program to businesses with at least five employees to provide the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of additional workers to save for their futures.
We are grateful to coalition partners, legislative champions, and community members for helping to push these impactful reforms across the finish line. We urge the Governor to promptly sign these measures into law.
A few of our priorities failed to pass this spring, including a proposal to expand the earned income credit for young adults, older adults, immigrant families that file taxes with an ITIN, and caregivers with eligible dependents. While the General Assembly allocated more than $100 million in support for immigrant families, it failed to approve this measure, which would provide tax relief to more than a million more low-income Illinoisans. We will continue to fight for it, however, and look forward to determining a path ahead.
