Illinois Legislative News: February 9, 2026
Third Reading Consulting Group
Administrative Rules
CAPITOL COMPLEX ACCESS
The following rule was moved to second notice and will be considered at the February 17 JCAR meeting. The SECRETARY OF STATE proposed an amendment to the Part titled Public Use of the Capitol Complex and Springfield Facilities (71 IAC 2005; 49 Ill Reg 14931) that makes permanent SOS’ current policies regarding security screening of persons entering buildings within the Capitol Complex. A “government photo identification card” allowing an individual to bypass security screening is currently defined as a photo ID card issued by the General Assembly, SOS or any State agency. The rulemaking removes provisions that, effective 7/1/26, would have broadened this definition to include ID cards issued by federal and local government agencies and IDs issued by SOS to lobbyists and vendors, their employees, and employees of State agencies that do not issue photo IDs. Those affected by this rulemaking include State employees, lobbyists, vendors and news media.
CAPITOL COMPLEX
The following rule was moved to second notice and will be considered at the February 17 JCAR meeting. SOS also proposed amendments to Public Use of The Capitol Complex and Springfield Facilities (71 IAC 2005; 49 Ill Reg 15062) clarifying various aspects of its rules for public entry, gatherings, displays and demonstrations on the premises of the Capitol and other State buildings. The rulemaking adds a definition of “display” which includes any display of artwork such as paintings, sculptures, photographs, and arts and crafts; public service and educational presentations; signs or banners that are not held by an individual or are at least 28″ wide or 72″ high; holiday displays; and historical displays. Persons or organizations wishing to erect displays must obtain advance permission from SOS and must include a detailed description of the display and contact information for its sponsors. Displays can be removed at any time if they are damaged, require excessive or unreasonable maintenance, present a threat to public safety, or are significantly altered in use, design or character. Applications for permission to hold a demonstration or erect a temporary display must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the event date. Life protection or safety devices such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, automated defibrillators and push plates for wheelchair access cannot be blocked when demonstrating or erecting a temporary display, and no small structures may be erected on the grounds. Public areas of the Capitol include the hallways, entrances, rotunda, and other areas adjacent to the rotunda or its railings on the second, third and fourth floors, but do not include the House or Senate chambers or galleries or any areas under the direct control of the House or Senate, which are subject to each chamber’s own rules. The definition of “demonstration” has been updated to clarify that a demonstration does not include informal tourist activities or members of the public visiting elected officials or conducting routine business with a State agency. A restriction limiting signs, placards, banners and symbols to the first floor of the Capitol is removed. Permission to use amplifying devices (e.g., bullhorns) must be obtained in advance from the Director of the SOS Police. The rulemaking also clarifies that the SOS Police have full police power to enforce all Illinois statutes and removes the list of specific statutes currently cited in rule. Those affected by this rulemaking include organizations seeking permission to hold demonstrations or gatherings or erect public displays at the Capitol Complex.
Illinois Legislative News
Illinois General Assembly Bill Filing Deadline
The Senate convened briefly last week, but most of the action was behind the scenes as members worked to finalize legislation ahead of Friday’s filing deadline. As of Friday morning, 1,060 Senate bills and 1,230 House bills had been filed since Veto Session. Now, attention will quickly shift to committee assignments and early bill movement ahead of the committee deadlines – March 13 in the Senate and March 27 in the House.
Neither chamber will meet this week; both will return to session on Tuesday, February 17. Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver a combined State of the State and Budget Address to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday, February 18.
Gov. Pritzker Announces New Pension Funding Plan
2024 Long-Term Pension Funding Plan
On February 21, 2024, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a long-term pension funding plan as a part of his FY 2025 state budget address. The central tenet of this plan was to extend the state’s longstanding pension funding ramp from 90% funded in FY 2045 to 100% funded in FY 2048 by allocating funds freed by retiring bonds in FY 2030 and FY 2033 to the state’s pension system. $6B in backlog borrowing General Obligation Bonds from 2017 are set to be retired in FY 2030, and $10B in pension funding General Obligation Bonds from 2003 are set to be retired in FY 2033. These retirements would allow for additional pension contributions of $250M per year between FY 2030 and FY 2033 and $750M from FY 2034 to FY 2048. The additional contributions planned by Pritzker represent only half of the amounts freed by retiring bonds, as the other half was already earmarked for pensions when the bonds were issued years ago.
As of June 30, 2025, Illinois’ five state retirement systems carry $144.6B in unfunded liability and have an actuarial funded ratio of 47.4%, which is the highest funding level in nearly 20 years. Even so, this funding level is only slightly over half of what is required by the end of the current ramp in FY 2045, and the funded ratio can be heavily impacted by poor investment returns, which are largely out of the state government’s control. Pritzker’s plan attempts to solve these issues by decreasing the annual pension payment growth rate from 2.6% under the current ramp to 1.85%, making the annual payments more manageable. Additionally, it would create fixed-length amortization strips beginning in FY 2035 to soften the potential shock of negative investment returns as the state approaches 100% funding. The plan also addresses the Tier 2 safe harbor issue by adjusting the pensionable earnings cap to match the Social Security Wage Base. The state’s FY 2026 budget set aside $75M for this effort, once the triggering legislation passes. Credit rating agencies have signaled that should Pritzker’s plan be implemented, it could lead to additional credit rating upgrades for the State of Illinois.
Ultimately, Pritzker’s funding proposal did not end up passing in the FY 2025 budget and was not seriously considered as a part of the FY 2026 budget. Hesitancy among General Assembly members to commit funding years in advance and opposition from public sector unions, who want the plan paired with Tier 2 benefit increases to narrow the gap with Tier 1, prevented it from gaining momentum.
Using ITRF Surplus Funds for Additional Pension Contributions
After two years of Pritzker’s pension plan taking a backseat to other significant issues in the General Assembly, he decided to revive his 2024 plan with a new twist in a February 2 press conference. In addition to committing funds freed by retiring bonds, Pritzker is proposing an additional pension funding source by transferring surplus funds above a baseline $150M balance from the state’s Income Tax Refund Fund (ITRF) to pensions at the end of each fiscal year. This could provide an additional funding source as early as FY 2027, allowing for higher pension contributions to occur earlier in the funding ramp and further smoothing out the ramp’s rate of annual increase. If this proposal had been implemented in recent years, the state would have contributed an additional $405M in FY 2024, $103M in FY 2025, and $550M in the current fiscal year to pensions.
The ITRF, which is the proposed funding source for additional pension payments, collects a percentage of personal and corporate income tax revenues to be used to reimburse taxpayers who are owed money when they file taxes. Although there is a formula to set the percentage of funds to be reserved in the ITRF, in recent years, the annual percentage has been set statutorily as part of the budget process to prevent overcollection. At the end of each fiscal year, if funds remain in the ITRF, they are transferred to the General Revenue Fund in the next fiscal year. Under Pritzker’s proposal, the ITRF would maintain a balance of $150M, but surplus funds would be redirected to pensions at the end of the fiscal year. In recent years, transfers from the ITRF to the General Revenue Fund have exceeded budgeted levels, providing a boost to state revenues that would effectively be eliminated by Pritzker’s pension plan. At a time when federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid are expected to put strain on upcoming state budgets, Pritzker’s plan could prove difficult to pass the General Assembly. The plan also does not address likely opposition from public sector unions, who would want new pension funding sources tied to benefit increases for Tier 2 employees.
Pension Buyout Program Extension
In addition to the ITRF surplus pension funding provisions, Pritzker also proposed extending the state’s pension buyout program by two years through FY 2028. Extending the program through FY 2028 would reduce the state’s unfunded pension liabilities by an estimated $1.4B—a positive but relatively minimal impact in the context of over $144B in unfunded liability systemwide. Since their inception in FY 2018, pension buyout programs have reduced unfunded liability by an estimated $2.9B. Buyout programs have already been extended twice since 2018, making another extension likely as part of the FY 2027 budget package.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
February 18 – Governor’s State of the State and Budget Address
March 13 – Initial Chamber Committee Deadline (Senate)
March 27 – Initial Chamber Committee Deadline (House)
April 17 – Initial Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 8 – Opposite Chamber Committee Deadline
May 22 – Opposite Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 31 – Adjournment