Illinois Legislative News: November 3, 2025
Third Reading Consulting Group
2025 Veto Session Key Legislation
The Illinois General Assembly concluded a two-week fall veto session in the early morning hours of Friday, October 31. Following an uneventful first week of veto session from October 14-16, the House and Senate returned to Springfield after a one-week break with a great deal to accomplish.
An energy omnibus (SB 25) focusing on battery energy storage and Chicago area public transportation governance and funding reform (SB 2111) were expected to be the most significant items under consideration. Both the energy and transit packages ultimately ended up passing after agreements were reached in the second week of veto session.
Other notable legislation that passed in veto session include a revenue package (SB 1911) to decouple Illinois from two tax changes enacted under the federal government’s budget reconciliation package (HR 1), an immigration enforcement package (HB 1312), a sunset extension omnibus (HB 1437), the Public Official Safety and Privacy Act (HB 576), a tax increment financing (TIF) extension omnibus and changes to the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption (SB 642), updates to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s (ISAC) scholarship programs to conform with federal requirements (HB 3065), and a Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act Omnibus (SB 243) approved during the first week of veto session.
See below for a summary of key legislation that passed in veto session.
Energy Omnibus – SB 25 (Stadelman/Hoffman) creates the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA), an energy omnibus with a focus on battery storage. The bill provides for the procurement of 3GW of utility-scale battery energy storage, incentivizes an estimated 1.8GW of virtual power plants, and repeals the moratorium on new nuclear power plants over 300MW. SB 25 passed the Senate unanimously prior to being amended on April 10. It passed the House on October 29 by a vote of 70-37-0, and the Senate concurred by a vote of 37-22-0 on October 30. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Chicagoland Transit Reform – SB 2111 (Villivalam/Delgado) creates the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transit Innovation, Integration, and Reform Act, establishing the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) to replace the current Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) as the agency governing transit in the Chicago area. The bill restructures regional transit governance and updates various provisions to improve coordination, planning, and service delivery across Northern and Downstate Illinois. It also includes a $1.5B revenue package that redirects the sales tax on motor fuel to transit operations (85% to the Chicago area and 15% to Downstate Illinois), dedicates a portion of the Road Fund interest to transit capital (90% to the Chicago area and 10% to Downstate Illinois), authorizes a 0.25% RTA sales tax increase, and raises tolls by $0.45 for passenger vehicles and 30% for commercial vehicles. SB 2111 passed the Senate by a vote of 48-4-0, prior to being amended. It passed the House by a vote of 72-32-0 on October 31, and the Senate concurred by a vote of 36-21-0 on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Decoupling, Film Tax Credit Changes, and STAR Bond Language – SB 1911 (Sims/Tarver) is legislation to decouple Illinois from two of the federal tax changes passed as a part of the federal budget reconciliation package (HR 1). HR 1 modified and renamed Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) to Net CFC (Controlled Foreign Corporation) Tested Income (NCTI). SB 1911 switches Illinois to NCTI and collects NCTI income in Illinois’ tax base. This change preserves an estimated $90M in state corporate income tax revenue in FY 2026. The legislation also preserves an estimated $121.1M in corporate income tax revenue and $23M in personal income tax revenue in FY 2026 by decoupling from the bonus depreciation provisions from HR 1. In addition to the decoupling changes, SB 1911 makes a variety of changes to the state’s Film Production Services Tax Credit and establishes a statutory framework for sales tax and revenue (STAR) bond projects. SB 1911 passed the Senate unanimously prior to being amended on May 5. It passed the House by a vote of 76-33-0 on October 30, and the Senate concurred by a vote of 37-19-1 on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Immigration Enforcement – HB 1312 (Welch/Harmon) contains various provisions to protect Illinois residents from recent federal immigration crackdowns across the state, particularly focusing on the common immigration touchpoint locations of hospitals, licensed daycare centers, public institutions of higher education, and state courthouses. The bill would ban civil immigration arrests in and within 1,000 feet of state courthouses. Additionally, it would allow residents to sue immigration agents who violate their constitutional rights to due process and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The legislation would also require public universities and colleges to notify campus communities when immigration enforcement activity occurs on campus. HB 1312 passed the House unanimously, prior to being amended. It passed the Senate by a vote of 40-18-0 on October 30, and the House concurred by a vote of 75-33-0 later on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Sunset Extension Omnibus – HB 1437 (Mayfield/Cunningham) is a sunset extension omnibus extending the sunset date of various acts, commissions, and task forces. HB 1437 passed the House before being amended by a vote of 74-38-0 on April 10. It passed the Senate by a vote of 41-16-0 on October 30, and the House concurred by a vote of 74-26-0 on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
TIF Extension Omnibus and Senior Homestead Exemption Changes – SB 642 (Collins/Tarver) is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) extension omnibus that extends project timelines in the City of Chicago, the Village of Millstadt, the City of Mattoon, and the City of Sterling. Additionally, the bill increases the income threshold to qualify for the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption from $65,000 in tax year 2025 to $75,000 in tax year 2026, $77,000 in tax year 2027, and $79,000 in tax year 2028 and thereafter. SB 642 passed the Senate by a vote of 45-5-0 before the Senior Homestead Exemption language was added on October 15. It passed the House unanimously on October 31, and the Senate unanimously concurred on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Public Official Safety and Privacy Act – HB 576 (Stuart/Johnson) creates the Public Official Safety and Privacy Act. This bill seeks to enhance the privacy and security of public officials by restricting the disclosure of their personal information, providing legal protections and penalties for violations, and allowing the use of work addresses in place of home addresses on official records. HB 576 passed the House by a vote of 110-1-1 on October 28. It passed the Senate by a vote of 48-11-0 on October 30. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Higher Education Scholarships – HB 3065 (West/Peters) is a response to legal challenges threatening eight diversity scholarships from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). The bill aligns with federal policy and shields these scholarship programs from litigation by using income rather than race as qualifying characteristics for the scholarship programs. HB 3065 passed the House unanimously prior to being amended on April 10. It passed the Senate unanimously on October 30, and the House unanimously concurred on October 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
FOIA and OMA Omnibus – SB 243 (Porfirio/Didech) encompasses the 2025 FOIA and OMA Omnibus. The bill changes the Open Meetings Act to include a variety of clean-up provisions intended to streamline government functioning in Illinois. SB 243 passed the Senate unanimously on April 9 prior to being amended. It passed the House unanimously on May 31. Although the Senate did not concur before spring session adjourned, the bill was taken up again during veto session, where the Senate unanimously concurred on October 15.