Illinois Legislative News: November 17, 2025
Third Reading Consulting Group
Administrative Rules
CAPITOL COMPLEX ACCESS
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.
Illinois Legislative News
On October 30, when the federal government was in the midst of what became the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2025-8 to address food insecurity and food access in Illinois. At that time, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were scheduled to pause on November 1 as a result of the shutdown. Although federal SNAP funding has since resumed, this executive order ensured that $20M in state support would flow to foodbanks across Illinois to cover a portion of the gap in federal funding. Of the $20M, approximately $10M is coming from both the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget and the state’s newly created Budget Reserve for Immediate Disbursements and Governmental Emergencies (BRIDGE) Fund.
The state’s FY 2027 budget created the BRIDGE Fund and reserved $100M in the Fund meant to mitigate federal government cuts and funding uncertainty. Situations like the pause in SNAP funding were exactly why the BRIDGE Fund was established, and this shutdown marked its first real test. However, even when the FY 2027 budget passed, the $100M funding amount was largely seen as insignificant to address potential cuts to healthcare programs or SNAP.
For reference, Illinois receives approximately $4.7B per year in SNAP funds from the federal government. On a monthly basis, that is around $392M for SNAP, so the state’s $20M in emergency relief funding could only provide full SNAP benefits for one or two days in November. As a result, the state established maximum allotments for each of Illinois’ seven foodbanks: Greater Chicago Food Depository, $9.6M; Northern Illinois Food Bank, $2.3M; Eastern Illinois Foodbank, $1.4M; Central Illinois Foodbank, $1.2M; St. Louis Area Foodbank, $1.4M; Tri-State Foodbank, $875,000; Riverbend Foodbank, $700,000.
As of November 19, after the federal government shutdown ended and funding for SNAP resumed, Illinois’ BRIDGE Fund balance stands at $88.67M. Given rising uncertainty around federal support, lawmakers are likely to revisit the BRIDGE Fund and consider whether additional state reserves or new mechanisms are needed to buffer future disruptions in the final seven months of FY 2027 and beyond.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
February 6 – Bill Introduction Deadline
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