Lawmakers pass nursing home retaliation bill as lame-duck session wraps up in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers passed a measure making it easier for nursing home residents to sue facility owners over claims of retaliation, following more than a year of legislative efforts that advocates had claimed were stalled by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon at the behest of the nursing home industry.

A compromise bill cleared the Illinois House 89-16 late Monday, following a 48-2 Senate vote on Sunday, paving the way for more civil suits against nursing homes accused of punishing residents or employees for reporting complaints about facilities — an issue that advocates say is widespread.

Harmon, the Oak Park Democrat who has the final say on what bills are brought to his chamber’s floor, voted in favor of the bill.

An earlier version of the legislation had 18 co-sponsors in the Senate, but it languished until the final days of the General Assembly’s lame-duck session amid opposition from the Health Care Council of Illinois. That influential trade group represents nursing homes and has contributed more than $2 million to political committees controlled by Harmon since 2020.

Proponents of the legislation previously suggested Harmon was running out the legislative clock on the bill. But the Senate president ended up “playing a helpful role in pulling the parties together,” according to Fran Tobin, coordinator of the Alliance for Community Services, a coalition of labor groups that advocate for seniors, low-income residents and people with disabilities.

Harmon said, “it’s always better to take the time necessary to produce a good bill.”

The bill passed with slightly weaker statutory damages than proponents initially pushed for. It also calls for additional staff training and requires nursing homes to annually notify residents about the complaint process.

“Given the huge power imbalance that facilities have over residents, there's no single quick fix, and how this gets implemented will be important. But our folks consider the compromise a step forward,” Tobin said.

West Side state Sen. Lakesia Collins, the Chicago Democrat and former nursing home worker who sponsored the bill, said the measure “looks to protect residents in care from neglectful and abusive practices.

“Vulnerable residents are overlooked far too often. With these protections, we can give folks the opportunity to fight against wrongful retaliation, while also providing them with more opportunities to know their rights and what they deserve,” Collins said in a statement.

The Health Care Council stayed neutral on the bill. “We are proud to have worked with stakeholders to expand staff training on retaliation, strengthen resident awareness of their rights, and improve the process for investigating allegations,” the council’s senior policy director, Ron Nunziato, said in a statement.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill. Supporters expected him to sign it into law.

‘Skinny’ energy bill passes

Lawmakers approved a slew of other bills in the final days of the 103rd General Assembly before the latest members of the chamber are inaugurated Wednesday.

As Illinois’s power demands ramp up with the addition of new data centers, lawmakers on Tuesday approved a renewable energy storage bill that’s expected to mark the first in a series of steps to help keep up with ambitious goals set to wean the state off fossil fuels by 2050.

The bill carried by South Side state Sen. Bill Cunningham streamlines the state’s process to get wind and solar projects onto the grid, incentivizes the construction of energy storage devices and requires contractors to adopt a diversity plan and give detailed reports on the roles of minority and women employees.

Utility prices are not expected to rise as a result of the new regulations, state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said during a House committee hearing on the bill.

Gabel described the package they passed this week as the “skinny” energy bill preceding broader energy talks that are expected to extend into the spring.

Potawatomi land transfer

After lengthy debate staunchly opposed by downstate Republicans, lawmakers approved a measure transferring 1,300 acres of Shabbona Lake State Park in DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, which last year became Illinois’ first federally recognized tribal nation.

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said his bill corrects “a nearly 200-year-old injustice” following the federal government’s 1849 sale of Chief Shab-eh-nay’s land while his people were visiting another reservation. That violated a U.S. treaty with the Native American group.

The land, which is about 70 miles west of Chicago, became a state park in 1969. The lake will remain open for public recreation, under an agreement with the Prairie Band.

Name changes made easier

Another bill to ease requirements for individuals to change their name passed through the Illinois House en route to Pritzker’s desk, eliminating a requirement that name changes be published in a local newspaper.

The legislation backed by Northwest Side Democratic state Sen. Ram Villivalam would also reduce the requirement of people wanting to change their name from a six-month wait to three for in-state residents.

The bill aims to decrease threats to people who have endured domestic abuse, discrimination and other threats to their safety.