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The agency had until March 7 to enter into a contract with a
technology vendor to build a new computer software system in an
effort to speed up the issuance of professional licenses.
IDFPR administers licenses for over 100 different professions
including nurses, barbers, roofers, social workers, dentists and
others. In Illinois, over 1 million people need a professional
license or registration to work.
During a recent subject matter hearing, Holly Woodruff with the
Illinois Nurses Association said many nurses are left in limbo
after they take their final exams.
“They take boards, they get prepared, they find out within a
couple of days whether they pass or not, and then they have to
just wait,” said Woodruff. “Sometimes the wait is excruciating,
especially when you have to start paying your student loans
within a couple of months.”
Woodruff added that Illinois is losing quality medical
professionals to Missouri and Iowa because of the license
delays.
State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, said the license delays can
cause a ripple effect.
“A number of associations continue to experience delays and
challenges in getting their members licenses timely,” said
Morgan. “It impacts not only the individual licensee, but our
economy, our health care system and everything that we are
trying to achieve as a state.”
The acting director of the agency blamed much of the delays to a
large backlog that has built up in recent years.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked for a 20% increase in funding for the
agency, but that could be in doubt with news that there is an
$800 million shortfall in the proposed 2025 budget.
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