Lawmakers approve bills easing driving tests on seniors, limits on
student fines
[April 10, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski and Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — Road tests to renew driver’s licenses could be a thing of
the past for many seniors in Illinois under a bill unanimously approved
Wednesday by the Illinois House.
The House voted 114-0 to approve House Bill 1226, which would raise the
age that seniors must take a driving exam to renew their licenses from
79 to 87. People age 79 and older would still have to go in person to a
secretary of state facility to renew their license but wouldn’t have to
take a driving test with a state employee until they turn 87.
The bill is an initiative of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
“Study after study indicates that senior drivers are the most safe
amongst us and there’s really no need for this onerous test to be
administered when you are a senior,” said bill sponsor Rep. Jay Hoffman,
D-Swansea.
The bill includes a number of safeguards, including that immediate
family members can submit reports to the secretary of state if they are
concerned a relative has a condition that makes it unsafe for them to
drive.
The bill was conceived by a constituent of Rep. Jeff Keicher,
R-Sycamore, last year.
“We have had a persistent issue with discriminating against older folks
in this state,” Keicher said. “This bill goes part of the way towards
resolving that.”
Women’s sports stadiums
Legislation approved on a 111-0 vote by the House on Wednesday adds
women’s professional sports to the types of sports facilities the
Illinois Sports Facilities Authority can oversee. Current law only
allows the ISFA to oversee sports facilities for baseball, football and
auto racing.
“What I wanted to accomplish with this bill is to make sure that women’s
professional sports were being treated equally to men’s professional
sports,” bill sponsor Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago, said in an
interview.
The bill’s passage comes amid pushes by the Chicago Bears and Chicago
White Sox for state funding to build new stadiums. But the Chicago Red
Stars, a women’s professional soccer team that plays in suburban
Bridgeview, are also interested in a new stadium with help from state
funding. Team owner Laura Ricketts met with General Assembly leadership
last year, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
Delgado stressed the bill isn’t designed to move any specific stadium
proposal forward and said the Red Stars have not approached her with any
specific plan.
“Most of my colleagues are hesitant to do public funding for any kind of
stadium at this moment in time,” Delgado said.
The bill would also require ISFA to notify the governor and General
Assembly when a team formally requests funding from the state, and for
the General Assembly to hold hearings on the proposal.
Municipal fines, fees as school-based discipline
Public school students would no longer be subject to municipal fines,
fees, tickets or citations as a form of school-based discipline for many
kinds of code violations if they occur on school grounds under a bill
that cleared the state Senate on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1519, sponsored by Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, would
prohibit that practice. It would also require school districts that
employ school resource officers — a sworn law enforcement officer
assigned to a school — to sign a formal memorandum of understanding with
the officer’s law enforcement agency to ensure the officers are properly
trained and do not use fines or tickets as a form of discipline.
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The Illinois House meets on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. (Capitol
News Illinois photo by Jade Aubrey)
The bill would not apply to delinquent or criminal conduct or to
violations of traffic, boating or fish and game laws.
“A student being ticketed for behavior at school can result in them
being thrown into the system, hindering their future opportunities,”
Villa said in a statement. “School discipline that mirrors law
enforcement practices is ineffective at addressing the root causes of
student behavior.”
A law passed in 2015 prohibits schools from issuing monetary fines for
school behavior, but Villa said many schools get around the law by
referring students to law enforcement. A 2022 ProPublica investigation
found Black and Latino students received a disproportionate number of
tickets.
The bill passed the Senate, 37-17, and will next be considered in the
House.
AI in health insurance decisions
Health insurances companies could face new restrictions on how they use
artificial intelligence under a measure approved on a 79-35 vote
Wednesday.
House Bill 35 sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, would prohibit
health insurance companies from only relying on AI to deny, reduce or
terminate coverage for patients receiving care ranging from
prescriptions to surgery. Instead, those AI-made decisions would have to
be reviewed by a human employee who can override it.
Health insurance companies would also be required to disclose to the
state when they are using AI.
“New disclosures to you, the consumer, you have the right to know if AI
is being used to deny your health care,” Morgan said.
Commission would commemorate Underground Railroad
The Illinois Senate passed a bill Wednesday to preserve and promote
resources in the state linked to the Underground Railroad — the network
of secret routes and hiding places that enslaved African Americans used
to escape bondage before the Civil War.
Senate Bill 1607 by Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, would establish a
Freedom Trails Commission to identify, preserve and promote historic
sites in Illinois linked to the Underground Railroad. The commission
would also work with the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom
program to serve as a liaison between the Park Service and local
entities involved in the history of the Underground Railroad.
“Preserving our history is essential to building a better future,”
Koehler said in a statement. “Through this commission, we can ensure the
stories of bravery, perseverance, and freedom are told and remembered.”
The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate and moves to the House for
consideration.
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