Rideshare unionization, drug-pricing oversight, plastic pellet and light
pollution bills become law
[August 11, 2026]
By Peter Hancock, Brenden Moore
SPRINGFIELD — Rideshare drivers can unionize in Illinois, a new law
seeks to regulate and classify plastic pellets as a pollutant, and the
state will exercise greater oversight of a federal prescription drug
discount program.
Those are a few of the 75 new laws signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday
as he works through the legislation sent to him by the General Assembly
in the legislative session that concluded in May.
He’s signed over 350 of the nearly 400 bills that lawmakers sent his
way, leaving him with about 20 more to consider in short order.
340B Drug-Pricing Program
Two related bills will bring more state oversight of a federal
prescription drug program known as the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Congress established that program in 1992 to give steep discounts on
prescription drugs to community health centers, safety-net hospitals and
other providers that serve large numbers of uninsured or Medicaid
patients.
But as Medicaid eligibility expanded since then, so did the 340B
program, which is now the second-largest federal drug program behind
Medicare Part D. That has led to healthcare providers and drug
manufacturers accusing each other of abusing the program.
House Bill 2371, known as the “Patient Access to Pharmacy Protection
Act,” prohibits drug manufacturers from imposing restrictions on the
acquisition of discounted drugs by a 340B provider or its contract
pharmacy.
Meanwhile, House Bill 4327, backed by the pharmaceutical industry, calls
on the Illinois Department of Insurance to conduct a study of the impact
the 340B program has had on healthcare in Illinois, including its impact
on the state’s Medicaid program and state employee group insurance
program. The study will also examine how much money hospitals and
clinics make by marking up the price of drugs they obtain at a discount.
“These bipartisan laws strengthen transparency and accountability while
protecting a program that helps our most vulnerable communities,” Rep.
Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, a lead sponsor of the bills, said in a
statement.
Rideshare unionization
Illinois is now the third state to allow rideshare drivers to bargain
collectively. House Bill 5090, which took effect upon Pritzker’s
signature, regulates how rideshare drivers can form a union, elect union
representatives and engage in union activities.
Drivers interested in forming a union will first have to obtain
signatures from at least 10% of active drivers to establish interest and
then 30% to become a certified union. Rideshare companies like Uber and
Lyft will be charged 4-cents-per-ride to cover implementation costs and
a grant program to support workers.
The law impacts more than 100,000 rideshare drivers. Advocates,
including Service Employees International Union Local 1 and the IAM
machinists union, have pushed for the right to unionize rideshare
drivers since at least 2019.
“This law doesn’t just give drivers a seat at the table — it shifts
power to the workers who make this industry possible,” Genie Kastrup, an
App Drivers Union leader, said in a news release. “It sends a clear
message that no corporation is too big, no business model is beyond
accountability, and no industry is beyond the reach of a union when
working people stand together.”
Illinois joins California and Massachusetts in allowing rideshare
drivers to unionize. Massachusetts rideshare drivers secured the first
statewide union certification in May.
Immigration detention centers
House Bill 5024 aims to prevent the federal government from operating
new immigration detention centers within 1,500 feet of any home, school,
daycare center, park, forest preserve, cemetery or place of worship.
The law is a response to the chaos that ensued in 2025 outside of an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in suburban
Broadview. The facility, located near homes and a church, became a focal
point for clashes between masked federal agents and protestors during
the height of Operation Midway Blitz.
The new restrictions would only apply to future facilities, not the
existing Broadview facility or others already owned or leased by the
federal government. And even then, it is likely to face legal hurdles as
the federal government is generally exempt from state and local zoning
restrictions. The law takes effect immediately.
Plastic pellet pollution
House Bill 4418 instructs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
to implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan that would make
Illinois the first Great Lakes state to classify plastic pellets as
pollutants.
Plastic pellets are a byproduct of plastic production that frequently
end up in Illinois waterways through spills and become a major source of
microplastics.
The measure doesn’t specifically spell out what the plan would entail
but gives the IEPA one year from its Jan. 1, 2027, effective date to
implement the requirements to be included in National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permits.
“Clean water is one of Illinois’ most valuable resources, and protecting
it means addressing pollution before it reaches our rivers and lakes,”
said bill sponsor Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee.
Republicans generally criticized the broad authority the measure gives
the IEPA as the bill passed the Senate 44-13 and the House 69-33.
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Lightweight plastic pellets can be seen between seedlings at
Chicago’s Wild Mile, a floating garden park at the north branch of
the Chicago river. (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Gabriel
Castilho)
Driver’s license requirement axed
Under House Bill 4758, employers will no longer be able to require that
a job applicant have a driver’s license unless driving is one of the
essential functions of the job.
And if a job requires a driver’s license, the employer or employment
agency must include a brief description in the job post explaining why.
“Too many people are being shut out of good jobs because of requirements
that have nothing to do with the work, and this measure will help change
that,” said Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, the bill’s sponsor.
The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Higher Education Bill of Rights
Students at public universities and colleges are now protected by an
academic bill of rights that assures them, among other things, that
their schools will not infringe on their constitutional rights to
freedom of speech, assembly and the press.
The new law also calls on schools to provide an environment where
students are protected from unlawful discrimination, harassment,
intimidation or retaliation, and that they can request reasonable
accommodations for disabilities so they can participate equally in
academic and campus activities.
House Bill 4304, titled the “Higher Education Student Support and
Academic Freedom Act,” was written in response to Trump administration
actions that some have characterized as attacks on higher education.
“Earning your degree continues to be a ticket to a better future, but
that future is at stake when curricula, the right to organize and more
are being eroded by an administration who sees knowledge as a threat,
not something to strive for,” Rep. Aarón Ortiz, D-Chicago, a lead
sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
The law calls on public colleges and universities to publish “clear,
accurate, and timely information regarding courses, degree pathways,
credit evaluation and transferability, and graduation criteria.” And it
calls on them to provide “fair evaluation” of students’ academic
performance “based on demonstrated learning and achievement and pursuant
to published standards, with due regard for the professional judgment of
faculty.”
The bill passed both chambers along largely partisan lines: 72-37 in the
House; 37-19 in the Senate.
Foreign language requirement
Students who enter high school in 2028 will not necessarily have to
complete two years of foreign language as a condition of graduating.
That requirement was scheduled to go into effect under legislation
passed in 2021. But a shortage of foreign language teachers in Illinois
prompted lawmakers this year to amend that requirement by giving
students another option.
Under Senate Bill 3070, students will have the option of completing two
years of foreign language or two years of an approved career and
technical education course.
Supporters of the bill said they still believe in the importance of
learning a foreign language but conceded that making it a requirement
for graduation was not practical
“What we’re finding is that teacher shortage is still a big challenge in
our state and we do not have enough foreign language teachers, and we
want to put more effort in workforce development while we’re building
that pool,” Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester,
said during Senate floor debate on the bill.
SB 3070 passed the Senate 58-0 and the House 117-0 with four members
voting “present.”
Light pollution bills signed
Senate Bill 3037 amends the state’s Energy Efficiency and Control Act
that allows municipalities to adopt “stretch energy codes” that are more
stringent than the Illinois Energy Conservation Code.
The bill states that by December 2029, the Illinois Capital Development
Board will create a stretch energy code regulating outdoor lighting for
public and private entities in the municipalities where it is adopted.
The code would create several listed lighting requirements to reduce
light pollution.
House Bill 5474 aims to reduce light pollution by requiring any outdoor
lighting purchased with state funds to adhere to certain brightness
limitations.
The outdoor Lighting Control Act first became law in 2025, applying to
any state-purchased lighting or lighting on property owned or managed by
the Department of Natural Resources. Under the amendment, lighting
purchased before 2032 can’t be brighter than 2,700 Kelvin. It drops to
2,200 on June 30, 2032.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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