Rideshare unionization, drug-pricing oversight, plastic pellet and light pollution bills become law

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.

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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