Lawmakers pass bill aimed at modernizing professional licensing in Illinois

Lawmakers pass bill aimed at modernizing professional licensing in Illinois

By HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com

As Illinois faces shortages of health care practitioners and mental health professionals, the state agency in charge of licensing for those and more than 100 other industries has struggled to keep up.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has failed to meet its goals to speed up both initial licensing and renewals in key industries as applications to the agency grew by 15 percent between 2019 and 2022. IDFPR’s director called the situation a “crisis” earlier this fall when testifying before lawmakers at a committee hearing on the issues facing the agency.

Last week, the General Assembly approved a measure to help IDFPR move beyond its antiquated systems and – at least temporarily – assist those awaiting license renewal. The measure cleared the General Assembly unanimously and needs only a signature from the governor to become law.

State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who sponsored the bill in the House, said with legislative approval, IDFPR would be able to batch-renew licenses for those who’ve been waiting “not days, not weeks, but months – up to six to eight months.”

House Bill 2394 also calls for IDFPR to contract with a technology vendor to build a new computer software system within three months of Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature on the bill, and to have that system up and running three months after that.

In a September hearing, IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto Jr. told lawmakers his agency is hamstrung by 1990s-era technology that doesn’t allow the agency to add new types of licenses to its online system, even as more types of professional licensure have come under the agency’s purview.

As a result, IDFPR has seen “an onslaught of paper applications,” Treto said, contributing to “historic wait times.” A sizeable number of the 104,000 total applications the agency received last year were submitted on paper via snail mail.

Earlier this year, the agency had been in talks with an existing state vendor that’s already under a “master contract,” which would have sped up the often-slow process of contracting with a new company. But in the September hearing, Treto revealed the agency had walked away from those talks once IDFPR leaders realized the vendor wouldn’t have been able to meet the agency’s specific needs.

“And candidly we were quite disappointed with the news,” Treto said.

In that same hearing, leaders of industry groups aired their frustrations with IDFPR’s licensing delays.

Daniel Stasi, a consultant with the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association, noted he’s been the point person for licensing-related issues for 24 years.

“Very little has changed,” Stasi said in September. “The wait is actually longer.”

Illinois State Medical Society executive senior vice president David Porter told lawmakers that the most concerning aspect of IDFPR’s current licensing system is the “lack of transparency” from the agency.

“Applicants tell us that there’s no real way for them to obtain status updates on their applications or renewals, and there’s virtually no chance to be able to connect with someone at the department by phone or email who can provide such updates,” Porter said. “Most frustrating to new applicants is that they are rarely notified when their applicants are deemed to be insufficient or incomplete, which adds days or weeks to when they can expect to obtain a license.”

Treto assured lawmakers he’s been speaking with his counterparts in other states to get ideas about how to improve IDFPR’s systems – and said Illinois isn’t alone in facing licensure issues. But, he said, some states seem to have figured it out. Oklahoma, for example, has reduced its call volume by 95 percent.

Dilpreet Raju contributed.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association. 

Leave a Comment





Local News

basketball stock

Basketball 2024-25: The Southwest Regional Publishing X/Twitter previews

Editor’s note: Coaches in the Southwest Regional Publishing coverage area are encouraged to submit preseason information by email to: mikeclarkpreps@gmail.com. Boys Acero-Soto: Wolf Pack looking to take step forward after 1-win season. Top 2 scorers return in senior Gs Cruz Lopez, Tony Macias. Also expected to contribute: G Favio Hernandez, C Alexander Bahena, PG Enrique…

Mount Carmel quarterback Jack Elliott had 204 total yards and five touchdowns in a 48-15 win against St. Charles North on Nov. 9. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Jack Elliott, Mount Carmel race into Class 7A quarterfinals

Jack Elliott is running again, and that spells trouble for the rest of Class 7A. Elliott, Mount Carmel’s senior quarterback and a Vanderbilt commit, missed time with an injury in the regular season. He was limited to passing when he returned. But in the Caravan’s 48-15 win against visiting St. Charles North on Nov. 9,…

Logo-Lyons

Travis Stamm’s big night helps unbeaten Lyons roll

Travis Stamm of Lyons was noticeable in the first half Nov. 8, grabbing a pair of touchdown passes, but the savvy senior noticed something that the average fan likely did not. The Lions, in his estimation, were flat, even leading Downers Grove South by a pair of touchdowns. So, like a good captain, he took…

Logo-Marist

Loyola rallies to end Marist’s season in Class 8A second round

The deeper you go in the playoffs, the smaller the margin of error becomes. Marist found out how small Nov. 9 on their cozy home field. The RedHawks made only a handful of mistakes in the course of 48 minutes in their Class 8A second-round game against Loyola, but those miscues cost them dearly. The…

Logo-St. Rita

Steven Armbruster sets TD record as St. Rita advances

What stands out about St. Rita quarterback Steven Armbruster to Mustangs coach Martin Hopkins?  “Steven works hard,” Hopkins said. “And he prepares very hard. When you work hard like he does in practice, the more comfortable you are on game day and that makes things easier for us. “Steven puts the team in good positions…

football-stock

IHSA football playoffs: Second-round results, quarterfinal pairings

With seedings and records in parentheses. Class 7A and Class 8A are seeded 1-32, while the other six classes are seeded in two 1-16 brackets. Second round Class 8A Loyola 24, Marist 20 Lyons 63, Downers Grove South 20 Class 7A St. Rita 21, Willowbrook 9 Mount Carmel 48. St. Charles North 15 Class 6A,…

Maddux North (from left), Emmanuel Mahonie and Myles Mitchell played key roles in Richards' second-round win against downstate Washington. Photo by Mike Walsh

Richards returns to state quarterfinals for first time since 2019

Three snaps. That’s how long it took Richards running back Myles Mitchell to have a positive impact in a 42-14 victory over downstate Washington on Nov. 8 in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs in Oak Lawn. On the third play from scrimmage, Mitchell took the handoff from quarterback Noah Escobedo, got…

Logo-Nazareth

Fired-up Nazareth rolls into Class 5A quarterfinals

Tim Racki knows well what it takes to win a state championship. After all, he has guided Nazareth to the last two state titles in Class 5A and five overall since 2014. Racki has nine total titles, counting the four he won at Driscoll. So while the Roadrunners shut out Payton in the opening round…

football-stock

Mike Walsh’s Football Top 10, Week 12

1. LYONS (11-0) Last week: 8A, Beat Downers Grove South 63-20 This week: vs. Naperville Central, 7 p.m. Friday Comment: Two playoff games with 101 total points for the thriving Lions. 2. ST. RITA (9-2) Last week: 7A, Beat Willowbrook 21-9 This week: vs. Quincy, 3 p.m. Saturday Comment: Quarterback Steven Armbruster has a program-record…

st. laurence logo

St. Laurence reaches Class 4A quarterfinals, but wants more

Making the state quarterfinals is a nice accomplishment.  But after finishing second in the state in Class 4A last season, St. Laurence wants more. The Vikings took another step in the process on Nov. 9 as they defeated Wheaton Academy 26-14 in a Class 4A second-round game in Burbank. Next for St. Laurence (8-3) is…

Neighbors

basketball stock

Basketball 2024-25: The Southwest Regional Publishing X/Twitter previews

Editor’s note: Coaches in the Southwest Regional Publishing coverage area are encouraged to submit preseason information by email to: mikeclarkpreps@gmail.com. Boys Acero-Soto: Wolf Pack looking to take step forward after 1-win season. Top 2 scorers return in senior Gs Cruz Lopez, Tony Macias. Also expected to contribute: G Favio Hernandez, C Alexander Bahena, PG Enrique…

Mount Carmel quarterback Jack Elliott had 204 total yards and five touchdowns in a 48-15 win against St. Charles North on Nov. 9. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Jack Elliott, Mount Carmel race into Class 7A quarterfinals

Jack Elliott is running again, and that spells trouble for the rest of Class 7A. Elliott, Mount Carmel’s senior quarterback and a Vanderbilt commit, missed time with an injury in the regular season. He was limited to passing when he returned. But in the Caravan’s 48-15 win against visiting St. Charles North on Nov. 9,…

Logo-Lyons

Travis Stamm’s big night helps unbeaten Lyons roll

Travis Stamm of Lyons was noticeable in the first half Nov. 8, grabbing a pair of touchdown passes, but the savvy senior noticed something that the average fan likely did not. The Lions, in his estimation, were flat, even leading Downers Grove South by a pair of touchdowns. So, like a good captain, he took…

Logo-Marist

Loyola rallies to end Marist’s season in Class 8A second round

The deeper you go in the playoffs, the smaller the margin of error becomes. Marist found out how small Nov. 9 on their cozy home field. The RedHawks made only a handful of mistakes in the course of 48 minutes in their Class 8A second-round game against Loyola, but those miscues cost them dearly. The…

Logo-St. Rita

Steven Armbruster sets TD record as St. Rita advances

What stands out about St. Rita quarterback Steven Armbruster to Mustangs coach Martin Hopkins?  “Steven works hard,” Hopkins said. “And he prepares very hard. When you work hard like he does in practice, the more comfortable you are on game day and that makes things easier for us. “Steven puts the team in good positions…

football-stock

IHSA football playoffs: Second-round results, quarterfinal pairings

With seedings and records in parentheses. Class 7A and Class 8A are seeded 1-32, while the other six classes are seeded in two 1-16 brackets. Second round Class 8A Loyola 24, Marist 20 Lyons 63, Downers Grove South 20 Class 7A St. Rita 21, Willowbrook 9 Mount Carmel 48. St. Charles North 15 Class 6A,…

Maddux North (from left), Emmanuel Mahonie and Myles Mitchell played key roles in Richards' second-round win against downstate Washington. Photo by Mike Walsh

Richards returns to state quarterfinals for first time since 2019

Three snaps. That’s how long it took Richards running back Myles Mitchell to have a positive impact in a 42-14 victory over downstate Washington on Nov. 8 in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs in Oak Lawn. On the third play from scrimmage, Mitchell took the handoff from quarterback Noah Escobedo, got…

Logo-Nazareth

Fired-up Nazareth rolls into Class 5A quarterfinals

Tim Racki knows well what it takes to win a state championship. After all, he has guided Nazareth to the last two state titles in Class 5A and five overall since 2014. Racki has nine total titles, counting the four he won at Driscoll. So while the Roadrunners shut out Payton in the opening round…

football-stock

Mike Walsh’s Football Top 10, Week 12

1. LYONS (11-0) Last week: 8A, Beat Downers Grove South 63-20 This week: vs. Naperville Central, 7 p.m. Friday Comment: Two playoff games with 101 total points for the thriving Lions. 2. ST. RITA (9-2) Last week: 7A, Beat Willowbrook 21-9 This week: vs. Quincy, 3 p.m. Saturday Comment: Quarterback Steven Armbruster has a program-record…

st. laurence logo

St. Laurence reaches Class 4A quarterfinals, but wants more

Making the state quarterfinals is a nice accomplishment.  But after finishing second in the state in Class 4A last season, St. Laurence wants more. The Vikings took another step in the process on Nov. 9 as they defeated Wheaton Academy 26-14 in a Class 4A second-round game in Burbank. Next for St. Laurence (8-3) is…