Kane County Reporter

Cristina Castro introduced SB1291 in the Illinois Senate on Jan. 28, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax Code. In provisions requiring a hearing if the estimated special service area tax levy is more than 105% of the amount extended for special service area purposes for the preceding levy year, provides that notice of the hearing shall be posted on the special service area's website if a website is maintained by the special service area."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill amends the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Illinois Property Tax Code to modify notification requirements for public hearings regarding tax levy increases. Specifically, when a special service area tax levy is estimated to exceed 105% of the amount extended for the previous year, a hearing must be held to discuss the increase. The bill mandates that notice of such hearings be made available in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, including posting on the special service area's website if available. The hearing should take place in a convenient location for those within the special service area boundaries and may be scheduled up to 30 days before or simultaneously with the adoption of the ordinance for the annual levy.

Cristina Castro has proposed another six bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Castro graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2001 with a BA.

Cristina Castro is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 22nd Senate District. She replaced previous state senator Mike Noland in 2017.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB1291	01/28/2025	Amends the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax Code. In provisions requiring a hearing if the estimated special service area tax levy is more than 105% of the amount extended for special service area purposes for the preceding levy year, provides that notice of the hearing shall be posted on the special service area's website if a website is maintained by the special service area.
SB1264	01/28/2025	Amends the Illinois Banking Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
SB1314	01/28/2025	Amends the Tobacco Products Tax Act of 1995. Provides that remote retail sellers that meet certain sales criteria are required to collect and remit the tax under the Act. Provides that, beginning on January 1, 2026, the tax under the Act is 36% of (i) the actual cost paid by a distributor or remote retail seller for the stock keeping unit or (ii) if documentation of the actual cost is not available due to matters beyond the distributor or remote retail seller's control, the actual cost list paid by the distributor or remote retail seller for the stock keeping unit. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026 and continuing through December 31, 2028, the tax per cigar sold or otherwise disposed of in the State, other than a little cigar, shall not exceed $0.75 per cigar. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB1315	01/28/2025	Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall reimburse any county probation department for the costs of placement of any youth in care, whether the youth in care is in the custody of a county juvenile detention center or appropriate placement that meets the needs of the youth in care. Provides that the costs shall include expenditures for transportation and medical or mental health services. Provides that placement costs shall be at the detention center's usual and customary rate. Contains findings.
SB0231	01/22/2025	Amends the Sanitary District Act of 1917. Increases the mandatory competitive bid threshold to not less than $60,000 (currently, not less than $10,000 or more than $40,000). Allows a sanitary district to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with a unit of local government for non-emergency construction, alteration, repair, improvement, or maintenance work on the public way in an amount no greater than $150,000 (currently, $100,000) to save taxpayer funds and eliminate duplication of government effort. Makes conforming changes. Allows contracts to be entered into without competitive bidding for contracts less than $150,000 (currently, $40,000 to $100,000) if the board of trustees declares that an emergency exists affecting the public health or safety. Effective immediately.
SB0232	01/22/2025	Creates the Hospital Price Transparency Act. Provides that a hospital shall publish specified information regarding standard charges on its publicly accessible Internet website and provide hard copies upon request. Requires a hospital to maintain a list of all standard charges for all hospital items or services in accordance with the Act and ensure that the list is always available to the public, including publishing the list electronically in the specified manner. Provides that the list shall include a description of each hospital item or service provided by the hospital; specified charges for each individual hospital item or service when provided in either an inpatient setting or an outpatient department setting, as applicable; and a code used by the hospital for the purpose of accounting or billing for the hospital item or service, including the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) code, the National Drug Code (NDC), or other common identifiers. Requires a hospital to maintain and make publicly available a list of the standard charges for each of at least 300 shoppable services provided by the hospital with charges specific to that individual hospital location, except as specified in the Act. Sets forth provisions concerning duties of hospitals and the Department of Public Health relating to lists of all standard and shoppable charges; reporting requirements for hospitals; submission of complaints for violations of the Act; plans of correction for violations of the Act; sanctions and penalties; disclosure of facility fees; reporting requirements for the Department; and restrictions on hospitals initiating or pursuing a collection action if they are in violation of the Act. Effective July 1, 2026.
SB0251	01/22/2025	Creates the Operating Room Patient Safety Act. Provides that each surgical technologist hired or contracted by a health care facility on or after January 1, 2027 shall meet specified educational, certification, or experiential requirements. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits an individual from performing surgical technology services if the individual is acting within the scope of the individual's license or registration or is a student or intern under the direct supervision of a licensed health care provider.
SB0148	01/17/2025	Creates the Illinois Home Buyer Savings Accounts Act. Provides that a first-time and second-chance home buyer may open an account with a financial institution designated in its entirety by the financial institution as a first-time and second-chance home buyer savings account. Provides that the funds in a first-time and second-chance home buyer savings account may be used only to pay a first-time and second-chance home buyer's eligible costs for the purchase of a single-family residence in Illinois. Provides that 2 first-time and second-chance home buyers may jointly own a first-time and second-chance home buyer savings account. Provides that only cash and marketable securities may be contributed to a first-time and second-chance home buyer savings account. Sets forth provisions concerning the responsibilities of an account holder; the responsibilities of financial institutions; deduction of contributions, exclusion of earnings, and limitations; the penalty for withdrawal for purpose other than eligible costs; and the forms the Department of Revenue must adopt.
SB0029	01/13/2025	Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that whenever a municipality is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal website is also published electronically on a searchable online database website and that website provides independent certification of the publication. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the searchable online database website. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.