Kane County Reporter

Stephanie A. Kifowit introduced HB2476 in the Illinois House on Feb. 3, 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 Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that no person under the age of 18 (rather than 21) shall be eligible for employment as a firefighter."

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

In essence, this bill amends the Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act to lower the minimum age requirement for employment as a firefighter from 21 to 18 years. It clarifies that no person under the age of 18 shall be eligible for employment as a firefighter. The bill seeks to standardize eligibility criteria and establish stringent guidelines for the original appointment of firefighters to full-time fire departments across Illinois. This includes requirements for mental aptitude, physical ability, and character, as well as an examination process. The provisions apply to both municipal and fire protection district departments and mandate that the process aligns with existing registers and performance standards. Additionally, the bill outlines preferences for various groups, such as veterans and those with specific educational qualifications, while also detailing the consequences for misconduct during testing procedures.

Stephanie A. Kifowit has proposed another 14 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Kifowitz graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1994 with a BS and again in 1997 from Northern Illinois University with an MPA.

Stephanie A. Kifowitz is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 84th House District. She replaced previous state representative Tom Cross in 2013.

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
HB2476	02/03/2025	Amends the Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. Provides that no person under the age of 18 (rather than 21) shall be eligible for employment as a firefighter.
HB2465	02/03/2025	Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that, if a quorum of the members of the public body is physically present, a majority of the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the meeting by other means if the member is prevented from physically attending because of performance of active military duty as a service member. Defines "active military duty" and "service member".
HB2477	02/03/2025	Amends the Illinois Pension Code. In the State Universities Article, provides that a Tier 2 member who has at least 20 years of service in the System as a police officer is entitled to a retirement annuity upon written application on or after the attainment of age 55 (instead of age 60) if a specified rule is applicable to the participant. Provides that any benefit increase that results from the amendatory Act is excluded from the definition of "new benefit increase". Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.
HB2478	02/03/2025	Amends the Cook County Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a contributing employee may elect to purchase creditable service for up to 48 months of active-duty military service, whether or not that service followed service as a county employee. Provides that to establish this creditable service, the contributing employee must pay to the Fund an amount determined by the Fund to represent the employee contributions for the creditable service based on his or her rate of compensation after the military service, plus interest at the effective rate from the date of discharge to the date of payment. Removes an existing provision concerning the purchase of service credit for military service. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.
HB2479	02/03/2025	Amends the Chicago Police Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a policeman who applies for disability benefits under the Article and has been denied reinstatement as a policeman by his or her employer because of a physical or mental incapacity shall be presumed to be disabled as that term is used in the Article. Provides that no policeman who otherwise meets the requirements for a disability benefit shall be denied a disability benefit unless and until the policeman's employer reinstates him or her as a policeman or offers him or her a limited-duty position. Provides that any policeman who has been denied a disability benefit without an offer of reinstatement or a limited-duty position after the effective date of the amendatory Act is entitled to disability benefits. Provides that if a policeman has an application for an ordinary disability benefit denied by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees of the Fund or has a duty disability benefit, ordinary disability benefit, or occupational disability benefit terminated by a majority vote of the Board and brings an action for administrative review challenging the termination or denial of the disability benefit and the policeman prevails in the action in administrative review, then the prevailing policeman shall be entitled to recover from the Fund court costs and litigation expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, as part of the costs of the action. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
HB2480	02/03/2025	Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Specifies that among the conditions of employment that may be included in arbitration decisions involving peace officers are residency requirements for municipalities with a population under 1,000,000 (now, for municipalities with a population under 100,000). Specifies that residency requirements for municipalities with a population under 1,000,000 (now, for municipalities with a population under 100,000) are not a condition of employment that may be included in an arbitration decision for a peace officer. Effective immediately.
HB2481	02/03/2025	Appropriates $250,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council to support the Tradeswomen Build Nations 2025 conference. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB2482	02/03/2025	Amends the Chicago Police Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a policeman who applies for disability benefits under the Article and has been denied reinstatement as a policeman by his or her employer because of a physical or mental incapacity shall be presumed to be disabled as that term is used in the Article. Provides that no policeman who otherwise meets the requirements for a disability benefit shall be denied a disability benefit unless and until the policeman's employer reinstates him or her as a policeman or offers him or her a limited-duty position. Provides that any policeman who has been denied a disability benefit without an offer of reinstatement or a limited-duty position after the effective date of the amendatory Act is entitled to disability benefits. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
HB2483	02/03/2025	Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. In provisions concerning transfers of surplus moneys from the Income Tax Refund Fund to the General Revenue Fund, provides that "surplus" means the cash balance in the Income Tax Refund Fund at the end of the applicable fiscal year, less amounts attributable to certain specified transfers. Effective immediately.
HB2484	02/03/2025	Amends the Downstate Police and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Removes language providing that a person may not elect to participate in IMRF with respect to his or her employment as a chief of police of a participating municipality, unless that person became a participating employee in IMRF before January 1, 2019. Makes conforming changes. In the Downstate Police Article, provides that, on and after the effective date of the amendatory Act, a municipality is not required to establish a defined contribution plan. Provides that a municipality is required to maintain a defined contribution plan for persons who began participating in the defined contribution plan before the effective date of the amendatory Act. In provisions authorizing certain police officers to elect to participate in the defined contribution plan, restricts participation to police officers who first became police officers before the effective date of the amendatory Act and to municipalities that established a defined contribution plan before the effective date of the amendatory Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.
HB2506	02/03/2025	Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that any additional fee collected for the issuance and renewal of the military series registration plate shall not be included in the authorized fee waiver.
HB2378	01/31/2025	Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. Adds to the definition of "community college benefit recipient" a person who is receiving retirement income from a self-managed plan account under the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code and who meets other requirements. Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In the definition of "retire" and "retirement", provides that a participant in the self-managed plan retires, and the participant's retirement begins, when the participant is eligible for retirement under the Article, and the Retirement System Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) if applicable, and the participant begins receiving retirement income from the participant's self-managed plan account.
HB2379	01/31/2025	Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning State universities.
HB2393	01/31/2025	Amends the Downstate Forest Preserve District Act. Allows the board of a forest preserve district to establish a special forest preserve district retailers' occupation tax and service occupation tax after referendum of the voters. Allows the tax to used exclusively for general purposes, including education, outdoor recreation, maintenance, operations, public safety at the forest preserves, trails, acquiring and restoring land, and any other lawful purposes or programs determined by the board of that district. Includes referendum language and additional ballot informational language. Incorporates provisions from the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act to implement the tax. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Special Forest Preserve Retailers' and Service Occupation Tax Fund. Effective immediately.
HB2353	01/30/2025	Amends the Administration Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that subject to federal approval if required, a household that includes one or more veterans or members of the armed forces shall be considered categorically eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if the gross income of such a household is at or below 200% of the nonfarm income poverty guidelines.
HB1870	01/29/2025	Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. In provisions regarding personnel policies and work time requirements, specifies that State employees of public institutions of higher education classified as faculty and those not eligible for overtime pay may satisfy the time sheets requirement by complying with the terms of their contract with the public institution of higher education. Effective immediately.
HB1871	01/29/2025	Amends the State Employee Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a member who is eligible to receive an alternative retirement annuity may elect to receive an estimated payment that shall commence no later than 30 days after the later of either the member's last day of employment or 30 days after the member files for the retirement benefit with the System. Provides that the estimated payment shall be the best estimate by the System of the total monthly amount due to the member based on the information that the System possesses at the time of the estimate. Provides that if the amount of the estimate is greater or less than the actual amount of the monthly annuity, the System shall pay or recover the difference within 6 months after the start of the monthly annuity. Excludes a benefit increase resulting from the amendatory Act from the definition of "new benefit increase". Effective immediately.
HB1872	01/29/2025	Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that all youth in care shall be assigned a mental health provider to manage their mental health care needs. Requires a youth's mental health provider to visit the youth and conduct a well-being assessment within 30 days after the youth is removed from his or her home and placed in the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services. Provides that additional follow-up visits and well-being checks shall be scheduled and conducted until the youth is no longer under the custody or guardianship of the Department. Provides that any mental health care services provided to the youth shall be in addition to any care or services the youth receives from his or her primary care provider. Grants the Department rulemaking authority.
HB1881	01/29/2025	Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In a provision concerning dental services for children and adults under the medical assistance program, lists the codes for certain dental procedures that shall be reimbursed at specified amounts. Provides that on and after January 1, 2026, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in cooperation with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, shall establish and administer a 5-year pilot program to help improve dental care access for veterans. Provides that under the pilot program, veterans with income at or below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shall be eligible for comprehensive dental care coverage at local community dentists who agree to discount their fees and provide needed dental care to eligible veterans. Provides that the Department may require veterans to meet other eligibility requirements as established by rule. Effective immediately.
HB1882	01/29/2025	Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Recreates the Veterans' Service-Related Ailments Task Force repealed by Public Act 102-417 and renames it the Veterans' Services Task Force. Requires the Veterans' Services Task Force to meet at least twice a year and at any other times it deems necessary. Requires the Task Force to submit a report of its findings and recommendations regarding veterans' service-related ailments not recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and other specified matters, to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 31, 2026. Provides that the Task Force is dissolved on December 31, 2027. Effective immediately.
HB1883	01/29/2025	Appropriates $3,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Office of the Kane County State's Attorney for its operational expenses. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB1884	01/29/2025	Appropriates $1,000,000 to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to make grants to child care providers who offer non-traditional hours of care for the children of first responders and trade workers. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB1362	01/14/2025	Amends the Service Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. In a provision concerning differential compensation, changes the definition of "work days" to mean the actual number of shifts (rather than days) the employee would have worked during the period of military leave but for the service member's military obligation. Further provides that work days are tabulated without regard for the number of hours in a shift (rather than work day), regardless if the shift extends into the next day. Removes a provision providing that work hours that extend into the next calendar day count as 2 work days.