THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Big Beautiful Bill impacts on Illinois...REAL ID impacts
July 7, 2025
Good morning, Illinois.
We hope you had a wonderful Independence Day and weren’t the jerks setting off fireworks at 1am and waking up our baby.
Just a quick scheduling note: we’re off next week (the 14th-18th) and, depending on what happens this week, we may take this Friday off, too. I’m getting the feeling it’s going to be a quiet couple of weeks, but I guess you never know.
But petitions are heading out in a few weeks, we’ll have political days at the State Fair, and campaigns are going to ramp up before you know it. You’re going to want to be a paid subscriber so you don’t miss anything. (It’s only 253 days to the March primary, ya know.)
There’s nothing on the Governor’s public schedule today.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Trump tax bill could close nine Illinois hospitals, health care advocates warn (Chicago Sun-Times)
With the U.S. House securing the passage of President Donald Trump’s landmark tax bill, health care advocates and Illinoisans are sorting out the sprawling impacts of a measure that could shutter nine hospitals in the state, kick more than 427,000 off food assistance plans and more than 500,000 low-income residents off health care coverage.
The House on Thursday delivered Trump one of his most consequential second term victories in passing the measure that will knock more than 11 million Americans off health insurance within the next decade to help offset $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Trump planned to celebrate its passage with a bill signing on the Fourth of July.
Unions and advocates for Illinois hospitals warn that hospitals will close due to the legislation.
SEIU Healthcare, which represents more than 91,000 health care workers in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, says Chicago’s safety net hospitals — hospitals that have at least 70% Medicaid utilization — will be hit hard.
When Medicaid work requirements kick in at the end of 2026, program enrollment will go down and the need for charity care will increase. Safety net hospitals will lose their critical Medicaid reimbursement payments, all while caring for more uninsured patients. They’re also at risk of closure, and health care employees are also in danger of losing their jobs if their services are reduced, the union said.
The union is now switching efforts from educating members about the bill to working with the state to try to find new revenue to offset the bill’s cuts and continuing a larger discussion about how Illinois can operate under this new healthcare landscape.
SEIU is also planning to keep the cuts front and center — especially ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Much of the changes are earmarked for 2026 and 2028, meaning voters may not immediately feel the impacts of the consequential bill.
Alice Jones, a unit secretary at Mount Sinai Hospital’s emergency room, said she expects to see the already busy hospital “packed” with uninsured patients.
“The emergency department is going to be overwhelmed, worse than it was with COVID because these Medicaid patients won’t be able to get to the specialty clinics because of these cuts. Those with diabetes, wound injuries of that nature, follow ups from car accidents. They already don’t have health care insurance,” Jones, 59, said. "...Now we’ll have to see what the fall out is and how long we’ll see the effects of it.”
Jones has worked at the hospital for 35 years. She said the measure will have a devastating impact.
“It appears to be very drastic for people,” Jones said. “Because they’re poor they don’t have the right to health care.”
Meanwhile, the Illinois Hospital Association, which represents hospitals across the state, said hospitals will be forced to make painful decisions, including shuttering altogether.
“The most regrettable outcome of this legislation is the loss of healthcare for hundreds of thousands of our state’s residents,” said A.J. Wilhelmi, President and CEO of the Illinois Hospital Association. “While the vast majority of the proposed Medicaid cuts will fall on hospitals, they will continue to provide care for the uninsured, consistent with their moral and legal obligations. But this will come at the cost of service and staff reductions, and higher healthcare costs for all.”
Related: Pritzker warns 330,000 Illinoisans could lose Medicaid under Trump’s budget plan (Capitol News Illinois)
How would Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' impact Illinois? (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Illinois schools chief denounces Trump administration decision to withhold federal education funds (Chalkbeat Chicago)
‘We’re not seeing much of a letup:’ REAL ID stampede cuts into access to other services (Daily Herald)
For months, the hair-on-fire transportation issue of 2025 was getting a REAL ID before the May 7 deadline in order to fly domestically.
Amid concerns about long lines at DMVs, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias opened new REAL ID centers and extended hours to meet the demand.
Crisis averted.
But in the meantime, the REAL ID stampede has caused collateral damage for some seeking basic driving services.
A suburban reader told us it took days to secure an in-person DMV appointment at a convenient location for vision and written tests to renew his license. He finally found one shortly before his license expired by jumping on the SOS website at 6:30 a.m.
One important takeaway is to start the scheduling process soon after you receive your renewal notice so there’s no last-minute panic.
Asked if the demand for REAL ID has cut into regular driver services, secretary of state spokesman Scott Burnham said, “yes.”
REAL ID “demand peaked in May as the enforcement period at airports took effect and with summer travel in full swing, we’re not seeing much of a let up.
“We usually have 6,000 first-time applicants per day, which is significant and the process of issuing a REAL ID takes longer than a standard license or ID application,” Burnham noted.
“Also, when people need to renew their driver’s licenses — more are renewing and getting a REAL ID at the same time, which requires additional paperwork and takes longer than a standard driver’s license renewal.”
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POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Housing funding cut in Illinois budget as homelessness increases (Capitol News Illinois)
Chicago doc was called out of retirement to fight COVID-19, now state pension fund demands he repay $80,000 (Chicago Sun-Times)
Optimism among Illinois business leaders takes a nosedive (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Three high-profile Illinois casinos have now faced allegations over contractors with reputed mob ties (Chicago Sun-Times)
GOP State Rep. Jeff Keicher to seek reelection in 2026 (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Why Illinois is aging faster than the rest of the country (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Pritzker wants 3rd term, but he’s already made Illinois much more expensive (Daily Herald)
Morgan: What patriotism means to me three years after the Highland Park mass shooting (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Housing plans on the table aren’t going to solve state’s problems (Shaw Media)
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