Chicago City Wire

Lilian Jiménez introduced HB2682 in the Illinois House on Feb. 4, 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 Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to implement the federal Family Violence Option created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193, and other specified federal provisions that permit state agencies to waive TANF work and self-sufficiency requirements for individuals who are the victims of domestic or sexual violence. Contains provisions on how individuals may apply for a "good cause" waiver of TANF requirements due to domestic or sexual violence, including, provisions concerning required documentation or third-party verification to support a good cause waiver claim; and the option to self-attest to a claim of domestic or sexual violence in support of a good cause waiver claim. Contains provisions on notification requirements imposed on the Department; crisis assistance funding; rulemaking; and data reporting requirements."

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 Illinois Public Aid Code to provide crisis assistance to families facing hardships such as homelessness or income deprivation due to events like natural disasters or domestic violence. The Illinois Department of Human Services will offer financial aid, capped at $2 million annually, with eligibility determined within five working days for existing aid recipients. It also addresses domestic and sexual violence, requiring the department to adopt the federal Family Violence Option, granting waivers for TANF program requirements to affected individuals. This includes automatic waivers for child support and work requirements, the provision of support services, and a streamlined process for establishing eligibility with a focus on confidentiality. A Family Safety Notice form will be provided to aid in understanding rights and processes available under these provisions, and the department will undergo training to handle such cases sensitively. The department must report relevant data to the General Assembly annually.

Lilian Jiménez has proposed another two bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Jiménez graduated from DePaul University in 2000 with a BA and again in 2011 from DePaul University School of Law with a JD.

Lilian Jiménez is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 4th House District. She replaced previous state representative Delia Ramirez in 2023.

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
HB2682	02/04/2025	Amends the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to implement the federal Family Violence Option created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193, and other specified federal provisions that permit state agencies to waive TANF work and self-sufficiency requirements for individuals who are the victims of domestic or sexual violence. Contains provisions on how individuals may apply for a "good cause" waiver of TANF requirements due to domestic or sexual violence, including, provisions concerning required documentation or third-party verification to support a good cause waiver claim; and the option to self-attest to a claim of domestic or sexual violence in support of a good cause waiver claim. Contains provisions on notification requirements imposed on the Department; crisis assistance funding; rulemaking; and data reporting requirements.
HB2694	02/04/2025	Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) Act. Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program is inoperative after June 30, 2026 and is replaced by the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) program. Contains provisions concerning persons eligible for CASH assistance, including pregnant persons without dependent children and assistance units headed by a caretaker relative, as defined; income thresholds; immigration status; the amount of aid paid to eligible assistance units; application requirements; income verification requirements; eligibility redeterminations; substitute payees; transitioning assistance units from TANF to CASH; and Department rules to implement the CASH program. Makes conforming changes in other Articles of the Code. Effective July 1, 2026.
HB2695	02/04/2025	Creates the Human Services Equitable Pay Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to commission a Human Services Compensation Study on the rate of compensation, including wages and benefits, of positions funded by the Department of Human Services and how they compare to similar positions in the human services sector in Illinois and nationally. Requires the study to include an analysis of wage and benefit levels in different settings and for different education levels, including a comparison of compensation for: (1) State employees; (2) human service providers; and (3) for-profit private sector employees with similar roles and titles. Requires the study to be completed and submitted to the Human Services Compensation Task Force by June 30, 2026. Requires the Department to establish the Human Services Compensation Task Force on or before December 31, 2025. Provides that members shall be appointed by the Governor and shall include at least 3 BIPOC executive directors of community-based human service organizations and 2 co-chairs. Requires the Task Force to provide, on or before December 1, 2026, a report to the General Assembly and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget that includes: (i) recommendations on how to strengthen recruitment and retention of human services workers employed by human services providers that have contracts with the State; (ii) recommended rate levels; and (iii) a proposed schedule to increase rates to the recommended rate levels by July 1, 2030. Requires the Department to submit annual reports to the Task Force and the General Assembly that includes salary disparities between professionals employed by human services providers in the Department and comparable employees contracted with the State agency for the delivery of human services, the amount needed to be annually appropriated to the Department in order to reduce such salary disparities, and other matters. Effective immediately.
HB2715	02/04/2025	Amends the Acupuncture Practice Act. Provides that none of the provisions of the Act shall prevent an unlicensed person from engaging in a standardized 5-needle protocol if the person satisfies specified conditions. Provides that the treatment utilizing the 5-needle protocol shall be limited to the insertion of disposable, sterile acupuncture needles into the ear and only in compliance with the 5-needle protocol. Provides that the application or insertion of needles anywhere else on the body of another person by a person shall be considered engaging in the practice of acupuncture without a license.
HB1858	01/28/2025	Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that a petitioner for post-conviction relief who was convicted of a felony offense committed when that person was under 21 years of age who seeks leave to file a successive post-conviction petition claiming that his or her sentence violates the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution does not have to demonstrate cause for filing the subsequent petition. Effective immediately.
HB1646	01/23/2025	Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal for cause after remediation, provides that if after the alternative evaluation procedures are determined by the State Board of Education, in a specified report of the State Board of Education, to have clear racial, ethnic, socio-economic, or geographic disparities for the educators evaluated under the alternative evaluation procedures, then the Chicago Board of Education and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers shall enter into negotiations to create a new evaluation system, to be implemented no later than August 15, 2026, that maintains the requirements for the alternative evaluation procedures and remedies the determined racial, ethnic, socio-economic, or geographic disparities. Effective immediately.