First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who stopped by my tent earlier this month at the McHenry County Fair. Though the weather was a little over the top, everyone I talked to was having a good time. On behalf of the McHenry County 4-H, thanks for attending. It’s the best county fair in Illinois.
This week I’m going to talk about something that has plagued our economy ever since I’ve been in the General Assembly. I’m talking about the occupational and professional licensing system that’s regulated by state agencies. It’s a system that’s archaic and inefficient and does more to hinder employment of people in all walks of life, from teachers to nurses, from elevator contractors to hairdressers.
A Licensing Story from the Front Lines
Last week I received an email from a constituent (we’ll call her Jill), who is seeking licensure as an Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). From her email:
“I applied for my license on July 4th, 2024, and it is still in “pending” status. I am in a position where I might lose my job if I do not have my license as soon as possible. If this process could be expedited in any way, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to review this urgent matter on my behalf.”
I get far too many emails like this from constituents who are just trying to earn a living but are hamstrung by licensing delays. 1.2 million Illinoisians work in professions that require licensure – everyone from acupuncturists to pawn brokers and hair braiders. (We can have a much longer debate about whether many of these licenses are nothing more than a barrier to entry into a profession). But, while these licenses are required, practicing without a license can lead to fines, unemployment, criminal charges, or inability to receive a license in the future. On the part of the licensee, there isn’t much room for error or delay. They would never get away with being 152 days behind on a license renewal without consequences.
For the Department that oversees licensing, the stakes are much lower. In fact, for the last year, the situation at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has been so bad that there have been loud bipartisan calls for changes.
In August of 2023, after months of constituent phone calls and emails like the one from Jen asking for help with the licensure process, I co-signed a letter with my colleagues pointing out the failures at IDFPR. The letter highlighted specific and highly egregious cases of licensees being ignored, dismissed and told that their applications were likely lost and encouraging the applicant to not reapply. In keeping with standard procedure, IDFPR never responded to our letter, let alone our concerns.
Having received no response from the agency or the Pritzker administration, House Republicans introduced eleven bills aimed at reforming the agency, streamlining the licensing process, allowing licensing reciprocity with other states, lowering costs for applicants, and finding out just what was going wrong at the agency.
Lowering Barriers and Costs for Licensure
- HB 4855 – Requires DFPR to accept online payment
- HB 5147, HB 5148 , HB 5006 – Lowers licensure costs
License Reciprocity and Expedited Licensure
- HB 4988 – Nurse Licensure Compact
- HB 5608 – Universal Recognition of Licenses Act to streamline out-of-state licensees
- HB 1572 – Expedited licensure for healthcare professionals
- HB 4617 – Reciprocity and online education for cosmetologists
- HB 4570 – Streamline teaching requirements for cosmetologists and barbers
Learning More About Licensing
- HB 5007 – Creates the Licensure Reform Task Force to gather facts on licensure delays and costs
- HB 3437 – Creates a Task Force to determine if prescribing psychologists’ scope can be expanded while maintaining safety for patients
Despite receiving bipartisan lip service of support, only one of these bills was allowed to pass. Instead, we were given a promise that consistent with the bipartisan legislation passed to fund a new licensing system, IDFPR was working to implement that new system and that the problems would soon be resolved.
One of the biggest problems that applicants have is not knowing the progress of their applications. The current system does not have the capability to notify an applicant where the application is in the process or if there are problems with the application that can be fixed before final action. The first time an applicant knows whether his or her application has been acted upon is when the license is approved or rejected due to deficiencies in the application itself. I was told today that the new system will be much more robust. For example, this language is from the contract with the new vendor: “With configuration, the System shall support configurable notifications that are triggered at various stages of workflow or other conditions according to business rules (e.g., email generated to the Public User when their application is approved).” This should give applicants some measure of comfort that they are in the queue and respond more quickly to requests for further information.
That’s all well and good, but the law called for a contract to be signed with the provider within 90 days of the bill being signed and then for the system to be up and running 90 days later. It also provided for emergency rulemaking to implement the system, but as of last week there’s been no indication that such rules have been proposed (being a member of JCAR, I’d have heard about it, though at our last meeting we did take final action on a rule relating to IDFPR regulation of Interior Designers). But as it relates to bringing our licensing process into the 21st Century, here’s a timeline of what has happened so far:
- December 8, 2023 – Law is signed
- March 7, 2024 – 90 Days Later, nothing has happened
- April 19, 2024 – 90 Business Days Later, nothing has happened
- May 17, 2024, IDFPR admits the deadline has lapsed and announces new arbitrary June 8th deadline
- June 8, 2024 – On IDFPR’s own self-imposed deadline, nothing has happened
- August 6, 2024 – 152 days past the 90-day deadline, IDFPR announces an agreement has been signed. It’s anyone’s guess as to when the system will become operational.
Is it good news that maybe there will eventually, hopefully, pretty please with sugar on top be a new and better system in place at IDFPR? Yes. But the Pritzker administration is a master of mismanagement when it comes to the activities of government agencies. This is just one example of these government agencies not working at the most basic level with zero accountability and whose failures fall on the heads of those they’re supposed to serve.
There is no way that Jill, or any other nurse, teacher, or other licensed professional could get away with being 152 days behind on his or her professional license renewal. We shouldn’t let government nonchalantly fall 152 days behind either. I’ve got my timer set, and I’ll be watching to see how quickly this system is up and running. (It’ll be easy to remember the 90-day deadline is on election day.) I’m sure they’re on it – the agency said they’ll “announce next steps related to the new licensing system as they become available.” That sure fills me with a sense of unbridled optimism.
Jill, I promise you that before you read this post, my office will have acted upon your email.
But in the meantime, you can join us all in celebrating the fact that the Governor just signed a bill creating a State Mushroom (Calvatia gigantea, commonly known as the “giant puffball.” Reminds me of the budget). Would that he was as concerned about patient care as he is about edible fungi.
Happenings Around McHenry County
Before the summer slips away from us, take some time to visit one of our great farmers’ markets. It’s the perfect time to stock up on the bounty of fresh produce that’s coming out of our local farms and gardens. It’s canning season, and now’s the time to get the freshest ingredients for your stewed tomatoes and corn relish. Click here for a full list of markets throughout McHenry County.
Even though the kids are back in school, it’s not too late to go to Chicago (well, maybe not this week) and enjoy a day or two visiting the City’s fine museums. Constituents living in the 63rd District can do so for free with a pass provided by the Museums in the Park Organization. Just call for an appointment to come to my District office to pick up the pass before visiting the museums.
