Morgan Passes Bill To Modernize Professional Licensing in Illinois

DEERFIELD, Ill. —State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, has passed HB 2394, modernizing the process for professional licenses at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Both chambers passed the bipartisan legislation this week and Governor Pritzker is expected to sign this urgent measure.

The legislation is the House Democrats’ response to historic delays in license application processing at IDFPR.  These delays have kept doctors, nurses, social workers, and many more licensed professionals from working, in some cases for up to 1 year, while they await IDFPR processing of their paperwork. “These unprecedented license delays have not only impacted our healthcare professionals, but have literally impacted healthcare delivery in Illinois,” said Rep. Morgan. “This committee has taken on tough challenges together – I am proud of the collaboration that produced this bill, and look forward to working with the administration to build a professional licensing system that models best practices and meets the modern needs of the people of Illinois. This legislation provides real solutions to an urgent problem, and does so on a defined timeline.”

The legislation requires IDFPR to implement a fully online professional licensing system through an expedited, competitive procurement process over the course of the next 6 months. While the Department updates the system, it is required to extend renewal deadlines and waive late fees so that no new applicants or renewing licensees have to worry about their licenses expiring solely because of department backlogs.

House Democrats first called attention to the licensing backlog in September, when a hearing of the House Health Care Licenses Committee heard from provider groups about the impacts of an antiquated, backlogged licensing system that still requires applicants to send in paper applications and paper checks.