Pritzker signs bills allowing rideshare unionization, oversight of prescription drug program

Rideshare drivers can unionize in Illinois, a new law seeks to regulate and classify plastic pellets as a pollutant, and the state will exercise greater oversight of a federal prescription drug discount program.

Those are a few of the 75 new laws signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday as he works through the legislation sent to him by the General Assembly in the legislative session that concluded in May.

He’s signed over 350 of the nearly 400 bills that lawmakers sent his way, leaving him with about 20 more to consider in short order.

340B Drug-Pricing Program

Two related bills will bring more state oversight of a federal prescription drug program known as the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

Congress established that program in 1992 to give steep discounts on prescription drugs to community health centers, safety-net hospitals and other providers that serve large numbers of uninsured or Medicaid patients.

But as Medicaid eligibility expanded since then, so did the 340B program, which is now the second-largest federal drug program behind Medicare Part D. That has led to healthcare providers and drug manufacturers accusing each other of abusing the program.

House Bill 2371, known as the “Patient Access to Pharmacy Protection Act,” prohibits drug manufacturers from imposing restrictions on the acquisition of discounted drugs by a 340B provider or its contract pharmacy.

Meanwhile, House Bill 4327, backed by the pharmaceutical industry, calls on the Illinois Department of Insurance to conduct a study of the impact the 340B program has had on healthcare in Illinois, including its impact on the state’s Medicaid program and state employee group insurance program.

Rideshare unionization

Illinois is now the third state to allow rideshare drivers to bargain collectively. House Bill 5090, which took effect upon Pritzker's signature, regulates how rideshare drivers can form a union, elect union representatives and engage in union activities.

Drivers interested in forming a union will first have to obtain signatures from at least 10% of active drivers to establish interest and then 30% to become a certified union. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft will be charged 4-cents-per-ride to cover implementation costs and a grant program to support workers.

The law impacts more than 100,000 rideshare drivers. Illinois joins California and Massachusetts in allowing rideshare drivers to unionize.

Immigration detention centers

House Bill 5024 aims to prevent the federal government from operating new immigration detention centers within 1,500 feet of any home, school, daycare center, park, forest preserve, cemetery or place of worship.

The law is a response to the chaos that ensued in 2025 outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in suburban Broadview. The facility, located near homes and a church, became a focal point for clashes between masked federal agents and protesters during the height of Operation Midway Blitz.

The new restrictions would only apply to future facilities, not the existing Broadview facility or others already owned or leased by the federal government.

Plastic pellet pollution

House Bill 4418 instructs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan that would make Illinois the first Great Lakes state to classify plastic pellets as pollutants.

Plastic pellets are a byproduct of plastic production that frequently end up in Illinois waterways through spills and become a major source of microplastics.

“Clean water is one of Illinois’ most valuable resources, and protecting it means addressing pollution before it reaches our rivers and lakes,” said bill sponsor Rep. Joyce Mason, a Democrat from Gurnee.

Driver's license requirement axed

Under House Bill 4758, employers will no longer be able to require that a job applicant have a driver's license unless driving is one of the essential functions of the job.

And if a job requires a driver's license, the employer or employment agency must include a brief description in the job post explaining why.

The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Higher Education Bill of Rights

Students at public universities and colleges are now protected by an academic bill of rights that assures them, among other things, that their schools will not infringe on their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, assembly and the press.

The new law also calls on schools to provide an environment where students are protected from unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or retaliation, and that they can request reasonable accommodations for disabilities so they can participate equally in academic and campus activities.

Foreign language requirement

Students who enter high school in 2028 will not necessarily have to complete two years of foreign language as a condition of graduating.

That requirement was scheduled to go into effect under legislation passed in 2021. But a shortage of foreign language teachers in Illinois prompted lawmakers this year to amend that requirement by giving students another option.

Under Senate Bill 3070, students will have the option of completing two years of foreign language or two years of an approved career and technical education course.