CHICAGO (WLS) — Jasmine Jones says cystic fibrosis was slowly destroying her body.

Months after she had both lungs, her kidney and her liver replaced, she’s thankful for her donor and doctors for giving her a second chance at life.

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Jones, 28, has spent her entire life battling the genetic disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system with thick, sticky mucus.

Over time, the disease ravaged multiple organs.

First, her liver began to fail.

“I was retaining a lot of fluid. I was in pain, very fatigued, no energy,” Jones said.

And last year, she slipped into a coma for two days.

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Doctors at University of Chicago Medicine suggested replacing the liver with a donor organ, but one of Jones’ kidneys was shutting down. And her lungs were severely compromised.

“We as a team decided that it was the best option for her long-term survival was to replace all her organs in one surgery,” said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, with UChicago Medicine.

So in January, surgeons performed the first-known quadruple transplant in Illinois, replacing both of Jones’ lungs, her liver and a kidney with organs from one donor.

The procedure took place over two days.

“My donor’s organs fit perfectly. They thought they would have to shave something down or alter certain things, but everything just fit into place,” Jones said.

Jones goes to rehab three times a week, and her ultimate goal is to learn how to roller skate.

In the meantime, she says she’s grateful to the donor who made her recovery possible.

“Thank you for another chance at life and for giving me a new outlook on life,” Jones said.

Jones faces months of rehabilitation and lifelong anti-rejection medications. But she says she hopes her story will inspire others to register as organ donors.

Lawmakers make costly decisions without understanding the economic impact.

Illinois lawmakers should get economic impact studies before enacting major taxes and regulations and review costly policies they’ve already enacted.

The state faces nearly $21 billion in projected budget deficits in the next five years, with expenditures projected to grow nearly 20% and revenues only 11%.

Lawmakers can revisit policies that were enacted with limited analysis of their long-term cost. Illinois vastly underestimated spending on migrant health care. In 2023 alone, the state expected to spend $220 million, but the total came in nearly three times higher, at $644 million. Lawmakers eventually reversed part of this policy, but only after lengthy audits after the policy was enacted. A quicker reviewing of the policy that didn’t require audits could have helped.

State lawmakers also passed economically damaging business taxes for fiscal 2026 with little discussion or debate, prioritizing short-term increases in revenue while risking long-term economic growth in a state whose economy is already falling behind.

The bipartisan Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules is required to consider the financial impact of proposed rules on small businesses and local governments, but its authority is limited. Either expanding its role or creating a similar mechanism to include comprehensive economic impact reviews of major tax and policy changes and their long-term consequences would provide lawmakers more information before making decisions. Too often, policy changes are adopted with little scrutiny, often in the final hours of the legislative session.

Regulations are another issue. As the fourth-most regulated state in the U.S., with over 282,000 restrictions, many of them unnecessary and costly, Illinois should more closely review economically significant regulations before they take effect.

The state should look to the federal Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. That bill would mandate that the U.S. Congress explicitly approve any “major rules,” or those that would have a significant impact on the economy or business.

Illinois could adopt a similar approach, requiring legislative approval for regulations with at least $10 million in economic impact. This could ensure that major regulatory decisions receive both thorough analysis and democratic accountability.

A threshold of $10 million in annual economic impact would ensure that:

• Economic impacts are evaluated early in the rulemaking process.
• Lawmakers have ample time to review proposed rules.
• Costly or ideologically driven rules are prevented from taking effect by default.
• There is legislative responsibility for economically significant policy decisions.

Illinois finances will only deteriorate further if lawmakers focus on short-term policymaking rather than the future health of Illinois. For a more thorough roadmap on fiscal reforms, see our report Illinois Forward 2027.