Illinois

Pritzker pledges to expand access to mental health care in Illinois

Published

2 years ago

May 19, 2024

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Pritzker pledges to expand access to mental health care in Illinois

Service providers, state agency officials joined governor for Springfield panel

By DILPREET RAJU
Capitol News Illinois
draju@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield this week at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services.

With several dozen services providers from around the state in attendance, Pritzker and panelists floated ideas to improve access to mental health care for Illinoisans, like mandating a social worker be in every school and drafting a “Mental Health Bill of Rights” – a document that will affirm the state’s mental health system as one for people of all backgrounds.

Pritzker said it’s necessary to buck trends of the past, when discussions surrounding mental health were quickly swept under the rug, in private or public life – and received little government attention.

“If you could roll the time backward 10 years, very few people talked publicly about mental health challenges that they personally were having,” Pritzker said during the panel, which was attended by a Capitol News Illinois reporter. “We have to just think about the individual who has no alternative – they don’t have choices – and we have to give them opportunities to get help.”

The governor spoke about his personal experiences and recounted the struggles his mother – who he credits as spurring his political career – had with alcohol as he was growing up in the 1970s. Sue Pritzker died in 1982, leaving the future governor an orphan at 17 years old.

“She drank to self-medicate,” he said. “She was somebody who was an activist, a caregiver and she was a widow with three young children when my father died.”

Pritzker emphasized that his mother had the money to access care, given the family’s enormous wealth, but he said shame and guilt prevented her from seeking professional aid.

“Even with the resources, partly because of stigma, it’s hard to go seek help,” Pritzker said. “In some ways, my experience with that instilled in me a desire to try to address the challenges that are now referred to as behavioral health.”

He and Stratton suggested mental and physical health care should be considered with equal weight. Stratton, who chairs the recently formed Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force, also said mental health care needs to be accessible to everyone, regardless of race or income.

“It’s not okay if just some communities are healing and others aren’t,” she said. “If some communities are saying, ‘Now, it’s accessible,’ but others are left behind.”

As stigma continues to decrease for those seeking mental health care, existing practitioners can’t keep up with the rising need. More than half of respondents – 56 percent – to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 “Pulse” survey, said they had no openings for new patients.

Illinois officials have responded by easing barriers to enter the profession in recent years. The National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter earlier this year praised a 2021 law that did away with a previously mandated test for licensure that the organization said was biased.

Since the law took effect, the number of licensed social workers in Illinois has more than doubled in two years. As of early December, there were more than 10,000 LSWs in Illinois, though that figure does not include licensed clinical social workers or school social workers.

NASW-IL noted that 12 percent of those LSWs came from out of state. Pritzker, in 2022, signed legislation that made it easier for behavioral health workers licensed in other states to become licensed in Illinois and enabled in-state providers with lapsed licenses to easily get reinstated.

Read more: Pritzker signs bill to expand mental health workforce | Amid record overdoses and drug counselor shortage, workforce expansion program aims to fill gap

On Wednesday, Pritzker credited “greater investments” in mental health – such as being able to use American Rescue Plan Act dollars to expand services and creating the state’s Children’s Behavioral Transformation Initiative – to Illinois’ improving financial picture, though he added, “there’s a whole lot more to do.”

“You can’t do any of this stuff unless your fiscal health is such that you can make major investments,” he said. “And we have so much more to do in that regard.”

Read more: With recession fears subsiding, new state economic forecast expects ‘firm but steady growth’ | Pritzker launches children’s behavioral health initiative

Pritzker wondered aloud why the state isn’t putting more social workers in schools. Hopeful Futures Campaign, a childhood mental health advocacy group, reported Illinois only had one school social worker for nearly every 750 students in 2022 – a caseload nearly three times the Illinois State Board of Education’s recommended ratio.

“We’ve got to make strides with a social worker in every school,” Pritzker said. “I know we say we can’t afford it, but I don’t know why we aren’t making that a high priority.”

Child welfare expert Dana Weiner, chief of the state’s Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, said the state is crafting a new social work pilot program.

“We’re working on developing a pilot for in-home behavioral health aides for young people who have autism spectrum disorders and behavioral health needs,” she said.

No timetable was given on when such a pilot might be introduced.

Weiner announced the state is drafting a “Mental Health Bill of Rights” – also without a timeline – that will eventually “serve as a declaration of our aspirations for an improved mental health service system,” she said.

“Someday, when we get there, (it will) grant all Illinoisans the assurance that they can seek help without stigma in their community, in their language in their culture, and that they have access to timely and effective services and that they know where to go for help,” she said.

A day after the event, House Bill 5457, which would require agencies that license behavioral health workers to “allow reasonable accommodations for applicants for whom English is not their primary language and a test in their primary language test is not available,” passed the Senate and awaits Pritzker’s approval.

Hannah Meisel contributed.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

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Illinois

New Illinois bill aims to overhaul public defense system | The Chicago Report

Published

3 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

New Illinois bill aims to overhaul public defense system | The Chicago Report

A major overhaul to the Illinois justice system could be officially underway.
House Bill 3363 lays the foundation for a brand new agency, the state public defender office.
The goal is to bring more consistent legal representation for Illinois residents who can’t afford an attorney.
Joining us now to discuss the rolled-out timeline is the bill’s sponsor, State representative Dave Vella, who actually started his legal career as a public defender, before heading to Springfield.

Posted June 26, 2026 7:06pm CDT

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Illinois

Illinois Democrats face backlash after blaming Trump in Chicago cross-burning case | Fox News Video

Published

13 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Democrats face backlash after blaming Trump in Chicago cross-burning case | Fox News Video

‘Outnumbered’ reacts to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blaming President Donald Trump for a cross-burning incident in Grant Park.

Illinois Democratic leaders Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are slammed for weaponizing a Chicago cross burning incident by blaming former President Trump. Despite the suspect, Murlin Lue, admitting his motive was to protest Trump, not racism, Pritzker and Johnson doubled down. Critics, including Illinois GOP State Rep. Chris Miller, accuse them of playing politics and fostering division rather than seeking truth.

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Illinois

Illinois Lt. Gov. candidates focus on affordability in pitch to Rockford voters

Published

24 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Lt. Gov. candidates focus on affordability in pitch to Rockford voters

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – November ballots will feature a repeat of top billing in the race for governor. Illinoisans can once again choose between Governor JB Pritzker or Darren Bailey to lead the Land of Lincoln.

But beside their spots, new names will appear for voters.

The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor picked new running mates for their rematch. With Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton running for U.S. Senate, Pritzker picked Christian Mitchell to join his ticket. On the Republican side, Aaron Del Mar joins Bailey, who previously ran with Stephanie Trussell in 2022.

Mitchell and Del Mar spoke Thursday with WIFR on what inspires them to run, their campaign priorities and ideas to improve the Rockford region.

Backgrounds

Starting with the Democratic ticket, Mitchell joins the race as a former state representative from Chicago as well as a deputy governor with the Pritzker administration.

“Before anything else, I’m Debbie’s son, and I’m James’s grandson,” Mitchell introduced. “They’re the ones who really instilled in me the value of hard work and made sure that I was going to have a very bright future.”

Mitchell sees the role of lieutenant governor as a partner to the state’s executive.

“I’m really lucky to be running with somebody who I respect, and who I think is the best governor in the nation… Governor JB Pritzker,” he said.. “My first thing is going to be supporting his agenda, which right now is all about lowering costs and raising wages.”

On the Republican side, Del Mar hails from suburban Chicago and considers his first priority to be raising his family.

“I wanted nothing to do with politics, did not want to be involved — wanted just to raise my kids and work my job,“ said Del Mar. He described his start in public service as something he ”kind of got pulled into.”

The Republican worked his way from a city council member in Palatine, at 29-years-old, to co-chair of the Illinois GOP. Although he says he “wanted nothing to do with being on” Bailey’s campaign, Del Mar sees strength in unity — offering a Chicago area perspective alongside Bailey’s southern Illinois roots.

“How about everybody in the state of Illinois, regardless of where you come from, has a seat at the table. If you’re from a southeast farming community, or you’re from the city of Chicago, where I grew up, everybody has a stake in the game.”

Priorities

Mitchell points to economic development as his focus for the gubernatorial campaign.

“I see vacancies on State Street in Chicago. I see vacancies on Main Street in Belleville and Alton and in Carbondale,” he recounted. “I want to make sure that we’ve got the kind of amenities and economic development, that kind of affordability, that allow us to make sure that folks want to stay in the towns that they’re born in if they want to.”

The Democratic candidate also eyes long-term planning for the state, including an “Illinois 2050 Plan.”

“How do we have the kind of educational undergirding that means that no matter where you’re from, you have a chance to have one of those jobs, whether it’s in new agriculture technology and new farming techniques or biotech, quantum.”

When asked how to achieve these priorities, Mitchell turned to investing in public education, retaining residents with better wages and improving health care.

“Making sure that we are able to protect our health care system, so that folks aren’t going broke when they get sick, that’s another big way that we can make an impact.”

Del Mar outlined a cost-of-living focus as central to his campaign.

“You wanna succeed, you do the basics really well, and the basics are affordability,” he contended.

The Republican repeatedly highlighted the state’s property taxes — reportedly the highest in the nation — as an issue to tackle. He suggested redirecting Illinois’s budget as one measure to ease the burden on homeowners.

“Number one is fully funding the state’s portion of local taxes, because that will offer people property tax relief.” Del Mar clarified this wouldn’t mean redirecting funds for public education.

“We’re looking at how we fund schools, how we make sure to empower teachers to have the best educational outcomes that we can have here in Illinois, regardless of what your zip code is, regardless of what your parents do for a living or how much money they make,” added Del Mar.

Reflecting on Rockford

Each candidate provided their vision for boosting the Rockford region.

For Mitchell, improvements continue with infrastructure funding, building on the state’s roughly $500 million investment in the area.

“The things that we have already worked on, through the capital plan that I helped lead as deputy governor, that the governor signed and is implementing, are already having benefits that the people of Rockford can see.”

The Democrat also pointed to the Chicago Rockford International Airport as an opportunity.

“Investing in that regional airport where we’ve already helped with a matching grant to get additional funds, that helps build out the economy,” said Mitchell. “There’s so much that’s happening there that it is really good for the economy and bringing more people back to Rockford.”

Del Mar shared his local priority as supporting unionization in the area.

“Union families deserve to be able to have a livable wage, and that’s something that’s important to Darren and I,” said Del Mar. He mentioned pensions were another item that a Republican executive wouldn’t touch for the public and private sector unions.

“I know that area up there has strong union backbone,” described Del Mar. “We want to make sure they know that they’re not going to have a bigger supporter in the governor’s mansion than Darren and I.”