HB 5071 Illinois House · 104th Regular Session

TOLL HWY AUTH-BILINGUAL PAY

Summary
Amends the Toll Highway Act. Provides that the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has the power to establish a special pay supplement for those positions of employment that require that a person employed in that position speak or write a language other than English. Provides that such paid positions may be eligible for a bilingual pay supplement to attract bilingual individuals, to encourage present employees to become proficient in languages other than English, or to retain qualified bilingual employees. Provides that a bilingual pay supplement shall be processed within 30 calendar days after the employee presents to the Authority a certification from either the designated testing program process selected by the Authority or a State community college confirming that language skill proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking has been satisfied by the employee.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Apr 10, 2026 Last action Apr 16, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 9, 2026
MINOR
The bill was amended to explicitly include American Sign Language (ASL) alongside spoken and written languages for bilingual pay supplements. Additionally, a new requirement was added mandating that the Authority submit an annual report to the General Assembly and Governor regarding the status of these supplements and unfilled positions.
Scope change
The scope of eligible languages was expanded to include American Sign Language, and the bill now includes a new reporting requirement for the Authority.
ELIGIBILITY

Added American Sign Language to the list of languages eligible for bilingual pay supplements, ensuring Deaf employees can qualify for these benefits.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for the Authority to submit an annual report to the General Assembly and Governor detailing processed supplements and unfilled bilingual positions.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the text layout and line breaks throughout the document.

Floor votes · House Apr 9, 2026

How they voted

6429
Passed · 23 other
Total votes 116
Apr 9, 2026
D Democratic76
63 Yea 13
82% Yea
R Republican40
1 Yea 29 Nay 10
72% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
34
Key actions
5
Committee
8
Amendments
5
Apr 16, 2026
Committee
Referred to Assignments
upper
Apr 10, 2026
Introduced
Arrive in Senate
upper
Apr 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 067-029-000
lower
Apr 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Adopted
lower
Apr 7, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be Adopted Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges; 011-006-000
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Introduced
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred to Rules Committee
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Introduced
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Dagmara Avelar
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Amended
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Tabled
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Do Pass / Short Debate Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges; 013-005-000
lower
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Committee
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Introduced
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Dagmara Avelar
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Committee
Assigned to Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules Committee
lower
2 primary · 8 co-sponsors

Sponsors