Dupage Policy Journal

Terra Costa Howard introduced HB1198 in the Illinois House on Jan. 9, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Probate Act of 1975. Provides that if guardianship is necessary under law and the petition for guardianship is filed by a person, corporation, nonprofit organization, or other entity with no legally recognized relationship to the alleged person with a disability, the court shall appoint the State Guardian or county public guardian as the temporary and permanent guardian of the person or estate or both except in counties in which there is no sitting county public guardian."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Illinois Probate Act of 1975 to mandate that if guardianship is required and a petition is filed by an entity without a legally recognized relationship to the person with a disability, the court must appoint the State Guardian or county public guardian as the temporary and permanent guardian, except in counties lacking a public guardian. Temporary guardianship is prioritized for the immediate welfare of the person and is limited to 60 days unless extensions are granted under specific circumstances. The bill emphasizes the protection and self-reliance of the person with a disability, ensuring guardianship orders are tailored to individual mental, physical, and adaptive limitations. If needed, a court may waive notice requirements for temporary guardianship hearings for good cause.

Terra Costa Howard has proposed another four bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Howard graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993 with a BA and again in 1996 from DePaul University with a JD.

Terra Costa Howard is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 42nd House District. She replaced previous state representative Amy L. Grant in 2023.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB1198	01/09/2025	Amends the Probate Act of 1975. Provides that if guardianship is necessary under law and the petition for guardianship is filed by a person, corporation, nonprofit organization, or other entity with no legally recognized relationship to the alleged person with a disability, the court shall appoint the State Guardian or county public guardian as the temporary and permanent guardian of the person or estate or both except in counties in which there is no sitting county public guardian.
HB0042	01/09/2025	Amends the Illinois Local Library Act and the Public Library District Act of 1991. Authorizes costs paid by persons residing outside of the relevant library jurisdiction to be paid quarterly or biannually if permitted by board regulations. Effective immediately.
HB1087	01/09/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, after January 1, 2027, a school district may not procure disposable food service containers that are composed in whole or in part from polystyrene foam for use at any school and instead shall offer only compostable foodware or recyclable foodware for use at the school. Provides that, after January 1, 2028 or at the renewal of its next contract, whichever occurs later, no vendor contracted through a school district may provide a school with disposable food service containers that are composed in whole or in part from polystyrene foam at any site owned or leased by the school district and instead shall offer only compostable foodware or recyclable foodware for use at sites owned or leased by the school district.
HB1153	01/09/2025	Creates the Local Official Vacancy Posting Act. Provides that a unit of local government shall post every elected official vacancy on its website, if the full-time staff of the municipality maintain the website, and the county clerk shall also post the vacancy on the county clerk website. Provides that the unit of local government may not fill the vacancy until the posting has been on the municipality's website, or the county's website if the municipality does not have full-time staff maintaining a website, for at least 15 days. Limits home rule powers.
HB1168	01/09/2025	Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Provides that the definition of "day care center" does not include special activities programs that are conducted by civic, charitable, and governmental organizations on an organized basis (instead of special activities programs that are conducted on an organized and periodic basis). Adds programs offered by arboretums, nature centers, and botanic gardens to the special activities programs that are excluded from the definition of "day care center".