Bill
HB 3898
HB 3898 would appropriate about $2.19 billion for Illinois DOC in FY2026 to fund operations, health care, education, reentry, parole, IT upgrades, and facility services.
Status and key dates
- Introduced in the 104th General Assembly by Rep. Robyn Gabel (bill text indicates introduction/first reading Feb. 25, 2025).
- Purpose: makes appropriations for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026.
- Total proposed appropriation: $2,185,548,900 (General Revenue Fund $2,071,048,900; Other State Funds $114,500,000).
- Legislative actions: Passed the originating chamber (House) on 2025-05-10; received by the other chamber and referred to committee; committee hearings and testimony took place in late April–May 2025, with some items left pending. Companion bill: SB 2123.
Purpose and intent
- Provide line-item funding to operate the Department of Corrections for FY2026, covering central office operations, facility operations, parole/re‑entry, education, statewide services, health care, IT upgrades, and various grants/reimbursements. The bill is an appropriations bill (budgetary) rather than a policy-change measure.
Major allocations and notable line items (selected)
- Overall totals: General Funds $2,071,048,900; Other State Funds $114,500,000; Total $2,185,548,900.
- General Office (central administration): $115,119,000 (includes $39.484M personal services; $33.5M electronic data processing; $12.5M tort claims).
- Statewide services & grants (General Revenue): $11,950,100 (includes sheriffs’ fees, county ASA salary reimbursements, and $11.5M for repairs/maintenance).
- DOC Reimbursement & Education Fund (Other State Funds): $114,400,000 broken down as:
- $5,000,000 — School district programs
- $5,000,000 — Federal program-related expenditures (e.g., beds, treatment)
- $59,400,000 — Miscellaneous programs (medical, food, construction)
- $45,000,000 — IT infrastructure upgrades (devices, repairs, capital)
- Statewide hospitalization services (General Revenue): $26,000,000.
- Program/division-specific appropriations (selected totals):
- Education Services: $35,848,500
- Parole: $68,618,800
- Re-entry Services: $46,975,600
- Field Services: $121,058,000
- Facility-level line items: the bill includes itemized appropriations for individual correctional centers (e.g., Big Muddy River Correctional Center shown in text), covering personal services, contractual services, commodities, equipment, and utilities.
Who is affected
- Department of Corrections operations and staff (salaries, benefits, contracts).
- Incarcerated individuals (funding for education, medical, food, and programming).
- Counties (reimbursement for sheriffs’ fees and certain county prosecutorial costs).
- Vendors and contractors (facility repairs, IT projects, medical services, construction).
- State budget and General Revenue Fund (major fiscal outlay for FY2026).
Procedural/timeline notes
- The appropriations are for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 (FY2026).
- The bill funds both ongoing operations and selected capital/IT upgrades and programmatic initiatives; some appropriations come from non‑General Revenue (DOC Reimbursement & Education Fund).
- As an appropriations measure, enactment would authorize spending; implementation depends on administrative allocation and standard state budget controls.
If enacted, HB 3898 would authorize roughly $2.19 billion in FY2026 to operate Illinois’ Department of Corrections and support related services, with significant investments called out for IT upgrades, medical/hospitalization services, reentry and education programs, and facility repairs.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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