In the News

Daily Herald, March 28, 2007

SPRINGFIELD — The state board in charge of regulating hospital construction may get a reprieve just days before its term is set to expire.

A state House committee voted Tuesday to extend the life of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board through the end of May, but lawmakers will have to move fast to approve the extension. Currently, the board is set to dissolve April 1.

If the planning board were allowed to expire, the plug effectively would be pulled on all current construction applications.

Dissolving the board also would end state regulation of hospital construction, leaving medical companies free to build wherever local zoning rules permit. Completed medical facilities still would have to be licensed by the state before opening.

State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, originally wanted the board’s authority extended for five years, but Tuesday’s House committee vote changed her plan to just two months.

Garrett said the amendment is part of a larger review aimed at extending the life of the board for an additional year while lawmakers and industry experts determine what reforms are needed.

The plan now moves to the full House, where it must pass before being sent back to the Senate for approval of the change. From there, Gov. Rod Blagojevich must sign off. All this must occur before Sunday, when the board’s legal authority expires.

Numerous messages on this issue left over recent days with the governor’s office were not returned. However, Garrett said she doesn’t expect problems passing the extension.

“There’s a whole strategy here,” she said. “We’re going to extend the sunset for two months; then before we leave Springfield, we’re going to come up with legislation that defines the next step for the issue, which is setting up a task force.”

Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said he’s optimistic the plan will survive the political gauntlet it faces, even in the face of a tight deadline.

Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, has previously been in favor of maintaining a regulatory board but said efforts at reform must be made.

Supporters of extending the term of the board say the regulation of the industry would help prevent medical facilities from abandoning poorer areas where many people rely on government-funded programs for more affluent areas where many patients have private insurance.