Illinois Rep. Walsh’s special districts dissolution bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Lawrence “Larry” Walsh, Jr. aims to establish a new process for dissolving special districts and transferring responsibilities to local governments following approval in both chambers, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 71 Democrats and 34 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 38 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while three Republicans voted against it.

Walsh introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 5, 2026 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB5166, was passed on May 21, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Creates the Dissolution of Special Districts Act. Establishes a method for the dissolution of special districts. Provides that a special district may dissolve upon the affirmative majority vote of its own governing body and the affirmative majority vote of a receiving unit of local government. Provides that, on or before the date of dissolution, all real and personal property, and any other assets, together with all personnel, contractual obligations, and liabilities of the dissolving special district shall be transferred to the receiving unit of local government. Provides that, on the date of dissolution, the dissolving special district is dissolved. Provides that, on and after the date of dissolution, all rights and duties of the dissolving special district may be exercised by the receiving unit of local government. Provides that, before the date of dissolution, the receiving unit of local government shall submit a service continuation plan confirming that the receiving unit of local government has the resources to continue providing the services provided by the dissolving special district. Effective immediately.”

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

In essence, this bill creates the Dissolution of Special Districts Act, establishing an additional method to dissolve Illinois special districts. It allows dissolution when a majority of the governing body of the special district and a majority of the governing body of a receiving unit of local government both vote to transfer all rights, duties and liabilities by a specified date of dissolution. By that date, all real and personal property, assets, personnel, contracts and debts of the dissolving district must be transferred, and the receiving unit assumes all authority to provide the former district’s services. The receiving unit must submit a service continuation plan showing it has resources to maintain those services. The bill takes effect immediately.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Chris Balkema (Republican-53rd District), Rep. Laura Faver Dias (Democrat-62nd District), and Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (Democrat-49th District), along with one other sponsor.

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.

Waslh, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2012 to represent the state’s 86th House District, replacing previous state representative Jack McGuire.

Lawmakers listed as “Not Voting” were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an “Excused Absence” were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.