Below is a summary of activities of this section from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. While past activity is no guarantee of future activity, it may give a idea of what to expect this year.
Section Stats
Newsletters
Issues: 4
CLE
Live Programs: 2
Discussions
Posts: 51
Legislation
Bills Reviewed: 121
Continuing Legal Education
Section members receive discounts on section-sponsored CLE programs. During the 2025–26 bar year, the Section sponsored the following programs:
- Co-Sponsor The Intersection of Guardianship and Mental Health Law (04/15/2026)
- Sponsor What’s New in Illinois Mental Health Law? (06/03/2026)
ISBA Central Discussions
ISBA Central communities allows section members to pose questions, answer questions, and share information with fellow section members. Members of the section get free access to the section’s community. Joining any section also grants you access to the Transactional and Litigation communities. Below are the total number of discussion posts during the 2025–26 bar year.
Mental Health Law
- Community members: 200
- Total discussion posts: 50
Transactional
- Community members: 24,715
- Total discussion posts: 386
Litigation
- Community members: 24,710
- Total discussion posts: 706
Legislation
The Section Council reviewed 121 bills that may affect their members’ practice area. Highlights of the most recent legislative session include:
- House Bill 5365 amends the Supported Decision-Making Agreement Act to enhance protections and clarify procedures for vulnerable adults. The bill also amends the Probate Act of 1975 to require inquiries into supported decision-making agreements as alternatives to guardianship. Provides that a diagnosis of mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disability, of itself, does not void the presumption of capacity. Provides that the execution of a supported decision-making agreement may not be used as evidence of capacity or incapacity in any civil or criminal proceeding, but the existence of such an agreement may be entered into evidence. Effective January 1, 2027.
- House Bill 4308 proposes changes to the Probate Act of 1975. The bill adds a provision stating that if a petition for guardianship is filed by a 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 guardian of the person or estate or both, provided the requirements of the Section are met. This requirement is waived only in counties where there is no sitting public guardian.
- House Bill 4509 provides that all persons admitted to a nursing home facility with a diagnosis of serious mental illness shall receive a follow-up visit by the Department of Human Services or its designee within 60 days after admission. Provides that, after admission, any resident with a diagnosis of serious mental illness who experiences a specified significant change in physical or mental condition shall be referred by the nursing facility for a resident review by the Department of Human Services or its designee within 72 hours after the significant change.