Legislative Committee: County to Add Hospital Staffing, Tax Exemption Language at Silver Cross Request

Will County Legislative Committee | October 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board’s Legislative Committee agreed on Oct. 6, 2026, to add language to its 2027 State Legislative Agenda opposing mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and protecting not-for-profit hospitals’ tax exemption, following a September presentation by representatives of Silver Cross Hospital. The language had not been drafted when the committee voted to recommend the agenda.

Hospital Language Key Points:

Vice Chair Judy Ogalla raised the request, citing notes she took when two Silver Cross representatives appeared before the committee the previous month.

The items she listed were a health care workforce task force, avoiding mandated nurse staffing ratios, protecting not-for-profit hospitals from tax exemption challenges, and reducing insurance denials and delays.

Chair Denise Winfrey said she would obtain language from the Illinois Hospital Association and add it to the agenda’s health care section in red type as the only item still requiring review by the full County Board.

No separate vote was taken on the addition; it was folded into the committee’s recommendation of the state agenda.

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board’s Legislative Committee agreed on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, to put hospital staffing and tax exemption language into the county’s 2027 State Legislative Agenda, acting on a request made by Silver Cross Hospital representatives at the committee’s previous meeting.

Vice Chair Judy Ogalla raised the matter after the committee had already amended the state draft twice. She apologized for not circulating the request in advance and said she did not see the subject addressed anywhere in the agenda.

“Last month at our meeting we had two gentlemen from Silver Cross Hospital come, and they talked about the issue of mandating the nurse-to-patient ratio, because nurse-to-patient ratios don’t work,” Ogalla said. She said the hospital representatives wanted the county on record in opposition, called Silver Cross “our biggest hospital in our county,” and said they also sought protection for not-for-profit hospitals’ tax exemption. She listed four items in all: a health care workforce task force, avoiding mandated nurse staffing ratios, protecting not-for-profit hospitals from tax exemption challenges, and reducing denials and delays from insurance companies.

“What do you guys think about adding that to our agenda to support Silver Cross?” she asked.

Chair Denise Winfrey said she had no objection and that a parallel push is already underway at the state level through the Illinois Hospital Association, whose president she identified only as “AJ,” a former state senator. Winfrey said she had attended the association’s conference in Oak Brook the previous Thursday and Friday.

Winfrey said the association is pursuing legislation to ensure that independent hospitals such as Silver Cross that meet guidelines for community involvement and support are not assessed as a result, and said the association is also opposing staffing ratios.

“Hospitals need the flexibility to put nurses, hospital staff where they’re needed,” Winfrey said, describing a scenario in which a fixed ratio prevents a hospital from shifting staff when circumstances change.

Ogalla said the notes she had were her own from the September presentation rather than drafted language, and a member suggested using what Winfrey had from her meeting. Winfrey said she would obtain the language and add it to the health care section.

“That would be the only thing that would be in red then, because we haven’t looked at that specific language,” Winfrey said, adding that it would be the only portion requiring review by the county board at large. She said she would ask a Silver Cross representative, identified in the meeting only by the first name Michael, and the association president for the wording.

The committee did not vote separately on the addition. It was folded into the subsequent motion to recommend the state agenda as amended, which passed on a voice vote with Butler recorded in opposition. Winfrey told members the revised document would be circulated so they could review it before the full board meeting.

Because the committee’s action is a recommendation only, no position becomes county policy until the full County Board adopts the resolution authorizing the 2027 State Legislative Agenda.