20 ILCS 5/5-565

(20 ILCS 5/5-565) (was 20 ILCS 5/6.06)

Sec. 5-565. In the Department of Public Health.

(a) The General Assembly declares it to be the public policy of this State that all residents of Illinois are entitled to lead healthy lives. Governmental public health has a specific responsibility to ensure that a public health system is in place to allow the public health mission to be achieved. The public health system is the collection of public, private, and voluntary entities as well as individuals and informal associations that contribute to the public's health within the State. To develop a public health system requires certain core functions to be performed by government. The State Board of Health is to assume the leadership role in advising the Director in meeting the following functions:

(1) Needs assessment.

(2) Statewide health objectives.

(3) Policy development.

(4) Assurance of access to necessary services.

There shall be a State Board of Health composed of 20 persons, all of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate for those appointed by the Governor on and after June 30, 1998, and one of whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or over. Five members shall be physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, one representing a medical school faculty, one who is board certified in preventive medicine, and one who is engaged in private practice. One member shall be a chiropractic physician. One member shall be a dentist; one an environmental health practitioner; one a local public health administrator; one a local board of health member; one a registered nurse; one a physical therapist; one an optometrist; one a veterinarian; one a public health academician; one a health care industry representative; one a representative of the business community; one a representative of the non-profit public interest community; and 2 shall be citizens at large.

The terms of Board of Health members shall be 3 years, except that members shall continue to serve on the Board of Health until a replacement is appointed. Upon the effective date of Public Act 93-975 (January 1, 2005), in the appointment of the Board of Health members appointed to vacancies or positions with terms expiring on or before December 31, 2004, the Governor shall appoint up to 6 members to serve for terms of 3 years; up to 6 members to serve for terms of 2 years; and up to 5 members to serve for a term of one year, so that the term of no more than 6 members expire in the same year. All members shall be legal residents of the State of Illinois. The duties of the Board shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) To advise the Department of ways to encourage public understanding and support of the Department's programs.

(2) To evaluate all boards, councils, committees, authorities, and bodies advisory to, or an adjunct of, the Department of Public Health or its Director for the purpose of recommending to the Director one or more of the following:

(i) The elimination of bodies whose activities are not consistent with goals and objectives of the Department.

(ii) The consolidation of bodies whose activities encompass compatible programmatic subjects.

(iii) The restructuring of the relationship between the various bodies and their integration within the organizational structure of the Department.

(iv) The establishment of new bodies deemed essential to the functioning of the Department.

(3) To serve as an advisory group to the Director for public health emergencies and control of health hazards.

(4) To advise the Director regarding public health policy, and to make health policy recommendations regarding priorities to the Governor through the Director.

(5) To present public health issues to the Director and to make recommendations for the resolution of those issues.

(6) To recommend studies to delineate public health problems.

(7) To make recommendations to the Governor through the Director regarding the coordination of State public health activities with other State and local public health agencies and organizations.

(8) To report on or before February 1 of each year on the health of the residents of Illinois to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the public.

(9) To review the final draft of all proposed administrative rules, other than emergency or peremptory rules and those rules that another advisory body must approve or review within a statutorily defined time period, of the Department after September 19, 1991 (the effective date of Public Act 87-633). The Board shall review the proposed rules within 90 days of submission by the Department. The Department shall take into consideration any comments and recommendations of the Board regarding the proposed rules prior to submission to the Secretary of State for initial publication. If the Department disagrees with the recommendations of the Board, it shall submit a written response outlining the reasons for not accepting the recommendations.

In the case of proposed administrative rules or amendments to administrative rules regarding immunization of children against preventable communicable diseases designated by the Director under the Communicable Disease Prevention Act, after the Immunization Advisory Committee has made its recommendations, the Board shall conduct 3 public hearings, geographically distributed throughout the State. At the conclusion of the hearings, the State Board of Health shall issue a report, including its recommendations, to the Director. The Director shall take into consideration any comments or recommendations made by the Board based on these hearings.

(10) To deliver to the Governor for presentation to the General Assembly a State Health Assessment (SHA) and a State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The first 5 such plans shall be delivered to the Governor on January 1, 2006, January 1, 2009, January 1, 2016, January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, and then every 5 years thereafter.

The State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan shall assess and recommend priorities and strategies to improve the public health system and the health status of Illinois residents, reduce health disparities and inequities, and promote health equity. The State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan development and implementation shall conform to national Public Health Accreditation Board Standards. The State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan development and implementation process shall be carried out with the administrative and operational support of the Department of Public Health.

The State Health Assessment shall include comprehensive, broad-based data and information from a variety of sources on health status and the public health system including:

(i) quantitative data, if it is available, on the demographics and health status of the population, including data over time on health by gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic factors, geographic region, disability status, and other indicators of disparity;

(ii) quantitative data on social and structural issues affecting health (social and structural determinants of health), including, but not limited to, housing, transportation, educational attainment, employment, and income inequality;

(iii) priorities and strategies developed at the community level through the Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN) and other local and regional community health needs assessments;

(iv) qualitative data representing the population's input on health concerns and well-being, including the perceptions of people experiencing disparities and health inequities;

(v) information on health disparities and health inequities; and

(vi) information on public health system strengths and areas for improvement.

The State Health Improvement Plan shall focus on prevention, social determinants of health, and promoting health equity as key strategies for long-term health improvement in Illinois.

The State Health Improvement Plan shall identify priority State health issues and social issues affecting health, and shall examine and make recommendations on the contributions and strategies of the public and private sectors for improving health status and the public health system in the State. In addition to recommendations on health status improvement priorities and strategies for the population of the State as a whole, the State Health Improvement Plan shall make recommendations, provided that data exists to support such recommendations, regarding priorities and strategies for reducing and eliminating health disparities and health inequities in Illinois; including racial, ethnic, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, disability, socio-economic, and geographic disparities. The State Health Improvement Plan shall make recommendations regarding social determinants of health, such as housing, transportation, educational attainment, employment, and income inequality.

The development and implementation of the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan shall be a collaborative public-private cross-agency effort overseen by the SHA and SHIP Partnership. The Director of Public Health shall consult with the Governor to ensure participation by the head of State agencies with public health responsibilities (or their designees) in the SHA and SHIP Partnership, including, but not limited to, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department on Aging, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Chair of the State Board of Health to also serve on the Partnership. A member of the Governor's staff shall participate in the Partnership and serve as a liaison to the Governor's office.

The Director of Public Health shall appoint a minimum of 15 other members of the SHA and SHIP Partnership representing a range of public, private, and voluntary sector stakeholders and participants in the public health system. For the first SHA and SHIP Partnership after April 27, 2021 (the effective date of Public Act 102-4), one-half of the members shall be appointed for a 3-year term, and one-half of the members shall be appointed for a 5-year term. Subsequently, members shall be appointed to 5-year terms. Should any member not be able to fulfill his or her term, the Director may appoint a replacement to complete that term. The Director, in consultation with the SHA and SHIP Partnership, may engage additional individuals and organizations to serve on subcommittees and ad hoc efforts to conduct the State Health Assessment and develop and implement the State Health Improvement Plan. Members of the SHA and SHIP Partnership shall receive no compensation for serving as members, but may be reimbursed for their necessary expenses if departmental resources allow.

The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall include representatives of local health departments and individuals with expertise who represent an array of organizations and constituencies engaged in public health improvement and prevention, such as non-profit public interest groups, groups serving populations that experience health disparities and health inequities, groups addressing social determinants of health, health issue groups, faith community groups, health care providers, businesses and employers, academic institutions, and community-based organizations.

The Director shall endeavor to make the membership of the Partnership diverse and inclusive of the racial, ethnic, gender, socio-economic, and geographic diversity of the State. The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall be chaired by the Director of Public Health or his or her designee.

The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall develop and implement a community engagement process that facilitates input into the development of the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan. This engagement process shall ensure that individuals with lived experience in the issues addressed in the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan are meaningfully engaged in the development and implementation of the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan.

The State Board of Health shall hold at least 3 public hearings addressing a draft of the State Health Improvement Plan in representative geographic areas of the State.

Upon the delivery of each State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan, the SHA and SHIP Partnership shall coordinate the efforts and engagement of the public, private, and voluntary sector stakeholders and participants in the public health system to implement each SHIP. The Partnership shall serve as a forum for collaborative action; coordinate existing and new initiatives; develop detailed implementation steps, with mechanisms for action; implement specific projects; identify public and private funding sources at the local, State and federal level; promote public awareness of the SHIP; and advocate for the implementation of the SHIP. The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall implement strategies to ensure that individuals and communities affected by health disparities and health inequities are engaged in the process throughout the 5-year cycle. The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall regularly evaluate and update the State Health Assessment and track implementation of the State Health Improvement Plan with revisions as necessary. The SHA and SHIP Partnership shall not have the authority to direct any public or private entity to take specific action to implement the SHIP.

The State Board of Health shall submit a report by January 31 of each year on the status of State Health Improvement Plan implementation and community engagement activities to the Governor, General Assembly, and public. In the fifth year, the report may be consolidated into the new State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan.

(11) Upon the request of the Governor, to recommend to the Governor candidates for Director of Public Health when vacancies occur in the position.

(12) To adopt bylaws for the conduct of its own business, including the authority to establish ad hoc committees to address specific public health programs requiring resolution.

(13) (Blank).

Upon appointment, the Board shall elect a chairperson from among its members.

Members of the Board shall receive compensation for their services at the rate of $150 per day, not to exceed $10,000 per year, as designated by the Director for each day required for transacting the business of the Board and shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The Board shall meet from time to time at the call of the Department, at the call of the chairperson, or upon the request of 3 of its members, but shall not meet less than 4 times per year.

(b) (Blank).

(c) An Advisory Board on Necropsy Service to Coroners shall counsel and advise with the Director on the administration of the Autopsy Act. The Advisory Board shall consist of 11 members, including a senior citizen age 60 or over, appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be designated as chairman by a majority of the members of the Board. In the appointment of the first Board the Governor shall appoint 3 members to serve for terms of one year, 3 for terms of 2 years, and 3 for terms of 3 years. The members first appointed under Public Act 83-1538 shall serve for a term of 3 years. All members appointed thereafter shall be appointed for terms of 3 years, except that when an appointment is made to fill a vacancy, the appointment shall be for the remaining term of the position vacant. The members of the Board shall be citizens of the State of Illinois. In the appointment of members of the Advisory Board, the Governor shall appoint 3 members who shall be persons licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of Illinois, at least 2 of whom shall have received post-graduate training in the field of pathology; 3 members who are duly elected coroners in this State; and 5 members who shall have interest and abilities in the field of forensic medicine but who shall be neither persons licensed to practice any branch of medicine in this State nor coroners. In the appointment of medical and coroner members of the Board, the Governor shall invite nominations from recognized medical and coroners organizations in this State respectively. Board members, while serving on business of the Board, shall receive actual necessary travel and subsistence expenses while so serving away from their places of residence.

(Source: P.A. 102-4, eff. 4-27-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-674, eff. 11-30-21; 102-1109, eff. 12-21-22.)