Will County committee debates 2026 legislative agenda language on equity, housing and workforce items

The Will County Legislative Committee spent an extended portion of its meeting reviewing proposed text for its 2026 state and federal legislative agendas, and several items prompted sustained debate and informal votes.

Racial equity language: Committee Chair Destiny Ortiz defended keeping a proposed racial-equity impact statement in the draft federal agenda, saying it was intended to ensure federal funds help close historic gaps. "I the reason why I put this in here is because I believe that this insertion ensures that federal funding address addresses historic inequalities," Ortiz said. Other members disagreed; Member Julie Berkowitz said she preferred the term "equality" as more inclusive. A motion to change the word "equity" to "equality" was made and then voted down.

Affordable-housing wording: Committee members agreed to remove a phrase that had read "creation of policies" from a draft insertion supporting the construction of new affordable units. After discussion the committee voted to strike that clause and to keep language supporting construction of new units and reducing barriers to multifamily and non-congregate shelter options.

Workforce and economic-development redlines: A redlined paragraph that had suggested expanded OSHA enforcement and other employment-policy items drew questions. Members voted to remove the expanded OSHA enforcement language from the draft. The committee also left in language supporting increased funding for minority-business development and the phrase "promote equitable access to capital" after discussion and a show of hands.

Procedural note: Most adjustments were handled as informal votes or red-line edits while the committee workshopped the draft; the chair said the committee will continue to pare the agenda before it goes to the full county board and that departments would be asked for additional priority submissions.

What comes next: Staff will reissue the updated draft with the committee's edits and schedule a special meeting in September to finish the federal- and state-agenda reviews. The committee asked staff to circulate additions from departments that arrived after the agenda deadline and to provide the county's legislative agenda document for final review before it advances to the full board.