County Fight Contested

Illinois Statewide — HB 5024 Federal Detention Location Ban

Statewide, IL FIPS 17000

Current status: HB 5024 passed the Illinois House April 8, 2026 (72-35-2) and awaits Senate consideration. The bill would ban new federal immigration detention facilities within 1,500 feet of homes, schools, daycare centers, parks, forest preserves, cemeteries, or places of worship. Gov. Pritzker is expected to sign if the Senate passes it. Federal preemption challenge considered likely by Republican opponents.

The Fight

Illinois is attempting to use land-use law to constrain where the federal government can site new immigration detention facilities. HB 5024, sponsored by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside), passed the House on April 8, 2026 on a largely partisan 72-35-2 roll call. The bill would prohibit new federal immigration detention centers from operating within 1,500 feet of any residential home, school, daycare center, park, forest preserve, cemetery, or place of worship.

Speaker Welch represents the Hillside/Broadview area — directly adjacent to the Broadview ICE Processing Center. The bill is a direct legislative response to the Broadview facility’s expansion and Operation Midway Blitz.

What the Bill Does

Bans new federal immigration detention facilities within 1,500 feet of protected community spaces
Does not affect currently operating facilities (the Broadview facility would not be closed by this law)
Creates a siting restriction that would make most suburban and urban Illinois locations off-limits for new detention construction
Applies to federal facilities operated under contract — targeting the GEO Group/CoreCivic model

Illinois Detention Policy Landscape

Illinois has built the most comprehensive state-level detention restriction framework in the Midwest:

Way Forward Act (2021): Bans local law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers; prohibits 287(g) jail agreements; limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Private detention ban: Illinois prohibits private immigration detention contracts (predating current expansions)
HB 5024: The geographic siting restriction — the next layer of protection

HB 5024 would layer a physical location barrier on top of the existing cooperation bans, making it harder to site facilities near population centers even if contracted directly with the federal government.

Political Context

Speaker Welch (D-Hillside): Directly represents the Broadview area; has personal political stake in constraining the facility in his district
Gov. JB Pritzker: Expected to sign if the bill clears the Senate
Republican opposition: GOP lawmakers have argued the bill would draw federal legal challenges; critics cite potential Commerce Clause or Supremacy Clause preemption
Federal preemption risk: The core legal vulnerability — courts have sometimes held that states cannot use local land-use law to effectively nullify federal detention authority

Sources

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.

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