September 7–13, 2026
A quiet week for local and state legislation; the action was federal, and most of it lands far from Naperville's doorstep.
A quiet week locally means the federal level dominates this report, and the honest news is that most of what moved in Washington this week does not touch your day-to-day life in Naperville. The four bills signed into law dealt with disaster tax rules, a Nevada land transfer, an EMS memorial extension in D.C., and a Paducah, Kentucky Army Reserve parcel. One of those is worth knowing about.
If you've been through a federally declared disaster.
Congress sent a disaster tax bill (HR 5366) to the President, and it is now law. If you suffered losses from a federally declared disaster between late 2019 and early 2027, you can deduct the full amount of your unreimbursed loss rather than having $500 per incident shaved off the top. Separately, if you received money from a nonprofit, a government agency, or another source to cover wildfire losses, living expenses, lost wages, or injury, and that fire was federally declared after 2014, those payments are now free of federal income tax. Illinois is not typically wildfire country, but DuPage County residents who lost property in any major federally declared disaster in that window should talk to a tax preparer about what this opens up.
Federal transparency, for what it's worth.
One other signed bill (HR 2069) is worth a sentence. The federal government has long used a category of contracts called "other transaction agreements" that were not required to be posted publicly. These are now law to appear on USAspending.gov, the federal spending database. If you ever track where federal money flows to Illinois agencies or local contractors, you'll see a fuller picture there going forward.
Several other federal bills signed this week dealt with matters specific to other states or to D.C. administrative housekeeping with no bearing on Naperville residents.
Coming up next week:
Farm and food security drill. A federal bill (HR 9394) cleared committee and is headed to a House floor vote, with no firm date set yet. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to run a large-scale exercise within four years, testing how federal, state, local, and private partners would respond to a biological attack on farms or the food supply. Illinois agriculture would be among the sectors that participate in planning.
CBP shelter-dog support program. HR 9327 also cleared committee and awaits a House floor vote. It directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them as support animals for officers dealing with grief and trauma. The program would run for three years and pull dogs from shelters nationwide, which could include Illinois facilities.
Government publishing access. HR 9342, which locks in free public access to federal documents through libraries and online, cleared committee and is awaiting a House floor vote. No date is set yet for the other items above, and this one shares that status.
The remaining federal items advancing through committee this week, including a bill dissolving a Congressional records advisory panel and a Nevada land transfer, deal with matters outside Naperville.
See what's up for a vote now · Find your representatives