Illinois Now Accepting Applications for Licensure
IDFPR announced on October 18 that they were once again accepting applications for licensure and all previously licensed individuals were automatically re-registered without fee as required under the new Act.
2022-11-01
ASLA and the Illinois Chapter are pleased to announce that after a long and winding multi-year initiative, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is now once again officially licensing landscape architects!
IDFPR has notified all landscape architects who were actively licensed prior to January 1, 2020, that they have been “grandfathered” in under the current statute and that their registration fee has been waived.
New individuals who seek a license in Illinois can find the application on IDFPR’s Landscape Architecture webpage. Should you have any questions please contact IDFPR at 1-800-560-6420.
Four-year Legislative & Regulatory Endeavor -
In 2019, while actively pursuing an upgrade to a Practice Act, the Illinois Chapter ran into roadblocks with other interested industries and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Due to the political stalemate and with the legislative clock looming, the Chapter switched its focus towards the reauthorization of the profession’s title act. Without reauthorization by the end of the year, the profession’s licensure law and regulations would sunset. However, within hours of a scheduled vote on final passage of the Title Act bill the FBI raided several member offices on issues related to bribery, which resulted in the legislative session ending early and without passage of the Title Act reauthorization.
At the start of 2020, as the Chapter continued its efforts to have the Title Act reinstated COVID arrived, which once again shut down the state legislative chambers. And upon returning to session later that year legislators exclusively focused on responding to the global pandemic and its impacts on their communities and constituents. However, despite these roadblocks Chapter advocacy efforts did not abate and on August 6, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Illinois Landscape Architecture Registration Act (SB 214). While this Act took effect immediately, the regulatory rulemaking process would need to be completed for the Title Act to be fully implemented.
Fast forward to 2022, and nearly a year later, IDFPR released their proposed rules to implement Public Act 102-0284 Landscape Architecture Registration Act. In coordination with the Illinois Chapter, ASLA National and the Chapter submitted comments to the proposed rules in order to modernize the language and align the regulations with the Uniform Licensure Standard for Landscape Architecture. Fortunately, IDFPR was receptive to the Chapter and ASLA National’s comments and worked to revise and update their language.
Finally, on September 13 the final proposed Rules for the Administration of the Landscape Architect Registration Act were reviewed and adopted by the Joint Committee of Administrative Rules (JCAR). The rules then became effective on September 26, 2022, with IDFPR announcing on October 18 that they were once again accepting applications for licensure and all previously licensed individuals were automatically re-registered without fee as required under the new Act.