Volume 9, Issue 24│June 20, 2025 | | | IOA member Mary Lou French, OD author of Naturally, A Love Story attended a book club author event. Congratulations Dr. French! | | IOA member & past president Sam Forzley, OD is pictured with Senate Minority Leader John Curran. | | |
MEMBER BENEFIT: Mandated School Eye Exam
Looking for information on Mandated School Eye Exams? The IOA offers valuable resources to help you stay informed. All children enrolling in kindergarten in a public, private, or parochial school and any student enrolling for the first time in a public, private, or parochial school are required to have an eye examination.
Click the box below to learn more.
| | The Eyes on Tomorrow Fund, previously known as the Legislative Equity Fund, is a dedicated resource created by and for optometrists to support the Illinois Optometric Association’s (IOA) state-level advocacy efforts. This fund directly empowers optometry’s fight for scope expansion, the regulation of Vision Benefits Managers (VBMs), and other legislative battles crucial to protecting the profession and ensuring patient care. Unlike political action committees (PACs), this fund is not used to support candidates but instead provides critical resources for advancing optometry in Illinois. | | |
The PAC (Political Action Committee) is a group organized to promote its members' views on selected issues, usually through raising money that is contributed to the campaign funds of candidates who support the group's position to keep our friends in office. Now more than ever, we need strong, principled leaders who will fight for equal rights, and access to essential services —Will you pitch in today to help us protect our profession and the patients we serve?
Contributions to the IOA PAC can be made as a One-Time Donation or as Recurring Monthly Donation and deducted automatically from donor's bank account or charged to their credit card. Selecting to contribute a set amount on a monthly basis is a painless and effortless way to contribute to and support the IOA PAC. Contributions to the IOA PAC fund are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.
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We want to hear from YOU!
Do you have a business question or a dilemma we can answer for you? Others may have the same inquiry. Ask away! We will answer your question in an upcoming issue.
(Don't worry, we won't include your name.)
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Eye care practitioners should report all violations of the FCLCA, including instances in which contact lens sellers fail to comply with the prescription verification provisions of the law.
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Optometry's Meeting: Live Updates
Check out the AOA’s live news updates
Visit aoa.org/news during Optometry’s Meeting to see a live-running news blog of all the industry news and updates originating from the annual AOA and AOSA meeting. Use the hashtag #OptometrysMeeting to join the conversation on social media or engage in real-time with the event social wall.
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As Pritzker Signs Illinois Budget, Here's What's In, What's Out and Other Notes
NBC Chicago | By Staff
June 16, 2025
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a series of budget bills on Monday, allowing tax changes and several other policies to take effect on July 1.
The six bills were signed during a press availability on Monday, with the governor touting his administration’s seventh consecutive balanced budget.
Here’s a breakdown of what will take effect and what will change as part of the new budget.
What Pritzker signed on Monday
Rather than being contained in one omnibus bill, Pritzker signed six different pieces of legislation to put the Fiscal Year 2026 budget into effect.
The budget itself was contained in SB 2510, while its implementation was codified in HB 1075. New bonds were authorized in HB 3374, while revenue estimates and collection policies were included in HB 2755.
Two additional spending bills, SB 2437 and HB 2771, were also signed by the governor.
Spending notes on the budget
Pritzker used reduced appropriations in one of the budget bills as a corrective measure, saying that the amounts had been duplicated. That move reduced the amount of spending in the final budget agreement by just over $161 million.
The series of bills also called for a deposit of $161 million in the state’s “rainy day” fund, which Pritzker says will contain nearly $2.5 billion by the end of the next fiscal year.
The budget bill includes another increase in funding for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, raising its budget to $2.5 billion, according to the governor’s office.
Another $748 million was earmarked for funding for early childhood programs in the state, along with $200 million for childcare providers in the state.
In all, the state forecasted approximately $55.3 billion in revenues and expenditures of $55.08 billion, with a forecasted surplus of $217 million.
New tax rates included in the budget deal:
Several new tax rates were set for a variety of items as Illinois aims to increase revenue to go along with increases in appropriations in the new budget bill.
-Beginning July 1, Illinois officials will aim to raise approximately $36 million in revenues by placing a per-wager tax on sports betting in the state.
The state will impose a $0.25-per-wager rate for the first 20 million wagers placed with licensed sports books in the state, and the tax rate will increase to $0.50 per wager after that.
In response, major sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel have implemented surcharges on bets placed within the state of Illinois, according to iGamingBusiness.
-Individuals who use services like AirBNB and Vrbo for vacation rentals will now have to pay the state’s Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax.
According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state taxes hotel rooms at a rate of 6% of 94% of gross receipts. In the city of Chicago, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which helps to operate Rate Field, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates McCormick Place, also collect taxes on hotels. The city itself also assesses a 1% tax on hotel rooms.
-Tobacco products will now be taxed at a rate of 45% of their wholesale price, increasing from 36%, according to officials.
Items left out:
-The Chicago Bears’ quest for funding for a new stadium was once again left out of budget talks despite the team wanting to get shovels into the ground in suburban Arlington Heights in the near future.
The team has said it will kick in construction costs for the stadium, aided by a grant from the NFL, but has requested state funding for new debt and upgrades to infrastructure around the new stadium, focusing on building up roads and upgrading a nearby Metra station to help get fans in and out of the suburban community, according to Forbes.
-A bill aiming to address a looming fiscal cliff for public transit agencies in the Chicago area passed one chamber of the General Assembly, but it ended up failing to pass the House, meaning that lawmakers would have to address it in a veto session later this year.
The bill would have raised funding for transit agencies via a series of tax changes, but would have also consolidated the leadership of CTA, Metra and Pace, a starting point in negotiations for many lawmakers in Springfield.
Now, if the bill is going to pass, it will require a three-fifths vote rather than a simple majority, and some officials have warned that layoff notices and service cuts could be looming soon as agencies finalize their budgets for Fiscal Year 2026.
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Illinois Lawmakers Pass $55.2B Budget with New Taxes, Immigrant Health Cuts, No Transit Funding
ABC 7 Chicago | By Ryan Voyles
June 1, 2025
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Giving almost no time for public review, Illinois Democrats pushed through a $55.2 billion budget for next fiscal year late Saturday, bolstering coffers with new taxes on sports bets, nicotine products and businesses.
The $55.2 billion spending plan is supported by $55.3 billion of revenue, including just over $1 billion in new taxes and revenue changes.
It is a budget that is technically balanced, but it may be more significant for what is not in it than what is. Namely, an agreement on how to pay for the more than $770 million dollar shortfall the Regional Transit Authority is facing by year's end.
The four bills making up the budget and capital spending plan, were part of a flurry of thousands of pages of legislation that went from introduction to passage in the final 48 hours of the legislative session.
The budget marked a roughly 3.9% spending increase from the current year, while Republicans criticized it for containing few cuts. It raises about $500 million more in new revenue than what Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in February to make up for declining base revenues.
The minority party also aired frustration with supermajority Democrats for providing next to no time for public review of the massive spending plan and other major bills.
"We're rushing this process like we always do. 'Let's hide this stuff. Let's hide it so that the public doesn't see it until it's too late,'" Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, said.
Democrats said it was the best budget they could manage in a difficult year. To address potential uncertainties stemming from federal policy changes, they gave the governor authority over a new $100 million "emergency" fund. And they frequently lobbed criticisms at President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.
"I am very pleased to be able to present a balanced budget crafted to be fiscally and socially responsible, because we see the decisions made in Washington right now are neither," House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston said. "Erratic leadership in Washington has affected our economic outlook, our revenue projections, and even threatened federal funding for our most crucial services."
The GOP also took issue with the tax increases, although the measure did not raise or create new sales, income or service taxes.
Instead, the measures expand state taxes on foreign and out-of-state income for businesses, raise tax rates on tobacco, vapes and sports gambling, and sweep fund balances from several lesser-known and utilized state funds.
Immigrant health cuts
A controversial program that provides health insurance to more than 30,000 noncitizens between ages 42 and 64 will be cut in FY26. The program's elimination saves the state $330 million, but a $110 million program for seniors will remain in place.
Together, the two programs have cost the state at least $1.6 billion, according to an audit released in February, far exceeding budgeted costs for the program.
"We had to make some tough decisions here. That program grew at greater rates, financially, than we thought it would, and we had to make some hard decisions," Gabel said.
Federally Qualified Health Centers are set to receive $40 million in the budget. The centers provide health services to low-income and uninsured people. Democrats touted that increase to provide care for immigrants who would have qualified for the health care program.
Illinois still risks losing some Medicaid funding under a proposal in Congress that threatens to slash reimbursements for states that provide health insurance to people illegally in the United States. But Gabel noted it's possible those reductions won't take place until 2027.
The budget also increases funding for safety-net hospitals with federal Medicaid funding cuts possible.
"We would not have suffered this problem had we not had the Trump slump affecting us," Pritzker said. "There are $500 million of reduced revenues to the state of Illinois as a result of what Donald Trump has done."
Education spending
The state's evidence-based funding model for K-12 schools calls for $350 million in additional funding each year, with a portion of that going to a property tax relief fund and the rest directly to schools. The proposed budget fully funds the K-12 education portion at $307 million but does not add $43 million in property tax relief funds, according to Democratic leaders.
Funding for the Illinois Community College Board would also decrease by $24 million, mostly because lawmakers reduced spending on a workforce development grant that Democrat leaders said was not being fully utilized.
Funding for state universities would only increase by 1%. Pritzker proposed a 3% increase for higher education even as most other areas of his budget would've increased by 1%. Senate Democrats' budget leader Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said the budget allows for an additional 2% increase in FY26 if the federal government eliminates substantial funding.
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Ugaste Says He's Electable
Capitol Fax | By Isabel Miller
June 18, 2025
Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) says he’s seriously weighing a run for governor, but he hasn’t made a final decision.
“I'm taking a serious look at it. [We] need to make certain we have an electable candidate, a viable candidate on the ticket. I believe I could win a primary,” Rep. Ugaste said. “I've shown I'm electable in the suburbs and it's going to take a broad coalition to win for our side.“
Gov. JB Pritzker carried Ugaste’s district by one point in 2022, and Joe Biden won it by a point in 2020. But Ugaste has continued to outperform the top of the ticket, defeating Democrat Linda Robertson by 11 points in 2024 (when President Donald Trump won it by a point), improving on his 8-point margin from two years earlier.
Rep. Ugaste said Gov. JB Pritzker’s tenure as governor has made a “train wreck” of the state.
“Nothing has been done on property taxes, which [Pritzker] admitted was a big issue back in 2019 and there was a task force that came out,” Ugaste said. “Nothing has been done on that.”
One top Democratic campaign insider questioned Ugaste’s rhetoric on property taxes.
“His only plan is unspecified cuts, which will lead to higher property taxes,” the person said.
Rep. Ugaste also doubted the electability of DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who announced his intention to run in February.
“Good sheriff, good person,” Rep. Ugaste said of Mendrick. “But I don't know that he can win the state.”
Other Republicans who’ve signaled interest include Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) and Cook County GOP Chair Aaron Del Mar. Ted Dabrowski, the president of the Wirepoints blog, has also been mentioned by several people, but did not respond when Rich asked him about a possible gubernatorial bid in May.
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Cataract Surgery May Curb Dementia, Alzheimer’s Risk in Those Without Anxiety, Depression
Healio | By Justin Cooper
June 13, 2025
Cataract surgery may reduce the risk of developing dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, but not in patients with anxiety or depression, according to data published in British Journal of Ophthalmology.
“Cataract, a highly prevalent ophthalmic condition, not only compromises vision but has also been linked to cognitive decline and [common mental disorders such as anxiety or depression],” Shih-Kai Kao, of Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, and colleagues wrote. “Encouragingly, prior research has suggested that cataract surgery may reduce the risk of dementia in affected patients.
“However, most existing studies have focused on the general population, with little attention paid to whether individuals with concurrent [common mental disorders] and cataracts can achieve similar protective effects against dementia after surgery. Furthermore, the protective effects of cataract surgery on different dementia subtypes remain underexplored.”
Kao and colleagues used the TriNetX database to conduct a retrospective cohort study of 75,757 patients aged 65 years or older diagnosed with cataract between 2012 and 2021. The patients were grouped based on whether they had cataract surgery within 1 year of diagnosis, and the incidence of dementia within 5 years was compared between the two groups. The risk for dementia in patients with anxiety or depression who underwent cataract surgery was also analyzed.
Cataract surgery had a significant protective effect against dementia (P < .001). Surgery also significantly reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (P < .001), but it did not have a significant effect on vascular dementia risk.
In patients who had cataract surgery, only those with no common mental disorders had a reduced risk for dementia (P < .001). The differences in risk were not significant for those classified as having depression, anxiety or anxious depression.
“The finding of this study implies that cataract surgery may confer a protective effect against dementia in patients without [common mental disorders]; however, this effect may be diminished or absent in patients who present with [a common mental disorder] or comorbid anxiety and depression,” Kao and colleagues wrote. “We hypothesize that the limited benefits in these cases may be attributed to the existing substantial cognitive burden experienced by patients, making the potential dementia-preventing effect of cataract surgery insufficient to significantly reduce the risk of dementia in patients with [common mental disorders] after surgery.
“From a clinical practice perspective, ophthalmologists could pay closer attention to the cognitive function of patients with concurrent [common mental disorders] and cataracts, providing appropriate referral services when necessary.”
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Diagnostic Dilemma: Black Widow Spider's Venom Poisoned a Woman Through Her Eyeball
Live Science | By Mindy Weisberger
June 11, 2025
The patient: A 37-year-old woman in California
The symptoms: The woman visited the emergency room because the upper and lower eyelids of her left eye were swollen and felt like they were burning. Her conjunctiva — a thin protective membrane that covers the whites of the eye and inner surface of the eyelids — was also swollen.
What happened next: Shortly after the woman arrived at the hospital, her symptoms intensified. Her eye continued to swell until it was almost entirely shut. Within 10 to 20 minutes of being admitted, she developed neck pain and nausea, followed by cramps in her abdomen, thighs and calves. After two hours, her extremities began tingling.
The diagnosis: The woman told her doctors that about 20 minutes before her emergency room visit, she and her husband had spotted a large, black spider inside a shed. Her husband declared that it was a venomous western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) and struck it with a hammer, "which splattered the spider in all directions," her physicians wrote in a report of the case.
The violent squishing rendered the arachnid impossible to conclusively identify. As the spider was crushed, a fragment of the arachnid flew into the woman's eye, she said, which caused immediate pain and swelling.
The doctors concluded that the woman's symptoms were caused by accidental exposure to black widow venom, enough of which was absorbed through her eye tissue to enter her bloodstream and reach other parts of her body. A compound in the venom called alpha-latrotoxin affects vertebrates, and it primarily targets the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms triggered by the venom can be severe and last several days, and in rare cases, they can trigger long-term pain or severe allergic reactions. However, in most cases, exposure to the venom isn't deadly. In a 2023 survey evaluating over 23,000 cases of people bitten by black widow spiders, just 1.4% experienced life-threatening symptoms.
The treatment: Doctors injected the woman with 50 milligrams of Benadryl, an antihistamine that helps reduce inflammatory responses, which greatly reduced the swelling in her eye. For her other symptoms, the physicians recommended an intravenous dose of calcium gluconate, a common treatment for black widow bites.
However, the patient declined this treatment, saying she could manage the discomfort without additional intervention. Three hours after her spider encounter, the woman was discharged from the hospital with eye drops containing the steroid hydrocortisone, to further reduce swelling, as well as the antibiotic neomycin to help prevent bacterial infection. The doctors told her to return to the hospital if her symptoms came back.
During a follow-up visit more than a week later, the patient said the swelling was gone by about 48 hours after she left the hospital but her eye remained red for about five days. For about 72 hours after discharge, she continued to experience cramps in her belly, legs and neck. Nausea and a general feeling of shakiness persisted for about seven days.
What makes the case unique: Most people who are sickened by black widow venom are exposed to the toxins through bites, with about 2,600 bites from Latrodectus species reported to the National Poison Data System each year. (The genus Latrodectus includes more than 30 species, including black widows as well as some of their less-dangerous cousins, like brown widows.)
It's possible that the spider fragment that landed in the woman's eye and poisoned her did not
include the arachnid's venom gland, according to the case report. However, research dating to 1888 has found that other soft body parts of black widow spiders could still poison a horse when injected into the animal. And a 1971 study found that black widow eggs and the bodies of their hatchlings are also highly toxic.
"Contact with the black widow spider or any of its body parts is potentially hazardous," the doctors wrote in the report. "Anyone exposed to Latrodectus venom, body parts, or eggs should be observed until his wellbeing can be assured."
In the woman's case, her relatively mild symptoms could mean that she received a fairly small dose of venom. Absorption through her eye may also have hindered the spread of the toxin through her body, according to the report.
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Senate Releases Trump Tax and Medicaid Blueprint
The Hill | By Alexander Bolton
June 16, 2025
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Monday released the Senate’s long-awaited version of President Trump’s tax agenda, which would make the 2017 corporate tax cuts permanent, cut hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending and phase out renewable-energy tax cuts enacted under former President Biden.
The legislative text crafted by Senate Finance Committee Republicans represents the core of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and includes the populist tax breaks the president campaigned on, including provisions to shield tipped income from taxation.
But it includes several changes that put Senate Republicans on a collision course with the House.
The measure encompasses the most controversial sections of the bill, such as proposals to impose stricter work and eligibility requirements for Medicaid and to reduce the federal government’s share of Medicaid spending in states.
It would raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, instead of the $4 trillion, the increase adopted by House Republicans.
The debt ceiling language is a major problem for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has told leadership he won’t support the bill if it includes such a large extension of federal borrowing authority.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), an outspoken fiscal conservative, told reporters Monday evening that he would oppose the bill if it came to the floor in its current form because it doesn’t go far enough to cut the $2.2 trillion annual deficit.
“We’re not doing anything to significantly to alter the course of the financial future of this country,” he said. “We’re not seriously addressing our long-term deficit and debt issues.”
With Paul and Johnson opposed to the measure, Senate Republicans can afford only one more defection from their caucus and still pass the bill.
Crapo presented the newly drafted provisions in the bill to Republican colleagues at a meeting Monday evening.
Two Republican aides familiar with the legislation drafted by the Finance panel say it will go further than House-passed language to tighten Medicaid eligibility requirements and to restrict states from using health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding.
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
ODs Wanted:
Northern IL:
Morrison, IL Practice Seeking Part-time OD (Read more)
Small, Private Practice in Morris, IL seeking Part-time OD (Read more)
OD Needed for Summer Maternity Leave (Read more)
Chicago:
Optometrist Needed for Maternity Leave Coverage (Read more)
Full-Time or Part-Time OD Needed in Hodgkins (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in Chicago Suburbs (Read more)
Full-time or Part-time Associate OD Needed (Read more)
OD Needed at Naper Grove Vision Care (Read more)
Seeking OD for Part time, 1-4 Permanent Days or FILL in Only, Summer Fill in Days (Read more)
Optometrist Needed Part-time / Full-time Private Practice (Read more)
Part-time OD Needed at Small Private Practice (Read more)
Central IL:
Join the Community Eye Care Family (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in the Peoria area (Read more)
Mobile OD Needed for Senior Living Facilities (Read more)
Looking for Passionate & Community Focused Optometrists in Decatur & Mt. Zion (Read more)
Mobile Optometrist Needed (Read more)
Southern IL:
Mobile OD Needed for Senior Living Facilites (Read more)
Part-Time to Full-Time Opportunity at Metro Eye Care (Read more)
Full Time Opening in Swansea IL, Metro East 20 minutes from St. Louis (Read more)
Out of State:
FT Optometrist Needed in Kenosha, Wisconsin (Read more)
OD Needed in Door County, Wisconsin (Read more)
Practices for Sale:
Practice for Sale on the Fox River (Read more)
Fully Booked Practice for Sale- Southeast Michigan Community (Read more)
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