Illinois nurses unions push for mandatory staff-to-patient ratios

Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.

But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes say they are steadfastly opposed to the legislation, arguing that a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.

The proposed Safe Patient Limits Act, by Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Theresa Mah, both Chicago Democrats, was introduced in February and was the subject of a joint hearing last week in Chicago by two House committees. It’s an issue that has been discussed in the General Assembly since 2019 but has thus far failed to gain the necessary traction for passage. The latest hearing came just three weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol for their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 24.

“Short staffing isn't a mere inconvenience. It's a dire issue,” said Shaba Andrich, vice president of nursing homes for the SEIU Healthcare employee union. “It's predominantly a Black and brown issue. In historically marginalized communities of Chicago, these issues are magnified. These communities that already face systemic underinvestment are further deprived of adequate nursing care due to chronic short staffing.”