SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A state bill that would require pesticide applicators to serve notice to schools and daycare operations before spraying is being fine-tuned in the Illinois legislature. House Bill 1596, introduced in the Illinois House in January 2025, would require certified pesticide applicators to provide written or email notice at least 72 hours before beginning “large scale” pesticide applications within one-half mile of a school or public park. The bill would apply to applications involving boom sprayers, tractor mounted sprayers and aerial targeting, and would exclude residential applications.

“This would affect many pesticide applicators,” said Michelle Wiesbrook, University of Illinois Extension weed scientist, on March 11. “This would be in addition to the Lawncare Act notification requirements and the PARNA notification requirements. Who would get notified and what would they do with that information? How feasible would it be to provide notice 72 hours prior and what happens when weather or schedules change?”

The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) stands opposed to HB 1596, stating in a March 17 legislative update, “This bill passed out of the House Energy and Environment Committee last Spring but did not move out of the House Chamber. A second amendment has been filed that does nothing to remove IFCA’s opposition.”

Recent amendments to the bill clarified what constitutes the term “large scale” (5 or more contiguous acres) and “public park,” which can now include forest preserves, bikeways, trails, and conservation areas under state or local jurisdiction. Schools are described as child-care institutions as described within the Child Care Act of 1969.

Though some lawmakers and agricultural groups are concerned that the proposed three-day notification window may be too restrictive for farmers who must adjust their application schedules quickly based on weather conditions, the bill continues to gain sponsors. On March 16, Rep. Aaron Ortiz signed on as the eighth Democratic co-sponsor of the partisan measure.

Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-Grayslake), original sponsor of the bill, told news sources that the goal is to make sure that schools and parks have the knowledge they need to plan and be prepared for nearby chemical applications. Children whose respiratory systems are vulnerable are impacted by pesticide spraying, she said.

According to the Environmental Working Group, a research and environmental nonprofit, 740 Illinois elementary schools are within a quarter mile of a crop field and 40 are within 20 feet of cropland. Research conducted by Investigate Midwest found that 61 percent of schools located in Champaign County are within a half mile of a crop field.

Children should not be exposed to pesticide applications, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), due to an increased risk of childhood leukemia, neurocognitive conditions and enhanced infant mortality rates. Phosphonates (glyphosate) and chlorophenoxy herbicides (2, 4-D) were specifically listed by the AAP as dangerous to children.

“Epidemiologic evidence demonstrates associations between early life exposure to pesticides and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems,” the AAP said their December 2012 Pediatrics publication. “Related animal toxicology studies provide supportive biological plausibility for these findings. Recognizing and reducing problematic exposures will require attention to current inadequacies in medical training, public health tracking, and regulatory action on pesticides.”

The Prairie Rivers Network said, “Illinois families deserve the right to know when pesticides are being applied near their homes, schools, and public spaces, and we must prevent the use of chemicals that endanger our communities. The network is a nonprofit affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation that is in support of HB 1596 and HB 1645, a bill also currently before the Illinois House that seeks an outright ban of the sale and use of ester formulations of 2,4-D pesticides.

“There are several pesticide related bills being considered in the Illinois Senate and House currently. We’ve been told that action will need to be taken on many of these in the next couple of weeks if they are to become laws,” Wiesbrook noted. “Some have previous versions that were introduced in past years and will likely return in some form if no action is taken this spring. Many Illinois pesticide applicators and operators will be affected by these bills should they become law.”

HB 1596 was referred to the House Rules Committee on Feb. 24, 2026, according to LegisCan. A related piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1574, amends the Illinois Pesticide Act to replace the definition of the term “licensed operator” with definitions of the terms “licensed large-scale operator” and “licensed small-scale operator.” It provides that the director of agriculture shall issue separate certification tests for licensed large-scale operators and licensed small-scale operators based on the rules and regulations prescribed for each by the Department of Agriculture.

“This would split General Standards into large-scale and small-scale operators based off of the size of their equipment,” according to Wiesbrook. “This would create confusion for roughly 15,000 operators in Illinois who would then need to determine which General Standards test they would need – many of which would need to take both. Boom sprayers are specifically mentioned, but booms can be tractor mounted or hand-held. The intent is to limit what applicators need to know for sprayer calibration, yet the basic required math skills remain the same.”

To read more of Wiesbrook’s comments on current Illinois legislation affecting crop applications, visit https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs.