Legislative Activities

In 1999 the Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians (ILANP) was formed to begin efforts to license naturopathic physicians in the state of Illinois. The ILANP incorporated in Illinois during 2003.

In 2004 the ILANP drafted separate bills for the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. House Bill #1591 (HB 1591) was filed with the clerk by Representative Angelo Saviano on February 16, 2005 with Representatives JoAnn Osmond, Karen May, and Robert Churchill agreeing to be Chief Co-Sponsors. In addition, Representative Paul Froehlich agreed to be a Co-Sponsor.

On March 9, 2005 the ILANP Legislative and Legal Committee met with members of the Registration and Regulation Committee and testified for HB 1591. A motion to pass the bill was lost by vote and remained in the Registration and Regulation Committee with re-referral to the Rules Committee during the 2005 session.

A Senate version was drafted as a separate bill. Senate Bill #1758 (SB 1758) was filed with the Secretary on February 25, 2005 by Senator Adeline Jay Geo-Karis. Senators Kathleen Wojcik, Donne Trotter and Jacqueline Collins agreed to be Chief Co-Sponsors of the bill. The ILANP Legislative and Legal Committee also testified at the Senate Licensed Activities Committee hearing on March 9, 2005. After testimony, the ILANP asked that the bill be kept in committee so that further work could be done in educating legislators on the bill.

At the conclusion of the 2005 session, both HB 1591 and SB 1758 resided within their respective committees in both sides of the legislature. This action provided opportunity to allow our patients, other private interested citizens and naturopathic doctors to continue to meet with their representatives in order to build relationships and educate their legislators regarding naturopathic medicine.

In February 2006, we introduced Senate bill 2824. This is a new bill to license naturopathic doctors in the state of Illinois. This bill is the Naturopathic Physicians Practice Act. This bill remained in the Rules committee for the duration of the 2006 session.

We will re-introduce legislation in the 2007 session. Our hope is to gain the attention and support of legislators and the public for our current licensing effort. It is our hope that these efforts will provide opportunity for even greater health of the citizens of Illinois through the licensing of naturopathic physicians.