Public Accountability Report

Mission: The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is an advocate for and partner with the people of Illinois to re-envision health policy, promote health equity, prevent and protect against disease and injury, and prepare for health emergencies.

Vision: Illinoisans empowered and supported to achieve their optimal health with dignity and acceptance in diverse and thriving communities.

Values and Guiding Principles

Health Equity: We believe that achieving optimal health for everyone is rooted in reducing and removing social, environmental, economic, and structural barriers to health, such as racism and other forms of inequity.

Integrity: We believe that the foundation of public health is trust, and that we must always act with the highest standards of honesty, trustworthiness, and transparency.

Science and Data: We believe that our decisions, policies, and programs must be driven by science, the most reliable public health expertise, and timely data.

Preparedness: We believe we must be prepared to address emerging issues and health emergencies and maintain flexibility to respond quickly and effectively.

Collaboration: We believe that we are most effective in achieving our health goals when we value the contributions of our diverse employees and partners; collaborate with stakeholders, communities, and other state agencies; and foster a culture of inclusivity.

Communication: We believe that communication is a multi-dimensional process and to enhance public health we must provide accurate, evidence-based, actionable, and timely information that is informed by community needs, builds public confidence, and increases public knowledge and healthy behaviors.

IDPH utilized the Strategic Plan and its State Health Improvement Plan to guide its work in alignment with its mission, vision, and value statements. The following summarizes these goals and identifies objectives. Overall, the metric goals for each office were met.

The Center for Minority Health Services (CMHS) continues to take steps to improve the quality of performance measures captured to provide increased insight on program interventions and service gaps to facilitate CMHS’ ability to support the agency’s mission of optimal health for all Illinoisans. The biggest challenges during this reporting period include grant reporting and fiscal processing. CMHS reinforced expectations for staff regarding grantee reporting requirements and created processes for tracking payments moving through the Office of Financial Administration. While CMHS continues to meet its goals of promoting health equity, providing access to care, and raising awareness, we remain hopeful that future funding will include opportunities for addressing the social and structural determinants that prevent certain communities and population groups from achieving optimal health, along with funding to address emergent health needs as they arise in minority populations and communities of color.

The Office of Disease Control (ODC) leads statewide efforts to prevent, detect, and control infectious and communicable diseases, with the overarching goal of protecting population health, safety, and well-being. The Division of Infectious Diseases oversees immunizations, communicable and emerging disease response, infectious disease programs, the State Public Health Veterinarian, and surveillance operations. Its core responsibilities include statewide disease monitoring, outbreak and cluster detection, mandatory reporting, and providing consultation and training to local health departments and health-care partners. The Division of HIV, Hepatitis, STI, and TB directs prevention and control strategies for tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV/AIDS. These programs focus on reducing transmission, preventing complications, and supporting affected communities through surveillance, education, and targeted interventions. The Bureau of Testing advances disease detection through wastewater-based epidemiology, applied genomic epidemiology, and environmental surveillance, including air monitoring for pathogens and emerging threats. Within the Bureau, the Division of Laboratories operates three public health laboratories to deliver essential clinical diagnostic testing for a wide range of conditions, from newborn screening to respiratory and communicable diseases.

The Office of Health Care Regulation (OHCR) has been empowered by the State of Illinois to support residents who use health-care facilities. We strive to ensure all facilities maintain required federal and state standards which will lead to optimal health, safety, and quality of care. We worked to achieve compliance with all required standards of performance in 2025.

The Office of Health Promotion (OHPm) had a state appropriation increase in fiscal year 2023 that expanded the reach of chronic disease programming. Increases in prevention activities; provider trainings; screening and early detection, diagnosis, and treatment; and interventions for asthma, blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, dementia, and cancer (colorectal, lung, and prostate) were seen across the state. Tobacco prevention and outreach remain stable across the state through community outreach and paid media efforts. The Division of Medical Cannabis is processing a record number of applications. The Division of Emerging Health Issues has maintained and expanded surveillance sources and expanded mental health support to schools. The Oral Health Section remains committed to providing vulnerable populations and children with dental services and care in a challenging landscape shaped by a nationwide shortage of dental professionals. The Health Assessment and Screening Section continues to identify newborns and children with serious and treatable health conditions and has expanded its ability to address health equity for adults living with sickle cell disease through targeted funding. Last, OHPm addresses the social determinants of health as they relate to the morbidity and mortality faced by our focus areas.

The Office of Health Protection (OHPt) implements programs to reduce the incidence of disease and injury caused by environmental exposures using surveillance, assessment, inspection, case management, data stakeholder education, and enforcement of statutes and rules.

The Office of Policy, Planning, and Statistics (OPPS) collects, analyzes, and evaluates information on health status, health needs, and disease occurrence in Illinois residents. The office has four divisions: the Division of Patient Safety and Quality, the Division of Vital Records, the Division of Health Data and Policy, and the Division of Epidemiologic Studies. Additionally, OPPS supports the Center for Rural Health and the Health Services Facilities and Review Board. Under these areas, OPPS conducts epidemiologic studies and manages disease registries, supports statewide health assessments and surveys, advises on and supports health professional shortages, ensures the integrity of Vital Records, tracks health-care service use and patient safety outcomes, administers the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and processes applications for capital improvements to health-care facilities.

The Office of Preparedness and Response (OPR) works in collaboration with federal, state, and local partners to strengthen core emergency preparedness and response initiatives and to enhance statewide public health and medical emergency response capabilities. OPR’s goals focus on increasing the state’s public health capacity to prepare for all-hazards emergencies and ensuring that the necessary tools are in place to support a robust public health response as threats evolve and emerge. The OPR results summary indicates that several measures were successfully met or exceeded, while others fell short of expectations.