Counselor Day on the Hill: See you in 2025!

2025 will see our third attempt to get legislation passed that will enable Illinois to join more than 37 other states with legislation necessary for Illinois counselors to participate in the Counseling Compact. Other issues of concern to Counselors and all licensed professions in Illinois are the length of time that it currently takes to obtain or reinstate an LPC or LCPC license as well as the lack of an online application.

The Coalition of Illinois Counselor Organizations (CICO) works along side ICA and IMHCA to sponsor this day of advocacy for counseling graduate students and professional counselors. Counselor Day on the Hill is an opportunity to travel to Springfield and visit the Capitol Building and learn about the legislative process. There are opportunities to speak directly to your state Senator and Representative armed with information provided by the Coalition for Illinois Counselor Organizations (CICO). This is a great opportunity for graduate students, counselor educators, and professional counselors across the state to advocate for legislation and help the voices of counselors to be heard and represented.

ICA and all Division members, as well as non-member counselors, graduate students, and educators are welcome to attend.

We hope to see you there in 2025!

Find your IL Elected Officials:

Counselor Day on the Hill: March 20, 2024

We had 90+ mental health counselors, school counselors, counselor educators, and counseling master’s and doctoral students join us in Springfield to advocate for our profession on March 20th! Our attendees were able to speak with many legislators directly about issues that affect counselors day-to-day and to advocate for current legislation that will help advance our goals as a profession. Attendees went into those conversations armed with information regarding important pieces of legislation. Each attendee was able to pick a bill or two they were most passionate about and bring it directly to the legislators they spoke with.

Visibility and advocacy can go a long way and being able to speak personally with our own legislators is an important part of the democratic process. Putting a face to the counseling profession and to a piece of legislation for our elected officials is truly meaningful. The day brought many fruitful conversations and helped to shine a light on counselors and what we do across the state.

Thank you to all who attended, and we hope to have even more join us next year for this important day of advocacy!

Counseling Compact: Resources

Looking for more information on the Counseling Compact? See the linked resources below.