In early January, we wrapped up the 103rd General Assembly with our “Lame Duck” session where we passed 22 bills, some of which have been kicking around for multiple years. See below for a recap of three key pieces of legislation that passed the house:
- Karina’s Law, HB4144, passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. The bill clarifies and strengthens existing law to require that firearms be removed when a domestic violence survivor is granted the firearms remedy in an order of protection. The bill outlines how a respondent can get their firearms back once the OOP has expired and requires a judicial determination of a credible threat to the safety of the petitioner. Media coverage HERE.
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The Kinship in Demand (KIND) Act, HB4781, requires the State to prioritize and resource kinship care (for foster care) as the most optimal outcome for DCFS-involved families. The KIND ACT aims to preserve family connections, minimize separation, reduce trauma, and achieve faster, more stable permanency for youth in foster care. Media coverage HERE.
- Nursing Home Anti-Retaliation bill, HB2474, amends the Nursing Home Care Act to protect nursing home residents from retaliation. It outlines the process for filing civil suits, mandates that nursing homes annually notify residents of their anti-retaliation rights and requires nursing homes to implement training programs designed to prevent retaliatory actions against residents. Media coverage HERE.
See below for a brief recap of the 19 other bills that passed during Lame Duck:
House Bill 297 (Davis/Preston) – HB 297 creates a mandatory arbitration process for educational supervisors in Chicago Public Schools who are not allowed to strike.
Effective Date: No effective date specified.
House Bill 587 (Gabel/Cunningham) – HB 587 focuses on energy improvements by addressing energy storage, transmission safety, renewable energy procurement, and cost flexibility. This bill also supports new battery storage facilities and modern technologies and aligns state solar programs with federal standards.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 817 (Vella/Halpin) – HB 817 amends the State Treasurer Act and allows the Illinois Treasurer to transfer up to $500,000 (previously $250,000) from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the State Treasurer’s Capitol fund to better support the Treasurer’s operations and initiatives. Makes changes to reduce the administrative burden for community-based health and human service organizations that contract with the state.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 2547 (Olickal/Villanueva) – HB 2547 creates the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which ensures warehouse employees receive clear quota expectations and bans quotas that prevent breaks, such as meal or bathroom breaks.
Effective Date: January 1, 2026.
House Bill 2840 (Guerrero-Cuellar/Faraci) – HB 2840 allows 14- and 15-year-olds who are employed by a park district or a municipal parks and recreation department to work without adult supervision for specific activities.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 4224 (Evans/Cunningham) – HB 4224 prevents mental health-related public questions from being repeated on ballots in areas where they’ve already been approved. It also addresses property tax exemptions and abatements for specific cases.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 4410 (Guzzardi/Villa) – HB 4410 automatically seals conviction records for prostitution charges, and replaces references to “juvenile prostitute, juvenile prostitution, and prostitute” with “sexually exploited child, commercial sexual exploitation of a child, and person engaged in the sex trade. It also bans police officers from having sex with suspects while investigating prostitution.
Effective Date: July 1, 2025.
House Bill 4412 (Vella/Loughran Cappel)- HB 4412 allows daycare centers to hire a third-party vendor to take fingerprints during background checks and ensures cooperation between DCFS and law enforcement.
Effective Date: No effective date specified.
House Bill 4439 (Hanson/Turner) – HB 4439 designates the soybean as the official state bean.
Effective Date: No effective date specified.
House Bill 4828 (Olickal/Peters) – HB 4828 has the goal to limit the use of solitary confinement in Illinois correctional facilities by requiring the Department of Corrections (DOC) and Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to publicly report its use of disciplinary segregation or isolation.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 4907 (Gabel/Aquino) – HB 4907 revises the formula for calculating nursing service per diem add-on payments for nursing homes, increases the maximum size of contiguous counties where hospitals can operate under a single license, and modifies the Behavioral Health Administration Burden Task Force to allow any government or non-government entity to provide administrative support.
Effective Date: Effective immediately.
House Bill 5164 (Olickal/Villivalam) – HB 5164 modernizes the name change process by eliminating newspaper publication requirements and adding additional safety protections to survivors of gender-based violence, transgender individuals, and refugees.
Effective date: Backdated to March 1, 2025.
House Bill 5373 (Cassidy/Fine) – HB 5373 gives prescribers the authority to decide on treatment for chronic pain and strengthens confidentiality for opioid treatment records.
Effective date: Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 727 (Simmons/Du Buclet) – SB 727 requires the Illinois EPA to study community water supplies for hazardous chemicals and set safe contamination levels.
Effective Date: No effective date specified.
Senate Bill 867 (Walker/Guzzardi) – SB 867 allows the Shabbona Lake State Park located in Dekalb County to be transferred back to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, with a management and maintainment agreement in place.
Effective date: Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 899 (Simmons/Buckner) – SB 899 permits state and local governments to set vehicle length limits on their roads if requested through IDOT and proper signage is installed to inform drivers.
Effective Date: No effective date specified.
Senate Bill 952 (McConchie/Syed) – SB952 allows the Village of Deer Park to use eminent domain to install a water main.
Effective date: Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 2655 (Sims/Slaughter) – SB 2655 revises the Illinois State Police Training Act to align body-worn camera and in-car camera policies for law enforcement by eliminating contradictory statutes. It also updates the Criminal Code of 2012 to modernize technology use to better investigate child pornography.
Effective date: Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 3180 (Castro/Croke) – SB 3180 amends the One Day Rest In Seven Act, prohibiting employer retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the Act, such as taking mandated rest breaks or meal breaks.
Effective date: Effective immediately.
