Illinois

Amends the Mortgage Act. Provides that the Act does not abrogate the Illinois common law that the payment in full of a debt secured by a mortgage extinguishes the lien. Provides that payment in full of a debt secured by a mortgage pursuant to a payoff statement, as defined in the Mortgage Certificate of Release Act, issued by or on behalf of the holder of the indebtedness extinguishes the lien of the mortgage. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Allows a resident of the State who served in the United Nations Protection Force in Somalia, Panama, or Grenada to apply for a United Nations Protection Force license plate.

Reinserts the provisions of Senate Amendment No. 1 with the following changes. In the definition of "supervisor", provides that, with respect to a police officer, other than a police officer employed by the Illinois State Police, for municipal police officers, "in a permanent rank" shall mean those not subject to promotional testing under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code (rather than, with respect to a police officer, other than a police officer employed by the Illinois State Police, any officer in a permanent rank for which the police officer is appointed, which for municipal police officers shall mean those not subject to promotional testing under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code). In exclusions from the definition of "supervisor", provides that "supervisor" does not include a police officer who is in a rank for which the police officer must complete a certain written test (rather than must test).

Amends the Boat Registration and Safety Act. Prohibits a person from falsifying information on any application to the Department of Natural Resources that is required to be provided to the Department by the Act. Provides that the navigation lights shall, at minimum, have an intensity so as to be visible at the minimum ranges as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations. Provides that it is unlawful to operate a motorboat without a whistle, horn, or other appliance capable of producing a blast of 2 seconds or more duration and having an audible distance as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (rather than being audible for at least one-half mile). Prohibits a motorboat operator from operating a motorboat less than 26 feet in length that is equipped by the manufacturer with an engine cutoff switch if the switch is not in use while the motorboat is operating on plane or above displacement speed. Prohibits a person from operating a watercraft without first verifying that the engine cut-off switch is operational and fully functional and properly attaching the lanyard or wireless attachment to the operator's body or to the clothing or personal flotation device being worn by the operator. Provides that a power-driven vessel operating in narrow channels and proceeding downbound with a following current (rather than downstream) shall have the right-of-way over an upbound vessel, shall propose the manner and place of passage, and shall imitate the maneuvering signals as required by law. Changes the ages at which a person may operate a motorboat based on the speed of the motorboat. Prohibits certain marijuana use within certain areas of a watercraft while upon waters in the State. Requires the Department to outline the application process for passenger-for-hire licenses or rental boat licenses by administrative rule. Makes other changes.

Amends the Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources has the power to exercise all rights, powers, and duties conferred by law and to take measures that are necessary for the implementation of rewilding as a conservation strategy in this State, including, but not limited to, the restoration of land to its natural state, the reintroduction of native species, particularly apex predators and keystone species, and the restoration of ecological processes as defined by State-specific baselines.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall provide coverage for hippotherapy and other forms of therapeutic riding. Makes conforming changes in the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, and the Health Maintenance Organization Act.

Creates the Educational Credit for Firefighting Experience Act. Provides that before June 1, 2027, each institution of higher education shall adopt a policy regarding its awarding of academic credit for firefighter training considered applicable to the requirements of a student's certificate or degree program. Requires the policy to apply to any individual who is enrolled in the institution of higher education and who has completed a firefighting training course or program that meets certain requirements. Provides that each institution of higher education shall develop a procedure for receiving the necessary documentation, provide a copy of its policy to certain applicants, and develop and maintain a list of qualifying firefighting training courses and programs. Provides that each institution of higher education shall submit its policy for awarding academic credit to the Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board, if applicable, before June 30, 2027 and before June 30 of each year thereafter. Provides that the Board of Higher Education shall collect data in the Illinois Higher Education Information System on students who are firefighters to assess enrollment and completion outcomes.

Amends the Sanitary District Act of 1936. Provides that the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District may be dissolved and transfer its assets, liabilities, and responsibilities to the City of Joliet and, if necessary, the County of Will, if: (1) the board of the District adopts a resolution dissolving the District and (2) the city council of the City of Joliet adopts a resolution, within 14 days after the District's resolution accepting the transfer. Provides that each resolution must state: (1) the reasons for dissolving the District; (2) that there are no outstanding debts of the District or that the City of Joliet has sufficient funds on hand or available to satisfy the debts of the District; (3) that no federal or State permit or grant will be impaired by the dissolution of the District; and (4) that the City of Joliet assumes all assets and responsibilities of the District, except for those assets the City of Joliet deems to be unnecessary for continued operation of the District's facilities. Provides that the County of Will shall take responsibility for and control over assets deemed unnecessary by the City of Joliet. Provides that, upon dissolution, the statutory powers previously held by the District shall be held and exercised by the City of Joliet. Provides that, no later than 60 days after the effective date of the City of Joliet's resolution, the City of Joliet shall notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency regarding the dissolution of the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District.

Amends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act. Provides that an employer shall compensate an employee during the break time provided under the Act at the employee's regular rate of compensation. Provides that an employer shall not require an employee to use paid leave during the break time or reduce an employee's compensation during the break time in any other manner.

Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Changes the repeal date of the Illinois Dental Practice Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2036. Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. In the definition of "branches of dentistry", adds oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental public health, oral medicine, and orofacial pain to the included specialties. Creates a temporary dental hygiene license for dental students who meet certain requirements. Provides that a licensee holding a temporary dental hygiene license must practice under the supervision of a dentist. Provides that the temporary dental hygiene license is active for one year from its issuance date. Changes the implementation deadline for an order regarding the services that are necessary to be performed on a patient who is in a State or federal prison and who cannot travel to a dental office to 180 days of the order's issuance (rather than 45 days of the order's issuance). Removes language providing that provisions concerning public health dentistry are inoperative on and after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits hate crime when, by reason of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, citizenship, immigration status, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors the person displays or causes to be displayed, on public or private property, a burning cross, a Nazi swastika, or a noose, with the intent to intimidate a person or group of persons or incite violence against a person or group of persons. Provides that the provisions of the amendatory Act are severable under the Statute on Statutes.

Amends the Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform Act. Modifies requirements concerning the Office of Business Permits and Regulatory Assistance. Provides that the Office shall implement reforms to improve interagency coordination and encourage expeditious permit issuance. Provides that the Office shall use information technology tools to track project schedules and metrics in order to improve transparency and accountability of the permitting process, reduce uncertainty and delays, and reduce costs and risks to taxpayers. Modifies and adds requirements concerning the expediting of permit reviews. Provides for the creation of an Interagency Permitting Advisory Committee. Provides additional requirements to improve the coordination of permit reviews. Defines terms. Makes other changes.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that upon recovering a firearm that was (i) unlawfully possessed, (ii) used for any unlawful purpose, (iii) recovered from the scene of a crime, (iv) reasonably believed to have been used or associated with the commission of a crime, or (v) acquired by the law enforcement agency as an abandoned, lost, or discarded firearm, a law enforcement agency shall use the best available information, including a firearms trace (deletes when necessary), to determine how and from whom the person gained possession of the firearm and to determine prior ownership of the firearm. Provides that law enforcement shall use the National Tracing Center of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' eTrace platform or successor platform in complying with this provision. Provides that law enforcement shall participate in the National Tracing Center of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' eTrace platform or successor platform's collective data sharing program for the purpose of sharing firearm trace reports among all law enforcement agencies in this State on a reciprocal basis. Defines "peace officer" for the purpose of the investigation of specified offenses shall include investigators of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Effective immediately.

Creates the Safe Gun Storage Act. Provides that a firearm owner shall not store or keep any firearm in any premises where the firearm owner knows or reasonably should know a minor without the lawful permission of the minor's parent, guardian, or person having charge of the minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to the firearm unless the firearm is secured in a locked container, properly engaged so as to render the firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. Provides that if the firearm is carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user, then the firearm is deemed lawfully stored or kept. Provides that a violation of the Act is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except (i) if any person knows or reasonably should know that a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to a firearm belonging to or under the control of that person, and a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains the firearm, the civil penalty shall not exceed $1,000 and (ii) if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and uses it to injure or cause the death of a person or uses the firearm in connection with a crime, the civil penalty shall not exceed $10,000. Provides that the court may order a person who is found in violation of the Act to perform community service or pay restitution in lieu of the civil penalties imposed under this Section if good cause is shown. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to preclude civil liabilities for violations of the Act. Provides that a violation of the Act is prima facie evidence of negligence per se in any civil proceeding if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and causes personal injury to the death of oneself or another or uses the firearm in the commission of a crime. Provides that an action to collect a civil penalty under the Act may be brought by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which the violation occurred. Provides that any money received from the collection of a civil penalty under the Act shall be deposited in the Mental Health Fund. Defines terms. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026.

Amends the Arsonist Registry Act, the Sex Offender Registration Act, and the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act. Provides that the Illinois State Police, or any other law enforcement or registering agency, shall not impose a fee for registration on any person subject to those Acts.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person is not engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or a Class A misdemeanor or in a place where the person does not have a right to be if the person is engaged in the activity or in the place due to the person's status as a trafficking victim. Provides that a person must prove the person's status as a trafficking victim by clear and convincing evidence. Provides that the person may provide clear and convincing evidence of the person's status as a trafficking victim through testimony at trial. Defines "trafficking victim" as a person subjected to the practices prohibited by the involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, or trafficking in persons statutes.

Creates the Human Trafficking Order of Protection Act. Provides that the following persons may bring an action under the Act: (1) a person who is a victim of human trafficking regardless of the relationship between the victim and the trafficker; or (2) a person on behalf of a minor child or an adult who has been the victim of human trafficking. Establishes procedures on how to commence actions for human trafficking, including independently, in conjunction with another civil proceeding, or in conjunction with a delinquency petition or a criminal prosecution. Establishes further procedures in relation to filing fees and dismissal and consolidation. Provides that the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts may adopt rules to establish a pilot program to allow for electronic filing of petitions for temporary orders of protection and issuance of orders by audio-visual means. Establishes the applicability of the rules of civil procedure including venue, objections, and summons. Provides for specified remedies.

Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that nothing in the Eviction Article may be construed to: (i) prohibit law enforcement officials from enforcing the offense of criminal trespass under the Criminal Code of 1963 or any other violation of the Code; or (ii) to interfere with the ability of law enforcement officials to remove persons or property from the premises when there is a criminal trespass.

Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that registered professional nursing practice is a scientific process founded on a professional body of knowledge. It is a learned profession based on the understanding of the human condition across the life span and environment, includes all nursing specialties, and means the performance of any nursing act based upon professional knowledge, judgment, and skills acquired by means of completion of an approved professional nursing education program. Provides that registered professional nurses may delegate nursing interventions and tasks (rather than nursing interventions) to other registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses based on a comprehensive nursing assessment. Provides that registered professional nurses may delegate tasks to unlicensed personnel based on a comprehensive nursing assessment. Provides that a registered professional nurse is prohibited from delegating work requiring nursing knowledge, assessment, judgment, inference, decision making (including medication administration), the development of a plan of care, and the evaluation of a plan of care to unlicensed non-nurse personnel. Removes provisions concerning delegation of nursing interventions and administration of medications in community-based or in-home care settings. Makes other changes. Effective August 1, 2025.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Increases the exclusion amount from $4,000,000 to $12,060,000 for persons dying on or after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.

Specifies that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Estate Tax Inflation Law. Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2026, if a valid election has been made under the Internal Revenue Code allowing a person to take into account a federal deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the purposes of calculating the person's federal estate tax, then the person's Illinois exclusion amount shall include the Illinois deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the deceased spouse with respect to whom the federal election was made. Provides that the exclusion amount used to calculate the decedent's Illinois estate tax shall be increased each year by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index. Provides that, for the purpose of calculating the Illinois Estate Tax, the State Death Tax Credit shall be calculated only on the portion of the decedent's adjusted taxable estate that exceeds the decedent's Illinois exclusion amount. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Provides that immediately upon the determination of a substantial deficiency in reading or the characteristics of dyslexia based upon (i) screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, or assessment data, (ii) statewide assessments, or (iii) teacher observations, the parent or legal guardian of a student in grades 1 through 3 who exhibits a substantial deficiency in reading must be notified in writing by the student's teacher of the following: (1) that the student has been identified as having a substantial deficiency in reading; (2) a description of the services that the school district currently is providing to the student; (3) a description of the proposed supplemental instructional services and supports that are designed to remediate the identified area of reading deficiency which the school district plans to provide the student; and (4) strategies for parents and guardians to use in helping the student to succeed in reading proficiency.

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board shall prohibit a school from using a native name, logo, or mascot. Provides, however, that a school may continue to use uniforms or other materials bearing a native name, logo, or mascot that were purchased on or before the effective date of the amendatory Act until September 1, 2028 if specified requirements are met. Provides that for any school whose team name is the name of a federally recognized tribe or historical Native American person, the school may continue to use its current team name and an agreed upon logo and mascot on and after the effective date of the amendatory Act if certain conditions are met. Provides that nothing in the provisions may be interpreted to prohibit county, municipality, or school district names.

Urges the State of Illinois to make needed investments in Illinois communities by raising $6 billion in new revenue from the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations. Affirms that, in addition to funding these critically-needed services, implementing these revenue policies will have the benefit of making our State's tax system less unfair to the lowest income Illinoisans.

Creates the 72-Hour Budget Review Act. Prohibits a hearing or vote on any appropriation bill or revenue bill for at least 72 hours after the bill is made publicly available. Provides that a vote on an amendment to an appropriation bill or a revenue bill is not in order unless that amendment is made publicly available within a specified period prior to the vote. Provides that these temporal limitations may be waived by an affirmative two-thirds vote of the full committee or house considering the legislation. Effective immediately.