By Ben Szalinski, Brenden Moore, & Peter Hancock
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away January 1, though many people will continue to pay it at the local level.
Data compiled by the Illinois Municipal League shows that 656 municipalities — a little more than half of the state’s municipalities — have passed an ordinance establishing their own grocery tax. Those communities are home to 7.2 million people, or 56.5% of the state’s population. Three counties — Washington, Wabash and Moultrie — have also approved countywide grocery taxes.
Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill in 2024 eliminating the 1% statewide grocery tax, which he touted as a measure to ease residents’ tax burden. But because the revenue from the state grocery tax went to municipal governments, rather than state coffers, the measure allowed local governments to levy their own 1% tax via ordinance, rather than a referendum to voters.
Here are some other laws that will take effect in the new year:
Hotel soaps phased out
The phase-out of small, single-use plastic bottles in Illinois hotel rooms continues.
Senate Bill 2960, passed and signed into law in 2024, bars hotels from providing toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner and bath soap in less than six-ounce plastic containers unless specifically requested by the hotel guest.
The ban took effect in hotels with 50 or more rooms on July 1 and takes effect for all hotels starting in 2026. Hotels in violation will receive a written warning for the first offense and be subject to fines of up to $1,500 for each subsequent violation.
The legislation is intended to spur the state’s hospitality industry to reduce its plastic footprint by shifting to either refillable toiletry containers or larger plastic bottles.
Similar laws have been enacted in states like California, New York, and Washington.
Squatter removal
Senate Bill 1563 will make it easier for authorities to remove squatters who are illegally staying at someone else’s residence.
The law clarifies that a court-ordered eviction is not required for police to remove squatters from a person’s home, and police can enforce criminal trespassing charges against a squatter.
Pritzker signed the bill in July after squatters moved into a home next door to representative Marcus Evans in Chicago. According to ABC-7, Chicago Police told homeowners they couldn’t remove the squatters from the home and the homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months.
Drinking water protections
Senate Bill 1723 bans carbon sequestration — the process of capturing and storing carbon by injecting it underground — within an area that “overlies, underlies, or passes through” a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-designated sole-source aquifer.
The new law applies to the footprint of the Mahomet Aquifer, which is the main source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people across a 15-county area in central Illinois.
It comes as Illinois, especially downstate, is targeted for carbon sequestration projects due to the state’s favorable geology and the availability of federal tax credits.
Studies, including those conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, have found minimal risk to water sources from sequestration activity.
But the legislation was a priority for central Illinois community activists, environmental advocates and a bipartisan cadre of local lawmakers with zero risk tolerance due to the lack of a clear alternative water source if the aquifer were tainted.
Safer gear for firefighters
Illinois will take first steps towards requiring safer gear for firefighters.
Under House Bill 2409, manufacturers of firefighter turnout gear starting in 2026 must provide written notice if their products contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”
Numerous scientific studies have linked exposure to PFAS to an increased risk of developing various forms of cancer.
Manufacturers will be banned from selling turnout gear and personal protective equipment containing PFAS altogether starting on Jan. 1, 2027.
Lift-assist fees
House Bill 2336 allows municipalities or fire districts to charge assisted living facilities or nursing homes for calls to fire departments requesting help lifting a resident when it is not an emergency.
The bill was an initiative of the Illinois Municipal League, which argued the calls to fire departments for the nonemergency service are a burden on local governments and shift liabilities for injuries that happen during the process to fire departments rather than the facility.
Stadium funding
Senate Bill 2772 adds women’s professional sports to the types of facilities the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority can oversee. Current law only allows the ISFA to oversee sports facilities for baseball, football and auto racing.
The bill is not designed to move any team’s stadium proposals forward, though the Chicago Stars women’s soccer team has previously been reported to be interested in building a new stadium with help from state funding.
The bill was the only one related to sports stadium funding that advanced in Springfield in 2025. The Chicago Bears committed earlier this year to building a stadium in Arlington Heights but are still waiting for approval from the village and struggling to find support in Springfield for funding.
Public official privacy
House Bill 576 allows state lawmakers, constitutional officers and state’s attorneys, among others, to request that their personal information be redacted on public websites.
Public officials would be able to use their campaign funds to pay for personal security services and security upgrades to their home, including security systems, cameras, walls, fences and other physical improvements.
Rewilding
House Bill 2726 allows the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement rewilding as a conservation strategy for the State.
This could entail the restoration of land to its natural state and the reintroduction of native species, especially apex predators and keystone species like bison and beavers.
Illinois is believed to be the first state to codify the strategy into law.
Reservation app regulations
State lawmakers voted this year to crackdown on third-party restaurant reservation apps.
House Bill 2456 prohibits third-party reservation services from selling reservations without a restaurant’s permission. Restaurants are still allowed to partner with the services.
Paid time off to pump breast milk
Senate Bill 212 mandates employers to compensate mothers who take breaks at work to pump breast milk for up to a year after their child is born. The bill prohibits employers from requiring employees to use paid leave time for pumping.
Naloxone in libraries
House Bill 1910 requires that libraries maintain a supply of opioid overdose medication, like naloxone. This drug is often administered through a nasal spray like Narcan. The law also requires that at least one staff member be trained to identify overdoses and administer the drug.
Police training on sexual assault
Senate Bill 1195, also known as Anna’s Law, requires police officers in training to participate in trauma-informed programs, procedures and practices that are designed to reduce trauma for victims. The bill is named after Anna Williams, a suburban resident who brought the initiative to lawmakers following her own experience with a sexual assault investigation. The bill takes effect in January.
Predatory towing
Senate Bill 2040 gives the Illinois Commerce Commission new powers to punish predatory towing companies which sometimes tow cars under false pretenses only to charge drivers afterwards. The ICC-backed law allows the agency to revoke towing licenses, impound tow trucks and more.
Leave for parents with newborns in NICU
Illinois workers with a newborn in a neonatal intensive care unit will soon have additional access to job-protected, unpaid leave.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 2978, dubbed the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act, earlier this year and it takes effect January 1. It requires employers of between 16 and 50 workers to provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to employees who have a child in the NICU. Larger employers must provide up to 20 days.
The law applies to both part- and full-time workers. It covers a broader swath of workers than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act — the law requiring public agencies, K-12 schools and private companies with at least 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. Workers eligible for FMLA must exhaust that leave first before utilizing NICU leave.
Employers covered under the law must maintain their employee’s health insurance benefits and guarantee their reinstatement upon the conclusion of leave. Employers can’t force workers to exhaust their paid leave instead of unpaid NICU leave, though employees can take it if they choose.
Violations may result in fines of up to $5,000.
AI in employment decisions
An amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, House Bill 3773, prohibits use of AI in employment decisions such as recruitment, hiring and promotion if that use results in discrimination due to race, religion, sex and age.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will require employers to disclose use of AI in employment decisions. The measure, however, could potentially run afoul of a recent order that limits how states can regulate AI.
Documenting domestic violence
House Bill 1278 prevents employers from disciplining employees for using work devices to document domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence or other forms of violence against them or a family member. Employers also have to grant employees access to such documentation and communications stored on the devices.
The law was inspired by a New York woman who used her work device to document domestic abuse committed by her husband. She was disciplined by her employer and later murdered by her husband.
Workplace transparency
House Bill 3638 amends the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act to broaden the definition of “unlawful employment practice” to include any act prohibited by the Illinois Human Rights Act, the federal Civil Rights Act and any other state or federal law covering employment issues.
Employment contracts can also no longer include terms that limit an employee’s ability to engage in “concerted activity” like collective bargaining. And it prohibits contract stipulations that shorten the statute of limitations for employee claims, apply the law of another state to claims or require claims be resolved outside Illinois.
Paid leave for organ donors
House Bill 1616 extends paid leave requirements for organ donors to part-time employees.
Under the law, workers can use up to 10 days leave per year to serve as an organ donor. Part-time workers’ pay for these days will be their average daily pay rate over the previous two months.
Military honors
Under Senate Bill 220, employers with more than 50 workers must offer up to eight hours of paid leave per month — capped at 40 hours per calendar year — for employees to participate in a military funeral honors detail. It is in addition to regular paid time off.
Unemployment benefits
House Bill 3200 allows for someone who voluntarily leaves their job for mental health reasons to be eligible for unemployment benefits. It is a three-year pilot program that sunsets Dec. 24, 2028.
Immigrant rights
The rights of noncitizen students, including those who are not lawfully present in the U.S., rose to the top of the education agenda as soon as president Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in January.
The day Trump was inaugurated, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded a Biden administration policy that had limited immigration enforcement actions in or near “sensitive locations” such as schools, playgrounds, child care centers and school bus stops.
Two days later, Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders issued what he called “non-regulatory guidance” to local school officials, urging them to adopt policies spelling out how and when their staff should cooperate with federal immigration officials carrying out enforcement actions or seeking information from school officials.
At the Statehouse, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly also took action, passing bills intended to extend more legal protections to noncitizens living in Illinois.
School program participation
Among those was House Bill 3247, which passed the General Assembly in the final days of the spring session in May and was signed into law Aug. 15. It prohibits schools from excluding or discouraging students from attending school or taking part in school programs based on their immigration status or that of their parents or guardians.
“In the face of federal threats to our schools and students, our communities came together and organized to demand that our state leaders stand up for education for all Illinois children,” Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said in a statement after the bill’s final approval.
“While the right to safe and free public education remains under attack from Trump and leaders in other states, Illinois has the opportunity to continue to uphold our values.”
The law specifically prohibits schools from requesting or collecting information from a student, their parents or guardians about their citizenship or immigration status unless the information is required by state or federal law.
It also prohibits schools from disclosing information about their immigration or citizenship status to any other person or entity, including immigration and law enforcement agencies, unless required to do so under federal law.
In addition, starting July 1, schools that violate those prohibitions can be sued in civil court for actual damages.
Scholarships and immigration status
Another new law expands the types of publicly funded scholarships students can qualify for regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.
Illinois law already extends eligibility for state-funded student financial aid such as the Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants, to any student who meets Illinois residency requirements. House Bill 460, which was signed into law in August, expands that to include programs administered by local units of government.
Artificial Intelligence in college
The rapid deployment in recent years of new technologies like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemeni has raised a host of new questions for educators. Should students be allowed to use them in lieu of doing their own reading and writing? And should schools themselves be allowed to use them in lieu of human instructors to lead classes?
Illinois lawmakers addressed some of those questions.
House Bill 1859 requires community colleges to ensure that faculty members who teach courses must be actual people who meet the qualifications to hold their positions. It also provides that colleges may not, in lieu of a faculty member, use AI programs “as the sole source of instruction.” It does, however, allow faculty members to use AI as a teaching tool in their classrooms.
“Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can enhance both students’ and teachers’ capability to learn and teach, but it cannot replace an instructor,” Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, the bill’s lead House sponsor, said in a statement. “This legislation clarifies that college courses must be taught by real people, not AI.”
AI at elementary and secondary schools
Lawmakers were less specific about how AI should be handled at the elementary and secondary education levels. Instead, they directed the Illinois State Board of Education to develop broad guidelines.
Senate Bill 1920 directs ISBE to develop statewide guidance for districts and educators on the use of AI in K-12 settings. That includes a basic explanation of what AI is and how it works as well as descriptions of how it can be used in the classroom “to inform teaching and learning practices while preserving the human relationships essential to effective teaching and learning.”
The law also directs ISBE to include guidance on the impact AI systems and applications could have on student data privacy, on best practices for teaching students about responsible and ethical uses of AI, and the dangers of “unintentional and disparate biases against special populations inherent within artificial intelligence products.”
The law directs ISBE to publish those guidelines by July 1.
Other education laws
Also beginning Jan. 1, students in seventh and eighth grade will be able to get an early jump on earning high school credits.
House Bill 3039 authorizes districts to award credits to seventh and eighth graders who enroll in high school classes as long as they pass both the course and the end-of-course examination demonstrating they have achieved high school-level proficiency.
House Bill 1366 requires districts to notify the parents or guardians of students with special needs that they have a right to bring a third-party advocate with them to meetings about their student’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP meetings.
Maggie Dougherty and Jerry Nowicki contributed to this story.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.