Illinois will usher in over 400 new laws effective on the first day of 2026. Illinois Legal Aid Online [ILAO] believes residents should be aware of the laws concerning health, employment, education, law enforcement, and more.
Teri Ross, executive director of ILAO, said it is important to understand the law because it effects the everyday lives of Illinois residents.
“Sometimes it’s invisible and we don’t see it, but if you think about traffic laws and building codes and regulations for various consumer products and so on, the law is all around us,” she said. “And it’s important to know what new laws are coming into play and how they may impact you.”
A few of the new laws for the new year focus on the rights of victims of sexual assault or trafficking. HB 2602 expands protections for victims of these crimes.
“There used to be a statute of limitations, basically, on these cases. So, if you didn’t bring them within a certain period of time, you lost your right to sue someone who you think violated the law,” said Ross. “So, it removes that time limit for prosecuting crimes of involuntary servitude, human trafficking, and other related offenses. Particularly when the victim or survivor was under 18 at the time of the crime.”
Another is HB 1302. That bill expands the Crime Victim Bill of Rights for sexual assault victims.
"And it also affirmatively says that law enforcement officers cannot discourage or try to stop a victim from filing a police report of abuse, sexual assault, neglect or exploitation,” she said.
Ross said a related bill also protects against consumer debt under duress, or a situation where someone is coerced or forced into taking on debt for someone else. She said it is more common in older adults whose younger family may take advantage of their good financial situation.
Education and schools
Ross highlighted other key laws she said residents should be aware of, two of which relate to the public school system.
HB 3247, or the “Safe Schools for All Act,” prohibits public schools from denying a free public education to children based on actual or perceived citizenship status.
“I think the other one that’s important to mention is it’s related to school and education, and that requires schools to come up, by the summer, with a set of processes … for dealing with law enforcement requests to enter the building, and for releasing particular student information that may include immigration status,” Ross said.
Schools will also undertake new responsibilities for mental health screenings, under multiple new bills. SB 1560 will take effect next year, requiring enforcement of the offer for mental health screenings starting in the 2027 school year.
"It impacts grades three through 12, is an annual mental health screening,” she said. “And it sounds to me from the law like it’s going to be a self-assessment of sorts, so somebody, a student, answers a set of questionnaires and then a set of questions, and then they assess whether any follow up is needed.”
Staying informed
As the state’s largest nonprofit online legal aid resource, ILAO is committed to helping residents stay informed of how the plethora of new laws affect them in their everyday lives.
Ross said ILAO’s website is a good resource to keep up to date on all types of laws, including new ones set to take effect in 2026.
“Our website … has an article where we set out many of the laws, at least 30 of them, I think, are in there with explanations of how they might impact people,” she said. “And they’re sorted by category, money, employment, school and education and then we have additional links out to more information if any of those do apply specifically to people and they want to learn more about what their rights are or what their responsibilities are.”
If a resident requires further information, ILAO is able to provide that as well.
“If there’s a specific state agency where a complaint or a petition can be filed, or if folks need to talk to a lawyer, we also provide connections to legal aid programs and to other legal referral services,” Ross said.
Other new laws include:
- SB 1563, Protecting property owners from squatters: Clarifies that eviction laws do not prevent law enforcement from enforcing criminal trespass laws. With proof of ownership, a property owner can have law enforcement remove a trespasser.
- SB 0008 or “The Safe Gun Storage Act”: Requires gun owners to safely store firearms if they know or should know a minor or at-risk person not allowed to have a gun could access them. Violation fines range from $500 to $10,000.
- HB 3773: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibits uses of Artificial Intelligence which results in illegal discrimination in employment decisions and recruitment.
- SB 0212: Amends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act to require employers provide paid break time for nursing employees to express breast milk.
