How Illinois AI law arrived, in order
From the 2020 AI Video Interview Act — one of the first state AI employment laws in the country — through the five bills sent to the Governor at the close of the 2026 spring session. Every milestone links to the statute or bill it concerns.
Milestones
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AI Video Interview Act Takes Effect
Illinois becomes one of the first states to regulate AI in employment with the AI Video Interview Act (820 ILCS 42), requiring notice and consent for AI analysis of job interviews.
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WOPR Act Signed into Law
Governor Pritzker signs HB 1806, making Illinois the first state to comprehensively regulate AI in mental health care.
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Community College AI Instruction Limit Signed
Governor Pritzker signs HB 1859 as PA 104-0201, barring Illinois community colleges from using AI as the sole source of instruction in place of qualified faculty.
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AI Employment & Education Acts Take Effect
PA 103-0804 and PA 104-0399 become enforceable, activating employer transparency mandates and public school AI curriculum requirements.
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Wave of New AI Bills Introduced
Over 20 new AI bills filed in the 104th General Assembly, including frontier model regulation, companion AI protections, data privacy measures, and AI disclosure requirements.
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Original Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline
Original procedural deadline for committee action on pending bills. Extended to April 24, 2026 for AI and Social Media committee bills. Multiple House bills re-referred to Rules.
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OpenAI vs. Anthropic at Illinois Senate AI Hearing
OpenAI testifies in support of SB 3444 — the catastrophe-liability framework that would shield frontier AI developers from mass-casualty claims. Anthropic publicly opposes and lobbies Sen. Cunningham to revise. First time the major AI labs have squared off directly before a state legislature.
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House AI Bills Held on 2nd Reading
HB 4980 (Meaningful Human Control of AI Act, Rashid) and HB 3021 (AI Consumer Fraud Deception, Rashid) were both bounced back to Rules Committee after being held on 2nd Reading — a 'whip count came up short' signal. Despite a 25+ co-sponsor coalition for HB 4980 and unanimous Rules approval for HB 3021, neither sponsor called the bill for a floor vote before the deadline.
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Senate AI Committee Deadline Extended
All 12 priority Senate AI bills survive the AI and Social Media committee deadline — but none received a 'Do Pass' vote. The committee chair extended the deadline to May 15 across the board, signaling continued negotiation rather than enactment. SB 3262 (Companion AI Protection) had 'All Senators' added en bloc as co-sponsor on April 10, an unusually strong consensus signal.
SB 3312SB 3261SB 3262SB 3263SB 3364SB 2255SB 3601SB 3368SB 3384SB 3180SB 3890SB 2994
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Senate Passes Frontier AI Safety Bill (SB 315)
The Illinois Senate passes SB 315, the AI Safety Measures Act, 52-5. The bill carries Sen. Edly-Allen's frontier-model framework (previously tracked as SB 3312) and omits the catastrophe liability shield from the competing SB 3444.
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House Passes SB 315 Unanimously, 110-0
The Illinois House passes SB 315 110-0, making Illinois poised to become the first U.S. state to mandate independent third-party audits of frontier AI safety practices. Gov. Pritzker pledges to sign it.
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Spring Session Adjourns — Five AI Bills Sent to Governor
The General Assembly adjourns its spring session at 4:30 a.m., sending five AI bills to Gov. Pritzker: SB 315 (frontier safety audits), SB 316 (companion-AI suicide/self-harm safeguards), SB 317 (consumer chatbot disclosure), SB 318 (ticket-bot prevention), and SB 3114 (human review of AI claim downcoding). Most other AI proposals did not get a floor vote and remain technically pending in the 104th GA.
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IDHR Withdraws & Postpones AI-in-Employment Rules
The Illinois Department of Human Rights withdraws and postpones its proposed rules implementing the AI Employment Discrimination Act (PA 103-0804), citing the need to collaborate with other state agencies. The June 10 public hearing is canceled; the statute remains in effect while rulemaking is paused.
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Ticket Bot Prevention Act Signed — PA 104-0474
Gov. Pritzker signs SB 318 as PA 104-0474 at Concord Music Hall, Chicago, as part of a consumer-protection package. The Act bans AI-powered bots from buying tickets in excess of posted limits and requires venues and ticket issuers to disclose tickets withheld from public sale. Effective January 1, 2027 — the first of the five governor-sent AI bills to be enacted.
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AI Cyberbullying School Law Takes Effect
HB 3851 (PA 104-0338) takes effect, expanding Illinois School Code definitions of bullying and cyberbullying to cover AI-generated content. Schools may now discipline students for distributing AI-generated sexually explicit images of peers, and — starting with the 2026–27 school year — for posting AI-generated digital replicas (fake likenesses) of other students without consent.
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AI Safety Measures Act Signed — PA 104-0538
Gov. Pritzker signs SB 315, the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, as PA 104-0538 — the first U.S. law to require independent third-party audits of frontier-model safety practices. It reaches large frontier developers (over $500M in prior-year revenue training models past 10^26 operations), takes effect January 1, 2027, and phases its core developer obligations in toward January 1, 2028. Signed over a NetChoice veto request.
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Transparency in Downcoding Act Signed — PA 104-0568
Gov. Pritzker signs SB 3114, the Transparency in Downcoding Act, as PA 104-0568. Health insurers may use automated tools to flag claims for possible downcoding, but every downcoding determination must be made or reviewed by a natural person, and no claim may be downcoded based solely on its diagnosis codes. Effective January 1, 2028.
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Effective Date for the Governor-Sent Bills
The 2027-effective governor-sent bills take effect January 1, 2027. SB 318 (Ticket Bot Prevention Act, PA 104-0474) and SB 315 (AI Safety Measures Act, PA 104-0538 — core developer obligations phasing in toward 2028) are signed; SB 316 (companion-AI safeguards) and SB 317 (chatbot disclosure) take effect that date if signed. SB 3114 (healthcare downcoding, PA 104-0568) was signed but takes effect January 1, 2028.
No milestones of this type.