Pritzker Signs Law Allowing Digital Driver's Licenses Among Hundreds of Other Bills

(Capitol News Illinois file photo by Jerry Nowicki)

By ANDREW ADAMS
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com

Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed a measure designating the “giant puffball” as the state’s mushroom after signing hundreds of bills on Friday, completing action on legislation sent to him by lawmakers this spring. 

Pritzker has now signed more than 460 bills without issuing any vetoes. Below is a recap of some of the more than 260 bills he signed Friday. 

Human remains chain of custody 

A Carlinville funeral home director sparked outrage when the public learned he had for years mishandled human remains. At least 80 families were given the wrong remains 

Senate Bill 2643, which passed unanimously in May, tightens regulations on the “chain of custody” for human remains handled by funeral home directors and lays out requirements for identifying remains. 

Read more: For at least 6 months, state failed to act on Carlinville funeral director that mishandled remains | Misdeeds by Carlinville funeral home director spur legislative proposals

“Families who lost loved ones experienced what no one ever thought was possible – receiving the wrong remains,” bill sponsor Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, said in a news release.  “It’s past time that we hold bad actors accountable.” 

Digital driver’s licenses 

House Bill 4592 lays out regulations for the secretary of state to offer Illinois residents the option to have a digital version of their driver’s license or state ID. 

The cards would be issued “in addition to, and not instead of” a physical ID, under the law, which takes effect in 2025. The law allows agencies and private entities to choose if they want to accept electronic IDs in place of physical ones, but “upon request by law enforcement, a credential holder must provide the credential holder's physical credential.”

“Other states already have mobile driver’s licenses and ID cards, and this bill gives our residents the same ability to have a mobile card if they want one, while still providing them with the option of a traditional physical card,” bill sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said in a news release. 

Despite some concern during legislative debate over potential privacy issues with the technology, the measure passed unanimously in May. 

Higher education changes

Several measures signed on Friday outline changes to higher education. 

Senate Bill 462 bans public colleges and universities in the state from considering an applicant’s relation to any past, current or prospective donors during the application process. It also bars those schools from considering an applicant’s “legacy status,” or whether they are related to former students. 

Read more: Capitol Briefs: Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities

Senate Bill 3081 requires public universities to provide information about transfer fee waivers to students transferring in from a public community college. It also encourages those universities to automatically waive transfer fees for low-income students. 

A third measure is aimed at lowering tuition costs for noncitizen Illinois residents. Senate Bill 461 requires public universities to charge in-state tuition for Illinois residents who attended an Illinois high school for at least 2 years or who graduated from an Illinois high school. It also would require universities to offer in-state tuition rates to some students who attended a high school, any college or university or a combination thereof for a combined three years. 

The measure passed 73-40 in the House and 42-16 in the Senate. 

Exoneree benefits

Senate Bill 3771 allows the spouse or child of someone who was wrongfully convicted of a crime and later exonerated to access their state-funded benefits. This includes covering up to four years of educational costs. 

“Wrongful convictions impact not only the individual, but also their families and loved ones. It is imperative that we look for ways to support them as well,” said bill sponsor Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago.

The measure passed 71-38 in the House with one member voting present and 45-11 in the Senate. 

Read more: His conviction was overturned after 35 years wrongfully served. State law caps his compensation at 14 years.

Illinois courts have overturned more convictions than any other state in the country, but the state lags behind in compensating those exonerees, offering about $15,000 per year they were wrongfully imprisoned for up to 14 years. Other states offer higher payouts, such as Connecticut which offers $281,566 per year. 

Single-use plastics in hotels 

Under Senate Bill 2960, hotels will no longer be allowed to offer their patrons single-use plastic soap and shampoo bottles. 

The industry has been voluntarily moving away from single-use plastics and the legislation had the backing of the state’s hotel association. Large hotels with 50 or more rooms would have until July 1, 2025, to comply with the law, while smaller hotels would be given an additional year.

The measure passed 73-40 in the House and 42-17 in the Senate. 

Opioid laws 

Several measures signed into law last week are aimed at reducing the harms of the opioid epidemic. 

Senate Bill 3350 creates a state program to distribute fentanyl test strips. The strips allow people to test whether a drug contains fentanyl, a potent opioid. Unknown fentanyl ingestion contributes to many cases of overdose. 

House Bill 4942 requires coroners to notify law enforcement when they find suspiciously high levels of fentanyl during an autopsy. Currently, hospitals are required to notify coroners of unexplained fentanyl-related deaths, but not law enforcement.

Another measure, Senate Bill 3779, allows social workers to carry and administer opioid antagonists such as naloxone, which is commonly known by the brand name Narcan. These drugs can reverse an opioid overdose if administered in a timely manner. 

“Social workers have the experience and work closely with individuals at risk, which makes them essential in combating this crisis,” bill sponsor Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, said in a statement.

House Bill 5028 allows the state to provide opioid antagonists at state agencies and shields employees from liability if they administer the medication. 

“Jordan’s law,” contained in Senate Bill 3137, requires prompt notification of deaths in drug rehabilitation facilities. The law was crafted in response to a story of a man who died while undergoing rehab and whose family was not immediately notified. 

“It is heartbreaking to lose a loved one, and it is unconscionable that there would be a delay in notification,” bill sponsor Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, said in a statement. 

All five measures were passed unanimously this spring. 

Light bulb ban, more

House Bill 2363 bans the sale of screw- or bayonet-base compact fluorescent bulbs after Jan. 1, 2026. It also bans pin-base and linear fluorescent bulbs after Jan. 1, 2027. 

The law’s stated goal is to reduce pollution and health risks associated with mercury in these types of bulbs. It passed 73-37 in the House and 37-19 in the Senate. 

Senate Bill 3501 will require new types of lighting fixtures at Illinois Department of Natural Resources facilities. These standards are aimed at reducing light pollution. 

“Light pollution is not as often discussed as other forms of environmental contamination, but excess artificial light poses serious health threats to animals, insects and humans,” said Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, said in a statement. 

That measure passed 71-39 in the House and unanimously in the Senate. 

Local journalism initiatives 

A measure backed by former journalist Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, is designed to aid local journalism. 

Senate Bill 3592 creates a state-funded scholarship to journalism students planning to work in Illinois for at least two years after they graduate. While that measure did not receive funding in the fiscal year 2025 budget, lawmakers did allocate $5 million for a tax credit program for news outlets beginning in 2025 and claimable the following year. It provides $15,000 per employee for certain newsrooms and another $10,000 for new hire.

Read more: Lawmakers consider tax break for news publishers, state-sponsored journalism scholarships

SB 3592 also requires a news publisher to notify employees, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, its county government, and any Illinois nonprofit “in the business of buying local news organizations” within 120 days prior to a potential sale. 

The measure passed 73-39 in the House, with one person voting present, and 43-16 in the Senate. 

Battery storage and disposal 

Senate Bill 3481 requires facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency by February 2026. The state’s Pollution Control Board would set the regulations for the proper storage of EV batteries. 

The bill passed 77-35 in the House and 44-15 in the Senate. 

Read more: Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal

Senate Bill 3686 requires battery producers and importers to implement an IEPA-approved battery stewardship plan starting in 2026. Retailers would be encouraged — but not required — to serve as collection facilities. This law applies to “medium format” batteries, which include certain batteries based on their weight and watt-hours. 

That measure passed 77-35 in the House and 45-14 in the Senate. 

New AI regulations 

House Bill 4623 clarifies that Illinois’ child pornography laws apply to images and videos created using artificial intelligence. 

Read more: Ban on ‘captive audience’ meetings, AI regulations among 466 bills to pass this session

House Bill 4762 and House Bill 4875 grant protections to performers and other individuals from the wrongful use of AI replicas and render certain contracts unenforceable if AI is misused. All three measures passed unanimously earlier this year.  

South suburban airport  

House Bill 5496 would allow the Illinois Department of Transportation to accept unsolicited bids for an airport in Will County. The project, which has been discussed for decades, has gained new interest in recent years as proponents have shifted to pushing for a cargo-only airport as opposed to a passenger airport. 

Read more: South suburban airport could bring over $1B in economic activity, per report

It passed 72-35 in the House and 49-2 in the Senate. 

Youth vaping regulations

Senate Bill 2662 bans the marketing of e-cigarettes in a way that would make them seem like commonplace objects, such as a pen. 

“This law will prohibit tobacco companies from pulling the wool over the eyes of educators and guardians whose job it is to keep kids safe,” bill sponsor Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, said in a statement.

Another measure, Senate Bill 3098, bans the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 21 years of age through online stores. 

Lending discrimination study

Senate Bill 3235 calls on the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion to conduct a study to identify geographic areas of the state where there are significant racial or ethnic disparities in access to lending and other financial services.

The bill is a follow-up to the 2021 Illinois Community Reinvestment Act, which requires state-regulated institutions to make loans, credit and other financial services available in all parts of the communities they serve.

Read more: After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination

The commission will report its findings to the General Assembly and secretary of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Lawmakers appropriated $250,000 to fund the study.

Peter Hancock and Jerry Nowicki contributed to this story.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.