These new Illinois laws for 2025 could impact your health, wallet and more

New Year’s Day is right around the corner, and in the state of Illinois that means new laws will go into effect, with nearly 300 hitting the books in 2025.

According to the Illinois General Assembly’s website, at least 293 new laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and they cover a variety of topics, including your health insurance, the rights of employees and employers, and even the way you display your driver’s license during traffic stops and other settings.

For a full list of Illinois laws that are going into effect in 2025, residents can visit the General Assembly’s website.

Top 25 new laws for 2025:

HB 2161 – Employers discriminating or harassing employees based on their family responsibilities is now a civil rights violation.

HB 2350 – Requires companies in Illinois that provide health insurance to cover annual prostate cancer screenings, cervical smears or Pap smears for all insured individuals, regardless of gender.

HB 2443 – Requires that new insurance plans must provide coverage for medically necessary hearing instruments and related services for all individuals, not just those under the age of 18.

HB 3129 – Requires employers with 15 or more employees to include the pay scale and benefits of any job posting, and will hold companies liable for withholding the information, or if third-party job sites withhold the information.

HB 3639 – Requires insurance companies to limit the total price of a twin-pack of medically necessary epinephrine injectors to $60 or less.

HB 4175 – Prohibits the use of corporal and physical punishment in Illinois schools, with exceptions for restraints preventing self-harm or harm to others.

HB 4206 – Tenants will be permitted to pay landlords in cash or paper checks to avoid transaction fees associated with direct deposit or credit or debit cards. 

HB 4447 – No person can use the name, image, likeness trademark or any other intellectual property belonging to a car dealership without obtaining written permission from the dealer for purposes of selling extended warranties.

HB 4592 – Allows the Secretary of State to issue mobile ID cards and driver’s licenses.

HB 4623 – This bill adds images created by Artificial Intelligence to laws banning child pornography.

HB 4768 – Prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants by decreasing services, increasing rents, threatening lawsuits, or other tactics when an issue is brought to light, either in court, in the media or in other forms.

HB 4911 – Gym memberships can now be canceled over the phone, online or via email.

HB 5357 – Requires insurance companies to provide homeowner applicants with coverage information for losses caused by sewer backups or sump pump overflows.

HB 5394 – Requires schools to provide all teachers, administrators and other school personnel to be informed of emergency procedures, including the Heimlich maneuver, hands-only CPR, and use of the school district’s automated external defibrillator.

HB 5395 – A wide-ranging medical insurance reform bill that prohibits companies from denying claims and persuading patients to opt for low-cost alternatives for treatments. It also outlaws “step therapy,” where patients have to use cheaper drugs before being approved for more expensive ones. The bill also prohibits the sale of limited-duration medical insurance coverage that doesn’t meet minimum standards established by the federal Affordable Care Act.  

HB 5408 – Drivers will be prohibited from stopping or parking vehicles on shoulders of highways within a half-mile radius of the eastern entrance to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

HB 5643 – Private insurance and Medicaid are now required to cover at-home, urine-based pregnancy tests.

SB 0275 – The Secretary of State’s Office will be required to offer applicants the option to be issued an 8-year driver’s license within the next two years.

SB 2744 – Requires insurance companies to cover vaccine administration fees, regardless of the type of provider administering the vaccine, without copay or deductible.

SB 2764 – Businesses will now be required to notify customers at least three days before an automatic renewal that goes into effect after a free trial of 15 days or more.

SB 2872 – Allows schools to provide “relaxation activities” to students for at least 20 minutes per week. These activities can include mindfulness training, yoga, stretching, meditation, breathing exercises, quiet time, walking and other stress-reducing activities.

SB 2960 – Hotels with 50 or more rooms will be required to eliminate single-use plastic bottles by July 1, and all remaining hotels will be required to eliminate such bottles by the end of the year.

SB 3098 – E-cigarettes can no longer be ordered or purchased online by individuals under the age of 21.

SB 3471 – Residents whose license plates are stolen can now have them replaced free of charge.

SB 3649 – This bill bans mandatory attendance at so-called “captive audience meetings,” a practice labor advocates say discourages union organization efforts.

Other noteworthy new laws:

HB 0307 – This bill allows athletes to earn Name-Image-Likeness compensation directly from their universities, and also prohibits media and residents from obtaining information on how much athletes make in private NIL deals.

HB 1168 – This bill prohibits the DNA profile of a victim of a crime from being entered into a DNA database.

HB 3763 – Allows employees to request bargaining contracts, handbooks, press releases, discrimination reports or any other documentation about their employment.

HB 4500 – Weapons charges are being retitled in Illinois. “Unlawful use of a weapon” will change to “unlawful possession of a weapon,” and “armed habitual criminal” will be changed to “unlawful possession of a firearm by a repeat felony offender,” among other changes.

HB 4589 – Removes an expiration date for a bill requiring companies and individuals engaging in transactions involving catalytic converters to include the VIN number of the vehicle from which the device was removed, and the part number and other identifying information about the converter. Companies must also verify the seller’s ownership of the vehicle from which the converter was taken.

HB 4848 – Requires trash transportation vehicles to be covered to prevent windblown garbage.

HB 4867 – Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, a person has freedom from unlawful discrimination in making reproductive health decisions.

HB 4875 – Makes it illegal to create digital replicas of individuals via generative Artificial Intelligence without consent of the recorded individual.

HB 4891 – Prohibits dentists from establishing third-party financing for a patient.

HB 4942 – County coroners must now report suspicious levels of fentanyl found in toxicology reports to law enforcement.

HB 4966 – The Secretary of State will now be permitted to issue specialty license plates to motorcycles.

HB 5087 – Physical therapy services can now be delivered via telehealth platforms.

HB 5142 – The “Birth Equity Act” provisions pertaining to requiring insurance companies to cover services of doulas and midwives will take effect on Jan. 1. Other provisions of the bill will not take effect until Jan. 2026.

HB 5258 – Requires insurance companies to make dependent coverage available to qualifying parents or stepparents of the insured if they meet the definition of a “qualifying relative” under federal law.

HB 5465 – Allows child victims of trafficking to have juvenile records expunged or sealed related to criminal acts they were forced to take part in while being abused.

HB 5502 – Condominium sales cannot be stopped due to discriminatory purposes.

HB 5559 – Requires automobile insurance companies to provide drivers the option to be compensated for the value of repairs to make an automobile safe to drive after a crash. Also requires that after a vehicle is determined to be a total loss that the company provides the customer a description of how the determination was made, including repair estimates, salvage values, assessed market values and other calculations.

SB 0331 – Requires public universities and community colleges to pay employees their regular rate of pay if a campus is closed due to a winter weather emergency.

SB 2195 – Requires insurance companies to cover a prosthetic or custom orthotic device that is “medically necessary for the enrollee to perform physical activities, such as running, biking, swimming and lifting weights.”

SB 2442 – Hospitals will be prohibited from billing uninsured patients if they qualify for free care under the Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act, and will require hospitals to provide the patient with information on insurance they may be qualified for.

SB 2601 – Requires landlords to disclose if a property is in an area at a high risk of flooding.

SB 2625 – Retail establishments will be prohibited from displaying alcohol-infused products or co-branded alcoholic beverages near similar products, or near products marketed toward youth.

SB 2644 – Illinois officials will create a registry of Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment Forms describing a patient’s preferred medical treatment.

SB 2662 – Manufacturers of e-cigarettes can no longer market the devices in ways that are “likely” to cause a parent or guardian to mistake them for a non-tobacco product.

SB 2683 – Defines using electronic tracking systems or acquiring tracking information of a person’s movements or travel pattern as a violation of laws prohibiting electronic stalking.

SB 2697 – Requires insurance and Medicaid to cover genetic cancer screening and testing for high-risk patients.

SB 2735 – Bill requires that no insurer, health organization or managed care plan should charge a fee for physicians to receive reimbursements for services provided to insured patients.

SB 2745 – Requires retailers who sell alcohol to post a sign with the name and phone number of an authorized state alcoholism and substance abuse helpline.

SB 2824 – Students will no longer be charged non-resident tuition at private schools if they are required to move out of a district due to allegations of violence, abuse or sexual abuse by a parent or guardian, and if DCFS has removed that pupil from their home as a result.

SB 2876 – Event facilities will now be required to compost organic waste and transfer recyclable materials to recycling facilities.

SB 2919 – Foreclosed properties can be sold online in specific circumstances.

SB 2933 – This bill makes it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency to create a report containing any adverse information that the agency knows relates to medical debt incurred by a consumer, or collection action against a consumer to collect medical debt. The bill also makes it illegal for agencies to maintain files on consumers containing information related to medical debt.

SB 2934 – Explicitly holds that a hazing victim giving permission does not absolve those perpetrating actions that are viewed as hazing.

SB 2935 – Mobile homeowners will now have the right of first refusal, and will have the right to purchase their mobile home park if the owner decides to sell it.

SB 3116 – Requires Illinois agencies to develop training programs for first responders to access and use medical information stored in cell phones in the event of an emergency.

SB 3133 – Allows residents with Bright Start or Bright Directions accounts to roll over funds not used for college into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary.

SB 3203 – Insurance companies cannot deny coverage for life-saving inhalers, and must establish a cap of $25 for a 30-day inhaler supply.

SB 3208 – Companies must now maintain copies of employees’ pay stubs for up to three years after the date of payment.

SB 3318 – Insurance plans for state employees will be required to cover all FDA-approved treatments of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as medications prescribed to slow the disease.

SB 3343 – Virtual currencies can now be held by the state Treasurer’s Office under the Unclaimed Property Act.

SB 3406 – The state’s “Rules of the Road” handbook will now include information about transporting hazardous materials.

SB 3455 – The Department of Revenue will conduct a study evaluating the property tax system in the state of Illinois.

SB 3571 – School districts must have present at a school during the day, and during school-sponsored extracurricular activities, one AED device and one or more trained AED users.

SB 3592 – Increased transparency in the sale of local media outlets will be required, and a journalism scholarship program at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will be created. 

SB 3646 – A bill overhauling Illinois’ child labor laws, setting minimum working standards for children age 15 and younger and limiting the number of hours children can legally work, and updating a list of jobs minors cannot hold.

SB 3775 – Requires drivers to notify police of any crash that involves injury or death of another person, a crash that results in damage to property in excess of a specified amount, or a crash that involves a school bus.

SB 3779 – Authorizes social workers to administer opioid antagonists like naloxone after receiving proper training.