On New Year’s Day, 293 new state laws take effect in Illinois.

The minimum wage in Illinois increases to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, completing a six-year transition period since the increase was approved in 2019.

Beginning Jan. 1, Illinois workers making minimum wage will see wages rise by $1, and tipped workers will see their paychecks bump to $9 an hour. Youth workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours a year will have a $13 minimum wage.

This final increase ends a six-year ramp which began with the minimum wage rising from $8.25 to $9.25 in 2020. Gov. JB Pritzker signed the wage increase in February 2019 about a month after being sworn in for his first term.

Illinois will be one of 10 states with a minimum wage of $15 or greater. Twenty-two other states are also increasing their wages on Jan. 1.

Courtesy of Capitol News Illinois, here’s a roundup of new state laws taking effect on Jan. 1. 

Digital driver’s licenses

The Secretary of State can begin creating a process to issue digital driver’s licenses and state IDs after Pritzker signed House Bill 4592. Residents will still be required to receive a physical ID, and agencies or private entities will not be required to accept digital IDs in place of physical IDs.

Providing a phone to police to show a digital ID also doesn’t give police consent to search a person’s cell phone.

Salary transparency

Employers with 15 or more employees must include information about benefits and the salary range on job postings, according to House Bill 3129. The law will also apply to businesses hiring for remote work positions in Illinois.

Health insurance

Short-term, limited duration health insurance plans will be illegal in Illinois beginning Jan. 1. The plans, often called “junk insurance” by critics, do not meet the minimum standards of the federal Affordable Care Act.

The ban outlined in House Bill 2499 was part of Gov. Pritzker’s health insurance overhaul that lawmakers passed in the spring. It was aimed at reducing barriers to care for patients and making health care more affordable by expanding coverage requirements for insurance companies.

Short-term insurance plans are typically for people who have a lapse in health insurance coverage such as when they lose or change jobs, but they are different from COBRA benefits, which most employers are required to offer under federal law.

Caregiver law 

House Bill 2161 adds family responsibilities to the list of categories protected from discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. The new law prevents employers from taking adverse action against employees because of their responsibilities as a caregiver for a family member, which could cause them to miss work. The bill does not protect employees who fail to meet job performance requirements.

AI regulations

New laws governing artificial intelligence take effect Jan. 1. It will be illegal to generate child pornography using AI, according to House Bill 4623. Supporters of the bill, including the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, said it is becoming more difficult to distinguish between real and AI-generated images. They said updating Illinois’ child porn laws was a necessary step to allow law enforcement to identify and prosecute child porn cases.

House bill 4875 also adds new protections to prohibit using AI to recreate a person’s voice, image or likeness for commercial purposes without the person’s consent. Recording artists can seek damages for violations of the law.

E-cigs

More restrictions are placed on electronic cigarettes starting Jan. 1.

One law prohibits the advertising, marketing or promoting of an e-cigarette in a manner that is likely to cause a person to mistake it for an object that is anything other than what it is: a tobacco product.  Some e-cigs are designed to look like school supplies, like highlighters, erasers and pencil sharpeners.

Another law prohibits e-cigs purchased by mail, online or through other remote sale methods from being shipped to anyone in the state other than a distributor or retailer.

Politics, religion

Employees can’t be required to sit through work meetings discussing religion or politics starting Jan. 1. Senate Bill 3649, an initiative of the Illinois AFL-CIO, creates new protections for employees who skip out on such meetings and prevents employers from retaliating against them.

The law does not prohibit discussing religion or politics at work, but employees are not required to participate in the discussions if such activities are not part of their job. The law excludes non-profit and advocacy groups where politics or religion may be part of job.

Coming soon

Pritzker’s signature health reform package goes into effect Jan. 1, but most provisions don’t have to be implemented until the beginning of 2026. House Bill 5395 bans “step therapy,” which requires patients to try and fail treatments preferred by insurance companies before they can receive the treatment recommended by their doctor.

It also bans insurance companies from requiring prior authorization for emergency in-patient mental health treatment, requires insurers to keep up-to-date lists of in-network providers and expands the power of the Illinois Department of Insurance to regulate premium rates.

Many hotels in Illinois will no longer be allowed to provide customers with single-use plastic soap and shampoo beginning July 1 under Senate Bill 2960. The move is designed to cut down on waste from single-use products. The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association supported the change. Hotels with fewer than 50 rooms have until 2026 to make the change.

Other new laws

Student athletes at NCAA universities can earn name, image and likeness (NIL) money directly from their universities. House Bill 307 was an initiative of the University of Illinois.

Insurance providers must cover medically prescribed hearing aids for all people under House Bill 2443. Coverage was previously only required for those under 18.

House Bill 4911 requires gyms and fitness centers to accept multiple ways for people to cancel their membership. Physical fitness locations also must now allow customers to cancel their membership by email or online. Customers will also be allowed to submit written notice for canceling their membership by mail.

Businesses that offer a free trial or promotional period for their product or service must notify customers at least three days before the subscription automatically renews at a paid rate under Senate Bill 2764. The law only applies to subscriptions longer than 15 days.

DNA evidence collected from a person who is the victim of a crime to aid a criminal investigation cannot be entered into a DNA database, according to House Bill 1168.