The new Illinois laws taking effect in 2025 and 2026 reshape paid time off, wages, freelance contracts, driving rules, gun storage, debt collection, school enrollment, and several corners of criminal law. Some are already in force; others kick in January 1, 2026. Below is what each one actually requires and who it covers.
Paid Leave Every Worker Earns
The Paid Leave for All Workers Act gives nearly every Illinois employee the right to earn paid time off for any reason. You accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to at least 40 hours in a 12-month period.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act Accrual starts on day one, but your employer can require you to wait 90 days before actually using it.2Illinois Department of Labor. Paid Leave for All Workers Act Fact Sheet
The point that separates this law from a traditional sick-leave mandate: your employer cannot ask why you need the time, cannot demand documentation, and cannot ask for a doctor’s note.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act Full-time and part-time workers are both covered.
Who the Law Leaves Out
The Act does not cover:
- Railroad workers under the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or Railway Labor Act
- College students working for the school they attend
- Short-term higher education employees working fewer than two consecutive calendar quarters with no expectation of rehire
- Construction and parcel delivery workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement
- Other union-covered employees whose CBA was in effect on or entered before January 1, 2024
- Independent contractors, who are not employees under the Act
Campus jobs catch students by surprise most often. If you fall into one of these categories, this specific law creates no obligation for your employer.3Illinois Department of Labor. Paid Leave for All Workers Act FAQ
Wages, Tips, and Freelance Pay
The statewide minimum wage is $15 per hour for workers 18 and older. Workers under 18 who log fewer than 650 hours in a calendar year earn $13 per hour. Tipped employees can be paid 60 percent of the standard minimum, or $9 per hour, provided tips bring total earnings to at least $15; if they don’t, the employer makes up the difference.4Illinois Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Law
Chicago runs its own ordinance with a higher floor and is phasing out its tipped wage credit entirely. The credit began stepping down in July 2024, drops to 16 percent of the Chicago minimum wage by July 2026, and disappears in July 2028. If you work in the city, your employer’s obligations exceed the state baseline.
Freelance Worker Protection Act
The Freelance Worker Protection Act applies to any independent contractor engagement worth $500 or more, whether that’s a single contract or several combined within a 120-day period. Contracts hitting that threshold must be in writing and must state the scope of work, the rate and method of payment, and a specific payment due date. That due date cannot be more than 30 days after the freelancer finishes the work.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 193 – Freelance Worker Protection Act
Most freelance disputes don’t start with outright refusal to pay. They start with vague agreements and no written deadline, letting a client drag payment out for months. Under this law, even if a contract skips the payment date, compensation is due within 30 days of completion. Freelancers who go unpaid can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor at no cost and also pursue civil action.
Driving Rules That Changed
Handheld phone use behind the wheel was already banned. The Vehicle Code now names video and social media activity directly. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx are called out for video conferencing; Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are named on the social media side. Streaming video, joining a video call, or scrolling a feed while driving is prohibited even if the phone sits in a dashboard mount. The hands-free carve-outs that apply to phone calls do not apply here.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2 – Electronic Communication Devices
A separate change took effect January 1, 2025: if your windshield wipers are on, your headlights must be on too. Under 625 ILCS 5/12-201, headlamps are required during rain, snow, fog, or any other condition that triggers wiper use. The change closed a gap where drivers relied on factory daytime running lights, which light the front of the vehicle but leave tail lights dark and don’t meet the brightness standard of actual headlamps.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 625 ILCS 5/12-201 – When Lighted Lamps Are Required
Safe Gun Storage and Lost or Stolen Reporting
Starting in 2026, gun owners must store firearms in a locked container so they cannot be reached by minors, anyone at risk of harming themselves or others, or anyone legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. The Safe Gun Storage Act applies wherever the owner knows or reasonably should know an unauthorized person could access the weapon. Fines range from $500 to $10,000, depending on the consequences of the unsecured storage.
The same law also requires reporting a lost or stolen firearm to police within 48 hours of discovering it missing. That closes a prior gap where stolen guns could circulate with no obligation on the owner to notify law enforcement.
Money and Housing Protections
A 2026 law automatically shields $1,000 in checking, savings, or credit union accounts from collection between the time a debt collector obtains a court judgment and the scheduled hearing date. Before this change, a judgment creditor could freeze an entire account balance and leave nothing for groceries or rent while the case moved through court. The protected amount is modest, but it prevents an empty bank account with no warning.
Eviction cases that name children as defendants must now be dismissed. A minor deliberately named in an eviction suit can recover attorney’s fees, compensation for actual harm, and up to $1,000 in additional damages. This targets the practice of naming every household member, including children, in a filing to pressure a family into leaving without contesting the case.
Genetic Information Privacy
The Genetic Information Privacy Act restricts how companies handle DNA data, particularly results from consumer testing kits. Businesses cannot use genetic information for insurance underwriting or employment decisions without explicit consent, and consumers can withdraw that consent at any time. Once revoked, the company must stop using the data.
Enforcement is where this statute has teeth. A negligent violation carries liquidated damages of at least $2,500. An intentional or reckless violation carries $15,000. In either case, actual damages can be awarded instead if they’re higher, plus attorney’s fees and litigation costs.8Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 410 ILCS 513 – Genetic Information Privacy Act Per-violation damages mean a single breach touching thousands of customers can produce very large liability.
Missing Persons and Trafficking Cases
Police departments can no longer make families wait before filing a missing persons report. Under a 2026 law, officers must immediately enter the information into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, and cases stay open until the person is found. The informal 24- or 48-hour wait some departments imposed had no basis in statute; the law removes the ambiguity.
A separate change eliminates the 25-year statute of limitations for human trafficking victims who were minors at the time of the offense. Survivors of involuntary servitude or trafficking can now bring criminal charges at any point, regardless of how many years have passed.
NICU and Organ Donation Leave
The Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act allows employees at companies with 16 to 50 workers to take up to 10 days of leave when a child is in the NICU. At companies with 51 or more employees, that rises to 20 days. Full-time and part-time workers both qualify, the leave can be taken at once or in increments, and the employer must maintain health insurance during the leave.
Organ donation leave now covers part-time employees as well. Both full-time and part-time workers can take up to 10 paid days within a 12-month period to donate an organ. The prior version of the law forced part-time workers to choose between donating and losing income.
School Access and Vaping on School Grounds
Beginning in 2026, every child in Illinois has a codified right to attend public school and participate in school programs regardless of the real or assumed immigration status of the child or the child’s parents. School districts must adopt policies and procedures by July 1, 2026 ensuring that immigration status is never used to exclude a student or family from any school activity.
Recent measures also extend school tobacco bans to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, covering students, staff, and visitors during school hours and at extracurricular events. Classifying vapes alongside cigarettes removes the earlier gray area where vaping on campus drew lighter consequences than smoking.