2026 Articles

The Department of Public Health adopted amendments to the Hospital Licensing Requirements Part that alter hospital notice rules for emergency personnel and update emergency preparedness provisions.

On Nov. 17, 2025, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that an implied-in-fact contract may be established through the parties’ facts and conduct, and that a single cognizable form of damages is sufficient to state a claim.

The General Assembly enacted the Public Official Safety and Privacy Act (POSPA), which allows a public official to request that their personal information not be publicly posted or displayed by governmental agencies as well as private persons, businesses, and associations. 

The Illinois General Assembly amended the School Code to update planning and implementation for universal student mental health screenings. 

The General Assembly amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to revise the Department of Human Rights’ use of fact-finding conferences in investigating discrimination charges.

The General Assembly amended the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act to revise how certain law enforcement employees are classified for collective-bargaining purposes. 

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Property Tax Code to raise the maximum income limit for the “Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption” to $75,000 for tax year 2026, $77,000 for tax year 2027, and $79,000 for tax year 2028 and beyond. 

The General Assembly amended the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to regulate toxic heavy metals in baby-food products sold in Illinois.

The General Assembly added section 22 to the Carbon Dioxide Transportation and Sequestration Act. The section provides that a landowner affected by carbon dioxide pipeline construction must receive reasonable compensation from an applicant who has obtained a certificate of authority for damages caused by construction activities. 

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to prohibit employers from taking adverse actions based on a written notice of a discrepancy involving an employee’s taxpayer number or identification number. 

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Illinois Insurance Code to restrict selling or changing accident or health insurance for seniors, including nursing home and long-term care residents.

The Illinois General Assembly enacted the Safe Gun Storage Act, requiring firearm owners to keep guns inaccessible to minors, at-risk persons, or prohibited individuals by securely storing firearms in a locked container.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Illinois Vehicle Code to strengthen oversight of unlicensed vehicle sales and certain dealer practices. 

The General Assembly enacted the Government Advertising Spending Transparency Act, reasoning that the public has a right to know where state government is spending advertising funds and what proportion of those dollars are going to local, as compared with national, news outlets. 

On May 21, 2026, the Illinois Supreme Court held that ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims raised in a postconviction petition were not forfeited where they depended on facts outside the direct-appeal record, but that the petition was properly dismissed because the claims failed on the merits.

On April 20, 2026, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a trial court erred in dismissing all negligence claims arising from a student’s injuries from falling from an inflatable slide because some claims were not based on a failure to supervise. Samantha Allumi sued on behalf of her son, Chase, after he fractured his arm during a field-day race on an inflatable slide at Southbury Elementary School.

The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission (GAC) adopted amendments to the Part titled Human Rights Authority, updating various procedures of GAC’s regional human rights authorities. The amendments add the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act, the Specialized Living Centers Act, the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the Unified Code of Corrections, the Mental Treatment for Incarcerated Persons Act, and the Youth Mental Health Protection Act to the statutes for violations of which may be investigated by regional authorities.

On May 21, 2026, the Illinois Supreme Court held that issue preclusion barred the state from prosecuting severed weapons charges after a jury acquitted the defendant of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (UPWF) and necessarily found that he did not knowingly possess the firearm.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 to restrict when minors may be held in secure detention.