New laws for 2024: Minimum wage hike, indoor vape ban and don’t worry about that thing dangling from your rearview mirror

More than 300 new state laws took effect on Jan. 1, affecting everything from education and criminal justice to employee benefits and indoor vaping, with most reflecting the priorities of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his allies in the Democratic-controlled legislature.

Here’s a look at some of the laws that kick in with the new year.

Gun registry

Illinois residents who owned now-prohibited high-powered guns prior to a sweeping firearms ban Pritzker signed into law last Jan. 10 are required to have the firearms registered with the Illinois State Police by New Year’s Day.

The registration process began Oct. 1. People who owned those guns prior to the ban but don’t register them by Jan. 1 can be charged with a misdemeanor for a first offense and felonies for subsequent violations.

The gun ban prohibits the delivery, sale, import and purchase of more than 100 so-called assault weapons, in the form of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and handguns. Also banned are the delivery, sale and purchase of high-capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns.

The ban has withstood several legal challenges, but gun rights groups are still fighting in court.

Minimum wage increase

The minimum wage for workers 18 and older goes up by $1, to $14 per hour. The annual pay bumps result from a measure Pritzker signed in 2019, when the minimum wage was $8.25 per hour. The final increase will come in 2025, when it reaches $15 per hour.

In Chicago, the minimum wage for employers with more than 20 workers, which is tied to inflation, went up to $15.80 per hour on July 1 and will increase again this year by 2.5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

On July 1, 2024, the city will begin phasing out the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, currently $9.48 per hour for large employers, cutting the gap between the two wages by 8% annually until they reach the same level in 2028.

Workers subject to Cook County’s minimum wage, currently $13.70 per hour, also will get a raise to $14 per hour at the start of the new year.

Paid time off

Along with a pay raise, many workers across Illinois will receive a new benefit: paid leave.

Under a measure Pritzker signed in March, all employees who aren’t currently eligible for paid time off will be entitled to one hour of paid time off for every 40 hours worked, up to at least 40 hours per year.

Championed by organized labor, the measure will provide paid leave to an estimated 1.5 million workers who now receive no paid time off, according to the governor’s office.

Chicago, which already had a paid sick leave law on the books, was carved out of the new state law. The City Council passed an ordinance this fall expanding the policy to include five more days of paid leave that can be used for any reason but in December pushed off implementation until July 1.

Cook County, which also was exempted, updated its own ordinance in December to largely mirror the state law, but added the ability for workers to take their employers to court for violations.

Any new local laws on paid leave will have to be at least as generous as the state law.

While some business groups opposed the change, major organizations representing retailers, manufacturers and the hotel industry, among others, were neutral.

Civil rights

Police will no longer be allowed to pull over motorists solely for having small objects such as air fresheners dangling from their vehicle’s rearview mirror. The law seeks to prevent traffic stops for such minor infractions being used as a pretext to look for more serious offenses.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office, which initiated the legislation, has said such stops can be racially motivated and have the potential to lead to violent confrontations between motorists and police.

The secretary of state’s office said in May that Illinois was among a handful of states with laws banning items from hanging from a rearview mirror.

Deterring book bans

In another Giannoulias initiative, public libraries in Illinois could be cut off from state funding if they’re found to have removed books and other materials from their shelves for “partisan or doctrinal” reasons.

The law comes as debates over book banning have exacerbated partisan divides across the U.S. and triggered intense discussions about censorship, school curricula and how much say parents should have over what books are on library shelves.

The law requires libraries to follow the guidelines of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Libraries could also develop a written policy to “prohibit the practice of banning specific books or resources,” according to the law.

Democrats on the state and national level say book bans often discriminate against the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups, while Republicans have argued that some titles need to be out of the reach of children if they contain pornography or obscene imagery.

Protecting drivers’ data

Giannoulias’ office also pushed for a new law that restricts the sale, sharing and access of automated license plate reader data by law enforcement when it interferes with someone’s abortion rights, particularly if they come to Illinois from out of state.

The law also restricts the sale, sharing and access of this data to law enforcement for the purposes of detaining or investigating a person based on their immigration status.

Expanded parole

The possibility of being locked up for life without a chance of release for a crime committed at a young age will mostly be a thing of the past in Illinois.

Under a measure Pritzker signed in February, most convicted felons receiving a life sentence for serious crimes committed before they turned 21 now will be eligible for parole after 40 years in prison.

Parole reviews will be conducted by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, and those convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child will not be eligible.

With Pritzker’s signature, Illinois became the 26th state to prohibit such sentences from being imposed on anyone under 18.

The change is not retroactive, however, applying only to sentences going forward. Efforts to allow parole for those previously convicted stalled in Springfield.

Defending against online harassment

Two new laws make perpetrators of online harassment subject to legal action by their victims.

Anyone in Illinois who engages in doxxing — sharing personal identifiable information about another person for the purpose of harming or harassing that person — could be found civilly liable. Potentially liable are those who share information with knowledge or reckless disregard that the person to whom the information belongs “would be reasonably likely to suffer death, bodily injury, or stalking.”

Also subject to civil damages are those found to have altered images of someone else in a sexually explicit manner, a practice referred to colloquially as “deepfake porn.”

Dubbed the Digital Forgeries Act, this law could grant plaintiffs financial relief in such lawsuits if it’s found that the persons falsely depicted suffered “harm from the intentional dissemination” of the images without their permission.

Name changes for felons

Restrictions would be loosened for people with past felony convictions who want to legally change their names under a law supporters say is intended to protect victims of human trafficking who’ve been caught up in the legal system, as well as those in the trans community.

The law removes a lifetime ban on name changes for people who have been convicted of identity theft, as well as for those on state registries for convictions on offenses including murder, arson and various sex crimes. For all other felonies, the law eliminates a 10-year waiting period from the completion of a sentence for people to change their names.

Judges would have final say over approving name changes for people convicted of felonies that had been subject to the lifetime ban, and the measure would allow county prosecutors to object to those name-change petitions. In such instances, the petitioners must convince judges that they want to change their name because they’re transgender, were victims of human trafficking, for religious reasons or because they got married.

Under a separate measure that also aims to help victims of human trafficking, victims will be able to petition courts to have convictions vacated, expunged or sealed if they were forced into committing crimes by their traffickers.

DACA recipients in law enforcement

Another law is intended to clear a path for participants in a federal immigration program who are not U.S. citizens to become police officers.

Noncitizens in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, may apply to become police officers in Illinois, though there would likely be obstacles for such officers to carry guns off-duty without a revision to federal law. The new state law makes clear that potential hires need to get federal approval to carry a gun.

Supporters of the measure set it as another avenue to beef up recruitment of law enforcement within police departments in Illinois.

Anti-carjacking initiative

Automakers will be required to establish a 24-hour vehicle theft hotline to help law enforcement locate vehicles stolen in carjackings.

Carjackings have skyrocketed in Chicago in recent years. There were 1,092 carjackings in the city that were reported from January through October, according to city crime statistics. That figure represents an increase of roughly 127% from the same period in 2019, when there were 482 carjackings, the statistics show.

The measure includes safeguards to protect consumers, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office, ensuring that data is only released to police with the vehicle owner’s permission, when a warrant or court order is issued, or in instances where there is a threat on someone’s life or well-being.

Casino jobs for ex-offenders

Under a measure supported by state gambling regulators, Illinois is loosening hiring restrictions for jobs in casinos.

Previously, people convicted of felonies were ineligible for any job in an Illinois casino. The new law will allow people convicted of certain crimes to be eligible for employment in positions that don’t directly deal with betting, such as food service, housekeeping and maintenance.

The change comes as several new casinos have opened in the state, including the first in Chicago, as a result of a 2019 gambling expansion, and proponents say the law will provide more job opportunities in a growing industry.

The Illinois Gaming Board, which licenses all casino employees in the state, still will have the authority to deny applications based on past convictions, but will consider factors such as how long ago someone was convicted, the age at which they committed a crime, and the nature and severity of the crime and whether it relates to “the safety and security of others or the integrity of gaming.”

Several other measures taking effect Jan. 1 apply to people who’ve served time in prison.

One requires the secretary of state’s office to issue identification cards to state prison or juvenile detention inmates if they provide their birth certificate, Social Security card, photograph and proof of residency. An application must be submitted 60 days prior to their scheduled release, and the Department of Corrections or Department of Juvenile Justice will be responsible for helping people obtain the appropriate documentation.

Another measure largely prohibits judges from ordering people to refrain from consuming alcohol or marijuana as a condition of probation, conditional discharge or court supervision.

Courts still will be able to place restrictions on people under 21, in cases where drugs or alcohol played a role in the crime, and for participants in special programs called problem-solving courts.

Addressing student trauma

Illinois will attempt to quantify the level of adversity faced by children in communities across the state.

The plan calls for the Illinois State Board of Education to develop a publicly reported “Children’s Adversity Index” at the community or school district level that will “measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3 through 18 years.”

The index, which must be created by May 31, 2025, will draw on data covering issues including the prevalence of homelessness, contacts with the child welfare system, community violence and other factors.

Beginning in October, the state school report card will include data on the number of counselors, social workers, nurses and psychologists in each school and district and the student ratio for each category.

In addition to collecting new data, the law also requires training for teachers on “trauma-informed practices” prior to the start of each school year beginning this fall and codifies definitions of trauma and other related terms.

Combating fentanyl

Several measures taking effect in 2024 are aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic, which led to 3,261 overdose deaths in Illinois in 2022.

Fentanyl, the highly dangerous synthetic opioid that contributes to many overdose deaths, was a particular target for lawmakers attempting to address the crisis.

One new law allows pharmacies and other retailers to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter.

Proponents say availability of test strips is an important harm-reduction strategy because they allow users and others to detect whether the potentially deadly opioid is present in other drugs.

A separate but related law allows trained overdose responders for organizations enrolled in the Illinois Department of Human Services’ drug overdose prevention program to dispense drug adulterant testing supplies, which was previously restricted to doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals.

Another measure requires high schools to begin teaching about the dangers of fentanyl in every state-required health course beginning during the 2024-25 school year.

Instruction must be based on information from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and include material such as side effects and risk factors, how to detect the drug using test strips, and other methods to obtain and use opioid antagonists such as naloxone to treat an overdose.

In addition, public and private schools in Illinois now are required to keep naloxone or other opioid antagonists in a secure location on campus. Keeping the medication on hand previously was optional.

Indoor vape ban

Vaping no longer will be allowed in most indoor public places under an expansion of the Smoke Free Illinois Act, 16 years after the statewide smoking ban took effect.

Use of electronic cigarettes is now prohibited anywhere that use of combustible tobacco products was previously not allowed. That includes within 15 feet of entrances to public buildings.

The move comes nearly five years after Illinois raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21.

Marriage protections

Illinois is repealing a portion of the 2013 law that legalized same-sex marriage that prohibits marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples from out of state if their state doesn’t allow such unions.

Same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide since a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but LGBTQ rights advocates are concerned about the durability of that decision after the high court last year overturned the federal right to abortion granted under Roe v. Wade.

In a concurring opinion, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called for the court to reconsider other rulings, including the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

The previous law made it a Class C misdemeanor for a public official to issue a marriage license to couples who would not be permitted to wed under the laws of their home state.

Picket protections

Following a year of historic labor actions nationally, including strikes by autoworkers and Hollywood writers and actors, union-friendly Illinois has two new laws that aim to protect demonstrating workers and punish those who attempt to interfere.

One new law makes it a class A misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $500, to place an object in the public way to obstruct or interfere with a picket, labor demonstration or protest.

Another change prohibits courts from awarding monetary damages to an employer stemming from a labor dispute, except in cases of property damage that occurred as a result of illegal activity.

Grocery initiative

The state of Illinois is creating a $20 million grant program aimed at bringing grocery stores to areas that lack easy access to fresh food.

The program was approved with broad bipartisan support during the legislature’s spring session, though Republicans voted against the $50.4 billion state budget that provides the program’s funding.

Under the Illinois Grocery Initiative, the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will provide financial assistance and other support to independent for-profit and nonprofit retailers, co-ops and local governments that open or preserve grocery stores in both urban and rural areas that lack or are in danger of losing them.

The bulk of the program’s funding will go toward financial assistance in the form of grants or loans for purposes such as feasibility studies, marketing, salaries and benefits for workers, down-payment or rent assistance, capital improvements, or for buying and establishing a new grocery store. Grant recipients also will qualify for other incentives such as tax exemptions on utilities and building materials.

Of the total funding, 20% will be set aside to help existing eligible stores upgrade to energy-efficient equipment.

The move comes as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has floated the idea of opening a city-owned grocery store, which would be eligible for funding under the state program.

Targeting fertility fraud

Inspired by the story of a Bloomington man who learned through a DNA test on a genealogy website that his biological father was not the man who raised him but the fertility specialist who helped his parents conceive, a new state law allows people to sue over fertility fraud.

The law allows individuals to take legal action against health care professionals or others who use their own reproductive cells in a fertility procedure without patients’ informed, written consent.

The measure also allows people born as a result of fertility fraud to have access to the medical records and health history of the person who committed the fraud.

EV charging stations

Aiming to spur the state’s goal of increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road, new residential construction now will be required to include basic infrastructure to accommodate EV charging stations.

The law applies to both single- and multifamily residential construction, with a designated number of EV-capable spaces for each type of dwelling.

It also lays out guidelines for how homeowners associations and condo boards deal with requests for EV charging stations to be installed.

Italian American heritage

At a time when public statues of Christopher Columbus have become political flashpoints, Illinois will begin recognizing October — the month of the Italian explorer’s birth — as Italian-American Heritage Month.

The measure, which was approved without opposition in the legislature, designates the month “to recognize the contributions and influence of Italians on American history, achievement, culture and innovation.”

Efforts to redesignate the Columbus Day state holiday as Indigenous Peoples Day have not gained traction in Springfield.

jgorner@chicagotribune.com

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com