The legislation was introduced in bill SB1970 on Feb. 15, 2019, when Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-17) filed it with the Senate clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the Election Code".
The Senate passed the bill on April 10, 2019 and it arrived in the House on April 11, 2019, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on Oct. 29, 2019. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Jan. 23. The law is scheduled to go into effect on June 1.
Illinois legislature enacts laws through bills that can be introduced in either the state House of Representatives or the state Senate. Either chamber of the legislature can reject or amend a bill before it becomes law. Legislators sometimes sponsor "shell bills" devoid of substantive provisions, introduced with the intention of being amended later to include actual legislation.
The following table shows the full history of actions on SB1970.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | Filed with Secretary by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. |
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | First Reading |
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 3/5/2019 | Senate | Assigned to Executive |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Scott M. Bennett |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading March 14, 2019 |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Ram Villivalam |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Robert Peters |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Christopher Belt |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Julie A. Morrison |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura M. Murphy |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Do Pass Executive; 014-001-003 |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading March 21, 2019 |
| 3/28/2019 | Senate | Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Assignments |
| 3/28/2019 | Senate | Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. |
| 4/3/2019 | Senate | Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Assignments Refers to Executive |
| 4/4/2019 | Senate | Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommend Do Adopt Executive; 014-002-000 |
| 4/4/2019 | Senate | Recalled to Second Reading |
| 4/4/2019 | Senate | Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins |
| 4/4/2019 | Senate | Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted; Sims |
| 4/4/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading |
| 4/10/2019 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 040-010-000 |
| 4/11/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Arrived in House |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Chief House Sponsor Rep. Nicholas K. Smith |
| 4/30/2019 | House | Assigned to Executive Committee |
| 5/7/2019 | House | Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Justin Slaughter |
| 5/10/2019 | House | Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Assigned to Executive Committee |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Carol Ammons |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Motion Filed to Suspend Rule 21 Executive Committee; Rep. Gregory Harris |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Do Pass / Short Debate Executive Committee; 012-000-000 |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Motion to Suspend Rule 21 - Prevailed by Voice Vote |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Final Action Deadline Extended-9(b) November 27, 2019 |
| 10/28/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Celina Villanueva |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Lindsey LaPointe |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Changed to Rep. Celina Villanueva |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 074-040-000 |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Changed to Rep. Lindsey LaPointe |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Changed to Rep. Robyn Gabel |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Robyn Gabel |
| 10/29/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 10/29/2019 | Senate | Passed Both Houses |
| 11/25/2019 | Senate | Sent to the Governor |
| 1/23/2020 | Senate | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0624 |
| 1/23/2020 | Senate | Effective Date June 1, 2020 |
| 1/23/2020 | Senate | Governor Approved |
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