Politics
From Digital IDs to Renter Protections, Here Are 5 New Illinois Laws to Know for 2025
Illinois has nearly 300 new laws taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025, covering everything from specialty plates for motorcycles to the creation of a task force on water quality.
Here’s a list of five new laws taking effect in 2025:
1. Digital IDs
When your phone can serve as a mini computer, credit card and ‘L’ pass, it can be tempting to leave your wallet behind. A new law (Public Act 103-0824) could make it easier to do that: It creates a digital ID. Anyone who already has a physical driver’s license or state identification card will be able to also get a mobile version, provided by the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. Essentially: Flash the ID on your phone, and it’d be considered the same as showing your regular license.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office did not have a timeline or details on the rollout, so even though the law makes mobile IDs possible in the new year, it doesn’t mean they’ll be ready — or even issued — in 2025.
Something to know for when it does happen: The law stipulates that establishments cannot require a mobile ID, so people who want to keep it old-school are in the clear.
2. O’Hare Driver Safety Act
With appreciation to friends and family (and paid rideshare drivers) willing to pick up loved ones from the airport, cars filling up the shoulders on the highway is a hazard and a pain for everyone else. Public Act 103-0861 stipulates that cars cannot stop or idle on the shoulder near Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The tollway gets the ability to install a camera network to catch and ticket violators.
3. Reducing Catalytic Converter Thefts
Cars’ catalytic converters, which contain metals that fetch a pretty price as scrap, are quick and easy to remove, making them a target for thieves. The goal of Public Act 103-0677 is to prevent that by requiring would-be metal scrap sellers to show a car title, proving ownership. Dealers must also keep records of the car title and vehicle ID from which the catalytic converter was removed.
4. Ban on Single-Use Shampoo Bottles
Travelers and hotels have six more months to prepare, but come July, larger hotels (those with at least 50 rooms) can no longer offer single-use plastic bottles of shampoo or body wash. A year from now, per Public Act 103-0934, that’ll apply to smaller boutique hotels, too. It’s an effort to cut down on plastic. Hotels may have larger bottles of soaps.
5. Renter Protections
Landlords can’t retaliate because a tenant complains, takes legal action or joins a tenant union. Public Act 103-0831 explicitly says that a landlord can’t raise the rent, threaten to sue or refuse to renew a lease in response.
Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]