Politics

Requirements for Businesses to Accept Cash, Pay for Jury Duty Among 87 New Laws Signed by Pritzker

Most Illinois retailers will be required to accept cash payments beginning in 2028 under a bill Gov. JB Pritzker signed on Friday.

House Bill 4592 requires retailers that employ someone to process in-person consumer transactions must accept cash payments on purchases under $500, though the businesses do not have to accept bills larger than $20. 

The requirement does not apply to self-checkout machines, overnight sales, if a business runs out of cash, membership-only businesses, or phone or internet purchases. Businesses that do not follow the law will have to pay fines. 

“For many Illinois residents, cash remains a dependable and necessary way to pay for everyday purchases,” Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, said in a statement. “People deserve the freedom to choose how they pay.”

The measures was one of 87 bills Pritzker signed on Friday. 

Jury pay

Employers will now have to pay their employees their full rate of pay while they are serving on jury duty under House Bill 4844. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees are exempt from the requirement, which begins immediately.

CPR practice

House Bill 4788 requires schools, beginning in the 2028-2029 school year, to provide breasted and non-breasted manikins for CPR practice in middle school and high school. The goal is to give students more practice with female victims, who studies show are less likely to receive help from bystanders when suffering cardiac arrest. 

“When someone’s life is on the line, every second counts,” Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, said in a statement. “More inclusive, realistic CPR training helps people act quickly and save lives.”

Workload report

Senate Bill 3314 requires higher education institutions to provide more transparency about how many credits their faculty members are teaching. 

The law requires the state’s colleges and universities to, beginning in Sept. 2028, report annually the number of credit hours being taught by full- and part-time faculty members. The reports would be organized by tenure status and discipline. 

Lawmakers supporting the bill said the goal is to provide more transparency for students and educators about the higher education system and ensure faculty members are receiving necessary support. 

“This legislation helps shine a light on who is doing the teaching in our colleges and universities by making clear how many credit hours are taught by full-time versus part-time faculty,” Illinois Education Association President Karl Goeke said in a statement. “Our students and their families deserve to know who is leading the bulk of the classes at their colleges and universities.”

Human trafficking

Drivers on Illinois interstates will soon notice more information about human trafficking at rest stops. 

House Bill 4654 requires the Illinois Department of Transportation to install signs with resources for human trafficking victims in bathrooms at all rest areas, beginning immediately.

Airport noise

Senate Bill 4041 requires O’Hare and Midway airports in Chicago to conduct noise studies at least every five years beginning by the end of 2030. The study must map out how sound is distributed around the airport and forecast how noise will be distributed going forward.

Mental health treatment

House Bill 5193 allows more patients to be transported by ambulance to a mental health institution rather than a hospital emergency room beginning immediately. The law now allows people under the influence of drugs or alcohol to be transported to approved mental health facilities if EMTs determine that’s a more appropriate location and it is approved by their supervisors.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.  

---