“Congress and the president ought to be passing similar legislation, but they’ve so far been unwilling, because many are captive to special interests that profit from the industry having no regulation,” Pritzker said. “We can work together to establish thoughtful guardrails in ways that benefit both industry and the public, or we can allow a handful of actors to evade accountability and push the costs and detriment onto ordinary people. Illinois has chosen our path.”
The law follows similar legislation enacted in California and New York and establishes reporting requirements for scenarios in which advanced AI systems could contribute to large-scale harms, including assisting users in developing chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons or carrying out cyberattacks.
Covered developers must publish a safety framework explaining how they identify and evaluate what the law defines as “catastrophic risk.” They must also report qualifying safety incidents to the state within 72 hours after identifying them, or within 24 hours if an incident presents an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury.
Illinois also added a requirement not included in the comparable laws passed by California and New York: mandatory annual independent third-party audits of covered AI systems. During debate on the legislation, some technology industry groups argued that requiring private auditors to evaluate AI safety without established national standards could create uncertainty.
“We remain concerned that Illinois would effectively be requiring private actors to make highly subjective determinations requiring AI safety compliance without established national standards, certifications, or clear regulatory guardrails,” TechNet representative Ninia Linero said during committee testimony.
Supporters of the legislation said the risks addressed by the bill are already emerging.
“We are not willing to wait for Congress to act,” said Senate sponsor Sen. Mary Edly-Allen. “There’s an old saying: Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Teach AI to fish, though, and it might just empty the whole river trying to figure out how.”
House sponsor Rep. Daniel Didech said the legislation reflects the same approach governments have historically taken with transformative technologies.
“Every transformative technology in our history, from automobiles to electricity to air travel, has delivered enormous benefits while carrying real risks, and in every case the government responded not by banning the technology and not by taking a hands-off approach, but by building safeguards, so everyday people can trust that these technologies are safe,” Didech said.
The measure received support from OpenAI and Anthropic during the legislative process. Anthropic representatives attended the bill signing, and the company had previously pointed to its Mythos model as an example of an AI system it chose not to release publicly because of cybersecurity concerns.
OpenAI also expressed support for states pursuing aligned AI governance frameworks while continuing to advocate for a federal approach. During committee testimony, Caitlin Niedermeyer of OpenAI’s Global Affairs said, “While we have been very clear that the federal government remains well-positioned to lead on frontier safety because it has the resources, expertise and institutions, we also strongly actually see a position for both Illinois but also California and New York to really lead in advancing aligned frameworks, which we believe can absolutely help create a de facto national direction of travel.”
Companies that violate the law may face civil penalties of up to $1 million for a first offense and up to $3 million for subsequent violations. The legislation also establishes confidential reporting channels and whistleblower protections for employees who raise AI safety concerns.
State officials and lawmakers indicated they expect additional AI legislation in the future, with areas such as healthcare and education identified as potential priorities as policymakers continue evaluating the public safety implications of increasingly capable AI systems. According to the governor’s office, the law takes effect on January 1, 2027.
This analysis is based on reporting from Block Club Chicago.
Image courtesy of Telegraph Herald.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
