While there is a main focus on cannabis being legalized on January 1st, there are plenty of other new laws that will take center stage when Illinois and the rest of the US say goodbye to 2019. Over 250 of them in fact. On January 1st, Illinois will raise its minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade as minimum wage will increase from $8.25 to $9.25  and $10 in July with a total of $15 by Jan 1, 2025.

A lot of changes to driving and safety protection on the road will be vital in 2020 as well. A new law goes into effect where you can not stream videos while driving with fines of $75 for the first offense. Passing a school bus will lighten your wallet. The new law doubles the fines for illegally passing a school bus from $150 to $300 for the first violation and from $500 to $1,000 for any subsequent violations. Scott’s Law (moving over for emergency vehicles) also sees a huge increase of at least $250 for the first violation (rather than the previous $100 minimum penalty) and at least $750 for the second, reaching as high as $10,000.

Other laws that go into effect will include some new education laws. If you finish in the top 10% of your high school you automatically gain acceptance into NIU, WIU, SIU, and EIU. For grades K-12, history classes must teach the history of Illinois.  A new law will also give access to a higher education fund which will deposit $50 into a college savings fund for every person born or adopted in Illinois after December 31st, 2020.  

Stay tuned to Regional Radio News for more information on some of the other laws that will be coming to Illinois in 2020.