More than 180 new laws went into effect on January 1st in Illinois and some of the new laws you need to be aware of. The SAFE-T Act has taken center stage as that is still being discussed in the court but other ones that you should be aware of as well.   There will be a new student school helpline that you can call, called the Student Confidential Reporting Act, which alows officials to receive reports and other information on students that may potentially harm themselves. 

New smoke detector laws require that all new smoke detectors must be the ten year sealed alarms. Anyone in violation of these laws will have 90 days to change their smoke detectors or risk being fined up to $100 or up to $1,500.  There are new penalties for school zone driving violations.  If you go around a school bus, or if you are speeding in excess of 20 mph or more in a school zone you could face community service. 

Chicago Sky, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Red Stars license plates will now be available, but you will not be able to get St. Louis Rams license plates anymore as the team has moved to Los Angeles. Latex gloves will be banned in food service establishments with health care workers set to ban latex in 2024.  

Minimum wage rose from $12 to $13/hr.  If tips are earned, the rate will increase to $7.80 but workers must still earn the minimum wage after receiving tips or the employer is required to make up the difference. By 2025, the minimum wage will be $15/hr. 

There are a bunch of new state figures including the State Snake, Sweet Corn Appreciation day, a new State Rock, and an official State Theater. The new State Snake is the Eastern Milksnake, August 1st has been designated as “Sweet Corn Appreciation Day” and Dolostone has been designated as the official Illinois State Rock.  The official State Theater is located within the New Salem historic site also called the Theatre in the Park. 

To see a full list of the 180 laws that have been passed, click here.