
Nearly 300 new Illinois state laws went into effect on Jan. 1 ranging from hiring transparency to health insurance regulation, some of which directly affect college students.
Minimum wage increase
The statewide minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour, up from $14 an hour in 2024. The New Year’s Day rise was the last of seven upticks approved by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019 when the minimum wage was $8.25 an hour.
On Jan. 1, 2020, the minimum wage was raised to $9.25 in accordance with the Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act– public act 101-0001. A five-year transition gap followed, culminating at $15 an hour.
“This increase honors the workers who power our state and ensures they can better support their families, bringing us closer to a stronger, more equitable economy for all,” said Pritzker in a statement.
The tipped worker’s minimum wage was raised to $9 an hour, up from $8.40. Youth workers, those under 18, get an increase from $12 an hour in 2024 to $13 in 2025.
Healthcare and insurance regulation
The cost for a twin pack of EpiPens will be capped at $60, a dramatic decrease from the $400-700 price range of the past few years.
“We’re talking about something that is proven to save lives, and people aren’t able to afford it,” said state senator Mike Halpin, who sponsored the bill. “This law takes a swing at pharmaceutical companies who are lining their own pockets with profits on life saving medication. We are making EpiPens affordable and accessible for all residents of Illinois who require them.”
Additionally, health insurance companies must cover the cost of a pregnancy test if prescribed by a doctor.
Payment transparency
Efforts to increase transparency in the hiring process were also enacted on New Year’s Day.
Employers with 15 employees or more must post pay scales and benefits information on job postings including electronic sites like Indeed.
Pay scales are the wages or salaries an employee is expected to get at their given position, per the Equal Pay Act.
The employer can post a previously determined salary range for the position, the actual salary range of employees currently holding the position or the budgeted amount for the position. A general write-up on the benefits of the position must be posted as well.
Additionally, employers must announce any promotion opportunities to current employees no later than 14 days after a job posting for the position is made.
This law was enacted to reduce wage gaps potentially based on gender or race, according to Illinois’ Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.
“When employers aren’t transparent about pay, gender and racial wage gaps widen, costing women and people of color valuable compensation,” Stratton said in a press release. “Illinois’ new Pay Transparency law is a resounding win for the working people who call all our state home. Not only will transparency help close gender and racial wage gaps, it will also empower every worker considering how potential income will impact their families.”
Worker’s rights
Employees no longer have to participate in mandatory employer-sponsored meetings if the meeting is designed to communicate an employer’s position on religious or political matters.
Additionally, the employee cannot be punished or discriminated against if they choose not to attend.
Electric scooter regulation
An amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code allows municipalities– towns or cities– and park districts to ban low-speed electric scooters on public roads if they choose to do so.
If they don’t ban the scooters, they can also choose to enforce a speed limit instead.
The amendment says an electric scooter is a “device weighing less than 100 pounds, with two or three wheels, handlebars and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding that is solely powered by an electric motor and human power, and whose maximum speed, with or without human propulsion, is no more than 10 miles per hour.”
Digital ID
New legislation allows Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to work on implementing digital IDs that will be compatible with Apple Wallet.
Giannoulias expects digital IDs to become available later in the year.
“This is the first component of a multi-faceted approach to deliver a state-of-the-art mobile driver’s license and state ID program that leverages best-in-class technology for residents,” he said in a press release.
Aidan Cusack can be reached at 581-2812 or at atcusack@eiu.edu.