Junk fees, child torture, tipped wage proposals among bills to clear
committee
[March 27, 2026]
By Jenna Schweikert, Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House passed more than 150 bills out of
committee from Tuesday to Wednesday as it worked toward a Friday
deadline to move legislation to the full House.
The measures included a ban on junk fees, classification of “child
torture” as a Class X felony, a retry at a nonprofit savings bill the
governor recently vetoed, and a bill to strip Chicago’s authority to
alter the minimum wage for workers who make tips.
All of the measures passed this week are still a long way from final
passage, requiring approval from both chambers and the governor to
become law.
Tipped minimum wage
Lawmakers considered a bill that would end Chicago’s tipped minimum wage
ordinance, ultimately passing it in committee despite opposition from
some Democrats. House Bill 4623 would give the state exclusive
regulatory power over allowance for tips as part of hourly wages, ending
home rule authority on that issue.
The bill would overturn a 2023 Chicago ordinance that would gradually
phase out the city’s “tipped minimum wage,” which allows employers to
pay tipped workers an amount lower than the standard minimum wage if the
rest is made up in tips.
The city council, however, recently passed an ordinance pausing this
year’s scheduled increase. But on Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon
Johnson vetoed that measure.
When Illinois passed its current minimum wage law in 2019, it maintained
a provision that allowed employers to pay tipped workers 60% of the
minimum wage, which is currently $15 hourly. The restaurant industry
lobbied for limiting home rule authority during the passage of the 2019
law, to no avail.
Bill sponsor Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said he brought the bill to
keep tipped minimum wage laws uniform statewide. His bill does not
prevent municipalities from having higher minimum wages than the state.
“Having 200-plus home rule municipalities, it doesn’t make a ton of
sense for somebody to get the home rule and have one set of goals and
then to cross over to another municipality” with other rules, Tarver
said.
Proponents of the bill limiting home rule authority argued that the
tipped minimum wage helps keep costs down. Eliminating it could lead to
restaurant closures across Chicago, they said. Opponents generally
argued that the legislature shouldn’t encroach on home rule powers, and
tipped workers in Chicago deserve the raise.
The bill passed 22-4, with four Democrats from the Chicago area voting
in opposition.
Junk fees
The House Consumer Protection Committee passed a bill to ban ‘junk
fees,’ or hidden charges that are placed on bills but not otherwise
posted or advertised.
House Bill 228 would make it a violation of the existing Consumer Fraud
and Deceptive Business Practices Act for a company to post a price that
does not include all mandatory fees and surcharges. It also mandates
that prices and fees must be clearly disclosed prior to checkout.
This is the third time the committee has considered a bill to ban junk
fees, but none have become law.
“At a time when working people are already struggling with rising costs,
hidden fees that appear at checkout make it even harder to budget and
compare prices,” Economic Security Illinois Action said in a statement.
“Banning hidden junk fees and requiring companies to show the full price
upfront is a simple, commonsense reform that will bring fairness to our
marketplace and protect working families from corporate greed.”
Child torture offense
Democratic lawmakers could take the rare step of adding a new criminal
penalty to state law. A House criminal judiciary committee passed House
Bill 5562 unanimously on Tuesday, which would create the offense of
child torture in state law. Democrats have typically shied away from
bills that create new or tougher criminal penalties.
Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, who sponsored the bill, said it was
inspired by a 2019 American Bar Association resolution calling on states
to define child torture in their laws. The bill would apply to cases of
physical and emotional abuse that “create, increase or prolong the pain,
suffering and agony of a child.” The offense would be charged as a Class
X felony — the most serious in Illinois.
Mussman said the bill is important because torture “may not necessarily
manifest as physical abuse that results in great bodily harm but still
has a tremendous impact on a child’s physical, mental and emotional
health.”
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The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Some Democrats said they were concerned the bill was too broad and
encouraged Mussman to craft an amendment outlining more specific cases
that would be considered torture.
“Child torture is wrong and terrible and we have a responsibility I
think to be very cautious about when we create new Class X felonies
because of the severity of that sentence that the conduct that could be
sentenced to a Class X should be the most egregious conduct that there
is,” Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said.
Nonprofit investment fund
A bill that would allow the state treasurer to establish a special
investment fund for Illinois nonprofit corporations advanced in both
chambers of the General Assembly on Wednesday.
The proposal is a revised version of one state Treasurer Michael
Frerichs pushed in 2025. It would operate much like Illinois Funds, the
pooled investment fund the treasurer’s office operates for state
agencies and municipalities.
“This investment pool will allow our nonprofits to invest their money in
a fund that will generate substantial interest and have a meaningful
impact on their operations,” Frerichs told a Senate committee.
Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed the bill last year, saying it could have the
unintended consequence of benefitting fringe and extremist organizations
that organize as nonprofits.
The revised bill would limit the types of organizations that could
qualify to participate in the investment pool to include
Medicaid-certified health care providers, organizations previously
certified to receive state grants, federally registered labor
organizations and organizations whose missions fall within specified
categories such as neighborhood development, affordable housing or
services for military veterans.
It would also exclude organizations that are on certain suspension,
debarment or stop payment lists for the state or federal government.
The new identical amendments were filed on two different bills, House
Bill 5045 and Senate Bill 2968. Both bills await final action by the
full chambers.
Unemployment benefits
School employees who get summers off would be eligible for unemployment
benefits under a bill approved by the House Labor Committee on
Wednesday. House Bill 4416 would allow school district employees like
bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers to collect benefits in the
summer if they are unemployed and cannot find other work.
Illinois AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Pat Devaney said the bill is a
matter of fairness as private contractors hired by school districts are
eligible for benefits. The bill passed 18-10, with Republicans voicing
concerns it would be a significant cost to districts. Devaney estimated
it would cost less than $200 million annually.
Jury duty pay
House Bill 4844, which would require employers to pay employees their
regular rate of pay when they are selected for jury duty, passed 13-7
out of a judiciary committee.
Bill sponsor Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, said jurors can face financial
challenges if they’re selected for a case that lasts several weeks,
adding he hopes the legislation would make it more affordable for people
to serve on a jury.
But Republicans voiced concerns the bill would be burden for businesses
because they have to pay an employee who isn’t showing up to work.
Rate increase hearings
House Bill 4514 would require the Illinois Commerce Commission to offer
hearings specifically to collect public feedback whenever it holds
utility rate increase hearings. It passed 11-6.
The bill comes after a series of controversial rate increase requests
from Illinois’ public utility companies.
Currently, the public is allowed to testify at ICC rate increase
hearings but are limited to three minutes of testimony and cannot submit
written statements. Residents would be allowed to testify and submit
statements to the record during the newly required hearings.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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