North Cook News

Mary Beth Canty introduced HB3689 in the Illinois House on Feb. 7, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act. Makes changes concerning definitions. Requires a higher education institution's comprehensive policy to include digital sexual harassment and doxing. Makes changes concerning the components of the comprehensive policy and the notification of a survivor's rights and options, including providing a summary of the higher education institution's process for protecting survivors from retaliation. Provides that a confidential advisor is separate from the advisor specific to a complaint resolution procedure, and makes other changes concerning advisors. Makes changes concerning complaint resolution procedures, including prohibiting a higher education institution from distributing any evidence that includes a private or intentionally digitally altered sexual image by physical or electronic means and requiring a higher education institution to enact and implement a policy and process for early resolution of any retaliatory report, claim, counterclaim, or complaint made to the higher education institution by a respondent or any other individual against a survivor. Makes changes concerning training. Provides that a survivor has a cause of action against any higher education institution that fails to exercise due diligence in responding to sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, doxing, digital sexual harassment, or any other sex-based harassment that the higher education institution knew or should have known about. Sets forth the relief a prevailing survivor is entitled to. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, expanding definitions and policies to include digital sexual harassment and doxing. It requires comprehensive policies from higher education institutions covering sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and more, ensuring protection against retaliation and setting out procedures for reporting and resolving complaints. Institutions must provide access to confidential advisors, enhance training programs on trauma-informed responses, and develop early resolution processes for retaliatory claims. The bill imposes responsibilities on institutions to address and respond to offenses they should reasonably know about, with survivors entitled to pursue civil actions if institutions fail to exercise due diligence. Effective immediately, the bill ensures survivors' rights and offers remedies including injunctive and declaratory relief, damages, and attorney fees.

Mary Beth Canty has proposed another 17 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Canthy graduated from College of William & Mary in 2003 with a BA and again in 2006 from University of Arizona with a JD.

Mary Beth Canthy is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 54th House District. She replaced previous state representative Tom Morrison in 2023.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB3689	02/07/2025	Amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act. Makes changes concerning definitions. Requires a higher education institution's comprehensive policy to include digital sexual harassment and doxing. Makes changes concerning the components of the comprehensive policy and the notification of a survivor's rights and options, including providing a summary of the higher education institution's process for protecting survivors from retaliation. Provides that a confidential advisor is separate from the advisor specific to a complaint resolution procedure, and makes other changes concerning advisors. Makes changes concerning complaint resolution procedures, including prohibiting a higher education institution from distributing any evidence that includes a private or intentionally digitally altered sexual image by physical or electronic means and requiring a higher education institution to enact and implement a policy and process for early resolution of any retaliatory report, claim, counterclaim, or complaint made to the higher education institution by a respondent or any other individual against a survivor. Makes changes concerning training. Provides that a survivor has a cause of action against any higher education institution that fails to exercise due diligence in responding to sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, doxing, digital sexual harassment, or any other sex-based harassment that the higher education institution knew or should have known about. Sets forth the relief a prevailing survivor is entitled to. Effective immediately.
HB3169	02/06/2025	Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Sets forth certain protections that must be provided to the parent or guardian of a child at the center of an abuse or neglect investigation whenever the Department of Children and Family Services refers a child to a medical professional. Defines "medical professional". Provides that the medical professional must explain to the parent or guardian of the child, whenever the medical professional has direct contact with the child or the family of the child, that the medical professional is involved for the purpose of providing an opinion to the Department regarding whether the child's injury or condition is suspicious for child maltreatment. Provides that, in any investigation where a medical professional is providing a medical opinion to the Department, the Department shall inform the parent or guardian of the child at the center of an investigation: (i) of the right to request and receive a copy of the medical professional's opinion, including the basis for the opinion, and a copy of any written report the medical professional has provided to the Department; (ii) of the right to obtain, at the parent's or guardian's own expense, and submit to the Department a second medical opinion for consideration in the investigation at any time prior to the conclusion of the investigation; (iii) that any second medical opinion submitted to the Department prior to the Department rendering a final determination in the investigation will be considered as inculpatory or exculpatory evidence; and (iv) of the Department's time frames for the investigative process. Requires the Department to annually prepare and make available on the Department's Reports and Statistics webpage a report on the number of children or families referred by the Department to a medical professional as part of an investigation of abuse or neglect by the Department. Sets forth the information that must be contained in the annual reports. Provides that the first report must be posted within 9 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act.
HB3253	02/06/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, on and after July 1, 2026, any bill to amend an existing homestead exemption or to create a new homestead exemption shall include the submission of an impact statement prepared by the sponsor of the bill. Provides that the maximum income limitation for the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption shall be $85,000 for taxable year 2025 and shall be subject to a cost-of-living adjustment in subsequent years. Provides that, for any tax certificates held by a county, the county clerk may create and administer a payment plan during the redemption period. Amends the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Act. Makes changes concerning the maximum household income. Effective immediately.
HB3311	02/06/2025	Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Creates the Gender-Based Violence Article. Provides that the Article applies to any motion to dispose of a civil action claim that is based on, relates to, or is in response to a reporting of gender-based violence. Provides that if court finds that the moving party reported gender-based violence as the basis of the civil action against it, the court must grant a motion to dispose of the civil action unless it finds that the responding party has produced clear and convincing evidence that the moving party's report was done with actual malice. Provides for an award of attorney's fees for the prevailing party under certain conditions. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
HB3312	02/06/2025	Creates the Utility Data Access Act. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission to enact the following procedures: (1) a utility shall retain all consumption data for a period of not less than 2 years; (2) a qualified utility shall retain monthly consumption data used for billing for a period of not less than 15 years; (3) a utility shall honor an account holder's request to transmit the account holder's covered usage data held by the utility to any entity designated by the account holder; (4) a qualified data recipient with respect to a qualified building or qualified property may request that a qualified utility provide aggregated usage data for the qualified building or qualified property; (5) a utility shall deliver requested data on a schedule set by the Commission; and (6) the account holder request process and utility delivery of requested data shall be convenient and secure. Establishes requirements for: the Commission's participation in a stakeholder process; the form and timeline in which covered usage data is provided to the data recipient; entry of data into the benchmarking tool; and the provision of covered usage data to recipients upon account holder authorization. Provides that, except in cases where the utility has not followed processes established by the Act or the utility is grossly negligent, the utility shall be held harmless for third-party misuse of data shared under the Act and no cause of action may be initiated against the utility for such subsequent misuse. Provides that prior to filing for cost recovery, a qualified utility must first demonstrate good faith efforts to secure federal, State, or other relevant funding options. Sets forth provisions regarding funding for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under the Act and the Commission selecting and engaging outside consultants with experience in benchmarking and utility data access. States findings. Defines terms.
HB2784	02/05/2025	Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county may make contracts with any city, village, or incorporated town or with any person, corporation, or county, or any agency created by intergovernmental agreement, for more than one year and not exceeding 30 years, relating to the collection and final disposition, or relating solely to either the collection or final disposition of garbage. Provides that a county may contract with private industry to operate a designated facility for the disposal, treatment, or recycling of garbage, and may enter into contracts with private firms or local governments for the delivery of garbage to such facility. Provides that payments required in regard to a contract for garbage disposal shall not be regarded as indebtedness of the county for the purpose of any debt limitation imposed by any law. Effective immediately.
HB2789	02/05/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that property certified by the Department of Revenue as mega project property is eligible for an assessment freeze. Provides that, if property is certified as mega project property, then, during the incentive period, the value added to the property by the project shall not be considered for assessment purposes, and the total valuation of the property during the incentive period shall be limited to the base year valuation. Provides that "mega project" means a project that satisfies certain minimum investment, investment period, and other requirements. Contains provisions concerning incentive agreements between a company that plans to undertake a mega project and a local municipality obligating the company to make special payments in addition to property taxes. Effective June 1, 2025.
HB2921	02/05/2025	Amends the Capital Development Board Act. Provides, in a provision that limits the enforceability of ordinances of units of local government with respect to the remediation, redevelopment, or improvement of certain State facilities, that a unit of local government shall not include a municipal wastewater agency or unit of local government that is organized under the Sanitary District Act of 1907, the North Shore Water Reclamation District Act, the Sanitary District Act of 1917, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act, the Sanitary District Act of 1936, the Metro-East Sanitary District Act of 1974, or the Eastern Will Sanitary District Act. Provides that an ordinance or regulation of a municipal wastewater agency or unit of local government that is organized under the Sanitary District Act of 1907, the North Shore Water Reclamation District Act, the Sanitary District Act of 1917, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act, the Sanitary District Act of 1936, the Metro-East Sanitary District Act of 1974, or the Eastern Will Sanitary District Act regarding the use of or connection to the wastewater treatment or collection system of the agency or unit of local government is valid and enforceable by the agency or unit of local government with respect to the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or installation of a State facility on or after the effective date. Effective immediately.
HB2531	02/04/2025	Amends the Grocery Initiative Act. Provides that Grocery Initiative Grants may be used to provide access to equipment that is needed to accept payment from the Women, Infant, Children's program (WIC). Makes changes to the definition of "grocery store" to include certain meat retailers, fruit and vegetable retailers, and fish and seafood retailers. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB2629	02/04/2025	Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Transportation Choices Act. Requires, by January 1, 2027, the Environmental Protection Agency, after consultation with the Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), to establish a schedule of greenhouse gas targets for greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in the State. Requires the Department and MPOs to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions analysis and determine if their applicable planning document will result in meeting their greenhouse gas targets. Requires the Department and MPOs to perform a greenhouse gas emissions analysis prior to including a roadway capacity expansion project in an applicable planning document. Requires, by January 1, 2029 and every 3 years thereafter, the Department to prepare a comprehensive report on statewide transportation greenhouse gas reduction accomplishments and challenges and to make recommendations for any legislative action that would assist the Department and MPOs in meeting their greenhouse gas targets. Requires the Department and MPOs to calculate a climate equity accessibility score prior to including any project that has an anticipated cost of $30,000,000 or more in an applicable planning document or as a greenhouse gas mitigation measure. Requires the Department and MPOs to provide early and continuous opportunities for public participation in the transportation planning process. Requires, beginning June 30, 2026, the Department and MPOs to establish a social cost of carbon and use the social cost of carbon in their planning documents and planning activities. Establishes the Greenhouse Gas in Transportation Working Group. Provides that the specified requirements of the provisions shall commence with projects included in applicable planning documents filed on or after January 1, 2028. Makes other changes. Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to calculate a social cost of carbon and makes other changes.
HB2690	02/04/2025	Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Changes the statute of limitations for grooming to provide that when the victim is under 17 years of age at the time of the offense, a prosecution for grooming may be commenced within 10 years after the victim or the person with a disability attains 17 years of age. Changes the name of the offense of child pornography to child sexual abuse material. Deletes references to criminal transmission of HIV in various statutes. In the Sex Offenses Article of the Criminal Code of 2012, provides a definition for "unable to give knowing consent" and changes the definition of "family member" to include a sibling and an accused who has resided in the household for at least 3 (rather than 6) months. Provides that a person commits sexual exploitation of a child if in the presence or virtual presence, or both, of a child and with knowledge that a child or one whom he or she believes to be a child would view his or her acts, that person knowingly entices, coerces, or persuades a child to participate in the production of the recording or memorializing a sexual act of persons ages 18 or older. Provides that a violation of this provision of sexual exploitation of a child is a Class 4 felony. Provides that a defendant, in order to commit grooming, must be 5 years or more older than the groomed child, or hold a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the child at the time of the offense. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that the court may set any conditions it finds just and appropriate on the taking of testimony of a victim or witness who is under 18 years of age or an intellectually disabled person or a person affected by a developmental disability (rather than a victim who is a child under the age of 18 years or a moderately, severely, or profoundly intellectually disabled person or a person affected by a developmental disability) involving the use of a facility dog in any criminal proceeding. Makes other changes concerning the admissibility of evidence in cases involving involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, and trafficking in persons. Amends various Acts to change references from "child pornography" to "child sexual abuse material".
HB2440	02/03/2025	Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires any pharmacy benefit manager or health insurer to provide notice of a change in prescription drug coverage or pricing, including instructions on appeals and exceptions, to beneficiaries of health plans in the State who would be affected by the change. Provides that any pharmacy benefit manager or health insurer must, on or before July 30, 2026, submit to the Department for approval a plan by which beneficiaries may appeal, or request an exception to, a contemplated change in coverage. Provides that this process must allow beneficiaries to present evidence for their appeal or exception. Provides that if the Department of Insurance determines that the processes for requesting appeals or exceptions are insufficient, or do not adequately rely on medical necessity, the Department shall set forth required changes to the process within 90 days of receipt. Provides that if the pharmacy benefit manager or health insurer disputes the changes, a hearing may be requested within 10 days after receipt of the changes, and the Department shall enter a final written decision within 5 days of the hearing.
HB2524	02/03/2025	Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Includes in the definition of "firefighter", a person employed in a municipality's or fire protection district's fire service as a de facto firefighter. Provides that "de facto firefighter" means a firefighter who spends a majority of the firefighter's working time participating in the work of controlling and extinguishing fires at the location of any such fires, preparing for such work or waiting to respond to such calls for work and whose scheduled or actual work hours are commensurate in duration and frequency with certain firefighters. Provides that "de facto firefighter" does not include part-time firefighters who are not otherwise covered; auxiliary, reserve, or voluntary firefighters, including paid-on-call firefighters; and clerks, dispatchers, or other civilian employees of a fire department or fire protection district who are not routinely expected to perform firefighter duties. Provides that the changes made by the amendatory Act do not affect persons covered by the Article before the effective date of the amendatory Act. Makes a conforming change. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
HB1836	01/28/2025	Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that the offense of methamphetamine trafficking may be tried in any county. Permits the Attorney General to authorize certain eavesdropping requests from law enforcement. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Permits the Attorney General or an Assistant Attorney General authorized by the Attorney General to authorize an application to a circuit judge or an associate judge assigned by the Chief Judge of the circuit for, and such judge may grant in conformity with the Judicial Supervision of the Use of Eavesdropping Devices Article of the Code, an order authorizing or approving the use of an eavesdropping device by a law enforcement officer or agency having the responsibility for the investigation of any felony under Illinois law where any one party to a conversation to be monitored, or previously monitored in the case of an emergency situation, has consented to such monitoring. Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Provides that a Statewide Grand Jury may investigate, indict, and prosecute theft, retail theft, Internet offenses, continuing financial crimes enterprise, vehicular hijacking, aggravated vehicular hijacking, vehicular invasion, burglary, residential burglary, and home invasion if the offense involves acts occurring in more than one county of the State.
HB1391	01/15/2025	Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Deletes provisions that a defendant may refuse to waive service of summons. Provides that if a defendant located within the United States fails, without good cause, to sign and return a waiver requested by a plaintiff located within the United States, the court must impose on the defendant (1) the expenses later incurred in making service and (2) the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, of any motion required to collect those service expenses.
HB1330	01/14/2025	Amends the Illinois Act on the Aging. In provisions concerning the Community Care Program, provides that, subject to federal approval, on and after January 1, 2026, rates for in-home services shall be increased to $32.75 to sustain a minimum wage of $20 per hour for direct service workers. As a condition of their eligibility for the $32.75 in-home services rate, requires in-home services providers to (i) certify to the Department on Aging that they remain in compliance with the mandated wage increase for direct service workers and (ii) submit cost reports. Provides that fringe benefits shall not be reduced in relation to the rate increases. Provides that beginning January 1, 2028, the Department shall ensure that each in-home service provider spends a minimum of 80% of total payments the provider receives for homecare aide services it furnishes under the Community Care Program on total compensation for direct service workers who furnish those services. Requires the Department to adopt rules on financial reporting and minimum direct service worker costs. Authorizes the Department to sanction a provider that fails to meet the requirements of the amendatory Act. Defines terms.
HB1354	01/14/2025	Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act. Provides that every health care facility in this State shall permit the next of kin of a patient who is on life support to remain with the patient, at the patient's bedside, irrespective of regular hours of visitation. Provides that health care facilities may institute reasonable policies, including reasonable requirements that promote the health, safety, and welfare of the next of kin, the patient, and the employees and other patients of the health care facility without revoking the basic right afforded to the next of kin of a patient who is on life support. Defines "next of kin".
HB1355	01/14/2025	Amends the Gasoline Storage Act. Provides that, beginning on the effective date of the amendatory Act, no person shall construct or install a gas station, a motor fuel dispensary, or a motor fuel storage tank on or within 300 feet of school grounds. Provides that the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules that implement these provisions and conform with the requirements of the Act. Defines terms.