POLITICS

Illinois Enacts Landmark Law Requiring Oversight of AI

PUBLISHED Jul 6, 2026, 2:27 PM ET

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Chicago. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed Senate Bill 315, the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, into law, imposing transparency, reporting and safety obligations on large-scale AI developers and establishing thresholds and oversight mechanisms for the most advanced systems. The bill was approved by the Illinois legislature in May and targets frontier labs that meet a $500 million revenue threshold. Springfield officials said the law requires annual third-party audits for qualifying AI firms, mandates publishing and annually updating transparency frameworks, and compels reporting of major safety incidents. OpenAI and Anthropic backed the bill, which cleared the Illinois House 110-0 in May, and state regulators are expected to begin implementation and enforcement steps in the coming months.

By Lauren Mitchell | JQJO News

Timeline of Events

2025 — New York and California enact AI-related laws that shape later state proposals.
May (this year) — Illinois legislature approves Senate Bill 315 addressing frontier AI systems.
May (this year) — Illinois House clears the bill with a 110-0 vote.
As the bill advanced — OpenAI and Anthropic publicly endorse the measure.
Monday (signing) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs S.B. 315, requiring transparency, reporting, and annual third-party audits for qualifying firms.

News Intelligence

This new law means more transparency in AI. If you're in Illinois and use services from big AI firms, you'll have more insight into how they operate. You can check if a company is compliant by looking for their annual transparency report.