A new law sponsored by Rep. André Thapedi (D-32) that was introduced with the purpose of amending the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, according to the official Illinois General Assembly website.

The legislation was introduced in bill HB1553 on Jan. 29, when Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17) filed it with the House clerk.

According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the Juvenile Court Act of 1987".

After debate, the House passed the bill on March 28 and it arrived in the Senate on April 3, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on May 21. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on July 23. The law is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

Illinois legislature enacts laws through bills that can be introduced in either the state House of Representatives or the state Senate. Either chamber of the legislature can reject or amend a bill before it becomes law. Legislators sometimes sponsor "shell bills" devoid of substantive provisions, introduced with the intention of being amended later to include actual legislation.

The following table shows the full history of actions on HB1553.