The legislation was introduced in bill SB1699 on Feb. 15, when Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-34) filed it with the Senate clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the Freedom of Information Act".
The Senate passed the bill and it arrived in the House on March 27, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on May 23. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Aug. 20. The law went into effect immediately.
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 SB1699.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | Filed with Secretary by Sen. Steve Stadelman |
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | First Reading |
| 2/15/2019 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 2/27/2019 | Senate | Assigned to Judiciary |
| 3/5/2019 | Senate | Postponed - Judiciary |
| 3/12/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading March 13, 2019 |
| 3/12/2019 | Senate | Do Pass Judiciary; 009-000-000 |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 3/13/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading March 14, 2019 |
| 3/27/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 3/27/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 3/27/2019 | House | Chief House Sponsor Rep. Maurice A. West, II |
| 3/27/2019 | House | Arrived in House |
| 3/27/2019 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 053-000-000 |
| 4/9/2019 | House | Assigned to Judiciary - Criminal Committee |
| 4/30/2019 | House | Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 017-000-000 |
| 5/2/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 5/16/2019 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 5/16/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 5/23/2019 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 115-000-001 |
| 5/23/2019 | House | Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford |
| 5/23/2019 | Senate | Passed Both Houses |
| 6/21/2019 | Senate | Sent to the Governor |
| 8/20/2019 | Senate | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0433 |
| 8/20/2019 | Senate | Governor Approved |
| 8/20/2019 | Senate | Effective Date August 20, 2019 |
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