Chicago City Wire

Jawaharial Williams introduced HB3168 in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 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: "Creates the Retail Sale of Tianeptine Prohibition Act. Provides that beginning January 1, 2026, no person shall sell, offer to sell, or distribute in this State any product containing tianeptine. Provides that the prohibition does not apply to any product containing tianeptine that is lawfully dispensed or prescribed by a pharmacist or a health care professional. Provides that a violation is a business offense, punishable by a minimum fine of $1,500 for each violation. Defines "health care professional". Effective January 1, 2026."

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

In essence, this bill establishes the Retail Sale of Tianeptine Prohibition Act, stipulating that beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the sale, offer for sale, or distribution of any product containing tianeptine is prohibited in Illinois. Exceptions are made for products lawfully dispensed or prescribed by licensed pharmacists or health care professionals. A health care professional is defined as any individual authorized to treat human ailments who is subject to state licensure or regulation, including students and residents. Violations of this act are classified as business offenses, carrying a minimum fine of $1,500 per violation. The act is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Jawaharial Williams has proposed another two bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Windhorst graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a BA.

Jawaharial Windhorst is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 10th House District. He replaced previous state representative Melissa Conyears in 2019.

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
HB3168	02/06/2025	Creates the Retail Sale of Tianeptine Prohibition Act. Provides that beginning January 1, 2026, no person shall sell, offer to sell, or distribute in this State any product containing tianeptine. Provides that the prohibition does not apply to any product containing tianeptine that is lawfully dispensed or prescribed by a pharmacist or a health care professional. Provides that a violation is a business offense, punishable by a minimum fine of $1,500 for each violation. Defines "health care professional". Effective January 1, 2026.
HB3167	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2027, a food is adulterated for purposes of the Act if it bears or contains any brominated vegetable oil (CAS no. 8016-94-2). Specifies that, beginning January 1, 2027, a person shall not manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale, in commerce, a food product for human consumption that contains brominated vegetable oil (CAS no. 8016-94-2).
HB3182	02/06/2025	Appropriates the amount of $709,500 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County for the administration and operation of Greencorps Chicago and Forest Preserve Experience programs within the Conservation Corps program. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3183	02/06/2025	Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Provides that a dispensing organization that sells or offers for sale a pre-rolled joint must stamp the pre-rolled joint with the month, day, and year that it was rolled and packaged for retail sale.
HB3188	02/06/2025	Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. In provisions concerning the sale and marketing of firearms, provides that a firearm industry member fails to establish or utilize reasonable controls over the sale of a firearm-related product it conducts a sale through a self-service machine that dispenses a firearm-related product to a consumer.
HB1654	01/23/2025	Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, school districts and public institutions of higher education are eligible to receive unemployment insurance aid. Sets forth provisions concerning the calculation of the amount of unemployment insurance aid to be given to each school district and public institutions of higher education. Provides that, if the total unemployment insurance aid for a fiscal year is greater than the annual appropriation for that year, the State Board of Education or the Board of Higher Education shall proportionately reduce the aid payment to each school district and public institution of higher education. Sets forth reporting requirements. Makes conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026.