Rental fee limits, detention center regulations among bills to pass House

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House on Wednesday approved legislation that would prohibit the federal government from operating a new immigration detention center within 1,500 feet of any home, school, day care center, park, forest preserve, cemetery or place of worship.

House Bill 5024, sponsored by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, passed on a largely partisan 72-35-2 roll call and now moves to the Illinois Senate for consideration. It was one of more than 50 bills advanced out of the chamber on Wednesday as the House begins several days of floor action.

Welch’s district includes Broadview, the west suburban village of about 8,000 that’s home to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center that became a focal point for protesters during Operation Midway Blitz last year. The facility wouldn’t be affected by the measure.

“The detention center in Broadview sits in the middle of a neighborhood where there are homes nearby, children nearby, families nearby and a church,” Welch said. “In what should be a place of peace and routine for that community has too often become a place of fear, disruption, trauma and instability.”

The legislation is not retroactive, meaning it would apply to future facilities, but not the existing facility in Broadview or others currently owned or leased by the federal government.

The bill is likely to run into legal hurdles. Generally, the federal government is exempt from state and local zoning restrictions.

Nearly all Republicans opposed the legislation. Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, accused Democrats — who hold supermajorities in the legislature — of “continually picking fights with the federal government.”

“The result of this effort to not work together with the federal government to resolve the issues, particularly related to immigration and enforcement of our laws, has resulted in huge problems in our state that the majority party attempts to blame the current presidential administration for,” Windhorst said. “But we need to take a hard look at what we’re doing as a state to make sure we’re fulfilling our obligations to protect our citizens and to enforce the laws, including the federal laws of our country.”

Welch said it was the other way around.

“The federal government’s picking a fight with us,” Welch said. “We have state’s rights. We know our rights; we know our power. And I wake up every single day saying, ‘Thank God I live in Illinois,’ because we’re protecting the people of Illinois.”

Illinois already bans privately owned immigration detention centers. And under the Illinois Way Forward Act, local governments are prohibited from entering contracts with ICE to detain immigrants for the agency in county jails.

Apartment rental fees

One measure passed this week is going to the governor’s desk. The House voted 64-40 to pass House Bill 3564, which aims to crack down on the types of fees landlords can charge their renters.

The bill prohibits landlords from charging fees of more than $50 for applications, background checks, modifying a lease, making after-hours maintenance requests, or  pest abatement or removal, so long as the renter didn’t cause the issue. It would also require all mandatory fees to be listed on the first page of a lease, and tenants would not be required to pay any fees that are not listed on that page.

“I’ve actually heard from several landlords in the negotiation process of this bill where they have talked about certain bad actors in the industry that are charging these absurd fees that don’t make sense,” bill sponsor Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Inverness, said. “They don’t make sense to many landlords and they don’t make sense to many tenants. And this is simply trying to remove the ability to put additional fees that … are just causing undue burdens on individuals that are looking for housing.”

Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, worried the bill would lead to higher rents.

“Their natural inclination is going to be to build these costs into the base rent and therefore, the tenants are going to be paying additional higher rents,” he said.

If signed, the bill would take effect July 1.

High school voter registration

House Bill 4339 would require high schools to offer eligible students the opportunity to register to vote. Although the bill mandates this action, it provides no consequences if a school does not offer that opportunity.

The bill passed 77-24 with bipartisan support, although some Republicans expressed concern about nonprofits that schools would partner with encouraging students to support one political party over another.

Sponsor Rep. Kimberly du Buclet, D-Chicago, said the bill intends to increase youth voter registration.

“This bill was inspired by the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. who said, and I quote, ‘Senior high school graduation must be seen as a passage rite into adulthood. On that graduation day or night, we must put a diploma in one hand, symbolizing knowledge and wisdom, and put a voter registration card in that other hand, symbolizing power and responsibility,’ and that is the heart of this legislation,” du Buclet said.

Minimum age of alleged child abuse perpetrators

Under current Illinois law, there is no given age that a minor can be held liable for child abuse. The House voted 102-2 to pass House Bill 4539 seeks to make the minimum age for liability 14 — the age children can legally stay home alone without supervision.

Bill sponsor Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, said the measure was initiated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services because the department was investigating cases involving alleged perpetrators as young as six.

The bill also seeks to provide guidance if an alleged perpetrator is under 14, in which case the bill directs DCFS to identify if there is an adult or agency whose disregard allowed maltreatment.

Blue envelope program

The Blue Envelope program would provide individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with blue envelopes that identify them as autistic and provide communication guidance to law enforcement.

Under House Bill 4472, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumberg, the secretary of state would establish, design and administer the voluntary program.

The office would also distribute the envelopes to state and local law enforcement, fire departments and libraries.

Rep. Amy Briel, D-La Salle, spoke in support of the bill, recalling experiences she’s had with law enforcement where they did not understand the effects of her dyspraxia, a condition that affects motor skills and coordination.

The bill passed unanimously.

Emmett Till Day

House Bill 4323 commemorates July 25 of each year as Emmett Till Day. Till was born in Chicago on that day in 1941. In 1955, Till was kidnapped and lynched while visiting family members in Mississippi and his death became a catalyst in the civil rights movement.

The House passed a similar measure last year, but the bill was gutted in the Senate on the final day of the session and turned into the state’s fiscal year 2026 revenue plan.

This year’s version passed unanimously.

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