SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Illinois General Assembly has passed a sweeping AI safety bill designed to regulate the rapidly evolving technology in the absence of action from the federal government.
Gov. JB Pritzker indicated his willingness to sign SB 315 into law, writing on X: “Illinois is leading the nation in holding Big Tech accountable. I look forward to signing SB 315 and working with the legislature so that AI, when used, is used responsibly.”
Step 1: Solve Intelligence. Step 2: Use it to solve everything else
Some have compared America’s buildout of data centers as a national infrastructure project more than the equivalent of the Apollo moon mission or the Manhattan project, with spending expected to hit nearly $1 trillion by the end of 2026.
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has described the goal of creating Artificial General Intelligence as “the ultimate tool for science,” a foundational instrument capable of unlocking new branches of technology and medicine, including cures for many diseases and the possibility of new physics, which could include solving nuclear fusion and producing limitless clean energy.
However, the same leaders in the AI industry have also warned of the potential for catastrophic risks from malignant human actors, rogue nation states, or misaligned AI itself.
Mitigating the risks
Illinois’ multi-bill package of legislation touches nearly every aspect of artificial intelligence, from how companies build the systems to how consumers interact with them.
One component is the creation of a formal transparency framework that would require AI companies, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Meta, and Microsoft, to undergo third-party audits to report the potential for risks posed by their models.
It would also require companies to disclose when users are interacting with AI chatbots instead of humans, and would include regulations on AI companions designed for emotional interaction.
Illinois is not starting from scratch. The state already has one of the more developed frameworks in employment AI regulation.
A law that took effect January 1, 2026, makes it a civil rights violation to use artificial intelligence in hiring or workplace decisions in a discriminatory way. Employers must also disclose when AI is being used and ensure systems do not disadvantage workers based on protected characteristics.
Beyond employment, Illinois has enacted or considered policies addressing deepfakes, digital likeness rights, education, and healthcare uses of AI.
New proposals, including the “High-Impact AI Governance Principles and Disclosure Act,” would go further by requiring businesses to publish reports explaining how they use AI and comply with standardized governance principles, with potential penalties for violations.
The bill passed the House 110-0 and the Senate at 52-5 on Thursday.
Support for Illinois’ AI regulation laws by the AI industry
OpenAI and Anthropic have publicly supported the bill.
“With strong bipartisan support, Illinois is on track to become the first state to require independent, third-party audits of large frontier AI developers’ safety practices. SB 315 takes the safety practices leading labs already follow voluntarily—publishing a safety framework, transparent reporting, protecting whistleblowers—and helps establish a baseline that every leading AI developer is expected to meet,” said Anthropic’s Cesar Fernandez. “As these models grow more powerful, this kind of enforceable accountability matters more than ever… Illinois lawmakers have set a new standard, and we hope other states and the federal government build on their dedication to AI safety.”
In a statement from OpenAI, spokesperson Jamie Radice said, “The Illinois General Assembly has shown real bipartisan leadership in advancing SB 315 and developing a thoughtful framework for frontier AI safety. As AI systems become more capable, clear expectations around safety, transparency, incident reporting, and accountability matter.”
The White House has opposed regulation on frontier AI, arguing that a slowdown in the development of powerful models could cede America’s lead to Chinese companies.
Just this week, President Donald Trump decided not to sign a planned executive order that would have established a voluntary framework for safety testing for America’s frontier AI models. The order would have reportedly allowed government agencies to test advanced models prior to public releases.
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