Dupage Policy Journal

Laura Ellman introduced SB1790 in the Illinois Senate 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 Extreme Weather Recovery Act. Creates a private cause of action for a harmed party against a responsible party in which the amount in controversy is $10,000 or more. Authorizes a harmed party who has suffered damages in that amount that is alleged to have been caused by climate disaster or extreme weather attributable to climate changes or both to sue a responsible party. The Act's covered period is from 1965 to the effective date of the Act. Prohibits the State or unit of local government or an agent or employee of these governmental units from commencing an action under the Act. Makes legislative findings. Makes definitions. Creates a 3-year statute of limitation in which a harmed party must file or commence an action under the Act. Authorizes the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to adopt rules implementing the Act. Makes other changes. Effective immediately."

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

In essence, this bill, titled the Extreme Weather Recovery Act, introduces a new legal mechanism allowing private individuals, businesses, and associations in Illinois to sue entities responsible for climate change-related damages. Covering incidents attributed to climate disasters from 1965 to the bill's enactment, plaintiffs must demonstrate damages of at least $10,000 to proceed with claims against companies emitting at least 1 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalents. State entities are barred from initiating these lawsuits, and lawsuits must be filed within three years of the incident. The bill also prohibits defenses based on ignorance of the law or claims that climate change impacts are acts of God. Additionally, this act emphasizes enabling individuals and businesses to seek compensatory and punitive damages, upholding their right to recover economic losses and non-economic damages linked to climate change impacts. It takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Laura Ellman has proposed another five bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Ellman graduated from Grinnell College in 1987 with a BS.

Laura Ellman is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 21st Senate District. She replaced previous state senator Michael Connelly 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
SB1790	02/06/2025	Creates the Extreme Weather Recovery Act. Creates a private cause of action for a harmed party against a responsible party in which the amount in controversy is $10,000 or more. Authorizes a harmed party who has suffered damages in that amount that is alleged to have been caused by climate disaster or extreme weather attributable to climate changes or both to sue a responsible party. The Act's covered period is from 1965 to the effective date of the Act. Prohibits the State or unit of local government or an agent or employee of these governmental units from commencing an action under the Act. Makes legislative findings. Makes definitions. Creates a 3-year statute of limitation in which a harmed party must file or commence an action under the Act. Authorizes the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to adopt rules implementing the Act. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
SB1789	02/06/2025	Creates the Riparian Protection and Water Quality Practices Act. Requires landowners who own property that is adjacent to a water body identified and mapped on a buffer-protection map to maintain a buffer to protect the State's water resources. Sets forth requirements concerning the types of buffers that must be installed and the timelines for their installation. Requires soil and water conservation districts to develop and submit to each local water management authority a summary of watercourses within their jurisdiction by July 1, 2026. Requires local water management authorities to incorporate these recommendations into their comprehensive water management plans. Exempts certain lands from the requirements of the Act. Allows the Department to withhold funding from local authorities that fail to implement the Act. Contains provisions concerning judicial review of decisions of the Department of Natural Resources. Specifies that the Act applies to State property. Defines terms.
SB1791	02/06/2025	Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program through which the Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities for projects that facilitate travel by public transportation to public outdoor recreation sites for outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, boating, picnicking, hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, or other nature-based activities. Provides that the Secretary shall offer grants through the Transit-to-Trails program on an annual basis. Requires the Department of Transportation to adopt rules necessary to implement and administer the program. Provides that, in considering grant applications, the Department shall prioritize projects with demonstrated intent to enhance access to outdoor recreation opportunities for populations in greatest need of improved access to outdoor nature-based recreation. Requires the Department to provide technical assistance in preparing grant applications to applicants upon request. Provides that implementation of the grant program is subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.
SB1792	02/06/2025	Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that the owner, licensee, or operator of a generative artificial intelligence system shall conspicuously display a warning on the system's user interface that is reasonably calculated to consistently apprise the user that the outputs of the generative artificial intelligence system may be inaccurate or inappropriate. Provides that a violation of the provision constitutes an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Act.
SB1793	02/06/2025	Amends the Crematory Regulation Act. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to designate scattering areas for the deposition of cremated remains in Illinois rivers in accordance with a Department-granted permit.
SB1794	02/06/2025	Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an enhanced statewide environmental monitoring program for the purpose of protecting communities in the State, including especially environmental justice communities, from the threats to human health caused by pollution of the State's land and waters.
SB1795	02/06/2025	Amends the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act. Specifies that all new luminaires installed on a structure or land that is owned and managed by the Department of Transportation, including roadways, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public right-of-way spaces, must comply with the outdoor lighting control requirements set forth in the Act.
SB1949	02/06/2025	Amends the Counties Code. Repeals language that made certain stormwater management provisions applicable to all counties containing an urbanized area, except those counties covered by other provisions of the Code concerning stormwater management, if the question of allowing the county board to establish a stormwater management planning council had been submitted to the electors of the county and approved by a majority of those voting on the question. Specifies that these stormwater management provisions of the Code apply in all counties containing an urbanized area, unless the counties are covered by other provisions of the Code concerning stormwater management.
SB1950	02/06/2025	Amends the Sanitary Food Preparation Act. Provides that, if a food distribution facility is engaged in the collection, storage, packaging, or distribution of food to consumers, then that facility is subject to all provisions of the Act and rules adopted under the Act. Provides that the registered sanitarian of a county health department of where a food distribution facility is located shall have the power to enforce and observe the rules and orders of the Department of Public Health and the provisions of this Section. Defines "food distribution facility".
SB1974	02/06/2025	Amends the Telehealth Act. Provides that no health care provider, health care facility, or associated entity shall impose or collect a facility fee in connection with any telehealth services provided to patients in the State of Illinois. Provides that the prohibition does not apply to any fees that are directly related to in-person services that may be required to supplement telehealth care if such fees are itemized and clearly communicated to the patient before the in-person services are provided.
SB1419	01/31/2025	Appropriates $67,000,000 to the State Board of Education for costs associated with the Healthy School Meals for All Program. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB1293	01/28/2025	Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that the warrant of arrest or summons shall command that the person against whom the complaint was made to be arrested and brought before the court issuing the warrant at a certain day, time, and courtroom number, or the nearest or most accessible court in the same county, or appear before the court at a certain time and place. Provides that if a person has a warrant in another county for an offense and the county where the warrant is outstanding fails to transport the person to the county where the warrant was issued for a hearing no later than 5 calendar days after the end of any detention issued on the charge in the arresting county, the county where the warrant is outstanding shall mark the warrant as served (rather than quash the warrant) and order the person released on the case for which the warrant was issued. Provides that if the issuing county fails to take any action within 5 calendar days, the defendant shall be released from custody on the warrant, and the circuit judge or associate circuit judge in the county of arrest shall set conditions of release and shall admit the defendant to pretrial release and shall schedule for his or her appearance before the court named in the warrant based upon the court day, time, and courtroom number listed on the warrant.
SB1311	01/28/2025	Amends the Fish and Aquatic Life Code. Requires an aquatic habitat conservation stamp for every person obtaining a resident or non-resident license under the Code. Creates the Aquatic Habitat Conservation Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury with fees from the sale of aquatic habitat conservation stamps deposited into the fund and with appropriations from the Fund solely to the Department of Natural Resources to be used only (i) for the management, restoration, and protection of aquatic and riparian habitats in Illinois, (ii) for elimination of or protection from aquatic nuisance species, and (iii) for preparation for and protection from the effects of climate change in Illinois, including increased risks of flooding, erosion, and sedimentation. Defines terms. Makes conforming changes to the State Finance Act.
SB1225	01/24/2025	Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Expands the categories of families eligible for child care assistance to include families with a parent or guardian who is employed as a mental health care worker, teacher, or health care provider and has income below the specified income threshold established for such families. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law or administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in State Fiscal Year 2026, for families with a parent or guardian who is employed as a mental health care worker, teacher, or health care provider, the specified income threshold shall be no less than 300% of the then-current federal poverty level for each family size. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB0008	01/13/2025	Creates the Safe Gun Storage Act. Provides that a firearm owner shall not store or keep any firearm in any premises where the firearm owner knows or reasonably should know a minor without the lawful permission of the minor's parent, guardian, or person having charge of the minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to the firearm unless the firearm is secured in a locked container, properly engaged so as to render the firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. Provides that if the firearm is carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user, then the firearm is deemed lawfully stored or kept. Provides that a violation of the Act is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except (i) if any person knows or reasonably should know that a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to a firearm belonging to or under the control of that person, and a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains the firearm, the civil penalty shall not exceed $1,000 and (ii) if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and uses it to injure or cause the death of a person or uses the firearm in connection with a crime, the civil penalty shall not exceed $10,000. Provides that the court may order a person who is found in violation of the Act to perform community service or pay restitution in lieu of the civil penalties imposed under this Section if good cause is shown. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to preclude civil liabilities for violations of the Act. Provides that a violation of the Act is prima facie evidence of negligence per se in any civil proceeding if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and causes personal injury to the death of oneself or another or uses the firearm in the commission of a crime. Provides that an action to collect a civil penalty under the Act may be brought by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which the violation occurred. Provides that any money received from the collection of a civil penalty under the Act shall be deposited in the Mental Health Fund. Defines terms. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026.