HB5455 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18216 RLC 31655 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5455

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Justin Slaughter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/11-18.2 new

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that, in addition to any other disposition authorized by law, the court shall order any person arrested for patronizing a person engaged in the sex trade to participate in the Buyer Accountability Program and pay a fee of $1,000. Provides for the distribution of the fees. Establishes an education program to be known as the Buyer Accountability Program, which shall consist of an instructional program on prostitution and human trafficking schemes offered in one or more locations throughout the State. Establishes who may establish the program in various areas of the State. Provides that the program shall include information intended to increase the person's awareness of: (1) the causes of prostitution and its relationship to human trafficking; (2) the health and safety risks connected with prostitution, including its impact on the community; (3) the consequences of convictions for prostitution or human trafficking, including penalties for subsequent convictions on both patronizers and victims; and (4) the pervasiveness of human trafficking as well as the long-term physical and psychological harms of prostitution and human trafficking on its victims. Provides that a program must be approved by the Attorney General. Provides that the Attorney General shall notify the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts that the program has been established and approved by the Attorney General.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by adding Section 11-18.2 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/11-18.2 new)

Sec. 11-18.2. Patronizing a person engaged in the sex trade; assessment.

(a) In addition to any other disposition authorized by law, the court shall order any person arrested for patronizing a person engaged in the sex trade as provided under Section 11-18 to participate in the Buyer Accountability Program established under subsection (d).

(b) In addition to any fine, fee, assessment, or penalty authorized under Section 11-18, a person charged with patronizing a person engaged in the sex trade as provided under Section 11-18 shall be assessed, if ordered to participate in the Buyer Accountability Program, a fee of $1,000.

(c) Each $1,000 fee assessed as required by this Section shall be collected by the court, and deposited into the Specialized Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking Fund established by Section 5-9-1.21 of the Unified Code of Corrections. From this fee, $600 shall be retained in the fund, and the remaining $400 shall be distributed as follows:

(1) $300 to the approved provider of the Buyer Accountability Program, as established under subsection (d), attended by the person; and

(2) $100 to the law enforcement agency that arrested the person resulting in that person's arrest.

(d)(1) There is established an education program to be known as the Buyer Accountability Program, which shall consist of an instructional program on prostitution and human trafficking schemes offered in one or more locations throughout the State as follows:

(A) by a local public entity as defined in Section 1-206 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, alone or in partnership with a nonprofit, pertaining to the proposed operation of an instructional program by the local public entity, or alternatively, by a nonprofit or other private provider on behalf of the local public entity and the Attorney General. If a local public entity establishes and operates an instructional program, then all courts operating within the jurisdiction of that local public entity shall order a person convicted of an eligible offense under subsection (a) to attend that local public entity's program. A court shall not be required to order a person to attend that program until the first day of the month next following the date on which the Attorney General notifies the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts that the program has been established and approved by the Attorney General; and

(B) the program shall be established within 6 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly. Any court in a jurisdiction that does not have an approved local public entity instructional program as established under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall order a person charged with an eligible offense under subsection (a) to attend the approved State program established under this subparagraph, unless there is an extra-jurisdictional local public entity instructional program within 25 miles of the court, and the court has been notified in accordance with this subparagraph, or subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, of the availability of that program to accept participants from the court, in which case the court may instead order a person to attend the local public entity's instructional program; regarding any program notice under this subparagraph, a court shall not be required to order a person to attend a program until the first day of the month next following the date on which the Attorney General notifies the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts that the program has been established and approved by the Attorney General.

(2) The program shall include information intended to increase the person's awareness of:

(A) the causes of prostitution and its relationship to human trafficking;

(B) the health and safety risks connected with prostitution, including its impact on the community;

(C) the consequences of convictions for prostitution or human trafficking, including penalties for subsequent convictions on both patronizers and victims; and

(D) the pervasiveness of human trafficking as well as the long-term physical and psychological harms of prostitution and human trafficking on its victims.