SB3840 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19567 BDA 33015 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3840

Introduced 2/6/2026, by Sen. Andrew S. Chesney

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Illinois Public Corruption Transparency Act. Establishes an electronic database within the Illinois State Police to be known as the Illinois Public Corruption Registry. Provides that the Registry shall be published online on a publicly available website, and shall be freely searchable by the public without registration or fee. Provides that the clerk of each circuit court, with respect to criminal and civil cases, the Executive Ethics Commission, Office of the Executive Inspector General, Legislative Inspector General, local government ethics commissions or boards where established; and the Attorney General and each State's Attorney, with respect to corruption-related settlements, consent decrees, and deferred or no-prosecution agreements, shall report any final disposition involving a public corruption offense. Provides that the Registry shall not publish Social Security numbers, full dates of birth, home addresses, personal phone numbers, or bank or account numbers or the identities of minor victims or protected persons as defined by law. Provides that an entry in the Registry shall be created when a reportable final disposition occurs in Illinois and the Illinois State Police receives a certified report. Provides that entries in the Registry shall remain publicly accessible for 10 years from final disposition for misdemeanor level public corruption offenses, 20 years from final disposition for felony level public corruption offenses, and the duration of any court ordered or statutory disqualification from public office, public employment, or public contracting, if longer. Provides that any person who knowingly and willfully submits materially false information to the Registry commits a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a subsequent offense, in addition to any other penalties under Illinois law. Effective January 1, 2027.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning government.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Public Corruption Transparency and Registry Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to enhance public confidence in Illinois government by ensuring transparent reporting of public corruption cases, to deter corruption by requiring public disclosure of substantiated violations involving Illinois public officials, employees, and those doing business with public bodies, and to support the Attorney General, Illinois State Police, State's Attorneys, Inspectors General, and other oversight bodies in identifying corruption risks and trends.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Final disposition" means a final judgment, order, or decision that is no longer subject to direct appeal as of right, including:

(1) a criminal conviction in any Illinois Court, including by plea or verdict;

(2) a civil or administrative finding of liability by a court, the Executive Ethics Commission, a local ethics board, or comparable body; and

(3) a consent judgment, settlement, or formal agreement by which a person does not contest, or is sanctioned for public corruption related conduct.

"Public corruption offense" means any criminal, civil, or administrative offense under Illinois law or applicable federal law prosecuted or enforced in Illinois that involves:

(1) bribery, official misconduct, or a violation of Article 33 of the Criminal Code of 2012 or comparable local provisions;

(2) theft, embezzlement, or misappropriation of public funds or public resources;

(3) fraud, including grant, procurement, vendor, tax, or benefits fraud, where a public body is the victim; or

(4) unlawful conflicts of interest, bid-rigging, or pay-to-play schemes in violations of Illinois ethics, campaign finance, or procurement laws.

"Public official or employee" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information Act.

"Registry" means the Illinois Public Corruption Registry established under Section 15.

"Responsible agency" means the Illinois State Police, acting through its Special Investigations Unit or successor unit with statewide responsibility for public corruption investigations, in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General.

Section 15. Establishment of the Illinois Public Corruption Registry. There is hereby established within the Illinois State Police an electronic database to be known as the Illinois Public Corruption Registry. The responsible agency shall, in consultation with the Attorney General's Public Integrity Bureau, maintain and administer the Registry, including by:

(1) verifying information required under this Act;

(2) maintaining, updating, and publishing the Registry on a publicly available website; and

(3) coordinating with Illinois Courts, State's Attorneys, the Attorney General, Inspectors General, ethics commissions, and local governments.

The Registry shall be:

(1) freely searchable by the public without registration or fee;

(2) accessible online via the Illinois State Police website; and

(3) searchable by name, public body, office or position, county, type of offense, date, and disposition.

The Registry shall be updated at least once every 30 days and more frequently where feasible.

Section 20. Reportable cases and data elements.

(a) The following Illinois entities shall report to the responsible agency any final disposition involving a public corruption offense:

(1) the clerk of each circuit court, with respect to criminal and civil cases;

(2) the Executive Ethics Commission, Office of the Executive Inspector General, Legislative Inspector General;

(3) local government ethics commissions or boards where established; and

(4) the Attorney General and each State's Attorney, with respect to corruption-related settlements, consent decrees, and deferred or no-prosecution agreements.

(b) For each reportable final disposition, the reporting entity shall provide, to the extent permitted by law:

(1) the full name of the individual or legal entity found liable or convicted;

(2) the year of birth or other statutorily authorized unique identifier;

(3) the status at time of conduct, such as an elected official, State employee, contractor, vendor, or lobbyist;

(4) the title or position and employing public entity, if applicable;

(5) the case caption, docket number, county, and court or administrative body;

(6) the statutes or regulations violated, including any citation to the Criminal Code of 2012;

(7) the Public Corruption Profit Forfeiture Act, or relevant ethics or procurement statutes;

(8) a brief neutral summary of conduct;

(9) the date of final disposition; and

(10) the sanctions imposed, including incarceration, probation, fines, restitution, forfeiture, debarment, or loss of office.

(c) The responsible agency may adopt standardized electronic reporting formats and may integrate the Registry with existing Illinois State Police public-corruption reporting tools and case-tracking systems.

Section 25. Publication standards, privacy and corrections.

(a) The Registry shall not publish:

(1) Social Security numbers, full dates of birth, home addresses, personal phone numbers, or bank or account numbers; or

(2) identities of minor victims or protected persons as defined by law.

(b) Individuals shall not be listed in the Registry based solely on unsubstantiated allegations or ongoing investigations; only final dispositions are included, subject to subsection (d).

(c) The responsible agency shall establish procedures to:

(1) correct clerical or factual errors upon verified request; and

(2) remove or appropriately annotate entries within 30 days of receiving an order vacating, reversing, or expunging the underlying disposition.

(d) Nothing in this Act authorizes disclosure of records that are sealed, expunged, or otherwise confidential under Illinois law, including juvenile records and records protected under the Freedom of Information Act, except to the extent non confidential elements can be lawfully disclosed.

Section 30. Inclusion criteria and duration of listing

(a) An entry shall be created when:

(1) a reportable final disposition occurs in Illinois; and

(2) the responsible agency receives a certified report under Section 15.

(b) Entries shall remain in the public portion of the Registry for:

(1) 10 years from final disposition for misdemeanor level public corruption offenses;

(2) 20 years from final disposition for felony level public corruption offenses; and

(3) the duration of any court ordered or statutory disqualification from public office, public employment, or public contracting, if longer.

(c) The General Assembly may provide, by later law, for anonymization or archival of older entries while preserving access for law enforcement, the Attorney General, and oversight agencies.

Section 35. Duties of the responsible agency and Attorney General.

(a) The responsible agency shall:

(1) adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to implement this Act;

(2) maintain and secure the Registry and ensure user friendly public access; and

(3) coordinate with the Attorney General, State's Attorneys, and Inspectors General on data quality and completeness.

(b) The Attorney General's Office, through the Public Integrity Bureau, shall:

(1) provide guidance to reporting entities on what constitutes a public corruption offense under Illinois law;

(2) use Registry data, where appropriate, to inform public corruption enforcement priorities and statewide integrity initiatives; and

(3) include aggregate statistics and trends from Registry data in periodic public integrity or "Honest and Open Government" reports.

Section 40. Reporting timelines and compliance.

(a) Each reporting entity shall submit the information required under Section 15 within 45 days after final disposition, unless a shorter period is required by other law or court rule.

(b) The responsible agency may flag chronic non compliance and notify the Attorney General, relevant State's Attorney, or oversight body for appropriate action or further inquiry.

(c) The responsible agency may publish aggregate statistics on timeliness and completeness of reporting in an annual public report.

Section 45. Immunities and penalties.

(a) State and local officials, courts, and employees who, in good faith, report or transmit information required by this Act based on official records shall not be subject to civil liability for such reporting.

(b) The responsible agency and its employees shall not be liable for good faith publication, maintenance, correction, or removal of Registry entries consistent with this Act.

(c) Any person who knowingly and willfully submits materially false information to the Registry commits a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a subsequent offense, in addition to any other penalties under Illinois law.

(d) This Section does not bar any action against a person who intentionally withholds required reporting in order to conceal a public corruption offense.

Section 50. Relationship to existing Illinois law.

(a) This Act supplements and does not limit or repeal:

(1) the Public Corruption Profit Forfeiture Act;

(2) the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act; or

(3) existing criminal, ethics, procurement, and campaign finance statutes, and any powers of the Attorney General, Illinois State Police, State's Attorneys, or Inspectors General.

(b) In the event of conflict between this Act and a statute expressly requiring confidentiality or sealing of specified records, the confidentiality statute controls, and the Registry shall publish only nonconfidential data consistent with that statute.

Section 55. Rulemaking.

(a) The Illinois State Police, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall adopt implementing rules within 12 months after the effective date of this Act.

(b) This Act applies to final dispositions occurring on or after its effective date. The General Assembly may authorize phased or retroactive inclusion of earlier final dispositions, subject to existing expungement and confidentiality laws.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027.