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Public Act 103-1021 Public Act 1021 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Public Act 103-1021 | SB3592 Enrolled | LRB103 38956 SPS 69093 b |
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| AN ACT concerning journalism. | 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 | Strengthening Community Media Act. | Section 5. Findings. | (a) Illinois benefits from robust local news services that | provide trusted and essential information to the community | that limits corruption, encourages citizen participation, | helps combat misinformation, and mitigates community and | individual alienation. | (b) Local news in Illinois and throughout the country is | struggling with newspaper advertising dropping 82% nationally | since 2000, contributing to a 57% drop in the number of | reporters at newspapers and thousands of closures. | (c) Local news outlets are trusted sources of information | for communities throughout Illinois and advertising spending | with these outlets carries a substantial benefit for the | effective dissemination of important government information to | the communities it serves. | (d) Government initiatives to increase spending on local | news advertising has been manifestly successful in both | supporting local news outlets and improving the information |
| diet of communities in several major cities. | (e) Illinois can and will implement such an initiative | while preserving the editorial independence of local news | outlets selling advertising space under this Act, and | recognizes that any diversion of advertising spending that has | the effect or appearance of an attempt to influence the | editorial content of a local news organization violates the | federal and State guarantees of freedom of the press and | freedom of speech. | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | Opportunity. | "Local news organization" means an entity that: | (1) engages professionals to create, edit, produce, | and distribute original content concerning matters of | public interest, through reporting activities, including | conducting interviews, observing current events, or | analyzing documents or other information; | (2) has at least one employee employed full-time for | 30 hours a week or more dedicated to providing coverage of | Illinois or local Illinois community news and living | within 50 miles of the coverage area, who gathers, | prepares, collects, photographs, writes, edits, reports, | or publishes original local or State community news for | dissemination to the local or State community; |
| (3) in the case of print publications, has published | at least one print publication per month over the previous | 12 months, and either holds a valid United States Postal | Service periodical permit or has at least 25% of its | content dedicated to local news; | (4) in the case of digital-only entities, has | published one piece about the community per week over the | previous 12 months and has at least 33% of its digital | audience in Illinois, averaged over a 12-month period; | (5) in the case of hybrid entities that that have both | print and digital outlets, meets the requirements in | either paragraph (3) or (4) of this definition; | (6) has disclosed in its print publication or on its | website its beneficial ownership or, in the case of a | not-for-profit entity, its board of directors; | (7) in the case of an entity that maintains tax status | under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue | Code, has declared the coverage of local or State news as | the stated mission in its filings with the Internal | Revenue Service; and | (8) has not received more than 50% of its gross | receipts for the previous year from political action | committees or other entities described in Section 527 of | the federal Internal Revenue Code, or from an organization | that maintains Section 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6) status under | the federal Internal Revenue Code. |
| Section 15. Notice of sale of a local news organization. A | local news organization shall not be sold to a company without | giving written notice 120 days before the sales occurs to the | following: | (1) affected employees and representatives of affected | employees; | (2) the Department and the county government in which | the local news organization is located; and | (3) any in-State nonprofit organization in the | business of buying local news organizations. | Section 90. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | amended by adding Section 65.125 as follows: | (110 ILCS 947/65.125 new) | Sec. 65.125. Journalism Student Scholarship Program. | (a) As used in this Section, "local news organization" has | the meaning given to that term in the Strengthening Community | Media Act. | (b) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois | students to pursue careers in journalism, especially in | underserved areas of the State, and to provide those students | with financial assistance to increase the likelihood that they | will complete their full academic commitment and elect to | remain in Illinois to pursue a career in journalism, subject |
| to appropriation, not sooner than the 2025-2026 academic year, | the Commission shall implement and administer the Journalism | Student Scholarship Program. The Commission shall annually | award scholarships to persons preparing to work in Illinois, | with preference given to those preparing to work in | underserved areas. These scholarships shall be awarded to | individuals who make application to the Commission and agree | to sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that, | within the 2-year period following the termination of the | academic program for which the recipient was awarded a | scholarship, the recipient shall: | (1) begin working in journalism in this State for a | period of not less than 2 years; | (2) fulfill this obligation at local news | organization; and | (3) upon request of the Commission, provide the | Commission with evidence that the recipient is fulfilling | or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching agreement | provided for in this subsection. | (c) An eligible student is a student who meets the | following qualifications: | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | eligible noncitizen of the United States; | (2) is a high school graduate or a person who has | received an Illinois high school diploma; | (3) is enrolled or accepted, on at least a half-time |
| basis, at an institution of higher learning; and | (4) is pursuing a postsecondary course of study | leading to a career in journalism or a similar field. | (d) Each scholarship shall be used by the recipient for | the payment of tuition and fees at an institution of higher | learning. | (e) The Commission shall administer the Program and shall | adopt all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with | this Section for its effective implementation. |
Effective Date: 1/1/2025
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