The legislation was introduced in bill HB2852 on Feb. 14, when Rep. Nicholas K. Smith (D-34) filed it with the House clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend various acts relating to the governance of public universities in Illinois".
After debate, the House passed the bill and it arrived in the Senate on March 27, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on May 21. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Aug. 9. The law is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Illinois legislature enacts laws through bills that can be introduced in either the state House of Representatives or the state Senate. Either chamber of the legislature can reject or amend a bill before it becomes law. Legislators sometimes sponsor "shell bills" devoid of substantive provisions, introduced with the intention of being amended later to include actual legislation.
The following table shows the full history of actions on HB2852.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/14/2019 | House | Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Nicholas K. Smith |
| 2/14/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 2/14/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 2/26/2019 | House | Assigned to Higher Education Committee |
| 3/6/2019 | House | Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Carol Ammons |
| 3/6/2019 | House | Do Pass / Short Debate Higher Education Committee; 019-000-000 |
| 3/6/2019 | House | Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Celina Villanueva |
| 3/7/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Dave Severin |
| 3/7/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/19/2019 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/19/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/27/2019 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 112-000-000 |
| 3/27/2019 | Senate | Arrive in Senate |
| 3/27/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading March 28, 2019 |
| 4/9/2019 | Senate | Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. |
| 4/9/2019 | Senate | First Reading |
| 4/9/2019 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 4/24/2019 | Senate | Assigned to Higher Education |
| 5/2/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 7, 2019 |
| 5/2/2019 | Senate | Do Pass Higher Education; 013-000-000 |
| 5/16/2019 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 5/16/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 17, 2019 |
| 5/21/2019 | House | Passed Both Houses |
| 5/21/2019 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 055-000-000 |
| 6/19/2019 | House | Sent to the Governor |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Effective Date January 1, 2020 |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0271 |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Governor Approved |
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