The legislation was introduced in bill HB94 on Dec. 10, 2018, when Rep. Michael J. Madigan (D-22) filed it with the House clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the Cannabis Control Act" and "make a technical change in a section concerning the short title".
After debate, the House passed the bill on April 11 and it arrived in the House on May 24, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on May 30. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Aug. 21. 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 HB94.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 12/10/2018 | House | Prefiled with Clerk by Rep. Michael J. Madigan |
| 1/9/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 1/9/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 1/29/2019 | House | Assigned to Executive Committee |
| 2/6/2019 | House | Do Pass / Short Debate Executive Committee; 007-005-000 |
| 2/7/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate ** |
| 3/20/2019 | House | House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Justin Slaughter |
| 3/20/2019 | House | House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee |
| 3/21/2019 | House | Chief Sponsor Changed to Rep. Justin Slaughter |
| 3/21/2019 | House | House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Criminal Committee |
| 4/3/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 4/10/2019 | House | House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted |
| 4/10/2019 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 4/10/2019 | House | House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 018-000-000 |
| 4/10/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar - Consideration Postponed |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 061-047-000 |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Third Reading - Consideration Postponed |
| 4/11/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | Arrive in Senate |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | First Reading |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. John J. Cullerton |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 4/12/2019 | Senate | Alternate Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford |
| 4/24/2019 | Senate | Assigned to Criminal Law |
| 5/2/2019 | Senate | Postponed - Criminal Law |
| 5/6/2019 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford |
| 5/6/2019 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Assignments |
| 5/7/2019 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted |
| 5/7/2019 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Assignments Refers to Criminal Law |
| 5/8/2019 | Senate | Do Pass as Amended Criminal Law; 007-003-000 |
| 5/8/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 9, 2019 |
| 5/9/2019 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 5/9/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 14, 2019 |
| 5/17/2019 | Senate | Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Don Harmon |
| 5/24/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of Concurrence Senate Amendment(s) 1 |
| 5/24/2019 | House | Arrived in House |
| 5/24/2019 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 037-017-000 |
| 5/24/2019 | Senate | Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Robert Peters |
| 5/26/2019 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion to Concur Rules Referred to Judiciary - Criminal Committee |
| 5/26/2019 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion to Concur Referred to Rules Committee |
| 5/26/2019 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion Filed Concur Rep. Justin Slaughter |
| 5/27/2019 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion to Concur Recommends Be Adopted Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 012-006-000 |
| 5/30/2019 | House | Passed Both Houses |
| 5/30/2019 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 House Concurs 063-052-000 |
| 5/30/2019 | House | House Concurs |
| 6/28/2019 | House | Sent to the Governor |
| 8/21/2019 | House | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0440 |
| 8/21/2019 | House | Effective Date January 1, 2020 |
| 8/21/2019 | House | Governor Approved |
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