New Illinois laws in 2020: Here are some of the new laws, taxes taking effect

Iesha Townsend, an advocate for a $15 minimum wage who works as a cashier at a McDonald’s in Chicago, addresses a crowd at the Governor’s Mansion on Feb. 19 before Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signing of Senate Bill 1. — Iesha Townsend, who works as a cashier at a McDonald’s in Chicago, addresses a crowd at the Governor’s Mansion in February before Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1, increasing the minimum wage in Illinois in phases, beginning with a $1-an-hour hike, to $9.25 an hour, beginning Jan. 1. Townsend said she will continue to fight for worker rights, including unionization of low-wage workers.

SPRINGFIELD — The state’s minimum wage will increase by $1 hourly, recreational marijuana will go on sale to those over 21 years of age, and some state taxes and licensing fees will increase when the calendar hits January.

The changes are among hundreds resulting from laws passed during a busy legislative session that adjourned in early June.

Minimum Wage: The minimum wage will increase by $1 to $9.25 hourly on Jan. 1, the first such increase since 2010. The wage will increase to $10 hourly in July before increasing $1 each January until it hits $15 by 2025.

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Don Welge, president and CEO of Gilster-Mary Lee, a food manufacturer, holds up a box of macaroni and cheese, saying that product could become a money-loser for his company if the minimum wage increase were passed. — Don Welge, president and CEO of Gilster-Mary Lee, a family and privately held food manufacturer headquartered in Chester, holds up a box of macaroni and cheese, which he said could become a money-losing product for his company if the minimum wage increase legislation becomes law. Welge and other business owners spoke during a news conference in February at the Capitol in Springfield.

Marijuana Legalization: With the legalization of adult-use marijuana in the state, Illinois residents will be allowed to possess 30 grams of cannabis flower, 500 milligrams of a marijuana-infused product and five grams of cannabis concentrate. Non-residents can possess half those amounts.

Consumption of marijuana will still be banned in public places, however, unless a licensed marijuana facility or certain lounges obtain local government clearance for allowing use at their facilities.

Marijuana legalization will also provide for the expungement of low-level cannabis convictions and criminal records in the state, the first of which were filed in Chicago this month.

Everything you need to know about recreational marijuana in Illinois

New Taxes, Fees for Capital Plan:Some new taxes and fees which will help fund a multi-year $45 billion capital infrastructure plan also take effect in January.

Registration fees for passenger vehicles will increase to $151 from $101, while electric vehicle registration fees will increase to $251 annually from $34 every other year.

The licensing fee for a trailer weighing less than 3,000 pounds will increase to $118 from $18, with every weight class above that also seeing a $100 increase.

A new tax on parking garages also takes effect next month; a 6 percent rate will apply to hourly and daily garages; it will be 9 percent for monthly garages.

The state will also tax the value of traded-in vehicles starting after $10,000, instead of $20,000.

Other New Laws

• The maximum fine for a hitting a construction worker with a vehicle will increase to $25,000 from $10,000.

• Those violating “Scott’s Law” — failing to reduce speed or change lanes for emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the road — will see increased fines. Minimum fine for a first offense increases to $250 from $100; the minimum for a second offense will be $750. Maximum fine remains $10,000.

It becomes a Class 2 felony if violating the law leads to the injury or death of a first responder.

Fines will go to the Scott’s Law Fund to produce driver education materials.

• Passing a stopped school bus with a “STOP” arm extended means a $300 fine, up from $150, for the first offense. Second offenses will cost $1,000, up from $500.

Drivers in Illinois who pass a school bus that has its “stop” arm extended will pay higher fines starting in 2020.

• The burial benefit for a firefighter, state police or local law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty will increase to $20,000 from $10,000.

• Any report received by the Department of Children and Family Services alleging the abuse or neglect of a child by a person who is not the child’s parent or immediate family must immediately be referred to the appropriate local enforcement agency and state’s attorney for consideration of criminal investigation or other action.

• Diesel trucks will be prohibited from idling for more than 10 minutes per hour if the vehicle is within 200 feet of a residential area.

• Graduate assistants will be classified as “employees” instead of as “students,” allowing them to bargain collectively.

• Illinois insurers must cover the costs of medically necessary epinephrine injectors, commonly referred to by the brand name EpiPen, for persons under 18.

• Hospitals must post information on how to enroll in health insurance through the Illinois health insurance marketplace.

The Illinois Senate Democratic and Republican caucuses have each lists of new laws on their websites.