Text of IL SB 2078 (2025)

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB2078 Introduced 2/6/2025, by Sen. Andrew S. Chesney SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act 410 ILCS 35/Act rep. 775 ILCS 5/1-103 from Ch. 68, par. 1-103 Creates the Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism Act. Requires the Secretary of State to implement changes to require all Illinois-issued identification documents to reflect the holder's sex as defined in the Act. Requires all State agencies to remove or change their forms and communications to reflect the changes in the Act. Requires the Department of Human Rights to issue guidance to ensure the freedom to express the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex space in workplaces. Requires the Department of Human Rights to prioritize investigation and litigation to the right and freedoms identified and created under the Act. Provides that the Act takes priority over and supersedes any other State law or rule that appears to or purports to be in conflict with the Act. Makes other changes. Repeals the Equitable Restroom Act. Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to delete "gender-related identity" from the definition of "sexual orientation." LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b A BILL FOR SB2078LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1 AN ACT concerning human rights. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism Act. 6 Section 5. Legislative intent. Across the country, 7ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have 8increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to 9permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to 10intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, 11from women's domestic abuse shelters to women's workplace 12showers. This is wrong. Efforts to eradicate the biological 13reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of 14their dignity, safety, and well-being. The erasure of sex in 15language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women 16but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing 17policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public 18safety, morale, and trust in government itself. 19 This unhealthy road is paved by an ongoing and purposeful 20attack against the ordinary and longstanding use and 21understanding of biological and scientific terms, replacing 22the immutable biological reality of sex with an internal, 23fluid, and subjective sense of self unmoored from biological SB2078- 2 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1facts. Invalidating the true and biological category of 2"woman" improperly transforms laws and policies designed to 3protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that 4undermine them, replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights 5and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept. 6 It is the policy of the State to recognize 2 sexes: male 7and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in 8fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Accordingly, the 9State will defend women's rights and protect freedom of 10conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies 11that recognize women are biologically female, and men are 12biologically male. 13 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 14 "Female" means a person belonging, at conception, to the 15sex that produces the large reproductive cell. 16 "Gender identity" means a fully internal and subjective 17sense of self disconnected from biological reality and sex and 18existing on an infinite continuum that does not provide a 19meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized 20as a replacement for sex. 21 "Gender ideology" means the replacement of the biological 22category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed 23gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can 24identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and 25requiring all institutions of society to regard this false SB2078- 3 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1claim as true. "Gender ideology" includes the idea that there 2is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one's 3sex. "Gender ideology" is internally inconsistent in that it 4diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but 5nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be 6born in the wrong sexed body. 7 "Male" means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex 8that produces the small reproductive cell. 9 "Men" or "man" and "boys" or "boy" means adult and 10juvenile human males, respectively. 11 "Sex" means an individual's immutable biological 12classification as either male or female. "Sex" is not a 13synonym for and does not include the concept of gender 14identity. 15 "Women" or "woman" and "girls" or "girl" means adult and 16juvenile human females, respectively. 17 Section 15. Recognizing women are biologically distinct 18from men. 19 (a) Within 30 days of the date of this Act, the Secretary 20of the Department of Human Services shall provide to State 21agencies and employees, contractors, and the public clear 22guidance expanding on the sex-based definitions set forth in 23this Act. 24 (b) Each agency and all State employees shall enforce this 25Act governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, SB2078- 4 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically 2distinct sexes. Each agency shall give the terms "sex", 3"male", "female", "men", "women", "boys" and "girls" the 4meanings set forth in Section 5 when interpreting or applying 5statutes, regulations, rules, or guidance and in all other 6official agency business, documents, and communications. 7 (c) When administering or enforcing sex-based 8distinctions, every State agency and all State employees 9acting in an official capacity on behalf of their agency shall 10use the term "sex" and not "gender" in all applicable State 11policies and documents. 12 (d) The Secretary of State shall implement changes to 13require that government-issued identification documents to 14accurately reflect the holder's sex, as defined under Section 155, and the Director of Central Management Services shall 16ensure that applicable personnel records accurately report 17State employees' sex, as defined by Section 5. 18 (e) State agencies shall remove all statements, policies, 19regulations, rules, forms, communications, or other internal 20and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate 21gender ideology and shall cease issuing such statements, 22policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other 23messages. State agency forms that require an individual's sex 24shall list male or female and may not request gender identity. 25State agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by 26law, to end the State funding of gender ideology. Each State SB2078- 5 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1agency shall assess grant conditions and grantee preferences 2and ensure grant funds do not promote gender ideology. 3 Section 20. Privacy in intimate spaces. 4 (a) The Director of the Department of Corrections shall 5ensure that males are not detained in women's prisons or 6housed in women's detention centers, revise its policies 7concerning medical care to be consistent with this Act, and 8shall ensure that no State funds are expended for any medical 9procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an 10inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex. 11 (b) State agencies shall effectuate this policy by taking 12appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated 13for women, girls, or females, or for men, boys, or males, are 14designated by sex and not identity. 15 Section 25. Protecting rights. The Department of Human 16Rights shall issue guidance to ensure the freedom to express 17the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex spaces in 18workplaces. The Department shall prioritize investigations and 19litigation to enforce the rights and freedoms identified and 20created under this Act. 21 Section 30. Agency implementation and reporting. 22 (a) Within 120 days of the date of this Act, each State 23Agency shall submit an update on implementation of this order SB2078- 6 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1to the Governor, the Senate President, the Minority Leader of 2the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 3the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. That 4update shall address: 5 (1) changes to agency documents, including 6 regulations, rules guidance, forms, and communications 7 made to comply with this Act; and 8 (2) agency-imposed requirements on State funded 9 entities, including contractors, to achieve the policy of 10 this Act. 11 (b) Each State agency shall promptly rescind all guidance 12documents inconsistent with the requirements of this Act or 13rescind such parts of such documents that are inconsistent in 14such a manner. 15 Section 35. General provisions. 16 (a) Nothing in this Act may be construed to impair or 17otherwise affect the authority granted by law to a 18constitutional officer, State agency, or director of any State 19agency. 20 (b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any 21right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 22law or in equity by any party against the State, its 23departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, 24or agents, or any other person. SB2078- 7 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1 Section 95. Applicability. This Act takes priority over 2and supersedes any other State law or rule that appears to or 3purports to be in conflict with this Act. 4 Section 97. Severability. If any provision of this Act or 5its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, 6the invalidity of that provision or application does not 7affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can 8be given effect without the invalid provision or application. 9 (410 ILCS 35/Act rep.) 10 Section 900. The Equitable Restrooms Act is repealed. 11 Section 905. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by 12changing Section 1-103 as follows: 13 (775 ILCS 5/1-103) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103) 14 Sec. 1-103. General definitions. When used in this Act, 15unless the context requires otherwise, the term: 16 (A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who 17is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice 18described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns 19training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training 20or apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102, 21"age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not 22yet 40 years old. SB2078- 8 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1 (B) Aggrieved party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who 2is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights 3violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil 4rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur. 5 (B-5) Arrest record. "Arrest record" means: 6 (1) an arrest not leading to a conviction; 7 (2) a juvenile record; or 8 (3) criminal history record information ordered 9 expunged, sealed, or impounded under Section 5.2 of the 10 Criminal Identification Act. 11 (C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the 12Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the 13Department under its authority. 14 (D) Civil rights violation. "Civil rights violation" 15includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set 16forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-102.1, 3-103, 173-102.10, 3-104.1, 3-105, 3-105.1, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102, 185A-102, 6-101, 6-101.5, and 6-102 of this Act. 19 (E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights 20Commission created by this Act. 21 (F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed 22by the Department with the Commission following an 23investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil 24rights violation. 25 (G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including 26the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation SB2078- 9 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1with the Department or the Commission. 2 (G-5) Conviction record. "Conviction record" means 3information indicating that a person has been convicted of a 4felony, misdemeanor or other criminal offense, placed on 5probation, fined, imprisoned, or paroled pursuant to any law 6enforcement or military authority. 7 (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human 8Rights created by this Act. 9 (I) Disability. 10 (1) "Disability" means a determinable physical or mental 11characteristic of a person, including, but not limited to, a 12determinable physical characteristic which necessitates the 13person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the history of 14such characteristic, or the perception of such characteristic 15by the person complained against, which may result from 16disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or functional 17disorder and which characteristic: 18 (a) For purposes of Article 2, is unrelated to the 19 person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job 20 or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a 21 person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a 22 disability; 23 (b) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the 24 person's ability to acquire, rent, or maintain a housing 25 accommodation; 26 (c) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a SB2078- 10 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1 person's ability to repay; 2 (d) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a 3 person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of 4 public accommodation; 5 (e) For purposes of Article 5, also includes any 6 mental, psychological, or developmental disability, 7 including autism spectrum disorders. 8 (2) Discrimination based on disability includes unlawful 9discrimination against an individual because of the 10individual's association with a person with a disability. 11 (J) Marital status. "Marital status" means the legal 12status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or 13widowed. 14 (J-1) Military status. "Military status" means a person's 15status on active duty in or status as a veteran of the armed 16forces of the United States, status as a current member or 17veteran of any reserve component of the armed forces of the 18United States, including the United States Army Reserve, 19United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Navy 20Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, and United States 21Coast Guard Reserve, or status as a current member or veteran 22of the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National 23Guard. 24 (K) National origin. "National origin" means the place in 25which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born. 26 (K-5) "Order of protection status" means a person's status SB2078- 11 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1as being a person protected under an order of protection 2issued pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, 3Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the 4Stalking No Contact Order Act, or the Civil No Contact Order 5Act, or an order of protection issued by a court of another 6state. 7 (L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals, 8partnerships, associations or organizations, labor 9organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees, 10or union labor associations, corporations, the State of 11Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions, 12units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in 13bankruptcy or receivers. 14 (L-5) Pregnancy. "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth, 15or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or 16childbirth. 17 (M) Public contract. "Public contract" includes every 18contract to which the State, any of its political 19subdivisions, or any municipal corporation is a party. 20 (M-5) Race. "Race" includes traits associated with race, 21including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective 22hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists. 23 (N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious 24observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with 25respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2, 26"religion" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of SB2078- 12 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1Section 2-101. 2 (O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female. 3 (O-1) Sexual orientation. "Sexual orientation" means 4actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or 5bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not 6traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at 7birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or 8sexual attraction to a minor by an adult. 9 (O-2) Reproductive Health Decisions. "Reproductive Health 10Decisions" means a person's decisions regarding the person's 11use of: contraception; fertility or sterilization care; 12assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management 13care; healthcare related to the continuation or termination of 14pregnancy; or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care. 15 (O-5) Source of income. "Source of income" means the 16lawful manner by which an individual supports himself or 17herself and his or her dependents. 18 (P) Unfavorable military discharge. "Unfavorable military 19discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the 20United States, their Reserve components, or any National Guard 21or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the 22equivalent thereof, but does not include those characterized 23as RE-4 or "Dishonorable". 24 (Q) Unlawful discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination" 25means discrimination against a person because of his or her 26actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, SB2078- 13 -LRB104 11327 JRC 21414 b 1ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection 2status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, 3pregnancy, reproductive health decisions, or unfavorable 4discharge from military service as those terms are defined in 5this Section. 6(Source: P.A. 102-362, eff. 1-1-22; 102-419, eff. 1-1-22; 7102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-896, eff. 81-1-23; 102-1102, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-785, 9eff. 1-1-25.)