HB 3023 Illinois House · 104th Regular Session

REMEDIES AGAINST INTIMIDATION

Summary
Creates the Neighborhood Freedom from Intimidation Act. Creates a private cause of action for persons threatened by intimidation by threat of violence. Provides that if a plaintiff prevails in an action, the court shall award actual damages, including, but not limited to, emotional distress or $10,000 per defendant, whichever is greater. Provides that if a plaintiff prevails in the action, the court shall award the plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Exempts statements concerning positions in a labor dispute that are made during otherwise lawful labor picketing. Provides that speech alone may not support an action brought under this Act, except upon a showing of all of the following: (i) the speech itself threatens violence against a specific person or group of persons; (ii) the person or group of persons against whom the threat is directed reasonably fears that, because of the speech, violence will be committed against them or their property; (iii) the person threatening violence is acting in reckless disregard for the threatening nature of the speech; and (iv) the person threatening violence has the apparent ability to carry out the threat.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 6, 2025 Last action Apr 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 6 edits
MODERATE
The bill was significantly rewritten to shift its focus from a broad prohibition on hate-motivated intimidation to specific prohibitions against 'intentionally threatening leafletting' and the 'intentional false reporting of violent crimes.' The original language regarding hate speech and general threats was removed, while new definitions were added to clarify that the law targets malicious leafleting and false 911 calls rather than general intimidation.
Scope change
The bill's scope narrowed from addressing general intimidation by threat of violence motivated by protected characteristics to specifically addressing leafleting and false crime reporting.
SCOPE

Removed the original definition of 'Intimidation by threat of violence,' which covered general threats motivated by race, religion, or other protected characteristics.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Intentionally threatening leafletting,' which specifically prohibits distributing materials on private property with the malicious intent to threaten or intimidate based on protected characteristics.

Added a new definition for 'Intentional false reporting of a violent crime,' which prohibits falsely claiming another person committed a violent crime to trigger an emergency response.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified the civil action section to limit private lawsuits to victims of the two specific new offenses (leafleting and false reporting) rather than general intimidation.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the specific $10,000 minimum damage award per defendant found in the original version.

Added a severability clause to ensure that if any part of the bill is ruled unconstitutional, the rest of the bill remains in effect.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
40
Key actions
3
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Apr 11, 2025
Committee
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Do Pass as Amended / Short Debate Judiciary - Civil Committee; 013-006-000
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted in Judiciary - Civil Committee; by Voice Vote
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Civil Committee
lower
Mar 5, 2025
Committee
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
lower
Mar 5, 2025
Introduced
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Margaret Croke
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Committee
Assigned to Judiciary - Civil Committee
lower
Feb 6, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules Committee
lower
1 primary · 20 co-sponsors

Sponsors