Sen. John Curran

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2027, if a valid election has been made under the Internal Revenue Code allowing a person to take into account a federal deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the purposes of calculating the person's federal estate tax, then the person's Illinois exclusion amount shall include the Illinois deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the deceased spouse with respect to whom the federal election was made. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the $15 tax imposed on the privilege of using any motor vehicle acquired by gift, transfer, or purchase also applies to stepparents, grandparents, stepgrandparents, stepsiblings, stepchildren, and stepgrandchildren.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2027, the State tax credit shall be calculated as though the decedent's federal taxable estate did not include the decedent's business interest in a manufacturing business located in this State. Defines "manufacturing business". Effective immediately.

Amends the Child Labor Law of 2024. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits a minor's parent or legal guardian from employing the minor outside of school hours at a business in which the minor's parent or legal guardian has at least 51% ownership and that employs no more than 50 employees.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that if a graduated driver's license holder who is under the age of 18 is convicted of violating State law while operating a motor vehicle with more than one passenger in the vehicle who is under the age of 20, unless any additional passenger or passengers are siblings, step-siblings, children, or stepchildren of the driver, and that results in bodily harm, permanent disability, or death to another, the graduated license shall be suspended for 6 months. Effective immediately.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that when a defendant has previously been granted pretrial release for a felony or Class A misdemeanor and has been placed on electronic monitoring as a condition of release, that pretrial release shall be revoked upon a finding of probable cause that the defendant has committed a felony that is alleged to have occurred during the defendant's pretrial release after a hearing on the court's own motion or upon the filing of a verified petition by the State. Provides that pretrial detention shall continue pending resolution of the defendant's charges. Provides that the language that states at each subsequent appearance of the defendant before the court, the judge must find that continued detention is necessary to reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant for later hearings or to prevent the defendant from being charged with a subsequent felony or Class A misdemeanor does not apply to a defendant whose pretrial release has been revoked pursuant to the new provision.

Amends the Illinois Trust Code. Allows a virtuous trust to be created for a business or other noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary. Requires a virtuous trust to be created by a written instrument. Allows a virtuous trust to hold an ownership interest of any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, cooperative, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or joint venture. Provides that a trustee of a virtuous trust or a virtuous trust shall not be deemed to violate the trustee's duties by virtue of the trustee investing and managing the trust's assets pursuant to the terms and the purposes of the trust. Exempts a virtuous trust from the common law rule against perpetuities. Allows a virtuous trust to be enforced by one or more trust enforcers appointed in the trust instruction, and allows a virtuous trust instrument to provide for appointing successor trust enforcers. Requires a virtuous trust to have a trust purpose committee with at least 3 persons as members. Includes provisions related to the trust purpose committee, including appointment procedures, voting procedures, powers of the committee, resignation procedures, and reporting requirements. Provides that property of a virtuous trust may be applied only to its intended use. Allows the trust purpose committee and the trust enforcers to modify or terminate a virtuous trust by unanimous agreement. Prohibits a person serving as a trustee from serving as a trust enforcer or as a member of the trust purpose committee. Makes conforming changes.

Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning a school board's suspension or expulsion of pupils, provides that a student who is determined to have initiated sexual activity with another individual without that individual's consent, a sexual assault, or an attempted sexual assault at a school, a school-sponsored activity or event, or an activity or event that bears a reasonable relationship to school shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year. Provides that (i) a student initiates sexual activity with another individual without that individual's consent if the student uses force or a threat of force to make the other individual perform a nonconsensual sexual act; (ii) a student initiates a sexual assault if the student commits an act of sexual penetration and uses force or a threat of force; and (iii) a student initiates an attempted sexual assault if, with the intent to commit a sexual assault, the student commits an act that constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of a sexual assault. Allows the expulsion requirement to be modified by the superintendent of the school district and the superintendent's determination to be modified by the school board on a case-by-case basis. Provides that the expulsion shall be construed in a manner consistent with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and a student who is subject to expulsion may be eligible for a transfer to an alternative school program. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. In provisions regarding the second notice period for rulemaking, provides that the second notice period shall be extended for a period not to exceed an additional 45 days if the agency has received a statement of unresponsiveness from the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Lists the requirements for a statement of unresponsiveness. Provides that failure to provide a substantive response within 7 days after a statement of unresponsiveness is issued shall constitute a withdrawal of the rulemaking. In provisions regarding the contents of the written notice to the Joint Committee, requires a statement certifying that no procedure, policy, schedule, or other feature of the agency will prevent the agency from substantively engaging with the Joint Committee regarding suggestions made during the second notice period. Effective immediately.

Maddy summarySB 988 amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to correct a technical error in the short title of a specific section. This change updates the section's name for administrative clarity but does not alter any substantive ethics rules or requirements. The bill affects no state officials' duties or responsibilities, as it only addresses internal legislative formatting. No new policies or obligations are created by this minor correction.