Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a new statewide artificial intelligence (AI) safety framework that requires large AI developers to disclose safety practices, report major safety incidents, and undergo independent third-party audits.
The AI Safety Measures Act takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, according to the governor’s press release.
The bill passed the Illinois House 110-0 and the Senate 52-5 before being sent to the governor on June 26.
The governor’s office said the bipartisan law is the strongest AI accountability framework in the country and makes Illinois the first state to require regular independent third-party safety audits of covered AI systems.
The law applies to “large frontier developers,” defined as frontier model developers and their affiliates with more than $500 million in annual gross revenue during the previous calendar year.
Beginning Jan. 1, covered developers must write, implement, comply with, and publish a frontier AI framework describing how they assess and mitigate catastrophic risks, incorporate national and international standards, use cybersecurity practices, and govern internal use of frontier models. The law defines catastrophic risk as a foreseeable and material risk that a frontier model could contribute to the death or serious injury of more than 50 people or more than $1 billion in property damage or loss from a single incident.
“As AI systems become more powerful and the federal government is unwilling to step in, states have a responsibility to protect our people from the dangers of AI while still harnessing the unique potential of the technology,” Pritzker said. “People want protections from the risks of AI and Illinois is stepping up with a bipartisan, first- and most-protective-in-the-nation law.”
The law also requires developers to publish transparency reports when deploying a new or substantially modified frontier model. Those reports must include release dates, supported languages, output modalities, intended uses, restrictions on use, and summaries of catastrophic-risk assessments, assessment results, the role of third-party evaluators, and other steps taken under their frontier AI framework.
The law also bars developers from using auditors when either party has a financial interest in the other.
