WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

SB 2531

Public schools; require to display Ten Commandments in classrooms.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Rhodes

SB 2531 would have appropriated about $4.8 billion to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for FY 2025, prioritizing tourism, cannabis programs, and workforce traini

Died In Committee
#education
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 2531

SB 2531 — Summary

Status: Died in committee (did not become law)
Introduced: February 25, 2025 (Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr.)
Subject classification: Education (title), but bill text is an appropriations measure for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Note: The bill title provided (“Public schools; require to display Ten Commandments in classrooms”) does not match the legislative text included below (an appropriations act for DCEO). This summary reflects the actual text of the introduced bill.

Main purpose / intent

The bill, as introduced, would appropriate funds to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. Its primary purpose is to authorize specific appropriations and reappropriations to support DCEO operations, tourism promotion, cannabis-related programs, workforce training, grants management, and related administrative activities.

Key provisions and major line items

  • Grand totals (as presented at top of the bill):

    • General Funds: $182,191,670
    • Other State Funds: $2,149,841,888
    • Federal Funds: $2,493,793,066
    • Total: $4,825,826,624

  • Selected appropriations and allocations (by section):

    • General administration and operations:
    • Tourism Promotion Fund (general admin/grants): $10,000,000
    • Intra-Agency Services Fund (federal program overhead): $18,689,200
    • Build Illinois Bond Fund (capital program administration): $5,000,000
    • General Revenue Fund: feasibility study (P3 civic/transit) $650,000; general admin $500,000
    • Office of Grants Management: $5,500,000 (General Revenue Fund)
    • Cannabis programs:
    • Cannabis Business Development Fund: $76,000,000 (administration, awards, loans, grants)
    • Cannabis Regulation Fund: $2,060,100 (administrative costs/assistance)
    • Office of Tourism:
    • Operations (Tourism Promotion Fund): total $51,410,200 (includes $44,000,000 for advertising/promoting Illinois tourism)
    • Grants (International Tourism Fund; Tourism Promotion Fund; Local Tourism Fund): various grants totaling multi‑million dollars (examples: $4,000,000 for international tourism; $3,967,244 to Choose Chicago; $18,073,000 to convention/tourism bureaus outside Chicago)
    • Workforce and training:
    • Grants from General Revenue: $3,000,000 for job training/workforce programs
    • Federal Workforce Training Fund: $325,000,000 for WIOA and other workforce programs
    • Reappropriations: the bill reappropriates unexpended prior tourism-related funds from prior Public Act 103-0589 (amounts shown in text).

Who would be affected

  • DCEO’s internal programs and staff (administration, grants management)
  • Tourism stakeholders: Choose Chicago, local convention & tourism bureaus, grant recipients, marketing contractors
  • Cannabis industry entities eligible for development funds, loans, and grants
  • Workforce training providers and local workforce areas (WIOA-related programs)
  • State budget/taxpayers — through allocation of General Revenue, other state funds, and federal funds

Procedural history and timeline

  • Introduced and filed February 25, 2025; first reading same day.
  • Referred to Assignments, then to Education (noting classification mismatch), and later referred to Business & Commerce.
  • Read first time April 3, 2025.
  • Final status: Died in Committee (bill did not advance to enactment).

Practical effect

If enacted, SB 2531 would have allocated roughly $4.8 billion (across funding sources) to support DCEO programs for FY beginning July 1, 2025, with major emphasis on tourism promotion, cannabis program support, workforce training, and grants management. Because the bill died in committee, those appropriations did not take effect.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.