Railroads; creating the Railroad Reform Act of 2025; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Kyle Hilbert

Modernizes Illinois Code of Military Justice by updating offense names, cross-references, and gender-neutral language; mostly technical changes with no new liability.

Second Reading referred to Rules

HB 2631 — MILITARY JUSTICE — OFFENSES (Illinois)

Status: Introduced Feb 11, 2025. Referred to Assignments (Senate).
Primary sponsor: Rep. Dan Swanson. Co‑sponsors: Rep. Dan Ugaste; Sen. Christopher Belt (chief Senate sponsor). Companion: SB 392.
Statutory references amended: 20 ILCS 1807/1 and 20 ILCS 1807/133. Effective: immediately upon enactment.

Purpose / Intent

The bill modernizes and clarifies the Illinois Code of Military Justice by updating the names and cross‑references for enumerated military offenses and by making related wording changes (including gender‑neutral language) in the definitions and the substantive provision for the offense commonly called “conduct unbecoming an officer.”

Key provisions

Revises Article 1 (Sec. 1) — Definitions; gender neutrality:

Updates and clarifies multiple definitional terms used throughout the Code (e.g., “cadet/candidate,” “classified information,” “military court,” “military judge,” “officer,” etc.).
Explicitly states the Article is to be read with gender‑neutral language where applicable.

Updates the definition and list of “military detailed offenses” (the roster of offenses used for charging and reference in courts‑martial) to use current, proper offense names and cross‑references (e.g., Articles 77–134 and various subarticles).

Amends Section 133 (the substantive offense concerning conduct unbecoming an officer) to make the language consistent with the updated offense naming and to remove antiquated phrasing (i.e., aligning the offense title with modern, gender‑neutral usage).

Technical and editorial corrections throughout the cited sections to improve clarity and alignment with contemporary military justice terminology.

Who is affected

Members of the Illinois State military forces (including National Guard members) subject to the Illinois Code of Military Justice.

Commanding officers, convening authorities, judge advocates, military judges, and court‑martial personnel who draft charges, adjudicate cases, or maintain records.

Administrative and legal offices that produce manuals, forms, training materials, and charge sheets (they will need to update terminology and references).

Practical impact

Largely technical and clarifying: the bill appears intended to modernize nomenclature, remove archaic gendered terms, and reduce ambiguity in offense titles and cross‑references.

No substantive expansion or narrowing of criminal liability is apparent from the introduced text; the changes are primarily editorial and organizational.

Implementation will require updates to legal templates, charge sheets, training, and internal military justice publications.

Procedural / timeline notes

Introduced in the House Feb 6–11, 2025; passed the House (recorded procedural actions in Feb–Mar 2025) and transmitted to the Senate. As of the latest update, the bill arrived in the Senate (Apr 10) and was referred to Assignments (Apr 23). Companion bill SB 392 tracks the Senate side. Effective immediately upon final enactment.