Relating to the welfare of young people; declaring an emergency.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Tom Andersen and 6 co-sponsors

HB 3835 standardizes terms by treating references to non-incorporated towns as townships and any town/township board or officer reference as township board/officer in other laws.

In committee upon adjournment.

Overview

HB 3835, titled LOCAL GOVERNMENT-TECH, is a technical amendment to the Illinois Township Code. Its primary purpose is to harmonize and standardize terminology by aligning references to towns with the term “township” as used in the Township Code. The bill is currently in the Rules Committee, with companion legislation HB 2574.

Primary sponsor: Rep. Daniel Didech

Status: Referred to Rules Committee (introduced and filed in February 2025; later actions show referral to additional committees)

Related bill: HB 2574 (companion)

What the bill does

The bill makes a technical change to Section 1-5 of the Township Code (60 ILCS 1/1-5) to ensure that references in other Acts to towns and township officers align with terminology used in the Township Code. Specifically, it updates how references should be interpreted when those references pertain to non-incorporated towns:

Key Provisions (as introduced)

(a) Any reference in another Act to a town (not an incorporated town) shall be deemed a reference to a township as used in the Township Code.

(b) Any reference in another Act to:

the board of trustees of a town (not an incorporated town) or to a township,
the board of town trustees, or
the board of township trustees shall be deemed a reference to the “township board” as used in the Township Code.

(c) Any reference in another Act to an officer of a town (not an incorporated town) shall be deemed a reference to a “township officer” as used in the Township Code.

These changes are described as technical and are intended to standardize terminology.

Who is affected

Local government entities in Illinois that operate as townships (including non-incorporated towns) and the boards and officers identified in the Township Code.

Other state Acts or administrative references that reference towns, township boards, or township officers, as those references would now map to township terminology.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduced: February 18, 2025 (first reading); filed February 7, 2025.

Initial action: Referred to Rules Committee (February 18, 2025).

Later actions listed include:

Read first time and referred to Pensions, Investments & Financial Services (March 26, 2025).
Status in the Rules Committee remains listed as referred.

Companion/related: HB 2574 (companion bill).

Additional notes

The bill is described as a technical change rather than a policy or funding change.

Source for the section text: 60 ILCS 1/1-5 (Use of terms); references to “P.A. 88-62” are noted in the bill’s description.

The introduced text does not indicate an explicit effective date; typically, Illinois bills become effective upon enactment unless otherwise specified.

If you’d like, I can add a comparison to how references are currently worded in a few related statutes to illustrate how the terminology would shift under HB 3835.

Bill