Bill
HB 3126
Creates a Self-Employment Assistance program to let UI-eligible unemployed Illinois residents start a business and continue receiving UI benefits while pursuing it.
Status and timeline
- Bill number: HB 3126 (20 ILCS 1005/1005‑170 new)
- Primary sponsor: Rep. Mary Gill; cosponsors: Rep. Kevin John Olickal, Rep. Martin McLaughlin
- Companion: SB 2733
- Introduced: February 2025 (first reading 2/18/2025)
- Enacted: Signed by Governor 6/20/2025
- Effective date: September 1, 2025
Summary — purpose and intent
- HB 3126 adds a new Section 1005‑170 to the Department of Employment Security Law to establish a self‑employment assistance (SEA) program. The program’s purpose is to provide unemployment‑insurance (UI) benefits to individuals who are eligible for UI and who are actively working to start a business in Illinois.
Key provisions
- Creation of SEA program: The Department of Employment Security (IDES) must create a program that provides benefits to individuals who are starting a business in the State and are otherwise eligible under the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act.
- Active work‑search equivalency: A participant in the SEA program is deemed to meet the “actively engaged in seeking work” requirement referenced in paragraph (5) of subsection (K) of Section 409 of the Unemployment Insurance Act. In other words, participation satisfies the UI Act’s active‑job‑search standard.
- Benefits treated as UI benefits: Benefits paid under the SEA program are considered benefits paid under the Unemployment Insurance Act (i.e., they are accounted for as UI benefits).
- Rulemaking: IDES is directed to adopt rules necessary to implement and administer the SEA program.
Who is affected
- Eligible claimants: Individuals who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance and who are working to start a business in Illinois may participate and continue to receive UI benefits while pursuing self‑employment.
- Department of Employment Security: Responsible for designing, implementing, and regulating the program through administrative rules.
- UI fund/accounting: Because SEA benefits are treated as UI benefits, program costs and benefit accounting will flow through the UI system.
Implementation & next steps
- Rule development: IDES must promulgate administrative rules to define procedural and eligibility details (e.g., application, verification of business start‑up activities, duration and amount of benefits), as the statute does not set those specifics.
- Operational considerations: IDES will need to develop application, monitoring, and compliance processes to verify claimants are actively working to start a business.
Potential impacts & considerations
- Supports entrepreneurship by allowing eligible unemployed individuals to receive UI‑classified benefits while starting a business.
- Specific impacts on UI funding, benefit duration, and program uptake depend on the rules IDES adopts and design choices left to IDES (not specified in the statute).
- The law does not, by itself, specify benefit amounts, eligibility qualifiers beyond existing UI eligibility, or program duration — these will be set in IDES rules.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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