CHICAGO (WLS) — With the growing use of AI, Gov. JB Pritzker said there is a need for transparency and accountability.
The governor signed a bill Monday that sets a new standard for regulating leading artificial intelligence companies.
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The governor stood alongside Attorney General Kwame Raoul and state lawmakers.
Back in May, the Illinois Legislature passed the Artificial Intelligence Safeguards Act.
This requires large AI companies to develop risk mitigation mechanisms and conduct annual independent audits.
The governor said the law sets barriers as the technology continues to evolve and become more popular.
“AI is the most significant technological innovation and development of the modern era,” said Governor Pritzker. “If managed well, it can drive enormous growth, productivity and innovation across the economy and significantly improve our quality of life. But this transformative potential comes with catastrophic risks, much of which is not yet fully understood.”
“They have the potential to do many good things, but because of their enormous computing power, they can also be the cause of catastrophic events such as cyberattacks, the creation or release of certain weapons, or the potential to evade developer or user control, among other possible threats,” said A.G. Raul.
The Illinois Attorney General will have the authority to fine companies that violate the law up to $1 million for a first violation and up to $3 million for additional violations.
Lawmakers modeled the law on New York and California’s 2025 laws, hoping to promote a national standard they say is lacking at the federal level.
The law targets the most effective models developed by the largest companies, taking into account its threshold of $500 million in revenue and large-scale computational measurements. OpenAI and Anthropic supported the bill throughout the process, and it passed the House of Representatives 110-0.
The legislation would require developers to create and publish a transparency system that explains how a company applies industry standards, measures model capability and the likelihood of catastrophic risk, and identifies and responds to safety incidents.
Developers will also have to hire third-party auditors to ensure compliance, a provision that is still a point of contention among some industry stakeholders, including TechNet, a coalition of industry tech executives.
Capitol News Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering state government, contributed to this report.
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