Capitol News Illinois | Senate Democrats introduce bills to regulate artificial intelligence | News
Capitol News Illinois | Senate Democrats introduce bills to regulate artificial intelligence | News
Publish Date: 2026-05-15 05:50:00
Source Domain: www.news-gazette.com
With just two weeks left in the spring legislative session, Illinois Senate Democrats introduced an eight-bill package aimed at regulating some uses of artificial intelligence after a lack of federal action on the issue.
Illinois lawmakers modeled their bills that address consumer protection, developer transparency and educational usage after legislation in California and New York to create a “de facto national standard,” state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, told Capitol News Illinois.
In committee hearings, industry advocates voiced concerns about state regulations creating a “patchwork environment” that is difficult to do business in and encouraged lawmakers to wait for federal action. But no such movement has been made in Congress, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December discouraging states from “excessive” regulation.
“From our observation, not much is happening at all in Washington, so we felt it was necessary for us to act,” Cunningham said. “We also were motivated by the idea that two other big states have passed pretty meaningful AI regulation — California and New York — and together, we believe that our three states will cover about 40 percent of the AI market in the United States.”
Led by Cunningham, the senators said in a Wednesday news conference that they’re aiming to pass their bills before the chambers adjourn on May 31 — and they’re undaunted by threats from the federal government.
Some of the bills include specific provisions about deferring to federal actions, if any come to fruition, and states are subject to federal law. But despite Trump’s threats, which include potentially withholding broadband funding, Cunningham said lawmakers are dedicated to regulating AI.
“There are all sorts of threats happening right now about the federal government cracking down on…
