LOCAL REFERENDUM NEUTRALITY

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5579

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
5 ILCS 430/5-15.5 new

Creates the Local Referendum Neutrality and Taxpayer Protection Act.
Provides that a public body may only expend public funds related to a local
referendum for specified purposes. Provides for the designation of an
official committee in favor and the official committee opposed to the
local referendum. Provides for the preparation of arguments in favor of or
in opposition to the local referendum by the committees. Provides that an
election authority shall review the arguments and publish the arguments in
a voter information package. Sets forth provisions concerning conduct by
public employees and public bodies. Amends the State Officials and
Employees Ethics Act. Provides that activities intended to influence voter
support for or opposition to a referendum or potential referendum, when
conducted using public funds, public facilities, or employee compensated
time, constitute prohibited political activity. Effective immediately.
LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b

A BILL FOR

HB5579
LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1

AN ACT concerning elections.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 1.
Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
Local
5
Referendum Neutrality and Taxpayer Protection Act.

6

Section 5.
Definitions.
As used in this Section:
7

"Advocacy" means any communication or activity reasonably
8
designed to influence voter support in favor of or in
9
opposition to a referendum or potential referendum.
10

"Election authority" means the county clerk or board of
11
election commissioners having jurisdiction over the election
12
in which the local referendum will appear on the ballot.
13

"Local referendum" means any ballot proposition initiated
14
by or on behalf of a unit of local government, school district,
15
or special district that authorizes a tax increase, tax
16
extension, levy, or bond issuance.
17

"Neutral explanatory statement" means factual, descriptive
18
information limited to the legal effect, duration, and
19
standardized fiscal impact of a referendum, presented without
20
advocacy, persuasive framing, value judgments, or
21
exhortations.

22

Section 10.
Permitted communications.

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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
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(a) A public body may only expend public funds related to a
2
local referendum for the following purposes:
3

(1) preparation of a neutral explanatory statement
4

describing the legal effect and operation of the
5

referendum, prepared by the election authority or its
6

legal counsel;
7

(2) preparation of a standardized fiscal impact
8

statement using uniform assumptions prescribed by the
9

election authority;
10

(3) publication of the ballot language as certified;
11

and
12

(4) distribution of the argument in favor and argument
13

in opposition submitted in accordance with subsection (c).
14

(b) Any referendum-related communications not authorized
15
by subsection (a) using public funds, public facilities, or
16
employee compensated time are prohibited.
17

(c) If one or more political committees are properly
18
registered under the Election Code for or against a local
19
referendum, the election authority shall designate as the
20
official committee in favor and the official committee opposed
21
whichever committee on each side submits the most verified
22
voter endorsements from registered voters residing in the
23
jurisdiction of the public body submitting the referendum.

24

Section 15.
Voter endorsement requirements.
A voter
25
endorsement considered under subsection (c) of Section 10

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1
shall be considered valid only if it:
2

(1) is submitted by a natural person registered to
3

vote in the jurisdiction;
4

(2) includes the voter's name and residential address;
5

and
6

(3) contains the following attestation: "I am a
7

registered voter residing in this jurisdiction and I
8

designate this committee as the official author of the
9

argument in favor of [or opposition to] the proposed
10

referendum for purposes of the official voter
11

information".

12

Section 20.
Limitations on endorsements and committee
13
participation.
14

(a) A voter may endorse only one committee in favor or one
15
committee opposed to a referendum.
16

(b) No person may simultaneously participate in, direct,
17
or act on behalf of both a committee in favor and committee in
18
opposition.
19

(c) No officer, employee, contractor, or agent of the
20
public body submitting the referendum may participate in,
21
direct, or act on behalf of either the committee in favor or
22
the committee in opposition.

23

Section 25.
Endorsement collection period.
The election
24
authority shall establish an endorsement collection period of

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1
not less than 30 days after the certification of the
2
referendum question. The election authority shall only
3
consider endorsements submitted during this period.

4

Section 30.
Tie resolution.
If 2 or more committees on the
5
same side submit an equal number of verified endorsements, the
6
election authority shall resolve the tie by conducting a
7
public lottery.

8

Section 35.
Absence of endorsements.
If no committee
9
submits endorsements on one side of the referendum, the
10
election authority shall solicit volunteers from registered
11
voters residing in the jurisdiction and select committee
12
members by random draw. If no volunteers come forward, the
13
voter information package shall state: "No argument was
14
submitted in favor of [or in opposition to] this proposition".

15

Section 40.
No exclusive speech rights; scope of
16
designation.
Designation or nondesignation of a committee
17
under this Section shall not be construed to confer any
18
exclusive right to speak, campaign, fundraise, associate, or
19
otherwise advocate for or against a referendum. This Section
20
only controls participation in the official voter information
21
package prepared and distributed by the election authority.

22

Section 45.
Personal-capacity advocacy by public

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1
employees.
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an officer,
2
employee, contractor, or agent of a public body from engaging
3
in referendum advocacy in a personal capacity, provided that
4
no public funds, public facilities, public resources, or
5
employee compensated time are used for the advocacy.

6

Section 50.
Prohibited conduct.
No public body shall
7
expend public funds, use public facilities, or use employee
8
compensated time to engage in any activity reasonably designed
9
to influence voter support for or opposition to a referendum
10
or potential referendum, including, but not limited to:
11

(1) public opinion polling or surveying of voters
12

regarding support, opposition, tax tolerance, or message
13

receptivity;
14

(2) message testing, scenario testing, or framing of
15

funding levels for electoral viability;
16

(3) development, production, or dissemination of
17

promotional materials highlighting benefits of passage or
18

defeat without equal presentation of opposing
19

considerations;
20

(4) strategic communications planning related to a
21

referendum campaign;
22

(5) social media advocacy, targeted outreach, or
23

audience segmentation related to a referendum;
24

(6) press releases, presentations, speeches, websites,
25

newsletters, or public messaging advocating for passage or

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1

defeat;
2

(7) engagement of consultants whose services include
3

referendum campaign strategy, voter persuasion, opposition
4

research, or campaign management;
5

(8) internal planning or coordination intended to
6

transition public resources, data, or messaging to a
7

political committee advocating passage or defeat; and
8

(9) organizing, facilitating, funding, or conducting
9

polling, focus groups, listening sessions, message
10

testing, or other voter research activities intended to
11

refine messaging, assess electoral viability, identify
12

supporters or opponents, shape narratives, or otherwise
13

plan, develop, or support referendum campaign strategy or
14

infrastructure.

15

Section 55.
Timing requirements.
16

(a) An election authority shall designate the official
17
committee in favor and the official committee opposed no later
18
than 80 days before the election at which the referendum will
19
appear.
20

(b) The official committee in favor and committee in
21
opposition shall have a protected writing period of not less
22
than 14 days after the final designation. The official
23
argument in favor and argument in opposition shall be
24
submitted to the election authority no later than the
25
statutory deadline for certification of ballot questions

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1
applicable to that election, as provided in this Code. No
2
argument submitted after the certification deadline shall be
3
accepted or published.

4

Section 60.
Review and publication.
The election authority
5
may review the argument in favor and argument in opposition
6
solely for compliance with uniform formatting requirements,
7
equal word limits, and prohibitions on obscenity or libel. No
8
substantive edits to advocacy arguments shall be made. All
9
materials shall be certified and published as a single voter
10
information package.

11

Section 65.
Enforcement and official misconduct.
12

(a) Any elector residing in the jurisdiction of the
13
referendum may seek declaratory or injunctive relief to
14
enforce this Act.
15

(b) Any officer, employee, or agent of a public body who
16
knowingly authorizes, directs, or participates in a violation
17
of this Act commits an act in excess of lawful authority for
18
the purposes of Section 33-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

19

Section 90.
The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act
20
is amended by adding Section 5-15.5 as follows:

21

(5 ILCS 430/5-15.5 new)
22

Sec. 5-15.5.
Referendum-related political activity.
Public

HB5579
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LRB104 19468 SPS 32916 b
1
opinion polling, voter surveying, message testing, strategic
2
communications, or other activities intended to influence
3
voter support for or opposition to a referendum or potential
4
referendum, when conducted using public funds, public
5
facilities, or employee compensated time, constitute
6
prohibited political activity. Nothing in this Section limits
7
investigation or prosecution under Section 33-3 of the
8
Criminal Code of 2012 or any other applicable law.

9

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
10
becoming law.

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