Peoria Standard

Regan Deering introduced HB1735 in the Illinois House on Jan. 24, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Election Code. Provides that, except as otherwise provided by federal law, any person who is not a citizen of the United States and who knowingly registers to vote or knowingly votes in an election, including a municipal election, shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony. Provides that, except as otherwise provided by federal law, any person who knowingly registers a person to vote who is not a citizen of the United States shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Election Code to establish penalties for non-citizens involved in voting activities in Illinois. It stipulates that any non-citizen who knowingly registers to vote or votes in any election, including municipal elections, will be guilty of a Class 3 felony, unless federal law provides otherwise. Additionally, those who knowingly register non-citizens to vote will also face the same felony charge. The bill’s provisions take effect immediately upon becoming law.

Regan Deering has proposed another three bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Deering graduated from Duke University in 1997 with a BS.

Regan Deering is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 88th House District. She replaced previous state representative Dan Caulkins in 2025.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB1735	01/24/2025	Amends the Election Code. Provides that, except as otherwise provided by federal law, any person who is not a citizen of the United States and who knowingly registers to vote or knowingly votes in an election, including a municipal election, shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony. Provides that, except as otherwise provided by federal law, any person who knowingly registers a person to vote who is not a citizen of the United States shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony. Effective immediately.
HB1117	01/09/2025	Amends the Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act. Provides that any athletic team or sport that is under the jurisdiction of an association or entity that provides for interscholastic athletics or athletic competition among schools and student must be expressly designated as (i) a male athletic team or sport, (ii) a female athletic team or sport, or (iii) a coeducational athletic team or sport. Provides that an athletic team or sport designated as being female is available only to participants who are female, based on their biological sex. Requires a school district or nonpublic school to obtain a written statement signed by a student's parent or guardian or the student verifying the student's age, biological sex, and that the student has not taken performance enhancing drugs; provides for a penalty for false or misleading statements. Prohibits a governmental entity or an association or entity that provides for interscholastic athletics or athletic competition among schools and students from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against a school district or nonpublic school for maintaining athletic teams or sports in accordance with these provisions.
HB1118	01/09/2025	Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Allows a lapsed Professional Educator License to be immediately reinstated upon payment to the State Board of Education by the applicant of the lesser of a $50 penalty or a $10 penalty for each year the license has lapsed. Effective immediately.
HB1119	01/09/2025	Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Provides that a candidate for a State educator license who is either a former or active first responder or a military service member shall receive a refund for any costs associated with completing a test of content area knowledge or a teacher performance assessment. Provides that no former or active first responder or military service member may be charged an application fee under provisions regarding a Professional Educator License, an Educator License with Stipulations, a Substitute Teaching License, and a Short-Term Substitute Teaching License. Effective July 1, 2025.