# Illinois Governor Signs 'Most Protective' AI Safety Measures Act into law

> Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed SB 315, which the state bills as the most protective AI safety law in the country. It makes Illinois the first US jurisdiction to require frontier AI developers to undergo annual independent third-party safety audits, and it applies to companies with more than 500 million dollars in yearly revenue, which is to say the largest labs. The law also forces those companies to publish explanations of their models' catastrophic-risk potential and their mitigation plans, and to report critical safety incidents within 72 hours. Penalties start at 1 million dollars for a first offense and rise to 3 million for repeats. It takes effect on January 1, 2028, leaving a long runway for compliance and, likely, for legal challenges. With federal AI rules still unsettled, states are increasingly writing the rulebook themselves. Illinois joins a growing patchwork that companies operating nationwide will have to navigate, and its audit requirement in particular could become a template other legislatures copy.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Governing · Published Sunday, July 19, 2026_

## Wortins' read

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed SB 315, which the state bills as the most protective AI safety law in the country. It makes Illinois the first US jurisdiction to require frontier AI developers to undergo annual independent third-party safety audits, and it applies to companies with more than 500 million dollars in yearly revenue, which is to say the largest labs. The law also forces those companies to publish explanations of their models' catastrophic-risk potential and their mitigation plans, and to report critical safety incidents within 72 hours. Penalties start at 1 million dollars for a first offense and rise to 3 million for repeats. It takes effect on January 1, 2028, leaving a long runway for compliance and, likely, for legal challenges. With federal AI rules still unsettled, states are increasingly writing the rulebook themselves. Illinois joins a growing patchwork that companies operating nationwide will have to navigate, and its audit requirement in particular could become a template other legislatures copy.

## Source

[Read the full story at Governing](https://www.governing.com/artificial-intelligence/illinois-sets-a-new-standard-for-ai-oversight)

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