Illinois 104th General Assembly Status: Introduced 10 D cosponsors

HB1873      — PUBLIC ACCESS-NAVIGABLE WATERS

Last action — Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Maura Hirschauer

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  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 29, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB1873 on the official Illinois source →

Action History

  1. Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Maura Hirschauer

  2. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Maura Hirschauer

  3. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy

  4. Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  5. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi

  6. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Terra Costa Howard

  7. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Suzanne M. Ness

  8. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Anna Moeller

  9. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Harry Benton

  10. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Anne Stava

  11. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Daniel Didech

  12. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Robert "Bob" Rita

  13. Assigned to Energy & Environment Committee

  14. Referred to Rules Committee

  15. First Reading

  16. Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 9 co-sponsors · 173 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (9)

Not signed on (173)

173 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 173 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety environment
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB1873      do?
Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.
Who sponsors HB1873     ?
HB1873      is sponsored by Janet Yang Rohr (Democrat), Harry Benton (Democrat), Anna Moeller (Democrat), Suzanne M. Ness (Democrat), Terra Costa Howard (Democrat), Robert "Bob" Rita (Democrat), Daniel Didech (Democrat), Anne Stava (Democrat), Will Guzzardi (Democrat), and Kelly M. Cassidy (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB1873     ?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 29, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB1873     ?
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Last checked for changes 4 months ago · updated continuously

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