Illinois Enacts First AI Safety Audit Law

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a first-in-the-nation artificial intelligence safety bill into law on Monday, July 6, 2026, in Chicago, mandating independent third-party audits for the largest AI developers. The legislation, known as the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act or Senate Bill 315, establishes Illinois as the third state, following California and New York, to regulate powerful AI systems, and the first to require annual independent safety audits.

The law applies to "large frontier developers," defined as companies whose AI models are trained using massive computing power and whose corporate family reports more than $500 million in annual revenue. Covered companies, which include firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, must annually publish and update a plan detailing how they assess and mitigate catastrophic risks, including cybersecurity threats, biological weapon creation, and election interference. They are required to report serious safety incidents within 72 hours, or within 24 hours if an incident poses an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury. The law also establishes confidential reporting channels and protections for whistleblowers.