---
type: "Bill"
title: "VETERANS GARDENING DAY"
description: "Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the first Saturday in May of each year is designated as Veterans Gardening Day to be observed throughout the State as a day set apart in the honor and remembrance of veterans and as celebrated with appropriate activities."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "102nd"
identifier: "HB 2894"
citation: "Illinois HB 2894 (102nd)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jil Tracy", "Randy E. Frese"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-18"
last_action: "2021-08-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cf67e0d5-b153-4480-97bd-6b22b281ee21"
source_url: "https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2894&GAID=16&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=131787&SessionID=110&GA=102"
source_hash: "ebd8205ebec384eabdc6b54d07b7c7399041f331b60a198125a20a5645aa6fb7"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 2894 (102nd) — VETERANS GARDENING DAY

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the first Saturday in May of each year is designated as Veterans Gardening Day to be observed throughout the State as a day set apart in the honor and remembrance of veterans and as celebrated with appropriate activities.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://ilga.gov/legislation/102/HB/PDF/10200HB2894.pdf)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://ilga.gov/legislation/102/HB/PDF/10200HB2894eng.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://ilga.gov/legislation/102/HB/PDF/10200HB2894enr.pdf)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **113–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jil Tracy — primary (person)
- Randy E. Frese — primary (person)
- Mark Batinick — cosponsor (person)
- Thomas M. Bennett — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-02-18** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Randy E. Frese `filing`
- **2021-02-19** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-19** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-09** Assigned to State Government Administration Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-17** Do Pass / Consent Calendar State Government Administration Committee; 008-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-18** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Consent Calendar
- **2021-03-22** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Mark Batinick
- **2021-04-15** Second Reading - Consent Calendar `reading-2`
- **2021-04-15** Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Consent Calendar `reading-2`
- **2021-04-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Consent Calendar
- **2021-04-20** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Thomas M. Bennett
- **2021-04-21** Third Reading - Consent Calendar - First Day `reading-3`
- **2021-04-22** Third Reading - Consent Calendar - Passed 113-000-000 `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-23** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2021-04-23** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-04-23** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Jil Tracy
- **2021-04-23** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-04-23** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-04** Assigned to Executive `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-13** Do Pass Executive; 016-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2021-05-13** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 14, 2021
- **2021-05-14** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2021-05-14** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 17, 2021
- **2021-05-24** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading ** May 25, 2021
- **2021-05-27** Third Reading - Passed; 057-000-000 `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-05-27** Passed Both Houses
- **2021-06-23** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-08-16** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2021-08-16** Effective Date January 1, 2022
- **2021-08-16** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0385 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cf67e0d5-b153-4480-97bd-6b22b281ee21`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).