---
type: "Bill"
title: "LIQUOR-SALE NEAR CHURCHES"
description: "Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Provides that the prohibition against the sale of alcoholic liquor within 100 feet of a church does not prohibit the issuance of a retail license authorizing the sale of alcoholic liquor at a theater that is within within 100 feet of a church if (1) the church owns the theater, (2) the church leases the theater to one or more entities, and (3) the theater is used by at least 5 different not-for-profit theater groups. Effective immediately."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "93rd"
identifier: "SB 2577"
citation: "Illinois SB 2577 (93rd)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2004-02-04"
last_action: "2004-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f3ce083e-9614-42d8-b5bf-ea7cce81d6e7"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2577&GAID=3&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=9034&SessionID=3&GA=93"
source_hash: "e05676eb08d886cb12d0f919f11e5ac1b19d2729b85522f2da3d149dc152048e"
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 SB 2577 (93rd) — LIQUOR-SALE NEAR CHURCHES

Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Provides that the prohibition against the sale of alcoholic liquor within 100 feet of a church does not prohibit the issuance of a retail license authorizing the sale of alcoholic liquor at a theater that is within within 100 feet of a church if (1) the church owns the theater, (2) the church leases the theater to one or more entities, and (3) the theater is used by at least 5 different not-for-profit theater groups. Effective immediately.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09300SB2577&GA=93&SessionId=3&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=9034&DocNum=2577&GAID=3&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09300SB2577eng&GA=93&SessionId=3&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=9034&DocNum=2577&GAID=3&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09300SB2577enr&GA=93&SessionId=3&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=9034&DocNum=2577&GAID=3&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **38–17** (pass) · upper
- Third Reading — **74–42** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- John J. Cullerton — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2004-02-04** Filed with Secretary by Sen. John J. Cullerton `filing`
- **2004-02-04** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2004-02-04** Referred to Rules `referral-committee`
- **2004-02-10** Assigned to Executive `referral-committee`
- **2004-02-19** Do Pass Executive; 009-001-002 `committee-passage`
- **2004-02-19** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading February 20, 2004
- **2004-02-20** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2004-02-20** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading February 24, 2004
- **2004-03-02** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2004-03-02** Third Reading - Passed; 038-017-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2004-03-02** Arrived in House `introduction`
- **2004-03-02** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2004-03-03** Chief House Sponsor Rep. John A. Fritchey
- **2004-03-03** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2004-03-03** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2004-03-04** Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Sara Feigenholtz
- **2004-04-02** Assigned to Executive Committee `referral-committee`
- **2004-04-29** Do Pass / Short Debate Executive Committee; 007-003-000 `committee-passage`
- **2004-04-29** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2004-05-04** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2004-05-04** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2004-05-11** Third Reading - Consideration Postponed `reading-3`
- **2004-05-11** Placed on Calendar - Consideration Postponed
- **2004-05-14** Committee/3rd Reading Deadline Extended-Rule 9(b) May 31, 2004
- **2004-05-28** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 074-042-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2004-05-28** Passed Both Houses
- **2004-06-15** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2004-07-08** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2004-07-08** Effective Date July 8, 2004
- **2004-07-08** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 93-0687 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f3ce083e-9614-42d8-b5bf-ea7cce81d6e7`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).