---
type: "Bill"
title: "VETERANS COURTS-MANDATES"
description: "Amends the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act. Provides that the Chief Judge of each judicial circuit shall (rather than may) establish a Veterans and Servicemembers Court program including a format under which it operates under the Act. Effective January 1, 2018."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "99th"
identifier: "HB 5003"
citation: "Illinois HB 5003 (99th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 36
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2016-02-08"
last_action: "2016-08-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/853afe3a-4046-4f6a-a344-3b4e557a0a74"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=5003&GAID=13&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=94355&SessionID=88&GA=99"
source_hash: "1957566828c9df397b71f2c6369411be9ed0864ab540cb78101181afde6651df"
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 5003 (99th) — VETERANS COURTS-MANDATES

Amends the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act. Provides that the Chief Judge of each judicial circuit shall (rather than may) establish a Veterans and Servicemembers Court program including a format under which it operates under the Act. Effective January 1, 2018.

## 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=09900HB5003&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=94355&DocNum=5003&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09900HB5003eng&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=94355&DocNum=5003&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09900HB5003enr&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=94355&DocNum=5003&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **108–3** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **55–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Christine Winger — primary (person)
- Heather A. Steans — cosponsor (person)
- John G. Mulroe — cosponsor (person)
- Julie A. Morrison — cosponsor (person)
- Laura M. Murphy — cosponsor (person)
- Michael E. Hastings — cosponsor (person)
- Scott M. Bennett — cosponsor (person)
- Sue Rezin — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2016-02-08** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Christine Winger `filing`
- **2016-02-08** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2016-02-08** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2016-02-23** Assigned to Judiciary - Criminal Committee `referral-committee`
- **2016-03-01** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Michael W. Tryon
- **2016-03-01** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Sam Yingling
- **2016-03-01** Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary - Criminal Committee; 013-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2016-03-02** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2016-04-12** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2016-04-12** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2016-04-13** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 108-003-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2016-04-14** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2016-04-14** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2016-04-14** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Terry Link
- **2016-04-14** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2016-04-14** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2016-04-21** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Thomas Cullerton
- **2016-05-03** Assigned to Criminal Law `referral-committee`
- **2016-05-10** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Sue Rezin
- **2016-05-11** Do Pass Criminal Law; 011-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2016-05-11** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 12, 2016
- **2016-05-12** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Heather A. Steans
- **2016-05-18** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2016-05-18** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 19, 2016
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Pat McGuire
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Michael E. Hastings
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura M. Murphy
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Scott M. Bennett
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. John G. Mulroe
- **2016-05-26** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Julie A. Morrison
- **2016-05-26** Third Reading - Passed; 055-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2016-05-26** Passed Both Houses
- **2016-06-24** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2016-08-15** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2016-08-15** Effective Date January 1, 2018
- **2016-08-15** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0807 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/853afe3a-4046-4f6a-a344-3b4e557a0a74`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).