republic-os/legislation/us/states/il/103rd/hb-1297.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "PEN CD-TRS-OPTIONAL CREDIT"
description: "Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a member may establish optional credit for up to 2 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under the law governing the certification of teachers at the time the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or before June 30, 2028 (instead of June 30, 2023), (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at least 10 years of contributing service as a teacher, and (v) pays the required contribution. Effective immediately."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "103rd"
identifier: "HB 1297"
citation: "Illinois HB 1297 (103rd)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Amy Elik", "Erica Harriss"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 35
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2023-01-20"
last_action: "2023-06-09"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d6ab5c63-f2b7-4f7b-afad-2358f586c936"
source_url: "https://beta.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=1297&GAID=17&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=143414&SessionID=112"
source_hash: "86d9fd64d4b19be98679f1c0826e3a06c2a717b2dd9adfae466f7b86e403e163"
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 1297 (103rd) — PEN CD-TRS-OPTIONAL CREDIT

Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a member may establish optional credit for up to 2 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under the law governing the certification of teachers at the time the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or before June 30, 2028 (instead of June 30, 2023), (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at least 10 years of contributing service as a teacher, and (v) pays the required contribution. Effective immediately.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://beta.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/103/HB/PDF/10300HB1297.pdf)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://beta.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/103/HB/PDF/10300HB1297eng.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://beta.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/103/HB/PDF/10300HB1297enr.pdf)

## Votes

- Special Committee on Pensions — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- Personnel & Pensions — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **101–8** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **55–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Amy Elik — primary (person)
- Erica Harriss — primary (person)
- Craig Wilcox — cosponsor (person)
- Dave Vella — cosponsor (person)
- Jackie Haas — cosponsor (person)
- Jeff Keicher — cosponsor (person)
- Katie Stuart — cosponsor (person)
- Kevin Schmidt — cosponsor (person)
- Michael W. Halpin — cosponsor (person)
- Sally J. Turner — cosponsor (person)
- Seth Lewis — cosponsor (person)
- Steven Reick — cosponsor (person)
- Travis Weaver — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-20** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Amy Elik `filing`
- **2023-01-31** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-01-31** Referred to Rules Committee
- **2023-02-15** Assigned to Personnel & Pensions Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-21** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Katie Stuart
- **2023-02-23** Do Pass / Short Debate Personnel & Pensions Committee; 009-000-000
- **2023-02-23** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2023-03-10** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jeff Keicher
- **2023-03-10** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Steven Reick
- **2023-03-10** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jackie Haas
- **2023-03-10** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Dave Vella
- **2023-03-14** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2023-03-14** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2023-03-16** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kevin Schmidt
- **2023-03-23** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 101-008-000 `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-24** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2023-03-24** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-24** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Erica Harriss
- **2023-03-24** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-24** Referred to Assignments
- **2023-04-12** Assigned to Senate Special Committee on Pensions `referral-committee`
- **2023-04-20** Do Pass Senate Special Committee on Pensions; 009-000-000
- **2023-04-20** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading April 25, 2023 `reading-2`
- **2023-04-20** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Seth Lewis
- **2023-04-20** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Sally J. Turner
- **2023-04-24** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Michael W. Halpin
- **2023-04-25** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-04-25** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading April 26, 2023
- **2023-04-27** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Craig Wilcox
- **2023-05-04** Third Reading - Passed; 055-001-000 `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-05-04** Passed Both Houses
- **2023-06-02** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-09** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2023-06-09** Effective Date June 9, 2023
- **2023-06-09** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0017 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d6ab5c63-f2b7-4f7b-afad-2358f586c936`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).