republic-os/legislation/us/states/il/98th/hb-2591.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "EMPLOYMENT FIRST ACT"
description: "Creates the Illinois Employment First Act. Provides that: it is the policy of this State that competitive and integrated employment shall be considered the first option when serving persons with disabilities of working age; the policy applies to programs and services that provide services and supports to help persons with disabilities obtain employment; State agencies shall follow the policy and ensure that it is effectively implemented in their programs and services; and nothing in the provisions setting forth the policy shall be construed to require any employer to give preference to hiring persons with disabilities. Requires State agencies to: coordinate efforts and collaborate to ensure that State programs, policies, procedures, and funding support competitive and integrated employment of persons with disabilities; and, whenever feasible, share data and information across systems in order to track progress toward full implementation of the Act. Authorizes State agencies to adopt rules to implement the Act. Provides that: the Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Task Force shall establish measurable goals and objectives for the State to ensure implementation of the Act and monitor the measured progress toward its implementation; State agencies shall fully cooperate with the Task Force and provide data and information to assist the Task Force; and the Task Force shall include in its annual report a progress report on the implementation of the Act and any recommendations with respect to its implementation. Effective immediately."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "98th"
identifier: "HB 2591"
citation: "Illinois HB 2591 (98th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 42
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2013-02-21"
last_action: "2013-07-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/07a303b7-15ff-405c-aa27-245ad7b6a70f"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2591&GAID=12&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=74396&SessionID=85&GA=98"
source_hash: "f9f78084aa9584c03d22332318e1073854ee271522b675d254850ec5e9e1ddea"
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 2591 (98th) — EMPLOYMENT FIRST ACT

Creates the Illinois Employment First Act. Provides that: it is the policy of this State that competitive and integrated employment shall be considered the first option when serving persons with disabilities of working age; the policy applies to programs and services that provide services and supports to help persons with disabilities obtain employment; State agencies shall follow the policy and ensure that it is effectively implemented in their programs and services; and nothing in the provisions setting forth the policy shall be construed to require any employer to give preference to hiring persons with disabilities. Requires State agencies to: coordinate efforts and collaborate to ensure that State programs, policies, procedures, and funding support competitive and integrated employment of persons with disabilities; and, whenever feasible, share data and information across systems in order to track progress toward full implementation of the Act. Authorizes State agencies to adopt rules to implement the Act. Provides that: the Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Task Force shall establish measurable goals and objectives for the State to ensure implementation of the Act and monitor the measured progress toward its implementation; State agencies shall fully cooperate with the Task Force and provide data and information to assist the Task Force; and the Task Force shall include in its annual report a progress report on the implementation of the Act and any recommendations with respect to its implementation. 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=09800HB2591&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74396&DocNum=2591&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2591eng&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74396&DocNum=2591&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2591enr&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74396&DocNum=2591&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **108–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **54–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bill Cunningham — cosponsor (person)
- Christine Radogno — cosponsor (person)
- Esther Golar — primary (person)
- Jacqueline Y. Collins — cosponsor (person)
- Julie A. Morrison — cosponsor (person)
- Karen McConnaughay — cosponsor (person)
- Mattie Hunter — cosponsor (person)
- Thomas Cullerton — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2013-02-21** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Esther Golar `filing`
- **2013-02-21** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2013-02-21** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-03-04** Assigned to Human Services Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-03-15** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Kay Hatcher
- **2013-03-20** Do Pass / Short Debate Human Services Committee; 014-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2013-03-20** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2013-04-08** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Esther Golar `amendment-introduction`
- **2013-04-08** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-04-09** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Rules Committee; 005-000-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2013-04-11** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2013-04-11** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2013-04-11** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2013-04-12** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 108-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2013-04-12** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, Sr.
- **2013-04-12** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Robyn Gabel
- **2013-04-12** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Al Riley
- **2013-04-12** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2013-04-12** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading April 16, 2013 `reading-1`
- **2013-04-16** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Daniel Biss
- **2013-04-16** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2013-04-16** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2013-04-17** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Melinda Bush
- **2013-04-17** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Pamela J. Althoff
- **2013-04-18** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2013-04-18** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Julie A. Morrison
- **2013-04-23** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Thomas Cullerton
- **2013-04-23** Assigned to Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2013-05-01** Do Pass Human Services; 006-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2013-05-01** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 2, 2013
- **2013-05-01** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Christine Radogno
- **2013-05-02** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Bill Cunningham
- **2013-05-07** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2013-05-07** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 8, 2013
- **2013-05-09** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Karen McConnaughay
- **2013-05-14** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins
- **2013-05-14** Third Reading - Passed; 054-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2013-05-14** Passed Both Houses
- **2013-06-05** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2013-07-16** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2013-07-16** Effective Date July 16, 2013
- **2013-07-16** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0091 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/07a303b7-15ff-405c-aa27-245ad7b6a70f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).