Illinois bill targets 62% of colleges skipping sexual assault reports

A new Illinois law would force colleges to report campus sexual violence if they fail to file required annual data.

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, introduced the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act. The bill grants the Illinois Attorney General's Office new authority to compel universities to publicly disclose incidents. Currently, only 38% of Illinois colleges and universities comply with existing state laws. These laws require institutions to submit an annual report to the attorney general's office.

Carrie Ward, CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, helped draft the legislation. Ward noted that the low compliance rate hides the true scale of the problem. "It means that the actual number of incidents of sexual violence on campus are actually far greater than what’s being reported," Ward said. Canty described the new bill as a tool to ensure schools maintain proper policies and submit their reports. "The new bill will give more teeth to the Attorney General’s office to make sure the school has more policies in place and are turning over their reporting," Canty said.

The proposal expands protections for students beyond traditional assault reporting. It requires colleges to address digital sexual harassment, a category that includes revenge porn. The bill also changes how survivors participate in campus proceedings. Victims would be allowed to attend these meetings with both legal and mental health support present. Additionally, the legislation allows survivors to take legal action against a school if they believe the institution failed to handle their case correctly.

Canty explained that a student must initiate a specific process to trigger a legal review. "The student would have to reach out to the school in writing and say, hey, here’s where I think you have failed to follow your own policy as it pertains to me," Canty said. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men experience sexual assault in college. Ward stated that a victim's academic future often depends on how the college manages the case. "If they don’t feel like they can go back to class, if they don’t feel like they can go back to their major, it can really impact what their education looks like," Ward said.

The Illinois Senate passed the bill with a bipartisan majority in the spring of 2026. Lawmakers are expected to consider the measure during next month's fall veto session.