SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s directive to bar individuals pardoned for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack from state employment is drawing scrutiny over potential conflicts with state law.
In a letter dated January 30, 2025, Pritzker instructed the Department of Central Management Services (CMS) to enforce hiring restrictions against those who received clemency from former President Donald Trump. The governor argued that such individuals, many of whom were convicted of violent offenses, should not hold public positions in Illinois.
“These rioters attacked law enforcement officers protecting people in the Capitol, disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, and undermined bedrock principles of American democracy,” Pritzker wrote, emphasizing the state’s commitment to hiring individuals who reflect “the values of Illinois.”
However, Illinois law prohibits employers from using conviction records as an automatic disqualifier in hiring decisions. The Illinois Human Rights Act deems it a civil rights violation for an employer to refuse to hire or take adverse employment action based solely on an applicant’s conviction record, with certain exceptions for job relevance and public safety concerns.
Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for any employer, employment agency or labor organization to use a conviction record as a basis to refuse to hire, to segregate, or to act with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms, privileges or conditions of employment. Specifies further requirements concerning conviction records. Amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983. Provides that for those corporations required to file an Employer Information Report EEO-1 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, information that is substantially similar to the employment data reported under Section D of the corporation’s EEO-1 in a format approved by the Secretary of State shall be reported. Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides for equal pay registration certificate requirements. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately.
Public Act 099-0886 reduces the scope of criminal offenses that disqualify an individual from obtaining a Healthcare Worker Waiver. Effective January 1, 2017, Public Act 099-0886 (20 ILCS 2105/165) will allow a licensed health care worker convicted of previously disqualifying forcible felonies to petition IDPH for a waiver. This waiver does not change a criminal record but allows an employer to hire a health care worker. Also, applicants with a felony conviction who are seeking licensure may also file a petition for a waiver. Waivers will not be granted unless five years have passed since the conviction or more than three years have passed since release from confinement for that conviction, whichever is later.
Public Act 099-0876 provisions state that a felony conviction cannot be the sole reason for rejecting an applicant’s request for a license in occupations of funeral director, embalmer, roofer, barber, cosmetologist, esthetician, hair braider, and nail technician. In addition, such licensure decisions must take into consideration rehabilitation efforts and other mitigating factors specifically related to the occupation. Licensure denials must be made in writing to the applicant. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will be required to issue an annual report on licensing decisions made in regard to applicants with criminal records beginning in 2018.
The governor’s directive could face legal challenges if it is interpreted as a blanket hiring ban, potentially conflicting with the state’s employment discrimination protections. CMS has not yet commented on how it will implement the directive.