How to testify before the Illinois legislature

The mechanics of testifying are in the general guide. This page covers what is specific to Illinois.

How Illinois does it

Illinois does not run testimony the way most states do. Instead of a sign-up sheet and a queue of speakers, Illinois centers on the witness slip, a formal record of your position on a bill filed through the legislature's website. Anyone can file a witness slip as "Proponent," "Opponent," or "No Position" without ever appearing in person, and the slip becomes part of the bill's official committee record. Register at my.ilga.gov, navigate to the House or Senate hearing schedules, open the hearing's details page, and select "Create Witness Slip." A witness slip can also be filed without an account. If you want to speak, the slip has a field to request oral testimony, but being granted time is at the chair's discretion. Remote testimony by Zoom is available separately for witnesses who request and are approved for it.

Deadlines and numbers

The witness slip window opens once a bill is officially posted for a committee hearing and closes the moment that hearing ends, so slips must be filed before or during the hearing itself. There is no fixed statewide time limit for spoken testimony. About 3 minutes is the most common allotment in practice, but chairs can shorten it when many witnesses are signed up.

Where to go

Start at ilga.gov, which hosts both chambers' schedules, bill text, and the witness slip portal. To file a witness slip, register or log in at my.ilga.gov. A step-by-step walkthrough is at ilga.gov/uploads/tutorials/WitnessSlips/Submit%20Witness%20Slips.pdf. For remote testimony procedures, see ilga.gov/house/Remote%20Committee%20Hearing%20Process.pdf.