The Illinois Senate has voted to approve a piece of legislation which will force disclosure of hidden “junk fees” charged by various businesses. The Illinois Senate is now expected to vote on the bill today.
The bill was a revival of efforts last year to ban junk fees, such as various arbitrary line item service charges, including of the sort which resulted in an $11 million lawsuit settlement by the Illinois Attorney General last year. Former President Joe Biden highlighted the fees as a target of his administration in 2023, eventually resulting in a late-2024 FTC rule which sought to limit hotel and ticketing service fees.
The federal rule is now considered dead in the water after Republicans took control the FTC upon Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The Republican majority in Congress, which has the authority to approve the rule, is considered unlikely to allow it to come into effect, and has so far ignored it.
The new Illinois bill includes some major carveouts for certain classes of business such as airlines, broadband and satellite internet service providers, and wholesale clubs.
Despite this, the legislation establishes a groundwork for preventing backdoor fees, which Consumer Reports has estimated costs the average American household over $3,000 per year.
“This legislation captures months of hard work with dozens of stakeholders to ensure consumers get a fair shot while businesses can continue to operate in familiar ways,” explained Erion Malasi of Economic Security Illinois. “We’re grateful to the Senate Judiciary Committee for advancing this bill and urge the full Senate to take action on legislation that will help lower costs for working families.”
