Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) signed a first-in-the-nation bill on Monday to mandate third-party safety audits for large-scale artificial intelligence models run by top developers.The bipartisan legislation, known as the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, requires Anthropic and OpenAI, among other frontier AI firms that earn more than $500 million in revenue, to identify, disclose, and mitigate risks while enabling independent inspections of AI systems that fall under the state’s jurisdiction. Illinois is the first state to require such oversight.The Democratic governor framed the new law against the backdrop of Congress‘s inaction on AI safety.
“As AI systems become more powerful and the federal government is unwilling to step in, states have a responsibility to protect our people from the dangers of AI while still harnessing the unique potential of the technology,” Pritzker said in a statement. “People want protections from the risks of AI and Illinois is stepping up with a bipartisan, first- and most-protective-in-the-nation law.”
Today, Illinois enacts the strongest artificial intelligence safety and accountability bill in the nation.We are establishing our state as a leader in setting guardrails for responsible innovation and growth in AI — all the while protecting Illinoisans. pic.twitter.com/QjmdSdGFgE— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) July 6, 2026
