Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation on July 6, 2026, intended to establish new safety, transparency and accountability requirements for large artificial intelligence developers.
Senate Bill 315, known as the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, applies to developers of large “frontier” artificial intelligence models. These are advanced AI systems that meet certain high-computing thresholds and are capable of performing a broad range of complex tasks.
The legislation requires covered developers to create, publish and annually update a safety and security framework. Developers must also issue transparency reports before deploying new or substantially modified frontier AI models, report certain critical safety incidents and complete annual independent third-party audits.
While the legislation is primarily directed at large AI developers rather than units of local government, it is relevant to counties as artificial intelligence tools become more common in public administration, public safety, cybersecurity, records management, permitting, constituent services and other county operations.
Counties using or evaluating AI tools may wish to monitor the state’s evolving approach to AI safety, transparency, cybersecurity and vendor accountability. The new law may also provide a useful reference point for county discussions about procurement standards, acceptable-use policies, data governance, risk assessment and human oversight.
For county governments, key questions may include how AI vendors document system risks, whether tools are subject to independent review, how data is protected, how cybersecurity risks are managed and whether counties have sufficient internal policies for responsible use.