SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Ram Villivalam sponsored a newly signed law to further protect personally identifiable information of those seeking a name change.

“Our residents deserve to be able to change their name in private and without worry for their well-being or safety,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “Requiring those seeking a name change to publish such change with a local newspaper relinquishes their privacy and poses a threat to the confidentiality of personally identifiable information.”

As judges retain the discretion to allow someone to change their name, House Bill 5164 removes the requirement to publish a name change with a local newspaper and lowers the Illinois residency requirement from six months to three months.

"Ensuring the safety and privacy of all Illinois residents is a key priority, especially in these uncertain times," said State Representative Kevin Olickal (D-Chicago), the bill’s House sponsor. "This legislation helps prevent the misuse of state records for political purposes, protecting vulnerable communities from harm and upholding our commitment to keeping all Illinoisans safe."

The law also establishes a procedure for someone to impound their court file — further protecting the confidentiality of personally identifiable information. When an individual seeks to impound their court file, it must be done under oath with the belief that public discourse of their file would have a negative impact on the person’s health or safety.

“The importance of reforming the name change publication law was brought to our attention by a local resident, Rondell Merrill, during an LGBTQ+ town hall. Representative Olickal, Senator Villivalam and I take great pains to stay in close connection to our constituency and take careful consideration when issues are brought to our attention, so we looked deeper into the issue that Ms. Merrill raised. It didn't take long to recognize that the existing laws regarding name change were outdated and dangerous,” said Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Ognisanti. “Through thoughtful legislation, our lawmakers were able to modernize the state publication requirements for a name change so that vulnerable classes of people — like domestic and intimate abuse victims, refugees, transgender people, adoptees and others — can change their names safely and discreetly. Personally, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work closely with such caring committed legislators on behalf of our overlapping community. They truly care and work hard to be responsive to those that they serve.”

The law also clarifies that if a court grants a motion to impound a file, such name change should be reported to the Illinois State Police. ISP must then subsequently update any criminal history transcript or offender registration for each person 18 years of age or older to include both the change of name and their former name. Those with a criminal history or debt transcripts would still be identifiable through driver’s license and social security numbers, as well as fingerprints.

“At Equality Illinois, we regularly hear narrowing stories from trans and gender-expansive folks about their fears, lack of privacy and attacks — all for wanting to just live their lives. In fact, having to publish your name change in a newspaper creates a public list of trans people that puts them at real risk for harassment and harm,” said Michael Ziri, director of public policy at Equality Illinois. “We know this law will help people — especially in this current national moment — and is consistent with our state’s values of equality and the freedom to live our lives without harassment or harm. We thank Governor Pritzker, Representative Olickal, Senator Villivalam, Speaker Welch and President Harmon for their leadership on this law and applaud our partners at the Transformative Justice Law Project for their advocacy and frontline work to support trans and gender-expansive folks.”

House Bill 5164 was signed by the governor on Friday and takes effect on March 1, 2025.