HB3518, titled the Keeping Sex Workers Safe Act, would decriminalize consensual adult sex work in Illinois and create a new Sex Workers’ Bill of Rights Act. The bill states that people engaged in consensual sex work could not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted solely for that activity, and it repeals the criminal offenses of prostitution and patronizing a prostitute. It also defines “sex work” and “sex worker,” and expressly excludes coerced or non-consensual conduct, which would remain criminally punishable.
The measure goes beyond criminal law by extending labor and civil protections to sex workers. It would require that sex workers be treated like other workers under Illinois law for purposes of minimum wage and hour protections, anti-discrimination rules, harassment protections, workers’ compensation, health benefits where applicable, privacy, and freedom from surveillance. It also says independent contractors in sex work should be treated as legitimate sole proprietors or businesses, and it bars discrimination in housing, public services, financial services, and health care based on occupation. The bill further imposes safe-work obligations on employers, clients, and others benefiting from sex workers’ services, including protections against violence, exploitation, and human trafficking.
HB3518 would make extensive conforming changes across the Criminal Code, expungement law, licensing statutes, and related provisions. It would expand record-clearing pathways for prior prostitution- and solicitation-related arrests and convictions, including automatic expungement for certain older records and motions to vacate and expunge qualifying convictions. It also amends provisions affecting massage therapy licensing, liquor licensing, private employment agencies, eavesdropping/interception rules, sentencing, juvenile neglect/abuse definitions, sex offender registration, nuisance law, and securities law to remove or update references tied to prostitution and related offenses.
The bill’s general thrust is strongly reform-oriented and framed as a public safety and human rights measure. Its findings section argues that criminalization increases violence and stigma, disproportionately harms women, Black and Latinx people, and transgender people, and prevents sex workers from seeking police protection. Because there were no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no documented legislative debate or formal vote history in the supplied materials; the available text itself reflects a clear pro-decriminalization and worker-protection stance.
The main points of contention are likely to center on the bill’s full decriminalization approach and the repeal of prostitution- and patronizing-related offenses, as well as its broad treatment of sex work as legitimate labor. The bill explicitly preserves criminal penalties for trafficking, coercion, and offenses involving minors, but opponents may still object to the policy shift away from criminal enforcement and to the potential effects on public safety, law enforcement, and related regulatory systems. Supporters, by contrast, would likely emphasize harm reduction, labor rights, anti-discrimination protections, and the bill’s trafficking carveouts.
HB3518 would substantially revise Illinois law by removing prostitution and patronizing a prostitute from the Criminal Code, creating a new statutory framework that decriminalizes consensual adult sex work, and adding civil and labor protections for sex workers. It would also require conforming amendments across multiple statutes governing criminal records, professional licensing, eavesdropping, sentencing, juvenile law, sex offender registration, nuisance abatement, and securities regulation. The bill would expand expungement and sealing opportunities for prior prostitution-related and solicitation-related records, including automatic expungement for certain older records and new petition procedures for vacating convictions.
The bill is presented in strongly supportive terms, with a clear policy rationale centered on safety, autonomy, anti-discrimination, and harm reduction. The findings section argues that criminalization drives violence and stigma and disproportionately affects women, Black and Latinx people, and transgender people. No committee testimony or votes were provided, so there is no recorded opposition or bipartisan sentiment in the supplied materials; the text itself reflects a strongly pro-decriminalization position.
The most notable controversy is the bill’s proposal to fully decriminalize consensual adult sex work and repeal prostitution-related offenses, which would be a major departure from current criminal enforcement. Likely concerns include whether decriminalization could complicate enforcement against exploitation, how the bill would affect public safety and neighborhood regulation, and whether the labor-law framework is appropriate for sex work. Supporters would point to the bill’s explicit exclusions for coercion, trafficking, and minors, while critics may argue that those safeguards are insufficient or that the policy change goes too far. The bill also touches sensitive areas such as record expungement, licensing restrictions, and law-enforcement surveillance powers, which may generate additional debate.