Illinois Rep. Croke’s financial regulation bill passes House and Senate

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Margaret Croke aims to update regulation and funding for Illinois financial laws by changing investigation requirements and authorizing fee adjustments, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 70 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 36 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 38 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 19 Republicans voted against it.

Croke introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 2026 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB5384, was passed on May 14, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Currency Exchange Act. Removes provisions requiring the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation to investigate a currency exchange business at least once in each year and to review and report on the cost of operation of the Currency Exchange Section. Establishes fee-setting provisions for the administration of the Act. Amends the Sales Finance Agency Act, the Consumer Installment Loan Act, and the Safety Deposit License Act. Makes changes to the authority of the Secretary and the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions to examine and investigate a business to determine if it is in compliance with those Acts. Establishes fee-setting provisions for the administration of those Acts. Amends the Debt Management Service Act, the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, and the Payday Loan Reform Act. Establishes fee-setting provisions for the administration of those Acts. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill changes regulation and funding for several Illinois financial laws. It removes the requirement for yearly state investigations of currency exchanges and instead lets the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation examine those businesses as needed. It authorizes the secretary or director to set and adjust, by rule, the fees paid by currency exchanges, sales finance agencies, consumer installment lenders, debt managers, debt settlement providers, payday lenders and safety deposit companies to cover licensing, investigations, examinations and other administrative costs. The bill takes effect upon becoming law.

The bill was sponsored only by Sen. Mark L. Walker (Democrat-27th District).

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Croke graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 with a BA.

Croke, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2021 to represent the state’s 12th House District, replacing previous state representative Yoni Pizer.

Lawmakers listed as “Not Voting” were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an “Excused Absence” were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.