Illinois Rep. Zwiercan’s DNA notification bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Nicole La Ha Zwiercan aims to ensure law enforcement and prosecutors receive timely notification when a consistent DNA profile is identified in investigations, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 68 Democrats and 36 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 40 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

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

The legislation, known as HB5580, was passed on May 21, 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 Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that if a consistent DNA profile has been identified by comparing evidence with a known standard from a suspect or with DNA profiles in the CODIS database, the Illinois State Police shall utilize the Electronic Laboratory Information Management System to notify the investigating law enforcement agency of the results in writing, and the Illinois State Police shall provide an automatic courtesy copy of the written notification to the appropriate State’s Attorney’s Office for tracking and further action, as necessary.”

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

In essence, this bill amends the Unified Code of Corrections to require the Illinois State Police to use the Electronic Laboratory Information Management System to send written notice to the investigating law enforcement agency when a consistent DNA profile is identified, either by comparison with a suspect’s known sample or with a profile in the CODIS database. The bill also requires the State Police to automatically send a courtesy copy of this written notification to the appropriate state’s attorney’s office so prosecutors can track the case and consider further action.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jason Plummer (Republican-55th District), Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro (Republican-48th District), and Rep. John M. Cabello (Republican-90th District), along with four other sponsors.

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.

La Ha graduated from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004 with a BA.

La Ha, a Republican, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 82nd House District, replacing previous state representative John Egofske.

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.