Illinois: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Illinois has had an anti-SLAPP statute since 2007: the Citizen Participation
Act, 735 ILCS 110/1 et seq. It lets a defendant move to dismiss (or strike,
or move for summary judgment on) a claim that is based on or responds to
their exercise of the rights to petition, speak, associate, or otherwise
participate in government, including freedom of the press. A 2025 amendment
significantly strengthened the Act's procedural protections — but only for
lawsuits filed on or after January 1, 2026.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The Citizen Participation Act, 735 ILCS 110/1 et seq., was enacted in 2007
(Public Act 95-506). It was substantially amended in 2025 by Public Act
104-431 (effective August 21, 2025), which rewrote the Act's public-policy
statement, broadened its automatic stay, and added a reciprocal fee-shifting
rule. Illinois is not a Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA)
state — the bill that became P.A. 104-431 was introduced as a new stand-alone
UPEPA, but a Senate committee amendment replaced that approach with targeted
changes to the existing Citizen Participation Act instead.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act's scope is narrower than many other states' anti-SLAPP laws: it
covers acts "in furtherance of the moving party's rights of petition,
speech, association, or to otherwise participate in government, including
freedom of the press." Critically, that protection is not automatic — the
statute immunizes those acts "regardless of intent or purpose, except when
not genuinely aimed at procuring favorable government action, result, or
outcome." In other words, the Act is built around communicating with or
influencing government, not a general "any speech on a matter of public
concern" test like California's or Texas's.

The special motion

The Act doesn't set its own filing deadline the way some states do — a
"motion" under the Act can be a motion to dismiss, for summary judgment, or
to strike, or any other pleading filed to dispose of the claim. Whatever
form it takes, the court must hold a hearing and decide it within 90 days of
notice being given. Since 2025, filing the motion automatically stays "all
other proceedings between the moving party and responding party, including
discovery and a pending hearing or motion" — not just discovery, as under
the prior version. That broader stay, along with the rest of the 2025
changes, applies only to actions commenced on or after January 1, 2026;
older cases still proceed under the pre-2025 version of the Act.

Burden of proof

Illinois frames this as an immunity question rather than a "probability of
prevailing" test. Once the moving party's acts fall within the Act's
protected categories, the court "shall grant the motion and dismiss the
judicial claim" unless the responding party produces "clear and convincing
evidence that the acts of the moving party are not immunized from, or are
not in furtherance of acts immunized from, liability by this Act." That is a
demanding evidentiary standard — clear and convincing evidence, not just a
preponderance — and it is the plaintiff's burden to meet, not the
defendant's.

Attorney's fees

Fees and costs are mandatory for a prevailing moving party — the statute
uses "shall." Since the 2025 amendment, a prevailing responding party (one
who beats the motion) also gets mandatory fees, but only if the court
separately finds the motion was frivolous or filed solely to delay the case.
Like the rest of the 2025 changes, that reciprocal fee rule only applies to
actions filed on or after January 1, 2026.

Right to appeal

The statute singles out denials for special treatment: if the trial court
denies the motion, or simply fails to rule within 90 days, "an appellate
court shall expedite any appeal or other writ, whether interlocutory or
not." The Act doesn't need to separately address a grant of the motion,
because a grant dismisses the claim and is already a final, appealable order
under Illinois's ordinary civil appellate rules.

Exemptions

The Act has no exemptions section. Unlike states that carve out
commercial-speech claims, consumer or products-liability suits, or
government-enforcement actions, 735 ILCS 110 names no such exclusions —
its narrower protected-activity definition (see above) does the work that
an exemptions list does elsewhere.

What trips people up

Two different versions of the Act can apply to the same motion filed
today, depending on when the underlying lawsuit was filed. The 2025
amendment's broader stay (§ 17) and reciprocal fee-shifting (§ 25) apply
"only to actions commenced on or after January 1, 2026" (§ 32). A motion
filed in mid-2026 in a case that was filed in 2025 is still governed by the
older, narrower version — only discovery is automatically stayed, and there
is no reciprocal fee award for a frivolous motion. Check when the underlying
complaint was filed, not just when the motion is filed.

"Genuinely aimed at procuring favorable government action" is a real
limit, not boilerplate. Because the Act's immunity is tied to
communicating with or influencing government, a claim resting on speech that
has nothing to do with government action or process falls outside the Act
even if it touches a hot-button public topic.

The Act doesn't set its own filing deadline for the motion. Unlike
states with a fixed 45- or 60-day window, Illinois only fixes the timeline
for the hearing and decision (90 days from notice) — plan around court rules
and practice for when to actually file.

Common questions

Does filing the motion stop the whole lawsuit or just discovery? It
depends on when the underlying case was filed. For cases commenced on or
after January 1, 2026, filing the motion stays all other proceedings, not
just discovery. For older cases, only discovery is automatically suspended.

Do I have to prove my speech was true to win the motion? No — the
motion turns on whether your acts were in furtherance of your rights to
petition, speak, associate, or participate in government, and whether they
were genuinely aimed at a favorable government outcome. Truth or falsity of
the underlying statement isn't the test the Act itself applies.

What if I lose the motion — do I owe the other side's fees? Only if the
case was filed on or after January 1, 2026, and only if the court separately
finds your motion was frivolous or filed solely to delay the case. Losing on
the merits alone doesn't trigger a fee award against you.

Statutes and sources

• 735 ILCS 110/15 — "This Act applies to any motion to dispose of a
  claim in a judicial proceeding on the grounds that the claim is based on,
  relates to, or is in response to any act or acts of the moving party in
  furtherance of the moving party's rights of petition, speech, association,
  or to otherwise participate in government, including freedom of the
  press. ... Acts in furtherance of the constitutional rights to petition,
  speech, association, and participation in government, including freedom of
  the press, are immune from liability, regardless of intent or purpose,
  except when not genuinely aimed at procuring favorable government action,
  result, or outcome." Source:
  https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K15.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• 735 ILCS 110/10 — "\"Motion\" includes any motion to dismiss, for
  summary judgment, or to strike, or any other judicial pleading filed to
  dispose of a judicial claim." Source:
  https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K10.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• 735 ILCS 110/17 — "(a) ... on the filing of a motion under Section 15
  of this Act: (1) all other proceedings between the moving party and
  responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are
  stayed..." Source:
  https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K17.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• 735 ILCS 110/20 — "(a) On the filing of any motion as described in
  Section 15, a hearing and decision on the motion must occur within 90 days
  after notice of the motion is given to the respondent. An appellate court
  shall expedite any appeal or other writ, whether interlocutory or not,
  from a trial court order denying that motion or from a trial court's
  failure to rule on that motion within 90 days... (c) The court shall grant
  the motion and dismiss the judicial claim unless the court finds that the
  responding party has produced clear and convincing evidence that the acts
  of the moving party are not immunized from, or are not in furtherance of
  acts immunized from, liability by this Act." Source:
  https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K20.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• 735 ILCS 110/25 — "The court shall award a moving party who prevails
  in a motion under this Act reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred
  in connection with the motion. The court shall award a responding party
  who prevails in a motion under this Act reasonable attorney's fees and
  costs included in connection with the motion if the court finds that the
  motion was frivolous or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding."
  Source: https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K25.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• 735 ILCS 110/32 — "The changes made to this Act by this amendatory Act
  of the 104th General Assembly apply only to actions commenced on or after
  January 1, 2026." Source:
  https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073501100K32.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).