Anti-SLAPP Laws in Illinois

At a glance

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, rather than a general test covering any speech on a matter of public concern.

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.

Coverage limits

Under § 15, the claim must respond to the moving party's petition, speech, association, or participation in government. Immunity does not cover acts that are not genuinely aimed at favorable government action, result, or outcome. The exemption column records this statutory coverage limit.

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 2026-08-20).
• 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 2026-08-20).
• 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 2026-08-20).
• 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 2026-08-20).
• 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 2026-10-10).
• 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 2026-08-20).