Governor Pritzker has Signed HB 1628 into Law, Strengthening Data Collection & Transparency in Civil Asset Forfeiture Practices
On Friday, August 15th, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed HB1628 into law with an effective date of January 1st, 2026. The legislation, led by State Representative Will Guzzardi and Senator Omar Aquino, builds on reforms from 2018 to enhance data collection and transparency in reporting around civil asset forfeiture (CAF) practices and ensures the public is able to evaluate these reforms.
Civil asset forfeiture, sometimes referred to as “legalized larceny,” allows the state to permanently seize someone’s property, like a car or cash, based on the suspicion of the property’s involvement in criminal activity. CAF is a different process from criminal forfeiture, which takes place in the criminal court, because a person does not need to have been convicted of a crime to have their property taken. In other words, a person’s actual guilt or innocence is irrelevant in the civil asset forfeiture process. A person’s criminal case can even be dropped and their property still be taken as long as the search was justified by probable cause.
Because this is a civil (not criminal) process, legal representation is not a right and public defenders are not appointed, which presents many due process concerns.
People regularly lose their cars, cash, and other valuables that they need to get to work, pay for groceries, or care for their families. The property in question is most often a car or small amount of cash (over 40% of cash seizures are for less than $2,000), so the cost of going to court can easily outweigh what people stand to get back. Unsurprisingly, CAF disproportionately harms low-income communities of color, with over 80% of claimants observed by court-watchers in 2023 being Black or Latine.
Importantly, HB1628 will help shine a light on asset forfeiture practices by law enforcement, who have a perverse incentive to scout for assets to build their agencies’ budgets.
Illinois’ law enforcement agencies are allowed to keep the proceeds from assets seized; these funds are subject to less regulatory oversight than the rest of the agencies’ budgets and are often used for new technology and surveillance projects as a result. The Chicago Police Department, for example, receives anywhere from $5-10 million annually through civil and criminal asset forfeiture. The law requires these agencies to annually collect and report information in a searchable database about:
- The legal basis for and location of seizures;
- Demographic information about property owners;
- Certain details as to the expenditure of forfeiture proceeds by law enforcement agencies;
- Criminal charges related to the seizure, if any; and
- The forfeiture court case number initiated by prosecutors in an attempt to permanently keep the property.
Civil asset forfeiture is a shadowy legal process that is made even more opaque because of the lack of judicial transparency in Illinois. With more data being shared on this shadowy legal process (made especially opaque due to the lack of judicial transparency in Illinois), we hope to better understand how civil asset forfeiture is impacting Illinois residents with an eye towards geographic, racial, and gender disparities. Governor Pritzker’s decision to sign HB1628 into law is a step in the right direction to move Illinois toward increased transparency and more police accountability.
HELP US TAKE ACTION:
Chicago Appleseed has convened the End Policing for Profit Coalition, which aims to promote court and law enforcement data transparency, uphold due process rights, and provide education and support for people impacted. Partnering organizations include: Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Chicago (AAJC), the ACLU of Illinois, Better Government Association, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Equity and Transformation (EAT), Fines & Fees Justice Center, Institute for Justice, Law Office Cook County Public Defender, Lucy Parsons Labs, #StopShotSpotter Campaign, and University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Law School. To learn more and get involved, fill out the information request form at https://bit.ly/endpolicingforprofit-interest.
We are also collaborating with UIC Law on a research project to learn about the collateral economic consequences of asset forfeiture in Illinois. People with the experience of having their assets seized can participate in the study by filling out the screening form at bit.ly/chicagocafstudy.