SPRINGFIELD (Capitol News Illinois) – Law enforcement officers would no longer be allowed to search a vehicle or detain a driver who is over age 21 based solely on the smell of burnt cannabis in the vehicle under a bill that passed Thursday in the Illinois Senate.

Senate Bill 42, sponsored by Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, is a response to a September 2024 Illinois Supreme Court decision that held the smell of burnt cannabis alone was insufficient to establish probable cause for searching a vehicle without a warrant.

In a separate opinion from December, however, the court ruled the odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle is sufficient evidence to provide officers with probable cause for a search because the smell suggests cannabis is not being transported in an odor-proof container as required by state law.

Both of those decisions stemmed from Illinois’ landmark legislation, passed in 2019, legalizing adult use of recreational marijuana statewide.

The Senate bill calls for repealing one requirement in that law — that cannabis in a vehicle be kept in an “odor-proof” container, but it continues to require the cannabis be kept in a “sealed or reusable and child-resistant container that is inaccessible.”

“I want to be very clear that I encourage every driver to drive sober at all times,” Ventura said on the Senate floor. “This is directing law enforcement to take into the totality of the circumstances.”

But opponents of the bill said the proposed policy made no sense from a law enforcement standpoint.

“We would never, ever ask a police officer to disregard the odor of alcohol when they pull a car over,” said Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet. “Why on earth would we ask a police officer to disregard the odor of cannabis? At a minimum, they should have the duty to ensure that the driver is not impaired.”

The bill passed 33-20 and now heads to the House for consideration.

Bill extends press protections to university-based public media

The Illinois Senate passed legislation Thursday that would extend press protections to public media outlets, including NPR and PBS affiliates, that are operated by Illinois colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 1988, sponsored by Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, would also allow employees and contributors to seek judicial relief if they believe their rights have been violated.

Many public colleges and universities operate public broadcasting stations, a category of stations that were once referred to as “educational broadcasting.” In some cases, however, there have been complaints that university officials exercised powerful editorial control over those stations, especially regarding stories and material critical of the universities or their leadership.

The bill declares that all media produced at a state-sponsored institution of higher learning is a “public forum for expression by the employees producing the media” and that it “shall not be subject to prior review by public officials” of the institution.

Koehler did not cite any specific instances of university censorship or prior restraint at any Illinois stations, but he said those outlets should have the same protections from government censorship and restraint that other media outlets have.

“Public media plays an essential role in informing our communities,” Koehler said in a statement. “Ensuring their independence, accountability and trust is upheld is vital to democracy.”

The bill passed 36-19and now goes to the House.

Safe gun storage requirements advance in General Assembly

Illinois senators passed legislation Thursday that would require gun owners to keep their weapons securely stored so they are not accessible to minors.

Known as the Safe Guns Storage Act, Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, would require any firearms owner to store their firearm in a secured, locked container in any location where a minor or at-risk person could otherwise access the firearm.

The bill would also allow local law enforcement agencies to revoke a person’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card if they fail on two or more occasions to report a lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours.

“The sooner a firearm is reported lost or stolen, the more likely it is that law enforcement can investigate and recover that firearm before it’s used to commit a crime,” Ellman said.

Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, took issue with law enforcement being granted the ability to revoke a person’s FOID card. He said that aspect of the bill would not be consistent with the 2023 United States v. Rahimi Supreme Court case, which ruled a person’s firearm owner identification can be temporarily revoked if a court determines they are a threat to public safety when in possession of a firearm.

Ellman disagreed. She said that the case did not exclude law enforcement from being able to revoke a person’s FOID card.

The bill passed on a vote of 33-19 and goes to the House.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.