Illinois
Sex Laws 2026

Illinois' age of consent is 17. There is a close-in-age exemption: consensual sexual activity between a person who is at least 13 and a partner less than five years older is not criminal under the main statute. Illinois Compiled Statutes 720 ILCS 5/11-1.60 covers criminal sexual abuse.

Illinois requires comprehensive, medically accurate sex education that is inclusive of LGBTQ+ topics. The mandate is one of the stronger ones in the Midwest. Schools must cover contraception, STI prevention, healthy relationships, and consent. The state's sex ed requirements have been updated in recent years to more explicitly require LGBTQ+ inclusion. Abstinence may be discussed but cannot be the sole or primary frame for instruction.

Illinois' adult entertainment environment is among the most permissive in the Midwest. Chicago has a substantial adult entertainment industry, and the state regulates it through licensing without aggressive restriction campaigns. The Illinois Supreme Court has consistently upheld First Amendment protections for adult businesses and performances. Nudity in licensed establishments is permitted under defined conditions.

Illinois requires comprehensive, medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed. One of the stronger mandates in the Midwest.

Similar States

More on Illinois

• Illinois: My son got an underage girl pregnant. Please help.
• 8 states restricted sex ed last year. More could join amid ...
• [OS] States where sex education doesn't legally have to be ...
• Age of consent needs to change : r/offmychest
• How did we get the specific age number for Age of Consent ...
• r/USdefaultism - Age of Consent
• If I am the age of consent, can I date/have sex with ...
• Only 37% of US states require sexual education in schools ...
• What do you think about the different legal age thresholds ...
• It breaks my heart that age of consent is 16 in most US states

• Act on the Evidence: Policy Solutions to Protect and Advance Abortion and Contraception Access in the United States - Guttmacher InstituteNov 11
• New 2026 Illinois laws address squatters, immigration status in schools, gun possession, opioid overdose reporting, K-9 retirement - ABC7 ChicagoJan 2
• Issues - Planned Parenthood Action FundNov 18
• Illinois Sex Ed Law Requires ‘Honor And Respect For Monogamous Heterosexual Marriage’ - Illinois Public MediaNov 1
• Gov. JB Pritzker signs bills calling for inclusive sex ed and conversations about sexting - The State Journal-RegisterAug 24