New Law Will Greatly Change Your Illinois Hotel Experience July 1

If you're planning to stay at a hotel in Illinois when vacationing this summer, you can expect a big difference starting July 1 thanks to a new law that is about to be enforced.

I think we all know that most new laws that get passed in Illinois go into effect on January 1, but there are exceptions. I gotta give credit to NBC 5 in Chicago for picking up on a change coming to Illinois hotels starting July 1, 2025. There's a lot of legal jargon in bill SB-2960 that I need close-captioning to translate for me somehow. Here are the exact words so you can see what I mean:

"Creates the Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2025, hotels with 50 rooms or more and, beginning January 1, 2026, hotels with less than 50 rooms may not provide small single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products to either: (i) a customer of the establishment who is staying in a sleeping room accommodation or any space within the sleeping room accommodation or (ii) a customer of the establishment who is using a bathroom shared by the public or guests. Establishes civil penalties."

What is the real world effect of Illinois' Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act?

If you've stayed in a hotel/motel, you're used to seeing tiny shampoo and conditioner bottles in the bathroom. Starting July 1, tiny shampoo/conditioner bottles will not be allowed. The allowance in the bill for smaller hotels not being required to follow this new law until January 1, 2026 will give them slightly more time to vacate the tiny shampoo bottle industry.

The bottom line is it looks like the responsibility for providing shampoo and conditioner is back in the hands of the people. You don't want to be the person that goes to prison for using a tiny bottle. That likely wouldn't end well.