Illinois HB 1873: PUBLIC ACCESS-NAVIGABLE WATERS

Bill Text

• 

 Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1873 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Select Language

 × 

 The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

 Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

 The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

 NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

 Choose Language 

 English 

 Afrikaans 

 Albanian 

 Arabic 

 Armenian 

 Azerbaijani 

 Basque 

 Bengali 

 Bosnian 

 Catalan 

 Croatian 

 Czech 

 Danish 

 Dutch 

 Esperanto 

 Estonian 

 Filipino 

 Finnish 

 French 

 Galician 

 Georgian 

 German 

 Greek 

 Gujarati 

 Haitian Creole 

 Hausa 

 Hawaiian 

 Hebrew 

 Hindi 

 Hungarian 

 Icelandic 

 Indonesian 

 Interlingua 

 Interlingue 

 Inuktitut 

 Irish 

 Italian 

 Japanese 

 Javanese 

 Kannada 

 Khmer 

 Korean 

 Latin 

 Latvian 

 Lithuanian 

 Luxembourgish 

 Macedonian 

 Malagasy 

 Malayalam 

 Maltese 

 Maori 

 Marathi 

 Myanmar 

 Nepali 

 Norwegian 

 Odia 

 Pashto 

 Punjabi 

 Romanian 

 Russian 

 Samoan 

 Sango 

 Sanskrit 

 Sardinian 

 Sindhi 

 Sinhala 

 Slovak 

 Slovenian 

 Somali 

 Southern Sotho 

 Spanish 

 Sundanese 

 Swahili 

 Swedish 

 Tamil 

 Telugu 

 Thai 

 Tigrinya 

 Tonga 

 Turkish 

 Ukrainian 

 Urdu 

 Vietnamese 

 Welsh 

 Xhosa 

 Yiddish 

 Yoruba 

 Zulu 

 Powered by Translate 

 Close 

 Illinois General Assembly

 Top Navigation Bar

 Translate 

 Learn 

 Select General Assembly 

 Search the 104th General Assembly 

 Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules. 

 ILGA.GOV 

• 

• 

 LEGISLATION & LAWS 

• Bills & Resolutions 

• Public Acts 

• Illinois Compiled Statutes 

• Illinois Constitution 

• Search Legislation 

• Glossary 

• Guide 

• 

 Reports & Inquiry 

• Legislative Reports 

• Special Reports 

• FTP Site 

• Legislator Lookup 

• Capitol Complex Phone Numbers 

• 

 Rules & Regulations 

• Illinois Register 

• Administrative Rules 

• 

 Senate 

• 
 Members 

• Schedules 

• Committees 

• 

 Request for Remote Testimony 

• Journals 

• Transcripts 

• Rules 

• Audio/Video 

• FOIA Information 

• Senate Employment Opportunities 

• Media Guidelines 

• 

 House 

• 
 Members 

• Schedules 

• Committees 

• 

 Submit testimony for House Committees 

• Journals 

• Transcripts 

• Rules 

• Audio/Video 

• FOIA Information 

• House Employment Opportunities 

• Log In 

 Mobile Top Bar

 Search the 104th General Assembly 

 Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website. 

 Full Text of HB1873

• Home 

• Legislation 

• Full Text 

 HB1873 - 104th General Assembly 

• 
 Bill Status 

• 
 Full Text 

• 
 Votes 

• 
 Witness Slips 

 Select Menu 

 Bill Status 
 Full Text 
 Votes 
 Witness Slips 
 Printer Friendly Version 

 Introduced 

 Printer Friendly Version 

 Introduced 

 Open PDF 

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
State of Illinois 
2025 and 2026
HB1873

Introduced 1/29/2025, by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

615 ILCS 5/5 from Ch. 19, par. 52

615 ILCS 5/5a new

615 ILCS 5/25 from Ch. 19, par. 72

 Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provid