On July 31, 2026, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed Public Act 104-0683, requiring employers with more than 25 employees to continue paying workers their regular wages while serving on jury duty. The new law, which takes effect January 1, 2027, represents an important step toward making jury service more accessible to Illinois residents.
The right to trial by jury is one of the cornerstones of the American justice system. Since the nation’s founding, juries have ensured that justice is shaped not only by the law, but also by the judgment and lived experiences of ordinary citizens. That principle, however, depends on every qualified citizen having a meaningful opportunity to serve, regardless of financial circumstances.
For Keith A. Hebeisen, partner at Clifford Law Offices and a past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), that reality came into sharp focus during a lengthy personal injury trial in late 2025.
Midway through the proceedings, one juror faced a difficult choice. Because his employers did not provide paid jury leave, each day in the courtroom meant lost wages and the growing inability to support his family. The financial strain became so significant that the court came dangerously close to losing the juror, which could have resulted in a mistrial after weeks of evidence.
“It wasn’t simply about one juror,” Hebeisen shared. “It raised a much larger question about whether our justice system was unintentionally excluding people who could not afford to serve.”
While the issue became critical during that trial, Hebeisen says judges and trial attorneys encounter similar situations every day. During jury selection, prospective jurors often ask to be excused because they cannot afford to miss work, creating barriers to seating a representative jury before testimony even begins.
Illinois law has long protected employees from employer retaliation for serving on a jury. Employers cannot fire, threaten, intimidate, or otherwise penalize workers for fulfilling their civic duty. But the law did not require that employers continue paying employees while they serve on a jury.
In May 2026, in his role as a member of the ITLA Executive Committee, Hebeisen testified before the Illinois Senate in support of House Bill 4844 and employer-paid jury leave. Drawing on his decades of experience in the courtroom, he urged lawmakers to remove the existing financial barrier that prevented many qualified citizens from serving on juries.
Hebeisen believes the financial burden of jury service should not fall on the very citizens the justice system depends upon.
Throughout the process, Hebeisen returned to a fundamental question: “Who is in the better position to bear that burden? The individual juror, or the employer?”
“This legislation is about access,” he explained. “People should not have to choose between fulfilling an important civic responsibility and supporting their families. When more people are able to serve, our juries become more representative, our courts become stronger, and public confidence in the justice system grows.”
The law also authorizes courts, when jury summons are served, to include information explaining employees’ rights, helping ensure that prospective jurors understand the protections available to them before reporting for service.
A truly representative jury requires more than legal eligibility. It depends on people from all walks of life having a real opportunity to serve. When financial barriers limit participation, the jury pool becomes less representative of the communities it is meant to serve, narrowing the range of perspectives that shape deliberations and weakening one of the defining strengths of the civil justice system.
Hourly workers, individuals holding multiple jobs, single parents, and others living paycheck to paycheck often face difficult choices when called for jury duty. While salaried employees usually continue to receive their regular income, many others must weigh their civic responsibility against their ability to pay rent, cover childcare expenses, and support their families.
“If certain segments of society cannot realistically participate, we begin losing the broad cross-section of the community our jury system is intended to represent,” Hebeisen said. “Every community deserves a jury that reflects every perspective.”
For Hebeisen, the legislation represents more than a change in policy. It reflects a broader commitment to preserving a jury system that is fair, representative, and accessible to every qualified citizen. By removing a longstanding financial barrier to service, Illinois has taken an important step toward strengthening one of the nation’s most fundamental democratic institutions.