"In 2017, there were 114 residential fire deaths in Illinois and sadly already 98 fatalities so far in 2018," said Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and Illinois Firefighters Association Government Affairs Director Margaret Vaughn in a press release. "Nearly 70 percent of these deaths are occurring in homes without working smoke detectors.
In order to address this horrific problem, the General Assembly passed 100-200, which requires Illinois residents to replace their old smoke detectors with the type that has a long term 10-year sealed battery by the end of 2022. This would apply to residents that are still using alarms with removable batteries or alarms that are not hardwired."
Since 1988, the Illinois Smoke Detector Act has required all dwellings to have smoke detectors, the new requirement just updates that law to reflect the changes in new technology, aimed at saving lives, while making it easier and more cost effective for Illinois residents to comply.