Witness Slips

What is a Witness Slip?

To create a new law in Illinois, first, the bill must be filed by the sponsoring Representative (House) and/or Senator (Senate). The bill will then be assigned to a committee and will go through a number of House or Senate committee hearings before the bill can be considered for a vote.

A witness slip is a public record that allows you as an individual or as a member of an organization to share whether you support or oppose a piece of legislation, or bill, that is being considered for law. Witness slips are an important part of the process and let lawmakers know where their voters and organizations stand before they vote on a bill.

How to File Electronic Witness Slips in Illinois (if you have a bill number)

Step 1 – Go to ILGA.gov

Go to the Illinois General Assembly’s Dashboard at my.ilga.gov. This site allows you to create and modify electronic witness slips.

Step 2 – Search for the Bill and Locate Witness Slip

Type in the bill number in the left search box for the legislation you’re interested in (e.g. HB1 or SB1000) and click “Go.” When the bill appears, click the “Witness Slips” link at the top of the page underneath the bill number.

Step 3 – Locate the Witness Slip

On the Witness Slips page, click the hearing notice link just above the list of bill “proponents.”

Click the “Create Witness Slips” button on the right side of the page. A new tab or window will open in your browser with the hearing date, time and location.

Find the bill number for which you want to file a witness slip. On the right side of the page, click the “Create Witness Slip” button (the pencil and paper icon) next to the bill number you want.

Step 4 – Begin to Fill Out Witness Slip

Now, you are ready to file your witness slip. Fill out the following fields with your information.


I. Identification: This includes your name, address, firm/business, title, email, and phone number. If you are representing or working for an organization, insert the name in the firm/business field. If you do not represent or work for an organization then type “self”.

Use your formal title if you are representing or work for an organization in the title
field. If you are not representing or working for an organization, you can leave this blank.

II. Representation: Fill this out if you are representing a group, organization or business (make sure you have their permission before filling this out).

III. Position: Choose your position on the bill.

  • If you are in favor of (agree with) the legislation, click on Proponent.
  • If you are against the legislation, click on Opponent.
  • If you have no position, click on No Position On Merits.

If you are creating a witness slip for a subject mattering hearing, choose the subject matter you are slipping for.

IV. Testimony: Click on “Record of Appearance Only” and then “Create Slip”.

If you do not have an account with my.ilga.gov, you must fill out the required CAPTCHA, agree to the terms, and then click on “Create Slip”.

Step 5 – Submit

Once your witness slip is submitted, a confirmation screen will display. You have the option to create another witness slip or to be finished. You will also receive a confirmation email containing the information filed in your witness slip. Verify this information is correct.

Adapted from: ACLU Illinois and Change Illinois.