Amy Williams, senior legal advisor for the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, testifies before the Illinois General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) during their meeting Dec. 9, 2024 in Chicago. [BlueRoomStream Livestream]

In light of recent safety and security threats to Illinois lawmakers and their staff, Secretary of State officials detailed to committee members Tuesday why they filed a rare emergency rule that will tighten security at the state Capitol.

Amy Williams, senior legal counsel assistant for the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, said during the Tuesday Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) meeting that the Nov. 18 emergency rule filing came after several recent safety threats made to state officials. As of Dec. 9, she said, there have been 17 safety threats to the state capitol building so far in 2024, which is higher than years’ past.

"In fact, it is one shy of doubling” the number of threats the office’s police responded to any other year since the office started keeping track in 2018, Williams said. “Unfortunately, the world is not getting safer."