IL HB2961

Requires project labor agreements on Illinois construction projects to include diversity requirements: 10% of workers must be minorities, women, veterans, or persons with disabilities starting 180 days after enactment, increasing to 15% by January 1, 2026, or alternatively match the county's demographic makeup

Mandates that all employees on project labor agreement jobs complete OSHA 10 safety training and that contractors/unions provide or participate in pre-apprenticeship training programs for Illinois residents with barriers to employment (formerly incarcerated, no high school diploma, limited job skills)

Requires collective bargaining units and contractors to provide ERISA-compliant health and retirement benefits that are not listed as being in critical, declining, or endangered status by the U.S. Department of Labor

Creates a prequalification system through the Commission on Equity and Inclusion allowing contractors to certify compliance for one year, with prequalified contractors permitted to use their own workers and fund their own benefits

Establishes the Local Construction Training and Development Fund to collect civil penalties (up to $5,000 per violation per employee) from non-compliant entities, with funds used to support workforce training programs and affordable housing construction projects