SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael E. Hastings that would give survivors of domestic violence a powerful legal defense against ‘coerced debt.’
“Survivors should not have to escape their abuser only to be trapped by debt they never chose,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort). “This bill gives victims a real tool to break free from financial control and rebuild their lives.”
The bill, which Hastings is leading on a bipartisan basis with State Representative Nicole La Ha, would define coerced debt as any consumer loan debt, excluding mortgages, incurred through fraud, duress, intimidation, threat, force, coercion, undue influence or the non-consensual use of a person’s identity by a family or household member as a result of domestic abuse, exploitation or human trafficking.
It would establish coerced debt as an affirmative defense in any lawsuit or arbitration seeking to collect such a debt. Survivors could argue that all or part of the debt was forced upon them, potentially relieving them of responsibility.
Advocates say coerced debt is a hidden but powerful form of domestic abuse. Abusers often pressure partners into taking out loans, open credit in their names without consent, or use threats to control finances, leaving victims with ruined credit and mounting debt even after leaving the relationship.
The legislation is part of a broader national conversation about economic abuse and its role in trapping victims in violent situations. Illinois lawmakers have increasingly focused on financial protections for survivors in recent years.
House Bill 4659 passed the full Senate with bipartisan support Thursday.
