Illinois Robocall Law: Autodialer Act Damages, Calling Hours and the Do Not Call List

Illinois uses the national list

People search for an “Illinois do not call list,” but Illinois does not run one. The Attorney General’s fact sheet tells residents to “register your home and cellular phone numbers on the nationwide Do Not Call Registry,” and says the office enforces those rules. Sign up at donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222. Registration does not expire.

The Attorney General also lists three consumer helplines for telemarketing complaints: Chicago 1-800-386-5438, Springfield 1-800-243-0618, and Carbondale 1-800-243-5377.

The Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (815 ILCS 305)

This is the Illinois statute with teeth. It defines an “autodialer” as a device capable of storing numbers that is programmed to access them sequentially or randomly “in order to automatically connect a telephone with a recorded message” (305/5). A “recorded message” is a taped sales pitch with no live voice. So the Act targets robocalls that play a recording.

Under 305/15 and 305/30, an autodialer operator in Illinois:

• May not place calls between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. That window starts an hour later in the morning than federal law allows.
• Must disconnect within 30 seconds after the call ends. If that is not technically possible, a live operator must first give his or her name, the business name, address, phone number, and the purpose, and ask whether you agree to hear the recording.
• May not dial numbers in sequential order.
• May not block caller ID when its equipment can display its number.
• May not call emergency numbers such as 911, hospitals, fire departments, or poison control.
• May not “play a prerecorded message placed by an autodialer without the consent of the called party.”

What an Illinois autodialer claim can pay

A customer injured by a violation may sue. The court may enter judgment for three times actual damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees (305/30(c)). On top of that, the consumer “may obtain statutory damages in the amount of $500 per violation” (305/30(c-5)). The two are added together, not either-or.

In practice, actual damages from a robocall are usually small or zero, so the $500 per violation drives the value. The fee provision matters too: a lawyer can take a case with modest damages because the defendant may have to pay the fees.

The Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413)

This statute covers live telemarketers. It does not apply to autodialer calls, except for its caller ID rule (413/20). Its rules:

• No sales calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. (413/15(a)).
• The caller must immediately state his or her name, the business, and the purpose, and ask at the start whether you consent to the pitch (413/15(b)).
• If you ask to be taken off the list, the caller must stop calling and remove your name and number. Following the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule’s do-not-call provision counts as compliance (413/15(b)(3)).
• No impeding caller ID (413/15(c)).
• Continuing a pitch after you refuse consent is a violation (413/25(b)).
• No drafting a check on your account without your express written consent (413/25(c)).

A customer injured by a violation may recover three times actual damages plus costs and reasonable attorney fees (413/25(d)). Unlike the autodialer act, there is no $500 statutory amount. For a live call that simply annoyed you, the recovery is likely small. Securities dealers and investment advisers registered under state or federal law are exempt when acting within their registration (413/20).

Illinois law and the federal TCPA side by side

The TCPA does not preempt stricter state laws on automatic dialing and prerecorded voices (47 U.S.C. 227(f)(1)). A recorded sales call to an Illinois resident without consent can support both claims. The Illinois claim adds the fee award the TCPA lacks. For how federal courts define an autodialer after the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision, read our autodialer explainer. For recorded calls in particular, see prerecorded and AI voice calls.

Recent Illinois enforcement

On August 7, 2025, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 50 attorneys general launched “Operation Robocall Roundup.” The coalition sent warning letters to 37 voice providers that had not complied with FCC robocall rules, and warned more than 100 downstream providers that took their traffic. “I will continue to work closely with my fellow attorneys general and the FCC to protect Illinois consumers,” Raoul said in the announcement.

When an Illinois claim is weak

A live person calling you, with no recording, is not an Autodialer Act case. A call from a company you gave written permission to is harder. And the Telephone Solicitations Act’s damages depend on actual loss, so a single rude call usually will not support a lawsuit on its own. The federal do not call claim may still work if you are on the registry and got more than one sales call in 12 months; see our do not call rule guide.

What to do next in Illinois

Save any voicemail that contains a recording. That recording is the proof that separates an Autodialer Act claim from an ordinary sales call. Note the time of each call, since calls before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. are their own violation. If a live caller refused to stop after you said no, write down what was said and when. Our call log guide keeps it organized, and the state law hub covers neighboring states such as Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri.