We are in the process of confirming, but have just learned that the bill to license interior designers is to be heard on next week before the Licensed Activities Committee.
 
If you let this bill pass:

• You will not be able to call yourself "interior designer;"
• You will only be able to design 1 or 2 family homes - no commercial spaces, no offices, no restaurants, no condos, apartments or other facilities;
•  All businesses offering interior design services will have be operated by a licensed interior designer.
• All LLC's and corporations providing interior design services will need 2/3 of its Board of Directors to be licensed;
• All sole proprietorships offering interior design services will have to be owned and operated by a licensed interior designer.

Even if you only do residential design, the ownership requirements will effectively put you out of business (or under the direction and control of a licensed designer).

Illinois design community:

A little over a year ago, I began telling you that the current interior design title act was coming up for a sunset (repeal) review in 2012.  I asked who wanted it repealed.  Everyone emphatically said they did.

I told you what needed to be done ahead of time in order to accomplish that, i.e., a large and strong grassroots needed to be in place -- accomplished by joining IDPC, so we could spearhead this effort.

To date, I've been met with mostly apathy.  You may be surprised to hear that for a state with such a large number of interior designers, very few have joined our crusade to protect design freedom.

Now, as I forecasted, a bill has been introduced to extend the Sunset/Repeal date from January 1, 2012 for ten years, until January 1, 2022.

If this bill passes, it will be another 10 years before you get a chance to get rid of it, and stop the ASID-led cartel from demoting you to second-class status in your state.  Why should this small minority of Illinois NCIDQ-certified designers be entitled to a state-sanctioned title that places you at an unfair economic and marketing disadvantage?

And trust me, it's only a matter of time before they introduce legislation to expand the title law so that it includes some practice restrictions.  This is part of ASID's incremental agenda to -- under the radar -- impose full occupational licensing in EVERY state.

The time to act is NOW!!!  You must join IDPC... I cannot do this without the support of the majority of IL designers.  The current registered designers will most certainly mobilize to protect their protectionist monopoly.  We will need to show the legislature that WE are the majority and we want the law abolished.  And I know just how to do it.

There could not be a better time to accomplish this.  The current wave sweeping our nation is one toward LESS government intervention.  You may not get another favorable legislative climate again.

Please join us today. Our new, dramatically reduced membership rates @$29/year are affordable to EVERYONE who desires to help us protect design freedom. 

Click here to become a member of IDPC. 

Again, don't think others will act for you.  Our opponents have a ton of money for lobbying and we need every voice to get rid of this law.  We will make it as easy and painless as possible for you to make your voice count. 

Stop the Press!

SB 3094 was introduced to the Senate on 2/8/10 and passed the Senate on 3/18/10, assumably without opposition.  The bill then went to the House where it passed on 4/29/10.  SB 3094 has been placed on the Calendar Order of Concurrence. 

This bill would remove the ability of some interior designers who possess the established criteria including passage of the CQRID exam to become "Registered Residential Interior Designers."

The result would be that only NCIDQ certified designers would be eligible for registration in Illinois.
 

While IDPC remains opposed to any state-sanctioned regulation of interior designers, by eliminating one of the pathways to registration, this bill is just another in a long series of efforts to establish the NCIDQ as the only entry into interior design.

Interior Design is a dynamic profession that celebrates innovation, creativity and diversity.  The cartel's attempt to impose its one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme on the profession could not be more contrary to those values.

If you are a Registered Residential Interior Designer, you may want to take action.

Click here to read SB 3094.

For the majority of Illinois interior designers who are opposed to the Illinois title act, I urge you to join our crusade.  The law is up for Sunset Review in 2012.  While that may seem like a long time away, trust me, it is not.  It takes a long time and hard work to remove a law once it is already on the books.  IDPC will not begin this process without the support of the Illinois design community behind us.