State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th)

State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th) announced a new law Friday aimed at protecting residents from growing airport noise by requiring regular updates to sound insulation eligibility around O’Hare and Midway international airports.

Under the new law, signed July 31 by Gov. JB Pritzker, noise contours around both airports must be reevaluated through official studies every five years. The measure takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

The legislation comes as the O’Hare Airport Modernization Program moves forward with plans to add 3 million square feet of space and boost gate capacity by 25% by 2034, according to Murphy’s office.

Although state laws mandating sound insulation around O’Hare and Midway have existed for more than two decades, Murphy noted there was previously no legal requirement to adjust noise corridors to keep up with airport expansion.

“I continually hear from residents about the need to expand the sound insulation program. As runways have shifted, many find their homes in a very different flight pattern,” Murphy, of Des Plaines, said in a statement. “Through this law, we ensure the program stays updated to provide eligible households assistance from increased noise as a result of O’Hare’s modernization program.”

The updated studies will use modern modeling techniques to gather noise data, ensuring households exposed to excessive aircraft noise are identified and granted eligibility for mitigation efforts.

The Residential Sound Insulation Program helps soundproof homes to minimize airplane noise for surrounding communities. Since its inception, the program has soundproofed more than 12,000 homes near O’Hare, which borders Murphy’s 28th Senate District.

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