SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A new measure led by state Rep. Rick Ryan, D-Evergreen Park, which will ensure that Illinois veterinarians are free to prescribe pain relief and anti-epilepsy medications to animals across the state, just passed the legislature.

“I’m committed to keeping our neighborhood a great place to live, and I won’t stand by while thousands of pet owners and their pets live under the threat of losing access to vital prescriptions,” Ryan said. “It’s a privilege to help ensure that these animals aren’t put through needless hardship and their owners don’t have to deal with the pain of caring for sick pets while knowing that medication exists to ease these symptoms.”

Ryan’s record of passing legislation to cut red tape and streamline government is continuing with Senate Bill 2469, which shifts a regulation that would prevent veterinarians from prescribing certain medications—including pain killers and anti-epilepsy drugs—from taking effect next year.

This bill is an initiative of several veterinarians organizations across Illinois. It received strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and it’s going to the Governor’s desk for signature.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Concerned that new solar farms are taking over prime agricultural land, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, passed a House Resolution Tuesday urging warehouse owners to install rooftop solar panels on their properties and to take advantage of any applicable incentives to expedite the process.

“It’s a strategic misstep to waste prime farmland for solar farms when we can still take advantage of large areas already built on and covered by warehouses,” DeLuca said. “Our state is home to some of the best soil for growing in the world, and while I’m enthusiastic to see further development in solar, I believe it can be implemented locally in a more responsible way. Adding more panels to warehouses will reduce demand on our agricultural sites.”

DeLuca’s House Resolution 68 outlines the impact and value of solar panels, and notes that in Illinois there are more than 2,400 leased warehouses that are at least 100,000 square feet. It also highlights the fact that warehouses typically have large, flat roofs that make them ideal for solar panel installation. Beyond the benefits of not having to use prime farmland, solar panel installations at warehouses are expected to help businesses save on energy costs and further create local jobs in the solar industry.

House Resolution 68 previously received bipartisan support in the House Energy and Environment Committee.

For more information, please contact RepDeLuca@SBCGlobal.net.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, is elevating standards of teaching in counties across the state by empowering the State Superintendent of Education to designate a regional office of education as a learning partner for a county.

“All of our students deserve the best teachers to help them throughout their educational career, and by elevating the standard of teaching, we are better preparing our students to continue their education or begin their career,” said Chung. “I am proud to support a bill that elevates the standard of teaching and, in turn, improves every student’s educational experience.”

Chung sponsored Senate Bill 1583 in the House of Representatives. The bill empowers the State Superintendent of Education to designate a regional office of education or intermediate service center as a learning partner to elevate the standard of teaching in their county. By designating a regional office, services can be provided to schools that have been identified as needing school improvement in a county, supporting schools throughout the state.

The bill also helps individuals attain short-term approval to become school support personnel by eliminating the requirement for individuals seeking short-term approval to take the content test prior to receiving approval to work. By eliminating this burdensome requirement, the vacancies for critical school support personnel can be more easily filled, providing more support to schools across the state.

Senate Bill 1583 received bipartisan support in the House and Senate and now goes to Gov. JB Pritzker for signature.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Mike Crawford, D-Chicago, is working with fellow House colleagues, the Illinois State Police and Department of Human Services (DHS) to expand awareness of the state’s Endangered Missing Person Advisory to people with disabilities, and organizations that support people with disabilities.

“When someone with a developmental or physical disability goes missing, bringing them home becomes all the more critical,” Crawford said. “Because of their disability, these individuals are often a target of wrongdoers and are in more danger. Making sure families, communities, law enforcement, service providers, and everyday Illinoisans have straightforward, useful information that can help bring home these missing persons must be our top priority. This legislation does just that and brings peace of mind to families with persons with a disability.”

Senate Bill 1548 the Illinois State Police and DHS' efforts to safely return missing and endangered persons with disabilities by expanding their Endangered Missing Person Advisory outreach efforts to include persons with  disabilities, their service providers, and advocates.

Senate Bill 1548 passed unanimously out of the House and Senate. The bill now awaits the governor's signature for final consideration.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The ‘Junk Fee Ban Act,’ a consumer protection measure state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, is fighting for, will crack down on last-minute mandatory fees and bait-and-switch tactics that jack up prices without warning.

“At a time in which so many families are dealing with the challenges of high prices, people deserve better than lies and misdirection about how much they’ll have to spend,” Canty said. “I—and many people in my community—have had the unpleasant experience of finding a purchase that seems affordably priced only to have surprise ‘convenience fees’ and ‘service charges’ jump the cost up 30% or 40% more during checkout. This bait-and-switch tactic is designed to lure people into purchasing beyond their means, and it’s hurting Illinois families.”

Canty is continuing her fight against high costs and deceptive business practices with her support of Senate Bill 1486, the Junk Fee Ban Act. This measure prevents businesses from advertising prices for goods or services without including all mandatory fees upfront. The Attorney General is empowered to enforce this requirement under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Exceptions are carved out for food service establishments, retail outlets, wireless carriers, insurance corporations and rental companies. The Junk Fee Ban Act has the support of the Illinois State Bar Association, the AARP, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law and numerous consumer’s rights groups.

“The Junk Fee Ban Act is a commonsense step towards clarity and away from confusion,” Canty said. “We are fighting to secure a basic right for all consumers: knowing how much purchases cost upfront. I’m happy to fight for this law so Illinois can progress in a fundamentally better direction.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Committed to supporting survivors of sexual violence by filling gaps in our state’s criminal law, state Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, D-Ottawa, passed a measure out of the House and Senate chambers prohibiting non-medical professionals from selling, marketing, promoting, advertising, or distributing a self-administered sexual assault evidence collection kit to a consumer.

“It’s currently lawful for any person on the street to advertise at home sexual assault evidence collection kits as an alternative to a medical forensic exam. However, this type of marketing and promotion is egregiously deceptive to survivors of sexual assault, who may turn to these kits in lieu of seeking real medical aid,” said Briel. “What’s most troubling is that these at-home kits are unlikely to hold up in criminal proceedings, resulting in impermissible evidence in survivors’ cases, and ultimately fewer convicted perpetrators of sex crimes.”

House Bill 2548 states that any person other than a medical professional may not sell or distribute self-adminstered sexual assault evidence collection kits to consumers, including promoting or marketing of any kind, in order to limit deceptive misinformation for survivors of sexual assault.

“When we bar non-professionals from promoting these kits, we encourage survivors to seek professional medical help while ultimately getting more offenders off the streets and brought to justice,” said Briel. “This bill makes it less likely for offenders to re-offend and allows survivors to have their voices heard — untampered.”

House Bill 2548 received unanimous House and Senate support and now heads to the governor’s desk for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Nonprofit Clinical Supervision Grant Program backed by state Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Inverness, would combat Illinois’ shortage of social workers by providing financial support for nonprofits hiring licensed clinical social workers.

“Our limited roster of social workers has been making life harder for Illinoisans—children and families especially—who need support navigating our system of human services that provide so many important programs to people in-need,” Syed said. “By creating financial incentives for nonprofits to help address our state’s shortage of qualified social workers, this measure will go a long way towards filling an important gap that has remained open for too long. Illinois families need comprehensive assistance and social workers help meet that need.”

Assistance for Illinois families has been a priority for Syed, and her backing of House Bill 3511 continues that trend. The Nonprofit Clinical Supervision Grant Program offers grants to nonprofit associations to hire licensed clinical social workers as well as to provide group clinical supervision to social workers seeking to fulfill the supervised clinical experience requirements.

This measure has the support of numerous social workers organizations and received unanimous support in the House. It is currently being heard in the Senate.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Working to promote the health and wellness of young children, state Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, successfully passed a bicameral measure to create a commission to expand youth participation in sports throughout the state, while ultimately uplifting children who may not have access to community based sports prior.

“Playing sports is such a positive experience for so many kids. It teaches them new skills, the importance of both teamwork and individualism, and helps our kids turn into confident adults,” said Mason. “But many communities across the state simply don’t have the resources to support these extracurriculars. This commission aims to study how we can promote and increase access to youth sports and youth sports programs, especially for lower-income neighborhoods and children who live with disabilities who may not have the same accommodations as larger towns.”

House Bill 2418 creates the Commission on Youth Sports Act with the goal of increasing equitable and safe access for children in youth sports. The commission will evaluate the state's capacity to support youth in sports through several key initiatives, including conducting workshops, fostering the inclusion of individuals with disabilities, and increasing participation among historically disadvantaged communities that currently lack access to local youth sports programs.

“Sports can positively change children’s physical and mental health while promoting life-long habits,” said Mason. “The earlier children are exposed to the fun, social, and challenging aspects of sports, the more benefits they receive later on in life.”

The bill received unanimous support in the House chamber last month and recently passed favorably on the Senate floor. It now awaits the governor's signature for final consideration.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Former early childhood educator state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, has successfully passed a bicameral measure that aims to ease communication between the newly formed Department of Early Childhood and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), specifically for special education students aged 3 to 5 years old.

“As we move forward with the creation of our Department of Early Childhood and move services from their silos, we recognize that there are some early childhood services which cannot migrate over to the new department,” said Hirschauer. “Requiring the Secretary or their designee’s participation on this ISBE council ensures there is open communication between the new agency and ISBE to continue serving the needs of special education students.”

Senate Bill 1555 adds the Secretary of Early Childhood, or their designee, as a member of ISBE’s Advisory Council of Children with Disabilities to maintain critical services for younger special education students.

“This is a small, but effective way to recognize the needs of our early childhood special education students and families, and ultimately provide better services for those children,” said Hirschauer. “The first few years of schooling are highly impressionable for students’ success and this measure is integral to our promise that no child is left behind.”

Senate Bill 1555 was favorably passed out of the House chamber Friday after receiving unanimous Senate support last month. The bill awaits the governor’s signature for final consideration.