SPRINGFIELD – New legislation aimed at protecting the environment in rural Illinois was unveiled at the in the Illinois Senate today. State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) unveiled a package of legislation that would make changes to the regulations governing Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs.

CAFOs are farm facilities with a large concentration of animals such as hogs. Recently, a plan for a CAFO that would hold 20,000 head of hogs in rural Fulton County was withdrawn after a considerable pushback from the public.

SPRINGFIELD - In 2016, roughly 6.6 million people were stalking in the United States according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.

State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) is pushing for Senate Bill 623 which would expand Illinois’ stalking laws to include stalkers who use technological means such as phone tracking applications to pursue their victims.

“Your phone should be a tool to help you feel safe, not make you more vulnerable to potential stalkers,” Cullerton said. “We live in an age where we take our phones everywhere. If a stalker has access to tracking applications on a victim’s cellphone it will accelerate dangerous behavior.”

Nearly two years ago, Governor Rauner made drastic cuts to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), eliminating safe and affordable child care for tens of thousands of working Illinoisans. While some of those cuts were later reversed, families with parents enrolled in education or training programs remain ineligible.

State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D – Chicago Heights) passed Senate Bill 1705 out of the Senate Human Services Committee recently that would restore child care eligibility for these families.

“Every child requires someplace safe to be so their parents can be full and active participants in our economy,” Hutchinson said. “It makes no sense for us on one hand to advocate for training and educational opportunities, which will have long-term financial benefits for families, while taking away any helping hand that would support that parent in achieving their goal.” 

CHICAGO – Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) seeks to create a new revenue source for the State of Illinois by legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana. Senate Bill 316 legalizes the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana and will allow facilities to sell marijuana products.

“Right now, all the money being spent on marijuana is going into the pockets of criminals and cartels,” Steans said. “In a regulated system, the money would go into the cash registers of licensed, taxpaying businesses. It would generate hundreds of millions of dollars per year in new revenue for our state. Prohibition is a financial hole in the ground, and we should stop throwing taxpayer dollars into it.”