SPRINGFIELD – To ensure people of all genders have access to the health care they need, Senator Pacione-Zayas’ new legislation will remove gendered restrictions in insurance codes regarding coverage of pap smears or prostate exams. 

“Transgender and gender non-conforming people have historically struggled with accessing health care, which has led to adverse health effects. Making language in the insurance code gender inclusive, rather than gender specific, removes barriers to accessing care aligned with people’s biology versus gender identity and lowers the risk of denial of care reported by transgender individuals,” Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) said. “The Trans and gender non-conforming community already faces myriad obstacles to basic services. This legislation is a small but important step in correcting this longtime shortcoming of our healthcare system that prevents too many from getting the live-saving care they need.”

The current Illinois insurance code is gender-specific, meaning patients who are listed as female or male can only be covered for pap smears or prostate exams respectively. This specificity prevents many patients from getting the care they need if they are not registered as the same gender as they were assigned at birth. With these restrictions, patients may not be able to access necessary cancer screenings without incurring massive out-of-pocket costs.

House Bill 2350 would make the insurance code gender-inclusive rather than gender-specific, removing barriers to accessing care aligned with people’s biology versus gender identity and lowers the risk of denial of care reported by transgender individuals.  Additionally, this initiative would require prostate screenings for people 40 years and older who have a genetic predisposition to prostate cancer, which would ensure that insurance covers important preventative treatment.

This issue was highlighted in the Reproductive Justice working group in response to the Dobbs decision by State Representative Kelly Cassidy, who was the House sponsor of the bill.

“Early detection and prevention are key to saving lives,” said State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). “We should remove any barriers we can identify that prevent people from getting the care that they need, in particular barriers that impact vulnerable populations like the trans community.”

House Bill 2350 passed the Senate on May 4.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler led a measure through the Senate to remove vital records fees for survivors of domestic violence.

“We should be protecting domestic violence survivors, not forcing them to pay unnecessary fees,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “It’s our job to lend them a hand rather than ask them to pull out their wallets.”

House Bill 2841 would remove the fees associated with services of vital records done by the State Registrar for survivors of domestic violence. The fee for a search of vital records is $10 per application currently and includes the files on birth, death, and fetal death. These records can be used to dissolve marriages and civil unions, receive information on the birth of a child, unexpected miscarriages and for genealogical purposes.

“The last thing anyone wants is for these survivors to be turned away because they can’t afford these records,” said Koehler. “By eliminating these fees, we are giving survivors better access to the resources they need.”

House Bill 2841 passed the Senate Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to improve the behavioral health crisis response system, State Senator Laura Fine has passed the Strengthening and Transforming Behavioral Health Crisis Care in Illinois Act.  This will ensure we have a dependable behavioral health crisis system, including the 9-8-8 hotline. 

“We need to make certain Illinoisans have an effective behavioral health crisis response system that can meet their needs,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “This legislation will help us assess the quality and affordability of behavioral health crisis services and as a result, make improvements to the system.”

House Bill 3230 would require an independent third party to conduct a cost analysis of a statewide initiative for the coordination and delivery of the continuum of behavioral health crisis response services in the state. Following the results of the report, a working group will develop recommendations for a cohesive behavioral health crisis response system that will be able to support the needs of Illinoisans. This would include the costs of maintaining crisis call centers, staffing, technological infrastructure enhancements and more. 

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler championed a measure to highlight future career opportunities for children with disabilities.

“This measure helps families and children with disabilities see the career options that are available to them,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “Every child deserves additional opportunities outside the classroom.”

Individualized education plans – or IEPs – are plans that describe education instruction, support and services that students with disabilities are entitled to receive. Under House Bill 3224, students with IEPs and their parents would be provided information on the school district’s career and technical education and dual credit opportunities.

SPRINGFIELD – To uplift Illinois veterans, State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel led a measure through the Senate that would waive fees for veterans adopting dogs or cats.

“Everyone deserve companionship and many have a special bond they share with their animals,” said Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “The benefits pets can give veterans has improved their health and overall happiness.”

Across the state, pet adoption fees vary widely depending on the organization, ranging from $50 to $275. Loughran Cappel’s measure would require animal shelters and animal control facilities to waive the adoption fee for military veterans in Illinois.

For our returning troops, the benefits of bonding with a pet is important to aiding the transition back to civilian life. The bond created between people and animals can reduce grief, lessen loneliness, and improve mental health and overall well-being. Pets have the ability to improve the lives of veterans and, likewise, veterans can improve the lives of sheltered animals by giving them a home.

“This is a small way to show our veterans we appreciate them and the sacrifices they have made,” said Loughran Cappel.

House Bill 2500 passed the Senate on Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Paul Faraci passed legislation to expand university admissions opportunities to community college transfer students who meet certain academic requirements.

“This pilot program at the University of Illinois has yielded great success,” said Faraci (D-Champaign). “This action will provide more students throughout Illinois with the opportunity to pursue higher education within the state.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mary Edly-Allen passed a measure through the Senate to crack down on the abusive and harmful use of digital imitations known as “deepfakes.”

“Deepfakes are a way to deploy gender-based violence, harnessing artificial intelligence to exploit, humiliate and harass through the ages-old tactic of stripping women of sexual autonomy and to silence innocent women,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “Despite the rise of deepfakes there are no consequences for bad actors.”

SPRINGFIELD – In response to the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence, State Senator Robert Peters passed a measure to create the Generative AI and Natural Language Processing Task Force.

“Artificial intelligence is a relatively new concept, but it is quickly evolving,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Tracking these advancements keeps Illinois in a position to make smart and proactive decisions to protect Illinoisans.”

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. The simplicity of its user interfaces for creating high-quality multimedia in a matter of seconds has contributed to its recent rise in popularity.

Natural Language Processing is the ability of a computer program to understand human language as it is spoken and written. This helps machines process and understand human language so they can automatically perform repetitive tasks.

The task force created by House Bill 3563 will consist of 20 members and will hold at least five public meetings in Chicago, Springfield, Metro East, Quad Cities and Southern Illinois.

“Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly an asset that could make Illinois a leader in the emerging technology sector,” Peters said. “This measure explores the possibilities of artificial intelligence while also initiating measures meant to preserve the safety of all Illinoisans.”

House Bill 3563 passed the Senate Thursday.