SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to increase patient safety at state run mental health or developmental disability facilities, State Senator Laura Fine passed Senate Bill 857. This legislation increases the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) ability to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect.

“Since 2022, I have visited state-operated mental health and developmental disability facilities across the state to receive feedback and ideas on how we can protect our state's most vulnerable residents,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “This measure continues that effort by giving the OIG additional tools needed to effectively prevent and deter abuse and neglect.”

Under current law, the Illinois Department of Human Services OIG is required to conduct annual unannounced site visits to all 14 state-operated facilities related to preventing, reporting, investigating and responding to abuse and neglect. Senate Bill 857 expands this preventative measure to give the OIG the ability to conduct targeted site visits to all community agencies in the state, which includes Community Living Arrangements (CILA) and Community Mental Health Centers. 

SPRINGFIELD – Promoting an environmentally conscious approach to hospitality, State Senator Laura Fine passed a measure out of the Senate to phase out the use of small, single-use plastic bottles in hotels across Illinois.

“According to researchers, by 2050, plastic could outweigh all fish in the oceans,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “Personal products available in plastic bottles are common in hotels and pose immediate risk to our environment once they are thrown away. This bill puts our state on the path to being part of a solution by reducing plastic pollution.”

Senate Bill 2960 creates the Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act, which requires hotels with 50 or more rooms to eliminate the use of small, single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in individual rooms and public bathrooms beginning July 1, 2025. By Jan. 1, 2026, all hotels with fewer than 50 rooms are expected to make this transition.

SPRINGFIELD – In order to mitigate increased health risks associated with adults who are unable to take care of themselves, State Senator Laura Fine advanced a measure that implements a procedure for developing a treatment plan suitable to the patient’s needs. 

“Although our state has made progress in advancing clinical care, we need to enhance procedures for protecting adults who may not be able to take care of themselves,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “This legislation streamlines essential care to patients who unfortunately do not have the ability to care for themselves by ensuring they receive timely access to recommended services.” 

SPRINGFIELD –   One family’s tragic loss will help others in the future. Last fall, an Evanston family lost their son, Jordan while he was seeking treatment in a substance abuse treatment facility. Working with the family, the state and mental health care providers, State Senator Laura Fine is leading a measure to require substance abuse programs and mental health facilities to better communicate and give a patient’s family or caretaker timely notice of the patient’s passing. 

“No parent or caretaker should have to wait days to be notified that their loved one has died while under the care of a treatment facility,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “It is essential that these facilities and programs have clear standards in place for sharing information with a patient’s loved ones.  No one should ever have to go through what Jordan’s family experienced.”

Under current law, a facility must provide verbal notice regarding a significant incident to the Department of Human Services within 24 hours. However, there is no mandate that requires a family member to be notified of a patient’s death within a specific timeframe.

CHICAGO – Continuing the focus on building the behavioral health workforce in Illinois, Chairpersons of the Behavioral and Mental Health Committees, State Senator Laura Fine and State Representative Lindsey LaPointe convened the first of two joint Illinois House-Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee hearings Thursday. 

“The state of Illinois is working with mental health professionals who are enacting groundbreaking solutions to expanding the behavioral health workforce,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “It is crucial to hear directly from mental and behavioral health providers across the state to learn the progress of these programs and how future legislation can make the biggest impact.” 

Representatives of the Illinois Behavioral Health Workforce Development Center, a university partnership focused on making Illinois a national leader in supporting a robust system of behavioral health care providers, addressed the committee. Their testimony focused on the training programs being implemented to grow the workforce. They also talked about the roadblocks that need to be eliminated, including administrative burdens and gaps in Illinois’ mental health parity laws.

SPRINGFIELD – Building on her previous legislation, a new law from State Senator Laura Fine strengthens consumer protections for the purchase of hearing aids.

“Hearing aids are important tools to help those with hearing loss communicate in ways they are most comfortable with,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “This legislation will ensure consumers have the protection of a 30-day return period so if a hearing aid is not supporting their communication needs, they will be able to return them for an alternative.”

Earlier this year, Senator Fine passed Senate Bill 1721 which required all hearing instruments and hearing aids to be dispensed or sold in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission's regulations. This law also established the evaluation standards for a person seeking a hearing aid, and it permits the waiver of a prescription for a hearing aid if the individual is over 18.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans will soon have annual mental health wellness visits covered under their insurance at no additional cost, thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Laura Fine.

“Much like annual checkups for your physical health, annual mental health visits allow specialists to identify or address underlying mental health concerns or new symptoms that may have come up in the past year,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “Offering these annual visits at no additional cost will encourage people to treat their mental health as seriously as their physical health, and seek this form of health care that everyone can benefit from.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Fine and State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz’s initiative to limit the consumption of single-use plastics and polystyrene by state agencies has just been signed into law.  The Degradable Plastic Act, SB 58, prioritizes sustainability by banning the purchase or use of polystyrene or styrofoam by state agencies and universities by January 1, 2025.

“By finding environmentally friendly alternatives to styrofoam, this new law allows the state government to lead the way in protecting our environment,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “Because it is so lightweight and easily breaks apart into smaller pieces, styrofoam tends to drift away. Since it is used so much in disposable packaging, polystyrene is one of the largest causes of global pollution.”