BROADVIEW – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) led a discussion at a town hall hosted by Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson on the implementation of the new Illinois cannabis law that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

The town hall covered the legislative, business and law enforcement perspectives of legalizing cannabis and gave residents a chance to have their questions answered.

“Mayor Thompson and I wanted to bring information on the new cannabis law to make sure our local communities understand how they can get involved in the new industry, and if they choose to, how to use cannabis within the restrictions in the law,” Lightford said.

MAYWOOD – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) visited the West 40’s Proviso Alternative Learning Opportunity Programs (ALOPs) last week. West 40 works with local schools to provide learning opportunities to students in need of extra support.

“The students participating in these programs are incredible, and I am so humbled to have the opportunity to listen to their stories,” Lightford said. “Programs like these change the lives of our children every day, and I applaud the work West 40 and local Proviso schools do for our community.”

West 40 runs five ALOPs serving Proviso Township named HOPE, DREAM, PEACE, Seniors Plus, and the Truants Alternative and Optional Education Program.

HILLSIDE – To continue efforts in combating the opioid crisis, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) partnered with the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative and the Code 3 Association to bring the RALI CARES educational trailer to Hillside last week.

In 2016, there were 1,947 overdose deaths due to opioids in Illinois, according to the Department of Public Health. From 1999 to 2016, opioid related overdose deaths in the state nearly quadrupled.

“The statistics on overdose deaths are glaring and they call for action against the opioid crisis that is currently affecting every part of our state,” Lightford said. “The RALI CARES trailer is a tool to help parents and guardians identify signs of drug usage, which will help save lives.”

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) hosted her 10th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Hall of Fame this week. The event celebrates the often over-looked work that over 280,000 grandparents in Illinois do to raise their grandchildren.

“I started doing the Hall of Fame because there was no support at all for grandparents,” said Lightford. “We just want to provide them with a day that is specifically for their enjoyment, relaxation and entertainment. I want to let them know that I appreciate them for parenting for a second time and caring for their children and families, and not allowing them to become victims of the system.”

SPRINGFIELD – To protect consumers from being taken advantage of due to misinformation from alternative retail electric suppliers, Senate Majority Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) led legislation that was signed into law on Tuesday.

“The data clearly demonstrates that alternative suppliers focus their signup efforts on low-income neighborhoods, those where English is a secondary language and communities of color,” Lightford said. “I am proud to stand with Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul to protect our most vulnerable residents from unknowingly signing contracts that will result in rate hikes they cannot afford.”

According to the Attorney General’s Office, over the last three years consumers who are enrolled with alternative retail electric suppliers have paid almost $400 million more in electricity costs than consumers who stayed with their default public utility.

SPRINGFIELD – Prison inmates who are required to serve most of their sentences could soon reduce them by successfully completing classes aimed at rehabilitation under a proposal led by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood).

“Our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reforms that reduce recidivism and promote rehabilitation,” Lightford said. “This law will incentivize education and prepare inmates to re-enter society.”

Currently, individuals sentenced under truth-in-sentencing provisions, who are required to serve 85 percent or 100 percent of their sentence, are ineligible to receive sentencing credit for successful completion of classes with educational, substance abuse, vocational or re-entry focus.

SPRINGFIELD – Children taken into protective custody under suspicion of abuse could soon take part in a forensic interview without parental consent as a result of legislation by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood).

House Bill 909, signed by the governor today, addresses issues in cases where an abused minor’s parents do not wish for the child to participate in a criminal investigation that may implicate a family member or close friend.

“No one should feel obligated to protect their abuser when participating in a criminal investigation,” Lightford said. “Unfortunately, our children are often put in a position where they do not feel empowered to report their abuser and we’re hoping to bring that to an end.”

A forensic interview is an interview between a trained forensic interviewer and a child in which the interviewer obtains information in an unbiased and fact-finding manner, with the goal of supporting accurate and fair decision-making by caseworkers in the criminal justice and child protection systems.

The measure goes into effect on January 1, 2020.