SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt advanced a measure out of the Senate Wednesday that would help address the ongoing teacher shortage in Illinois.

“The entire state is having issues with recruiting and retaining quality teachers in schools,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “It’s apparent that we need to be investing more in our educators, as they have a significant impact on our children.”

House Bill 3801 would provide retention bonuses of $4,000 per year, for two consecutive years to teachers who are National Board Certified and are employed in hard-to-staff schools. A hard-to-staff school is a public school that no less than 30% of the student enrollment is considered low-income. Becoming a National Board Certified teacher is a career continuum for those who start in pre-service teacher preparation, leading aspiring teachers to pursue and achieve National Board Certification.

This measure aims to provide an incentive for teachers to work in underserved areas, as these are the areas that are most affected by the current teacher shortage.

“Without enough well-equipped teachers in our classrooms, we cannot provide children with the education they deserve,” said Belt. “It’s not just a numbers problem, but a moral imperative to ensure they have access to education that will guide their futures.”

House Bill 3801 passed the Senate.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Ram Villivalam passed legislation that will provide employees with better access to their rights and more streamlined procedures from their employer.

“We are updating the codes to recognize the changing ways we do business,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “This legislation is designed to streamline procedures for responding to rights violations that employees may encounter and make the process updated for modern times.”

House Bill 3733 makes changes to labor laws in order to provide updated and modernized procedures. This will require employers to provide copies of personnel records to employees by mail or email upon request, and will require any employer with remote or traveling employees to make information regarding labor rights available electronically.

SPRINGFIELD – A measure that allows townships to provide additional assistance to people in need of child care assistance, mental services, and more made its way through the Senate thanks to support from State Senator Ram Villivalam.

“We want to ensure that once people have served their time, they have the support of their community to get back on their feet,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “This legislation ensures townships can offer their support to the community through funding healthcare and day care programs to help our residents get back to normal everyday life.”

House Bill 3424 expands the Township Code to allow all townships the ability to provide additional assistance to people with a prior conviction, and provides township boards with the ability to separately approve subsidized day care for the individual. The legislation also explicitly states that healthcare for which townships may expend funds includes mental, behavioral, eye, dental, and other miscellaneous healthcare needs. Townships will maintain the ability to adopt their own policy for how to distribute funds to community members.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Javier Cervantes sponsored legislation that would prohibit all drivers from using an electronic communications device while operating a motor vehicle in Illinois, including any video conferencing or social media applications.

“We are prioritizing safety with this legislation, because no video call is worth someone getting hurt,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “We are taking action against drivers who put themselves and everyone around them in danger with straightforward legislation that will protect Illinois drivers.”

House Bill 2431 would make it illegal to use any electronic communications devices while operating a motor vehicle, including the use of cell phones and tablets for streaming videos and participating in video conferences on platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebEx. Additionally, the bill prohibits any social media applications like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter from being used while operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway.

SPRINGFIELD – Following findings of testing bias in social worker licensure exams, State Senator Karina Villa moved a bill out of the Senate Licensed Activities Committee on Wednesday to provide social workers who are minorities another, more equitable avenue for obtaining a license.

“Social workers are the largest group of mental health care providers in the United States, and their dedication makes our communities a better place to live in,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “Those who wish to become social workers should not feel discriminated against in the process of obtaining their license and beginning their career.”

House Bill 2365 provides a clinical social worker with an alternative route to obtain a license, given they complete an additional 3,000 hours of supervision after having taken and not passed the Association of Social Work Boards license exam. The bill also allows applicants to receive supervised training from other approved areas if no licensed clinical social worker is available for those additional 3,000 hours.

SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Mike Simmons advanced a measure to provide safer heating and cooling standards for homes in 55 and up communities.

“Every resident in our state should live with the confidence that their housing conditions are safe,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “It is our responsibility to ensure our older resident neighbors, both in the 7th District and across the state, live in safe and humane housing conditions.” 

House Bill 2562 would create heating and cooling standards for properties that limit their ownership, rental and occupancy to people 55 years old or older.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler championed a measure to require insurance providers to cover hearing aids and related services for people of all ages.

“Illinoisans who are prescribed hearing aids shouldn’t have to pay high out-of-pocket prices,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “Devices that make a significant improvement in someone’s day-to-day life should be accessible.”

House Bill 2443 builds upon the 2018 Koehler-supported measure that required insurance to cover hearing aids for children under the age of 18. Koehler’s measure expands on that by requiring insurers to provide coverage for everyone if their doctor prescribes a hearing instrument – which can cost up to $4,000.

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Villanueva championed legislation that allows charter schools to unionize without being penalized by management of the charter school.

“Employees of charter schools should never be made to feel like their voices do not matter and their teaching is not important,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “All teachers play a vital role in the educational success of our state’s students.” 

House Bill 1120 is an initiative of the Chicago Teachers' Union that seeks to ensure that if the staff at a charter school chooses to form a union, the management of the charter school will not interfere.