SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mike Simmons presented legislation to the Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee on Wednesday that would increase the availability and accessibility of mental health resources for students.

“Young people today are faced with unprecedented mental health challenges exacerbated by social media, toxic stress, and underlying trauma,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “This legislation will help guide schools in initiating and establishing mental health infrastructure within schools that currently lack it. This also destigmatizes mental health support for youth, and provides access to mental health care and resources for students in a way that is practical and accessible - at their school, during the school day.” 

Senate Bill 1709 would require the Illinois Department of Human Services and the State Board of Education to provide technical assistance for mental health care during school days to help increase the access students have to mental health services and information. 

SPRINGFIELD - State Senator Paul Faraci advanced a measure through the Senate State Government Committee to rename and expand the ABLE Account Program in honor of the late Senator Scott Bennett.

“Senator Bennett was a tireless advocate for individuals living with disabilities and their families,” said Faraci (D-Champaign). “Renaming the ABLE Account Program in his honor is a fitting tribute to his legacy of service and commitment to improving the lives of those around him.”

The program, created and passed by Senator Scott Bennett during the 99th General Assembly, allows individuals with disabilities and their families to save money for expenses related to living with a disability without losing access to certain federal government assistance. Under Faraci’s legislation, the ABLE Account Program would be renamed to the Senator Scott Bennett ABLE Program.

SPRINGFIELD – A steadfast champion of Illinois laws to keep harmful tobacco products away from young people, State Senator Julie Morrison is expanding upon her work by leading a measure to ban e-cigarettes inside public places.

“A tobacco epidemic is continues in our state,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “We have made great progress, but the surge of use of e-cigarettes has threatened that progress and lured more people toward a deadly addiction.”

Passed in 2007, the Smoke Free Illinois Act prohibited smoking in public and within 15 feet of entrances, and required “no smoking” signs to be posted on the prohibited public place. However, this law took effect when people primarily smoked cigarettes and cigars.

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes – like vapes – has increased tremendously, leading Morrison to work to add such products to the Smoke Free Illinois Act through Senate Bill 1561.

SPRINGFIELD – To help support families grieving the loss of a child, State Senator Karina Villa advanced legislation from the Senate Labor Committee that will create the Zachary's Parent Protection Act.

“No family should have to endure the loss of a child, and my heart goes out to all of those who have ever grieved over the unthinkable happening,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “This legislation attempts to offer support to families who are grieving by allowing them the proper time to themselves after a loss.”

This bill was inspired when mother Laura Kane lost her son to suicide, yet she was expected to return to work merely three days later. Kane was let go due to not being able to perform her job while grieving the loss of her child. She started a non-profit, Marshmallow’s Hope, in honor of her son and to help children struggling with depression and families struggling with the loss of a child due to suicide.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Patrick Joyce advanced a measure on Wednesday that would bring more fire prevention education to children across the state.

“With the right education, accidental fires are preventable,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “We must provide insight and proper education so children will be knowledgeable about the damage that can come from fires and provide them with the tools to make responsible decisions.”

This legislation would create positions of certified youth firesetter interventionists in the Division of Arson Investigation within the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

SPRINGFIELD – A decade ago, young superstardom was rare, left for the television stars and professional singers. However, with the rise of social media influencing, all you need to reach fame now is a cell phone. 

While traditional child actors are protected by the Child Labor Law, there’s nothing on the books for young influencers. Under a measure led by State Senators Dave Koehler and Linda Holmes, that would change.  

“Too often these days, you hear of children being exploited by parents or guardians due to the success they make online,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “A digital footprint a young person did not agree to create should not follow them for the rest of their lives.”

Under Senate Bill 1782, minors under the age of 16 featured in vlogs or other online content would be covered under the Child Labor Law. The measure calls for the child – also known as a “kidfluencer”— to be accurately compensated and would allow them to request deletion of the content upon turning 18.

SPRINGFIELD – To allow residents working in Illinois to know for certain that their employment is safe, State Senator Javier Cervantes is working to pass legislation that will protect immigrant employees who are working legally within the United States.

“Currently, employers can use the E-Verify system to target and discriminate against immigrant employees, creating undue stress on their employment,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “When someone goes to work, they shouldn’t have to worry about their employer reporting them unknowingly and should be given some reasonable transparency to this process.”

Currently, federal immigration law requires employers to verify that their employees are lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Immigrants who are employed have the possibility of receiving a “no match” letter from the Social Security Administration for a variety of reasons such as name changes, work authorizations, employment visas and other bureaucratic errors. Usually, employers terminate employees who receive a “no match” letter even though these employees could be legally working in the United States.

WAUKEGAN – State Senator Adriane Johnson is leading a measure to expand cancer research.

“Almost every person knows someone who has been diagnosed or lost their life due to cancer,” said Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove). “We must do everything in our power to provide better treatment, research, and services to help combat this illness.”

In Illinois alone, more that 74,000 new cases of cancer are estimated to be diagnosed this year. According to American Cancer Society more than 23,000 people are projected to die in 2023 with 5,000 as a result of lung and bronchus cancer. Johnson’s measure would expand research in order to answer specific questions about the safety of treatment, vaccines, therapy, medical devices and much more.