SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Robert Peters passed a measure Thursday expanding the No Representation Without Population Act.

“Prison gerrymandering is a tool that makes incarcerated individuals unfairly represented in the electoral process,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Using the correct demographic information for incarcerated individuals will ensure more equitable and suitable representation.”

The No Representation Without Population Act, requires incarcerated individuals be counted at their home address for redistricting purposes.

SPRINGFIELD – Right now, families with specific dog breeds sometimes face home or renter insurance discrimination solely because their breed is perceived to be dangerous, resulting in cancelation or stiff premiums for their policies. Longtime animal welfare defender State Senator Linda Holmes wants to prohibit that insurance practice, and her House Bill 1049 to amend insurance code to this effect has passed in the Senate.

"Families should not be punished for owning a specific dog breed, and insurance discrimination only perpetuates harmful stereotypes,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “This measure will help ensure that all dog owners are treated fairly in the insurance market.”

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation sponsored by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz that improves transparency, reporting and more timely notification of bullying incidents is one step closer to becoming law after the Senate voted to pass it on Thursday.

“Providing timely notification of these incidents as soon as possible has the potential to save students’ lives,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “School administrators have a responsibility to ensure their schools foster a healthy atmosphere for students.”

House Bill 3425 would require schools to alert parents and guardians of alleged bullying incidents involving their child within 24 hours after the school’s administration is made aware of the incident. A family who tragically lost their son to suicide after being bullied and cyberbullied by his classmates brought this matter to Senator Feigenholtz and Representative Margaret Croke last year in an attempt to address the failures that led to their son’s death.

SPRINGFIELD – To prioritize gender inclusivity across the state of Illinois and within state agencies, State Senator Mike Simmons advanced two House Bills out of the Senate on Thursday.

“Everyone deserves to be addressed and represented with the pronouns they use and prefer, especially by their state agencies and laws,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “These bills will ensure the language we use in state statutes and codes is inclusive of all identities, and will quantify non-binary and gender non-conforming people accurately within the state workforce.”

House Bill 1596 changes various public acts concerning children to contain more inclusive language, such as changing certain pronouns to general nouns or the nouns to which the pronouns refer, and replacing "biological" family or parent with "birth" family or parent.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Rachel Ventura passed a measure through the Senate that would protect vulnerable individuals from deceitful tactics in legal proceedings.

“There needs to be a serious conversation on police tactics needing an overhaul across the country,” said Ventura (D-Joliet).  “We need to build trust with our police and move toward safe and practical measures that don’t prey on vulnerable members of society and penalize them for not understanding interrogation tactics.”

Currently, a confession by a minor that was made as a result of a custodial interrogation conducted at a police station or other place of detention is presumed to be inadmissible in a criminal proceeding or a juvenile court proceeding as evidence against the minor if, during the custodial interrogation, a law enforcement officer or juvenile officer knowingly engages in deception.

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Mattie Hunter advanced a measure through the Senate to reinforce that services provided by the Department of Children and Family Services are intended to be temporary until the involved child can be safely returned home or find a permanent home.

“We have a responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of all children in our state, and that includes providing youth in care with stable and permanent homes,” said Hunter (D-Chicago). “This measure strengthens DCFS’ ability to provide appropriate placements for children and youth in their care, and helps to ensure they have the support and resources they need to thrive."

SPRINGFIELD – A measure led by State Senator Patrick Joyce that would bring more fire prevention education to children across the state passed the Senate Thursday.

“Many accidental fires can be prevented, which is why it’s important our youth have knowledge about fire prevention,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “With proper education from experts, we can provide children the tools they need to make responsible decisions.”

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

SPRINGFIELD — Rideshare companies would be subject to the same care standards as all other transportation companies under new legislation introduced by State Senator Robert Martwick.

“It’s time we hold rideshare companies to the same standards as any other method of transportation,” said Martwick (D-Chicago). “As passengers of a bus, or a plane, or even an amusement park ride, you expect to get to your destination safely, that is why I am championing this change.”

The common carrier doctrine holds transportation companies to the highest standard of care to their passengers. This includes being able to hold the company liable if their employee causes the passenger harm, through intentional means such as assault, or if a driver is intoxicated and causes an accident.

Currently, transportation network companies, like Uber and Lyft, are exempt from the common carrier doctrine. This leaves victims with few means to hold the companies liable for harm caused by their drivers. Between the two largest companies, Uber and Lyft, between 2017 and 2020 there were almost 14,000 reports of sexual assault, with 824 reportedly being rapes. Martwick’s measure would subject such companies to the common carrier doctrine, holding them accountable for the safety of their passengers.

“Negligence is negligence, and it’s a victim’s right to hold companies liable,” Martwick said. “It’s only right to subject rideshares to the same standard as all other forms of transportation.”

House Bill 2231 passed the Senate on Thursday.