SPRINGFIELD – The Department of Healthcare and Family Services would be required to reimburse epilepsy specialists for providing telehealth treatment services under State Senator Laura Fine’s (D-Glenview) legislation, which passed committee Tuesday.

“Epilepsy affects hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, and it’s important they have the option to seek treatment from the comfort of their home in the midst of a global pandemic,” Senator Fine said. “Epilepsy specialists need to be reimbursed for providing critical telehealth services to their patients.”

There are more than 65 million people around the world who have epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, and many have sought treatment via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Fine’s legislation would ensure epilepsy specialists in Illinois receive the reimbursement they deserve for providing telehealth treatment to individuals with epilepsy or related disorders.

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation sponsored by State Senator John Connor (D-Lockport) to increase groundwater monitoring in areas near quarry fill sites advanced out of committee on Wednesday afternoon.

“Water is one of our most precious natural resources,” Connor said. “We have to make protecting it a priority so that our residents have reliable, clean water to drink for generations to come.”

House Bill 653 is an initiative of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Environmental Law and Policy Center that provides funding to hire additional inspectors and carry out increased testing of clean construction and demolition debris facilities. This testing and monitoring will help to ensure that contaminants are kept out of fill sites where clean construction demolition debris is dumped, and in turn kept out of groundwater.

“Investing in our environment is investing in our future,” Connor said.

The legislation remains in the Senate for further discussion.

SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) that would allow the student member of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to retain their seat until a new member is appointed passed committee on Tuesday. 

“This measure would allow ISAC’s student commissioner to retain their seat after their term is over until a new commissioner is appointed,” Ellman said. 

ISAC’s mission is to provide Illinois students with information and assistance to help make education beyond high school accessible and affordable.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans receiving aid through federal and state food assistance programs could use their benefits to purchase feminine hygiene products under legislation led by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago), which passed out of committee Tuesday.

“Period poverty is a public health crisis that requires immediate action,” Villa said. “Women of all ages deserve to live their lives to the fullest, but that is often not possible, as the cost of menstrual hygiene products puts them out of reach for many members in our community.”

Villa’s measure would require the Department of Human Services to apply for a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services permitting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefit recipients to use their benefits to purchase diapers or menstrual hygiene products.

SPRINGFIELD – To protect the wellbeing of public school employees, State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) passed legislation in the Senate Labor Committee that would offer the same terms and conditions as the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Illinois should expand access to family and medical leave for working families,” Villivalam said. “Our educators and school staff work on the frontlines every day to provide a quality education for our youth and deserve their leave with no strings attached.”

Government agencies and elementary and secondary schools are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave for specified reasons. Employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours. The legislation would lower the current work hour requirement from 1,250 hours to 1,000 hours, which is the federal standard.

SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) aimed at increasing transparency in misconduct and discipline in Chicago Public Schools was approved by a Senate committee Tuesday.

House Bill 15 requires CPS to provide written notification to parents or guardians of students who commit misconduct and of students who are victims of the act of misconduct, which is defined as an incident involving offensive touching, a physical altercation, or the use of violence.

“Parents and guardians deserve to know what is going on in the schools their children are attending,” Peters said. “Informing the parents and guardians when misconduct occurs allows parents of the victims to ensure their children are properly taken care of. This will provide the creation of a written record that benefits the students, the parents and the schools.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) is fighting to restore benefits to veterans who were subject to an “other than honorable” discharge from the military for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Those who valiantly served their country should be honored with benefits no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Cullerton, chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “This measure will be a step toward undoing the discrimination the LGBTQ+ community has historically faced in the military.”

According to a 2020 report from Harvard Law School, more than 100,000 service members were expelled from the military between World War II and the 2011 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – the policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. These discharges were considered OTH, which kept these service members from receiving state and federal benefits.

SPRINGFIELD – Patients seeking copies of their medical records to file claims for benefits would no longer have to pay for copies under legislation from State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview), which was introduced in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Tuesday after passing the House with unanimous bipartisan support.

“Illinoisans seeking benefits should not have to spend their hard-earned money on copies of medical records required to file claims,” Senator Fine said. “These benefit programs are in place to help our most vulnerable populations, and it’s imperative that we make the application process as easy as possible.”

Current law only allows homeless indigent veterans to receive medical records from health care facilities and practitioners at no cost to support claims for veterans’ disability benefits. Senator Fine’s measure would expand eligibility to allow anyone to receive free medical records to support a claim for veterans’ disability, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled benefits.