SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago) that would create a Forensic Science Commission passed the Senate Thursday.

“This very measure is why we have hearings, to guide the legislation that impacts culture,” Van Pelt said. “There are still people awaiting answers as the DNA backlog decreases, and a commission is needed to improve coordination between police and forensic scientists to help further the decrease in the backlog.”

SPRINGFIELD – As one of his first acts after being appointed to represent the 7th Illinois Senate District, State Senator Mike Simmons passed legislation out of the Senate Thursday to require that meetings to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly be recorded and broadcast by electronic means for public consumption. The bill also requires election authorities to notify the public of all proceedings related to appointments in the future.

“The appointment process established by the state constitution is intended to ensure representation during interim periods when an official retires or is incapable of serving,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “It’s our duty to ensure Illinois citizens have as much input and transparency as possible in the process.”

SPRINGFIELD – To provide support to local park districts as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a measure sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) that passed the Senate Wednesday would give park districts more time to complete projects funded through the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant program. 

“Every community was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic differently, and as a result, they are all recovering at a different pace,” Murphy said. “This initiative would give park districts the authority to set the timeline for their own community’s projects.”

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which administers the OSLAD grant program, provides an advance payment of 50% of the grant up front. State law requires grantees to complete projects within two years of receiving grant funds, meaning that park districts have just two years after this advance payment to complete projects.

SPRINGFIELD – To provide quality care to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) passed legislation in the Illinois Senate that would add Alzheimer’s and dementia training to the license renewal process for doctors and other healthcare providers.

“Diagnosing Alzheimer’s early is essential for receiving the best treatment possible,” Villivalam said. “This legislation will better enable doctors and all healthcare providers to identify and recommend treatment to patients showing early signs of dementia.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) is leading an effort to speed up the process when abused and neglected minors are moved between counties during the process of finding a suitable guardian.

“The kids we’re talking about here have already experienced abuse or neglect, or they’re otherwise dependent on the social services our state provides,” Peters said. “They shouldn’t get caught up in the court bureaucracy when they need to move between counties.”

The legislation requires that, when child protection cases are transferred between counties, the clerk of the transferring county must submit all related documentation within 15 days to the receiving county, which must then set a status hearing within 10 days of receipt.  Currently, there is no timeframe for the process.

SPRINGFIELD – To protect first-generation college students from predatory business practices, State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) passed legislation in the Illinois Senate that would create transparency and fairer guidelines for educational planning services.

“Companies that prey on first-generation and low-income students must be held accountable,” Villanueva said. “I am committed to empowering our state agencies to reel in these bad actors.”

SPRINGFIELD – To give parents the peace of mind that videos of their students at school won’t be shared with unauthorized parties, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) advanced legislation out of the Senate Thursday to remove the video recording requirement from the Illinois edTPA teacher licensing assessment.

“Uploading videos of children to a third-party vendor poses a cybersecurity risk, threatening kids’ privacy, and in some cases, their safety,” Murphy said. “It’s time to explore more secure ways to assess our student teachers’ performance.”

The legislation would establish student teachers cannot be required to videotape themselves or their students in order to earn a license.

Currently, student teachers in Illinois must record themselves and their students on video to pass the edTPA, an assessment required for their teaching license. The video is then uploaded and sent to a third-party vendor for evaluation. The edTPA requires just two short segments of video, but student teachers are encouraged to record hours of footage to choose from.

The legislation would still allow teacher education programs to videotape for in-house teaching purposes, and licensed teachers and administrators could still film students in order to gain National Board Certification or for training, sporting events or promotional purposes.

“Aspiring educators shouldn’t have to put their students at risk to gain a license,” Murphy said. “This legislation takes an important step in protecting children’s privacy.” 

Senate Bill 808 passed the Senate with bipartisan support and now heads to the House.

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SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) that pushes to ensure local journalism survives in Illinois’ small towns and mid-sized cities passed the State Senate on Thursday.

“I’ve dedicated years of my life to journalism, so I understand the importance of having access to local news,” Stadelman said. “Illinoisans deserve to know what’s happening in their communities, regardless of where they live.”

The measure would create the Local Journalism Task Force, which would be made up of 10 individuals representing print and broadcast media, journalism schools, and state and local government. They would be charged with conducting a study on communities underserved by local journalism and making recommendations on how to preserve and restore news coverage in these areas.

Declines in advertising revenue and circulation have meant that nearly half of the newsroom jobs at newspapers that existed in 2004 have since disappeared—and more than 2,000 papers around the country have closed over the past 15 years.