SPRINGFIELD – Black children across Illinois are a step closer to being ensured a quality education under a plan led by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) that passed the Illinois Senate today. The legislation is part of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ plan to rid Illinois of systemic racism.

The measure addresses education and workforce development from early childhood to adulthood. To help ensure school readiness, it strengthens early intervention services and sets a kindergarten readiness assessment in statute. Early intervention services, which help support the development of children with delays and disabilities, will now be available until the beginning of the school year after the child turns 3.

Rooted in equity, House Bill 2170 pivots away from teaching history from a Eurocentric perspective by reforming the state’s history curriculum through an Inclusive American History Commission that will make sure students learn about people from all backgrounds.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) has taken action to remove an antiquated law that prohibits drinking alcohol on trains, which hasn’t been enforced in nearly a century.

“Last year I learned of this law and was surprised. People have technically been breaking the law by ordering drinks on the Amtrak,” Ellman said. “There’s no reason why responsible adults shouldn’t be able to enjoy these types of beverages on a train.”

House Bill 3878 repeals the Railroad Intoxicating Liquor Act of 1911, which prohibits drinking alcohol on trains and around train stations, and gives conductors the ability to arrest violators and charge them with a Class C misdemeanor.

“Just because a law isn’t generally enforced, doesn’t mean that it can’t be,” Ellman said. “Today, many trains include alcoholic beverages on their menus.”

The measure passed the Senate with a vote of 51-0-0 and now goes to the governor’s desk, where it will await being signed into law. 

“This law hasn’t been enforced since the 1920s, during Prohibition,” Ellman said. “Last year COVID-19 sidelined this legislation, but it’s time to get back on track by repealing this archaic and arbitrary law.”

Ellman is also encouraging people to use safe transportation, such as Metra, as an alternative to driving under the influence. 

SPRINGFIELD – During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law offering additional workers’ compensation protections to first responders and essential workers. Today, State Senator Bill Cunningham led the Illinois Senate in passing a measure to extend those protections by six months.

The law allows essential workers and first responders to file for workers’ compensation benefits if they contract COVID-19 during the course of their employment – providing them with additional economic support while they recover from the illness. Employers have an opportunity to rebut workers’ claims by demonstrating they followed all applicable public health guidelines.

SPRINGFIELD – Following more than a century of systemic racism and inequality in schools across the state and nation, State Senator Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove) helped pass a measure that will expand resources to marginalized students and reform education policies that disproportionately harm minority students.

“For far too long, children have faced systemic racism and inequities within their school systems,” Johnson said. “We cannot undo more than a century of systemic racism within schools without a complete overhaul of education programs.”

House Bill 2170, the education pillar of the Illinois Black Caucus’ legislative agenda, does a number of things to rid the state of systemic racism in schools, including creating an inclusive American history curriculum to reform the Black history curriculum and curriculums for teaching about other minority groups.

It also creates a Whole Child Task Force to address trauma in children and create an equitable, inclusive, safe and supportive environment for all children, in addition to working to increase minority teacher representation.

“Access to high quality education should be available for every student – no matter their ZIP code, socioeconomic background or the color of their skin. It’s so important for children to be in an environment where they see people who look like them and understand them,” Johnsons said. “Today is a monumental day – one that will give young boys and girls an opportunity to succeed and know they are worthy.”

The measure, co-sponsored by Senator Johnson, passed the Senate Monday. It now heads to the House for further consideration.

SPRINGFIELD – To help all Illinois students succeed in higher education and the career world, State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview) is supporting legislation to improve equity in the Illinois school system.

“In some school districts, students who graduate high school don’t meet the requirements to attend the University of Illinois—our state’s flagship public university,” Senator Fine said. “Establishing equitable, inclusive standards statewide will ensure every single student, no matter their race, income level or hometown, has access to the same opportunities.”

The legislation makes a number of changes to education policy in the state, from expanding eligibility for early childhood services to revamping the American history curriculum, in an effort to reduce systemic inequities in K-12 and higher education.

The bill modifies several K-12 course requirements to meet colleges’ prerequisites, establishing that students must take two years of laboratory science and two years of a foreign language (or sign language) to graduate high school starting in the 2024-2025 school year. Additionally, to ensure all students are prepared for the demands of college and the modern workforce, students must receive one year of computer literacy training.

The legislation also takes specific steps to improve outcomes for Black students, including reforming the way Black history is taught through an inclusive American history curriculum and removing barriers that prevent Black people and other people of color from becoming teachers.

“The purpose of a public education system is to make sure every student gets a solid foundation and is able to pursue their dreams after graduation,” Senator Fine said. “Some school districts are already there, but this legislation will help make sure all of our schools reach that bar.”

House Bill 2170 passed the Senate and now heads to the House for final consideration before heading to the governor.

SPRINGFIELD - To empower health care providers to prevent opioid abuse, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) voted on a measure Sunday to give every medication prescriber, including e-prescribers, access to the same database.

“By allowing all prescribers access to a universal database, we can give health care providers an accurate resource to make educated decisions when prescribing medications,” Crowe said. “Armed with a patient’s full medical history, a provider may decide the best course of action is to prescribe one of the many viable opioid alternatives.”

The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) collects information on controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in Illinois. The PMP website allows prescribers and dispensers to view a current or prospective patient's prescription history. 

The ultimate goal of the PMP is to assist prescribers and dispensers in the effective treatment of patients seeking medical care. However, currently not every prescriber has access to the database.  

House Bill 2488 would tackle that issue. The measure would ensure every person who has prescribing authority has access to the PMP. 

Crowe, chair of the Senate Special Committee on Opioid Crisis Abatement, has gathered stakeholders from across Illinois to learn more about the state’s response to the opioid epidemic and is working to draft additional legislation to support the fight against the public health crisis.

HB 2488 advanced out of the Senate Sunday.

Bush passes measure to further tackle opioid crisis

SPRINGFIELD – To further reduce opioid abuse, State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) passed a measure to ensure every medication prescriber, including e-prescribers, has access to the same database.

“Every prescriber should have access to the prescription database, so they can keep better track of which patients received medications and when they received them,” Bush said. “Checking when someone last received a medication will crack down on overprescribing and doctor shopping.”

The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program collects information on controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in Illinois. The PMP website allows prescribers and dispensers to view a current or prospective patient's prescription history.

The ultimate goal of the PMP is to assist prescribers and dispensers in the effective treatment of patients seeking medical care. However, currently not every prescriber has access to the database. 

SPRINGFIELD – Following two lengthy hearings yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood), State Senator Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), Representative Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago), and other prominent criminal justice reform advocates in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus made their case to the people of Illinois that the Black community can’t wait any longer for real reforms to rid Illinois’ criminal justice system of systemic racism.

“For the sake of our children and their children, we must break the vicious cycle of oppression that has held so many Black Illinoisans back from reaching their full potential,” said Lightford, the chair of the caucus. “Far too often, we have feared for our children’s lives and safety simply because they’re Black. We can no longer accept this as the norm for our community.”

The proposed package – representing one of the four pillars of the caucus’ comprehensive agenda – includes police reforms, violence prevention measures, newly enumerated rights for the incarcerated, and an end to the cash bail system.

“We want to go from protests to progress,” said Slaughter, the measure’s House sponsor. “To reduce violence in our communities, criminal justice reform cannot wait. This has been a 400 year journey that we have been on.”

The legislation was crafted after months of meetings, including more than 30 hours of public hearings.

“These are not new priorities for us. Many of these proposals have been out there for years,” said Sims, the measure’s Senate sponsor. “The time is now to act. We can no longer continue to delay, distract from, and deny the damage that is being done to our communities.”

The entire Black Caucus agenda was born out of the twin tragedies of the widely reported deaths of Black Americans at the hands of the police and the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Black community. However, these calamities are only symptoms of the racist policies that have been built into our systems for generations.

“Cash bail is a tiered system of safety that stands on the intersections of racism, classism, and sexism,” said Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago), a longtime advocate for reforming the cash bail system. “We need to move away from a system that punishes you and puts you in tiers. The time for change is now.”

Though they face pushback, especially from groups representing law enforcement, the Black Caucus remains committed to enacting real change and willing to have frank discussions about how to balance the needs of the Black community and law enforcement.

“I, as a legislator, have never received a single reform recommendation from any policing agency anywhere in the state of Illinois,” said Representative Carol Ammons (D-Champaign), who has long fought to increase the rights of people who have been incarcerated. “And, I’m saying to them that today, we are calling on you to help us stop the murders and wanton traffic stops against Black people in their communities.”

The sponsors of the legislation, House Bill 163, plan to call votes on the legislation before the new General Assembly is inaugurated on Wednesday.