SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) sponsored an initiative that lead to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation hiring its first military liaison to help military families through the licensure process.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation created a military liaison position to help service members and their spouses navigate the licensure process. The military liaison will enhance communication and improve the overall application process for service members and spouses when they choose to work in Illinois. If military families provide all the necessary documents in their license applications, IDFPR can expedite their licensure within 60 days.

More than 250 new laws take effect Jan. 1

On behalf of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus, we want to wish you a happy holiday season and a new year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.

With the start of the new year comes more than 250 new laws. Legalization of adult-use cannabis, an increased minimum wage and new regulations on kennels are just a few recently passed measures that take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Read the full list of new laws here.

Watch our slideshow about the new initiatives here.

Lightford minimum wage increase now under effect

SPRINGFIELD — Minimum wage earners statewide will see a $1 per hour increase their next paycheck under a law spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) that was signed in February to gradually increase Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 by January 2025.

“Many working families have waited for this increase for almost a decade,” Lightford said. “I stand firmly on the belief that workers deserve a decent wage and I am committed to standing with them as we continue the fight for a living wage.”

Read more.

Murphy law gives students ability to self-administer medication

SPRINGFIELD — Students are now allowed to self-administer prescribed medication while at school under a law sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines).

Murphy’s measure requires schools to allow students with an action plan to self-administer prescribed medication with permission from their parent or guardian.

Read more.

In case you missed it

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

Senate President John J. Cullerton, Chicago: Illinois Senate President John Cullerton talks about Blagojevich, bipartisanship and changes brought by social media as his time in Springfield comes to an end | Chicago Tribune

Sen. Linda Holmes, Aurora: No one wants the dreaded callback after a mammogram. Under a new Illinois law, at least there's a good chance you won't have to pay | Tucson.com

Sen. Heather Steans, Chicago: Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois | CBS Chicago

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department on Aging has adjusted its annual income eligibility limits for the Benefit Access Program, allowing more seniors to qualify to receive transportation assistance in 2020.

“This is the first income limit increase since 2010, despite the rising cost of living,” said State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview). “It’s been a long time coming, but I’m glad to see that our most vulnerable seniors will now be able to get help with their transportation needs.”

The Benefit Access Program includes the Secretary of State License Plate Discount, the Seniors Ride Free Transit Benefit and the Persons with Disabilities Free Transit Ride. The services aim to help older adults live independently by improving their transportation options.

Thousands of people started lining up outside Illinois’ 37 dispensaries in the early hours of Jan. 1 to take advantage of the state’s newly legal recreational cannabis market. By the end of the day, those businesses had sold more than $3 million in cannabis and cannabis products to more than 70,000 customers, according to estimates from the governor’s office.

Last year, Illinois become the first state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis via a state law, joining the 10 other states that have legalized recreational sales. It also is the second state in the Midwest and the only among its immediate neighbors that allows sales, which could help draw in tourists.

State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago), the Senate sponsor of the measure, reflected that legalizing adult use via law rather than referendum has allowed Illinois to craft the fairest recreational cannabis rules in the country.

January is Radon Awareness Month. Approximately 1,200 Illinoisans are diagnosed with radon-related lung cancer each year, so make sure your home is radon-free! Radon can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted so the only way to detect its presence is through a licensed professional or at-home test kit.

You can find a local, licensed professional here.

OR, you can order an at-home radon testing kit here.

SPRINGFIELD – Several new laws passed by State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) last year took effect Wednesday.

Senate Bill 455 allows a school nurse or school administrator to administer or supervise self-administration of medical cannabis infused products to a student who is a registered qualifying patient of the Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program.

“Ideally, the parents of children who require medicinal cannabis would help with the administration process, but that’s not always possible,” Castro said. “By giving certain faculty members the ability to assist in the process, we’re allowing the kids who need these medicines as part of their treatments to receive them in a timely manner.”

Senate Bill 1191 allows a recently divorced individual to return to their pre-marriage surname without the need to publish a notice in a newspaper.

SPRINGFIELD – A law sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) meant to protect the financial security of the formerly incarcerated is one of several new laws that took effect Jan. 1.

House Bill 900 prevents the Department of Corrections from suing recently released inmates for the cost of their incarceration, effectively banning a practice known as “pay-to-stay.”

“A practice that is as regressive and harmful as pay-to-stay has no business being part of a modern society,” Peters said. “We’re putting an end to what is basically indentured servitude and ensuring that formerly incarcerated people don’t continue to be harassed once they’ve finished serving their time.”

Another Peters law, House Bill 2665, allows minors 12 years of age and older to receive preventative treatment for sexually transmitted diseases from a physician without parental consent.

SPRINGFIELD – Students are now allowed to self-administer prescribed medication while at school under a law sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines).

Murphy’s measure requires schools to allow students with an action plan to self-administer prescribed medication with permission from their parent or guardian.

“No parent should have to wonder whether their child will be able to access their medication when they need it,” Murphy said. “When we give kids the right to self-administer their medicine, we not only give them control over their own health—we also make it easier for them to focus on school work, and we reassure parents that their kids are well cared for at school.”

Gwynne Ryan, a teacher at Maine West High School brought this issue to Murphy. Ryan faced opposition from her child’s school when she requested that her child be allowed to self-administer medication.