Halfway Mark for Legislation, Shred Event, Monthly Coffee, and Museum Pass
- Janet
- Apr 18
- 6 min read
In This Issue
Legislative Updates
Shred Event
April Coffee & Conversation
Museum Pass
Dear Friends,
We’re about halfway through the legislative process for this spring’s legislative session, where bills have passed one chamber and now await action in the other chamber. Last week, for example, included a number of late nights in Springfield as my colleagues and I worked to pass House bills out of the House floor by our Friday, April 11 deadline. I passed five House bills during this period, which I’ve detailed below. Those bills will now go to the Senate, where, if all goes well, the bills will pass the assigned Senate committee, then the Senate floor vote, and finally be signed by the Governor into law. Illinois’ legislative process is similar to the Federal one, which the classic Schoolhouse Rock I’m Just a Bill animation covers pretty faithfully.
On the local district side, our popular annual Shred Event takes place this Saturday, April 19 to assist you with the proper and easy disposal of sensitive documents. We’re proud to partner with Senator Ellman and her office to bring this service to our community. Another service we provide to constituents is the Museum Pass, which allows for admission to a large number of Chicago museums for up to four people. More details for both offerings are below.
I hope to see you at the Shred Event or any of our other upcoming events, like our district’s monthly Coffee & Conversation. These informal gatherings give everyone an opportunity to chat about updates from Springfield or topics that are of interest to you. This April’s coffee takes place on Saturday, April 26, and event details are at the end of this note.
Please never hesitate to contact my office or me if we can be of service to you.
Sincerely,
Janet
Pictured below: Dr. Adrian Talley, Superintendent from Indian Prairie School District 204, and I testifying in committee for House Bill 3039, which creates additional pathways for junior high students to earn high school credits.
Legislative Updates
This spring session, I passed five House bills out of the House floor, and they now sit with my Senate colleagues for their consideration.These bills largely came from constituents in our district, and I’m grateful for our community’s trust in working on these issues. Here’s a summary of the bills now with the Senate:
HB3037, Right to Play Act. This amended bill would allow high schools to grant student athletes up to two waivers per school year to participate in a non-school athletic event without losing athletic eligibility. Last year, a young man who ran a 5K charity race for his hospitalized sister was declared ineligible for his high school cross country team as a result of IHSA rules that ban participation in non-school sporting events during that sport’s school season. In meetings with student athletes in our district and across the state, runners, wrestlers, soccer players, dancers, and gymnasts in particular have told me about the ways these Illinois rules restrict their opportunities. In fact, Illinois is among the 10 most restrictive states across the country on these matters.
HB3039, High School Credits. My office and I worked closely with Indian Prairie School District 204 to introduce this bill, which would allow 7th and 8th graders more opportunities to earn high school credits for high school-level courses they take. Currently, those students may only earn those high school credits if they take the course at a high school or with a high school teacher. This bill would add an additional pathway: If the student took the class at a junior high with a junior high teacher, they could also earn high school credit by passing the class and the end-of-course high school final exam. This law would benefit several thousand students in the Indian Prairie 204 school district alone.
HB3272, Swim Facilities and UV Protection. A student from Naperville Central High School worked with us on this legislation to help protect workers at outdoor aquatic facilities from excessive UV exposure, which will also help prevent future incidents of skin cancer. Local dermatologists are having to write doctor’s notes so that employers will allow lifeguards to wear sun protective clothing, apply sunscreen, or use an umbrella for shade. This bill will allow lifeguards and other workers easier access to those sun protections.
HB3327, Newborns & Early Intervention. Many newborn babies are automatically eligible for early intervention services if they are born with certain medical diagnoses–like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or low birth weight (under 1000 grams, or about 2.2 pounds)--that have a high chance of causing a developmental delay. However, most parents are not aware of these services. This bill requires hospital staff in neonatal intensive care units to share information about early intervention services and initiate written referrals to EI programs for eligible families.
HB3851, AI and Cyberbullying. Locally and nationwide, we’ve unfortunately seen a rise in students using artificial intelligence to create and share sexually explicit and degrading images of their classmates. The use of exploitative AI apps is so new that schools are often unprepared to address these issues. This bill gives schools the framework for doing so by clearly including AI-generated images in the bullying prevention and cyberbullying sections of the Illinois school code. This will provide for policy and procedures for reporting, informing parents and guardians, and investigating and addressing these incidents.
In addition to these bills, I also continue to work on other legislative initiatives with my colleagues. Negotiations continue on issues like regional transit, clean energy, and pensions, where I am part of the House working group on pensions. This coming week in Springfield, I’ll be working on a subject matter hearing with House Leader Dagmara Avelar and Representative Nabeela Syed on HB1072, which creates the Mobile Panic Alert System Act, also known as Alyssa’s Law. This school safety bill is especially important given the recent passage of Senate Bill 2427 from the Senate floor, which would ban the use of cell phones in school.
The mobile panic alert systems the legislation requires of schools improves first responder response times by an average of two to three minutes. The video below provides more details, including background on Alyssa Alhadeff, who inspired the bill. Alyssa was tragically lost during the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting on Valentine’s Day. Her family started Make Our Schools Safe in her memory, with the mission of empowering students and staff in creating more secure school environments.
Shred Event
Join Senator Ellman and me for our annual Shred Event. This is a great opportunity to destroy documents with personal or sensitive information. We have scheduled this event directly after tax filing dates so that you can safely dispose of:
Tax Returns - Bank Statements - Outdated Medical Records - Bills - Receipts
Come early, as the event will end when the truck is full or at 12 PM, whichever comes first. LIMIT 3 BOXES PER CAR.
What: Shred Event
Where: Naperville Public Library - 95th Street, 3015 Cedar Glade Rd, Naperville
When: April 19th from 9:00-12:00
April Coffee and Conversation
Every month, my office and I host a community coffee to make sure you have a chance to ask questions, voice your concerns, and find out what’s happening in Springfield and our district. This is an informal event, and I hope to see you there!
What: April Coffee & Conversation
Where: 475 River Bend Rd., Naperville, Suite 500
When: Saturday, April 26, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Museum Pass
Many in our community have already been able to use our district’s Museum Pass, and we’re excited to offer it as you make your spring and summer plans. More than a dozen Chicagoland museums and parks offer complimentary visits for you and up to three additional visitors with the pass.
The pass is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and must be picked-up and returned to our district office. Once we have your request, we will contact you to arrange a time to pick up the pass and accompanying authorization of use letter.
Below is the current list of institutions that participate in this program:
Adler Planetarium
The Art Institute of Chicago
Brookfield Zoo/CZS
Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago Botanic Garden
Chicago Children’s Museum
Chicago History Museum
DuSable Museum of African American History
The Field Museum
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Lincoln Park Zoo
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Science and Industry
National Museum of Mexican Art
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
John G. Shedd Aquarium
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