In This Issue:
Legislative Updates
AAPI Heritage Month Panel with CAWA
Coffee & Conversation
Town Hall - Save the Date
Dear Friends, As many in our community celebrate graduations and the end of the school year, our office has already started welcoming a new team of summer interns. They and I will be out in the community over the next few months, and we’re looking forward to meeting all of you. The state legislature is also approaching the final days of session, and many of the bills that you brought to our office have passed through both chambers and are headed to the Governor’s desk for his signature to become law. I’ve included some recent legislative highlights, including measures to prevent gun violence, protect reproductive rights, and expand access to healthcare. Our district office has a number of events planned in the coming days and weeks: In addition to tomorrow’s monthly Coffee & Conversation, we’re celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a panel featuring our local Chinese American Women in Action organization. Please also save the date for our Town Hall on June 27. As always, please never hesitate to contact me if I or my office can be of service. Sincerely, Janet
Legislative Updates I’ve served as chief sponsor for various pieces of legislation throughout this Spring session, and you can find many of those details in the March newsletter and April newsletter. Most of those bills have now passed both chambers and will next be sent to the Governor for his signature in order to become law:
HB1378, iGROW Program: passed both Houses
HB2147, Educator and School Support Staff Pensions: in House for concurrence
HB3522, Global Scholars Credit: passed both Houses
HB3523, School District Treasurers’ Bonds: passed both Houses
HB3559, School Safety & Rapid Entry: passed both Houses
HB3924, Fentanyl Education: passed both Houses
HB3932, Allergen Safety Education: passed both Houses
SB1824, IMRF Pension Updates: passed both Houses
SB2340, School Bus Extended Arm: passed both Houses
In the last month, I’ve also worked with my colleagues in the General Assembly to pass legislation to prevent gun violence, protect reproductive rights, and expand access to healthcare: Getting Guns Out of Abusers’ Hands, HB676 My colleagues and I voted to strengthen protection orders to ensure domestic abusers surrender their guns. In an abusive situation, a gun becomes a means of control and can be a tool of further violence.This bill will not affect responsible gun owners. But it will get guns away from people who, by their own violent actions, have shown that they are not responsible. Holding the Gun Industry Accountable, HB218 We’re holding gunmakers accountable when their dangerous marketing tactics cause real-world violence. Marketing campaigns sponsored by gun manufacturers often depict extreme violence, a weapon’s ability to cause bodily harm, and glorification of extreme paramilitary behaviors – effectively promoting violent criminal activity. This is no different from a liquor company selling their product by promoting underage drinking, or a carmaker advertising reckless driving. With this legislation, we’re empowering victims of gun violence to bring civil legal action against gun manufacturers in cases when firearm advertising contributes to illegal shootings. Defending the Right to Choose In Illinois, we’ve taken landmark steps to defend the right to choose, but we still see how extremists continue efforts attempting to deny access to reproductive healthcare. One judge, for example, almost single-handedly blocked access to mifepristone nationwide, and those in other states are looking to use loopholes in the law to prosecute women coming to Illinois to receive care. Here’s how we’re working to defend reproductive rights and access to care:
SB1344: We are requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of mifepristone and other medication essential to reproductive care – as well as hormone therapy, and lifesaving PEP/PrEP treatments that can prevent HIV infection.
HB3326: As people from across the country look to Illinois as a beacon of reproductive freedom, we strengthened our law to ensure Illinois will never share traffic camera data with states that would punish women for exercising their right to choose.
SB1907: We expanded access to emergency contraception by requiring our public colleges and universities to make pills available at on-campus wellness kiosks.
Continuing Effective Healthcare Delivery as Emergency Order Ends, HB559 This month, we recognized the end of the state and federal COVID emergency declarations while also continuing effective reforms initiated under the pandemic orders to streamline and expand delivery of care.Many of the innovations we relied on during the emergency to deliver care have become valuable additions to our daily lives. So as we move forward, we are taking action to maintain access to telehealth options, make sure pharmacies can deliver important vaccines, and help providers continue to care for their patients. Our new law also provides healthcare workers who have been practicing under temporary emergency licenses during the pandemic with the opportunity to obtain full licensure and continue practicing while that licensure process is ongoing. The measure also permits continued pharmacy access to flu and COVID-19 testing and vaccination and maintains insurance coverage of telehealth and virtual mental healthcare. AAPI Heritage Month Panel with CAWA Join me and our expert panel from CAWA, Chinese American Women in Action, to learn about the positive impact they are having in our community.
What: AAPI Heritage Month Panel with CAWA When: Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 7:00pm Where: Facebook Live
Coffee & Conversation
For a broader overview of Springfield and 41st District activities, please join us at one of our monthly coffee and conversations. These generally occur on the last Saturday of the month (this month we are one week earlier), and we gather with constituents from across Naperville, Warrenville and Bolingbrook for informal catching-up and conversation.
What: Coffee & Conversation with me and your neighbors
When: Saturday, May 20, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 am
Where: District 41 Office, 475 River Bend Rd., Suite 500, Naperville
Town Hall - Save the Date
Join me for our upcoming 41st District Town Hall, where we’ll cover the major legislation from the 103rd General Assembly’s spring session and the notable activities coming from our district office.
What: 41st District Town Hall
Where: Facebook Live (no need for a Facebook account to participate)
When: Tuesday, June 27 at 7:00 pm
Register below to receive event reminders, and we’ll also make sure to send a link to the recording if you’re not able to participate live.
