SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Celina Villanueva is again calling for action after years of Senate work to protect homeowners from losing the equity in their homes through the property tax sale system.

“This isn’t a new issue, we’ve been working on it for years,” Villanueva (D-Chicago) said. “We cannot continue to let this issue fall by the wayside while families — especially seniors and working-class homeowners — remain at risk of losing not just their homes, but the equity they worked their entire lives to build.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt introduced a new measure to increase access to life-saving mental health resources and strengthen suicide prevention efforts across the state.

“What we’re doing is expanding suicide prevention education across the entire state,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “These are meaningful steps to address mental health proactively and compassionately.”

SPRINGFIELD — At a press conference on Wednesday, State Senator Adriane Johnson joined advocates and community leaders to unveil the Home for Good proposal — a comprehensive plan to expand housing and support services for people returning home from incarceration.

“Public safety starts with stability,” Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove) said. “When people return home from incarceration, access to safe, stable housing gives them the foundation to work, support their families and successfully reintegrate into their communities. This proposal is about aligning our public safety goals with smart, long-term investments.”

The proposal aims to reduce homelessness, improve public safety and generate long-term savings for taxpayers by establishing a coordinated, statewide reentry strategy.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Patrick Joyce advanced a bill that would allow for more humane hunting and an expansion of the hunting industry in Illinois.

“Many hunters I know tend to pass on using centerfire rifles,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “If we can pass this legislation, we will see a significant increase in the use of this hunting rifle.”

Senate Bill 2756 would increase the max capacity of centerfire rifles from one to three rounds. This would put Illinois on par with all other states, as Illinois is the only state that institutes a single-shot limit on centerfire rifle capacity. Joyce led previous legislation that formally legalized the use of single shot centerfire rifles for deer hunting season. Since its introduction, centerfire rifle use among youth hunters has jumped to just over 50 percent. 

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Graciela Guzmán spoke at a press conference Wednesday to advocate for her measure to boost funding to human services organizations.

“I come to this work not just as a legislator, but as someone whose family and community have relied on human services to survive and to heal,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “I have seen what happens when care is delayed, when programs are understaffed, and when the people doing the most essential work are stretched past their limits.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mike Halpin’s bill to allow retired teachers to work additional paid hours as substitutes in order to address the statewide teacher shortage passed committee Tuesday.

“Illinois schools need more teachers and more substitute teachers. Allowing retired teachers to continue to work more substitution hours gives the support our education system needs,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “If we are going to solve the teacher shortage we will need creative solutions, this legislation represents one of them.”

Senate Bill 2953 would extend the sunset of a provision that allows retired teachers to work up to 120 days or 600 paid hours as a substitute teacher without impacting their retirement status – in turn addressing the substitute teacher shortage across the state.

SPRINGFIELD – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford knows what it takes to be a caregiver for a senior after taking care of her mother for many years. Despite Lightford having the support and resources to care for her mother, it was incredibly difficult to do so.

She acknowledges not everyone has the same support, and therefore face even more struggles – leading her to fight for more revenue for older adults and their caregivers.

“I know what it means to rearrange your life around someone you love, managing medications, doctor’s visits and sleepless nights,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “I know what it is like to show up every day – not because someone is paying you, but because you love the person. And I know what it means to do all of that while stretching a budget that was already too thin.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Patrick Joyce advanced a measure that would ensure county coroners and medical examiners are able to receive mental health counseling if needed. 

“Our local coroners and medical examiners have the responsibility of examining the scenes of death and determining the circumstances,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “These can be some disturbing scenes for anyone to witness.”

Senate Bill 2770 would add coroners, deputy coroners, county medical examiners and deputy county medical examiners to the definition of first responders for the purpose of providing them mental health counseling without any cost-sharing.