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fine lactation 080525SPRINGFIELD – To support mothers trying to balance work life and home life, State Senator Laura Fine’s legislation to allow for paid break time for pumping breast milk has been signed into law. This law ensures working mothers who nurse their infants do not have to be concerned about losing income in order to provide for their baby.

“Without workplace accommodations that consider the time required to breastfeed a newborn or infant, the burden of balancing work responsibilities and personal responsibilities becomes increasingly challenging,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “We are not only encouraging a supportive work environment for these employees, we are also empowering Illinois mothers who must work to support their families.”

Fine’s new law clarifies that employees’ time for pumping breastmilk has to be paid and that employees would not be required to use paid leave during breaks.

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Sara Feigenholtz, State Senator

SPRINGFIELD — Despite the decade that’s passed since marriage equality became the law of the land in all 50 U.S. states, the LGBTQ+ community still faces persistent discrimination in housing and barriers to homeownership. Recognizing the need for change, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz championed legislation that updates Illinois’ property laws with gender-neutral language.

“For years we have methodically chipped away at outdated, stereotyped and outright exclusionary language in our state’s laws,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “Today we take another step to strengthen our property laws — sending the message that no matter who you love, your gender identity or expression, you are welcome to build your home, family and life here in Illinois.”

Currently, Illinois law only references property transfers between a husband and wife, leading to lengthy delays in real estate transactions for same-sex couples and transgender individuals. Feigenholtz’s new law addresses this barrier by revising state law to refer to married couples with gender-neutral language, giving clarity to title companies and ensuring same-sex couples do not face barriers to acquiring or transferring property.

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Transition Plan Youth In Care

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure all youth in foster care have a pathway toward independence, State Senator Lakesia Collins’ new law will establish a lifelong process of ensuring that youth in care are provided the opportunities to succeed.

“As someone who has been a foster child and experienced the hardships that come with that, we have to create pathways for children to succeed,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “This bill requires DCFS to come up with a plan that provides learning opportunities and growth to foster care children and requires them to come up with a plan to push them on the path to independence.”

Senate Bill 1504 makes changes to the Children and Family Services Act to require the preparation of adolescents to successfully transition to adulthood.

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Senator Sara Feigenholtz

SPRINGFIELD — To help Illinois and Chicago collaborate more effectively on key pedestrian safety initiatives, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz championed a plan laying out guidelines for what they must study to make streets safer.

“These guidelines will streamline cooperation, cut red tape and help the Illinois Department of Transportation take concrete steps to study ways we can prevent further tragedies,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “Enhanced collaboration will give us a clearer picture of how best to improve street safety in our city and across Illinois.”

In January 2023, IDOT and the Chicago Department of Transportation entered into a Memorandum of Understanding agreement in an effort to strengthen their collaboration and streamline the review process for safety improvements on local streets and state routes. The MOU was in part sparked by a request from Feigenholtz that the departments conduct a traffic study after a pedestrian was killed in the 6th Senate District.

More Articles …

  1. Peters’ law overhauls state’s mental health crisis response system
  2. Murphy measure that protects consumers by cracking down on unlicensed car sellers signed into law
  3. New Ellman law protects Illinois cremation scattering rights
  4. Villanueva law to regulate predatory towing

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