Villa law establishes language access framework

SPRINGFIELD – Under the Language Equity and Access Act, a new law championed by State Senator Karina Villa, individuals whose primary language is not English will have access to essential state services.

“Our diverse communities have consistently shared their challenges when accessing essential state services due to language barriers that sometimes make an already confusing process much more difficult,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “State agencies should be equipped to provide services to any resident, regardless of their proficiency in English.”

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Morrison law to protect nursing home residents

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure consistent quality of care for residents when their nursing home changes ownership, State Senator Julie Morrison championed a new law requiring facilities to develop comprehensive transition plans.

“Nursing home residents should always receive high-quality care, even during facility ownership transitions” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “This law requires transfer plans from current owners to new owners to ensure nothing gets over looked.”

Senate Bill 3115 will require owners of a facility to submit a transition plan detailing how resident care and appropriate staffing levels will be maintained throughout the process of shifting ownership. 

Read more: Morrison law to protect nursing home residents

Lightford fights for equitable funding for higher education

MAYWOOD – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is working to transform how Illinois funds its higher education system through newly-filed legislation that would take a student-centered approach. 

“Despite education’s paramount importance, the disparity in funding among higher educational institutions remains dreadfully evident,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “This imbalance not only undermines the principle of equal opportunity but also hampers our collective progress as a society.”

Lightford was instrumental in creating the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding in 2021. Over the last two years, the 30-person commission studied if public institutions of higher education are in dire need of a new funding model when serving underrepresented and historically underserved student groups, including Black and Brown students, as well as students from low-income families.

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Updates to Illinois’ biometric privacy signed into law thanks to Cunningham

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Bill Cunningham’s measure that updates liability guidelines in the Biometric Information Privacy Act was signed into law on Friday.

“In order for Illinois to continue being a leader on biometric protections for consumers, these changes were necessary,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs. “Not only did we preserve protections in BIPA, we made sure to clarify damages so businesses in our state are not crushed by penalties for violation.”

Cunningham’s measure limits the number of claims accrued should an employee bring a lawsuit against a company for a violation of BIPA. If a certain biometric identifier is collected by the same employer in the same manner, only one violation would accrue. This is a change from the previous interpretation of BIPA, where claims were accrued on a per-collection basis, which resulted in hundreds of claims on a repeated violation.

Read more: Updates to Illinois’ biometric privacy signed into law thanks to Cunningham