Holmes’ unemployment security reforms pass the Illinois Senate, addressing flaws after claims skyrocketed during pandemic
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SPRINGFIELD – After an unprecedented 14 months for the Illinois Department of Employment Security with thousands of residents out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bipartisan support for major reforms produced House Bill 2643. Sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Linda Holmes (Aurora), the lead Senate Democrat on the Unemployment Insurance Agreed Bill process, the overhaul package was signed into law by the governor Friday.
“Business and labor groups, IDES, and Democratic and Republican members worked in a bipartisan fashion to craft this omnibus approach,” Holmes said. “It targets the weaknesses revealed in a system that wasn’t designed to address the wave of job losses, thousands of people calling with problems who couldn’t get answers, and fraudulent claims all hitting the state at once.”
House Bill 2643 revises the Unemployment Insurance Act, allowing IDES to communicate with legislators’ offices about specific constituent cases, and requires IDES to give more information to those issued overpayments and their right to appeal (originally in Senate Bill 2466 from Sen. Ram Villivalam).
Survivors of sexual assault have more rights under Villa law
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SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to expand the rights of survivors of sexual assault, State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) sponsored a law requiring hospitals to use the Illinois State Police online evidence tracking system and establishing a set of crime victims’ rights.
“Survivors of sexual assault need to know health care professionals and law enforcement officials are providing them with information on all available resources at their disposal,” Villa said. “It takes a brave person to come forward to report assault, and survivors deserve to feel at ease by staying in the loop on charging decisions and other updates to their cases.”
In 2020, the Illinois State Police launched an online tracking system for sexual assault evidence collection kits that allows survivors of sexual assault to track evidence in their cases, but not all hospitals in Illinois opted to participate. Villa’s law requires all hospitals to enter collected sexual assault evidence into the tracking system and requires health care facilities or law enforcement to provide survivors information on how to use the tracking system.
Read more: Survivors of sexual assault have more rights under Villa law
Schools can move forward from financial impact of COVID-19 under new Johnson law
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SPRINGFIELD – School districts can move forward from the pandemic without worrying about funding cuts due to temporary low enrollment under a new law sponsored by State Senator Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove).
“Our schools did an exceptional job helping our students learn through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Johnson said. “Now, as they prepare for a full return to the classroom, it’s critical they have all the resources they need to recover.”
Currently, the school funding formula uses average student enrollment over the previous three school years to determine the amount of money districts receive. To lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools’ budgets, Johnson’s law allows school districts to calculate their average student enrollment based on pre-COVID levels.
Read more: Schools can move forward from financial impact of COVID-19 under new Johnson law
Belt, Crowe urge local fire departments to apply for relief grants
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East St. Louis – State Senators Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) and Rachelle Aud Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) are urging local fire departments impacted by the pandemic to apply for relief grants.
“The brave men and women on the first line of defense risk their lives every day and continued to do so during the pandemic,” Belt said. “I’m pleased to see funds being spent on our firefighters who protect our communities.”
A total of $1 million will be available to assist approximately 80 impacted fire departments that operate in diverse communities throughout the state. Under this one-time grant opportunity, eligible Illinois fire departments could receive up to $15,000 in order to make up for lost donation revenues stemming from their inability to host local fundraising events during 2020. These fundraising events pay for necessities like fuel for fire trucks, utilities and insurance.
Read more: Belt, Crowe urge local fire departments to apply for relief grants
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