Holmes fights for workers’ compensation protections for contagious infections
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SPRINGFIELD – Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) moved legislation this week that would expand workers’ compensation for firefighters and EMTs to cover a potentially deadly, antibiotic-resistant staph infection that poses a particularly high risk to first responders.
House Bill 3662 would amend the Workers’ Compensation Act. It presumes that these professionals would be exposed to MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in the course of their employment.
“The job of a firefighter or EMT includes administering up-close care to people who may be MRSA carriers or infected with MRSA,” Holmes said. “This puts first responders at increased risk for MRSA contamination—it’s common sense that a MRSA infection should be covered under workers’ compensation policies.”
Read more: Holmes fights for workers’ compensation protections for contagious infections
Gillespie restraint and seclusion room legislation heads to governor
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SPRINGFIELD – As classes resume in-person, State Senator Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) passed legislation to ban the abuse of students with restraints and seclusion rooms in schools.
“This legislation protects all students, particularly the most vulnerable, from these harmful practices,” Gillespie said. “I am grateful to all our partners that put in years-long work to keep students safe.”
Current law allows school staff to isolate a student if they pose a danger to themselves or others. However, a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois investigation revealed that isolation rooms are often used as a punishment for refusing to do classwork, swearing and other behavior that does not pose a threat to safety.
Read more: Gillespie restraint and seclusion room legislation heads to governor
Senate approves Johnson plan protecting individuals who have been treated for addiction
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SPRINGFIELD – To allow individuals who have overcome addiction to put their pasts behind them and move forward, State Senator Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove) has sponsored a measure to prohibit life insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing rates solely because an individual has undergone treatment for substance abuse.
“It takes strength, perseverance and resolve to seek treatment for an addiction,” Johnson said. “Life insurance companies shouldn’t punish those who have chosen to change their lives for the better.”
Johnson’s plan would prohibit a life insurance company from denying or limiting coverage or charging higher rates based solely on whether an individual has participated in a substance use treatment or recovery support program more than five years prior to application.
Read more: Senate approves Johnson plan protecting individuals who have been treated for addiction
Lightford passes legislation to remove “Negro” from Illinois law
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SPRINGFIELD – To continue her efforts to dismantle the systemic racism in Illinois, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) passed legislation that would remove derogatory words from Illinois law that describe Black people as “Negro” or “Haitian.”
“In this era of racial reckoning and righting the wrongs of our predecessors, it’s imperative that we cleanse Illinois law of old, offensive racial terms,” Lightford said. “We are working to undo years of oppression and currently fighting racial injustice.”
House Bill 3217 reconstructs several state laws by deleting the use of the words “Haitian” or “Negro,” replacing them with “Black” or “African American.”
HB 3217 passed the Senate floor and now heads to the governor for final approval.
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