SPRINGFIELD – Community members and professionals on State Senator Karina Villa’s (D-West Chicago) Senior Advisory Committee are making strides on a measure that would ensure nursing home residents are treated with courtesy and are able to maintain their human and civil rights while receiving medical care. 

“It is essential that we, as a community, support nursing home residents, who are among one of our most vulnerable populations,” Villa said. “Families should have full confidence in the facility and their staff to perform the best medical practices and be courteous of the patient’s wishes.”

Villa’s legislation would prohibit nursing home residents from performing labor for the facility unless it is for documented therapeutic or medical purposes. It also ensures timely delivery of basic needs for residents. 

This initiative provides nursing home residents the right to courteous treatment, the right to protection and the right to advocacy services. It outlines a grievance procedure for residents and protects them through the process of expressing grievances. This measure will make residents and their advocates better aware of their rights in the home and ensure that they are protected in executing their rights,  

“It is already stressful enough to make the decision to put a loved one in a nursing home. They should not have to worry about facilities taking proper care of their family members,” said Villa. “My hope is that under this measure, there will be improved accessibility to ensure residents are treated with dignity and respect at all times.”

This legislation was in partnership with my senior advisory committee. “The committee is filled with seniors living in the community and a community member who voiced her experiences in a long term care facility where she was neglected,” said Villa.

Senate Bill 1633 passed the Senate and now heads to the House for further consideration.

Senator Villa is a strong promoter of the senior community. She hosts a monthly Senior Advisory Committee on the second Friday of each month at 10 a.m. via Zoom. To receive the link and agenda contact Villa’s office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund employers could have more flexibility in determining how to structure IMRF payments under the Illinois public pension system through a measure championed by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago).

“This adjustment is necessary to support IMRF from being hit with additional payment requirements,” said Villa. “This is one step toward providing more flexibility for IMRF employers to determine how to structure payments.”

Under Villa’s legislation, IMRF employers would be exempt from paying Accelerated Payment (AP) charges or increases through retributions due to a members receiving workers’ compensation. Similar to other statewide systems, IMRF employers are required to pay the employer cost of pension due based on the members earnings but unlike other systems, IMRF employers are liable for paying any AP charges made through the process.

SPRINGFIELD – To recuperate from the discrimination older LGBTQ adults have faced historically, State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) has passed legislation that would allocate a designated advocate under the Department on Aging for addressing mistreatment.

“The LGBTQ community has faced a lot of stress and overcame amble amounts of adversity historically,” Villa said. “A designated advocate would allow this misrepresented community the support they need to continue on.”

Villa’s measure would require the Department on Aging to provide older LGBTQ adults with a designated advocate and creates an LGBTQ Older Adult Curriculum and Training Program for Department on Aging service providers and contractors.

SPRINGFIELD – The Department of Children and Family Services could soon be required to establish a three-year pilot program to maintain safety and eliminate risks for minority children in in DuPage and Williamson County, under new legislation championed by Senator Karina Villa (D- West Chicago).

“Removing a child from the home is a traumatizing experience for everyone involved, and the disparity of Black children in the child welfare system is deeply concerning,” said Villa.

Under Villa’s measure, DCFS would be required to establish a three-year program to promote unbiased decision making in the child removal process while maintaining and reducing the risk of safety and disparity among minority children. The decision making process would include the child protection specialist to remove all demographic information including but not limited to,  the child’s name, race or ethnicity, the child’s sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and political affiliation. In addition, an advisory board would be established to determine if the decisions made are warranted.

SPRINGFIELD – People searching for long-term care facilities are a step closer to avoiding misleading information regarding available services, thanks to a measure championed by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago).

“Imagine not being able to access information on potential long-term care facilities due to incorrect and misleading information,” Villa said. “Finding a long-term care facility that fits the needs of the patients is hard enough – the facility’s websites should not add to the confusion.”

Villa’s measure would eliminate an obligation for the Illinois Department on Aging’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to label the Consumer Choice search tool with the name “Resident’s Right to Know.” This elimination would allow residents additional information on services offered by facilities, including memory care, transportation, dialysis, multilingual staff and more without being misled or confused.

SPRINGFIELD – Future residents searching for a long-term care facilities could avoid being misled about available services, thanks to a measure led State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago).

“People should be given the right to know information regarding potential assisted living facilities without misleading information,” Villa said. “Finding the right long-term care facility is already difficult and stressful – people don’t need misleading information to make the process even more arduous.”

Villa’s measure would eliminate an obligation for the Illinois Department on Aging’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to label the Consumer Choice search tool with the name “Resident’s Right to Know.” This elimination would allow residents additional information on services offered by facilities, including memory care, transportation, dialysis, multilingual staff and more without being misled or confused.

SPRINGFIELD –To bring more awareness to the impact Career and Technical Education has on student's success, Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) is supporting an effort to make February 2022 Career and Technical Education Month.

“Career and Technical Education programs not only provide technical skills for the future, but also provide academic and employability skills students can use for years,” Villa said. “These programs play a vital role in helping students choose career paths and explore other opportunities for success in and out of the classroom.”

Career and Technical Education, or CTE, are programs designed to prepare students for careers in major industries, such as finance, health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing and education. Coursework includes both academic and technical materials, allowing many students to use their knowledge from the programs to earn industry-recognized credentials or college credits. This makes careers in these fields much more accessible for many students who may struggle to complete coursework in traditional academic programs.

Many students have found massive success with the innovative program. Across the state, around 30,000 students earned college credit from their CTE courses, saving them time and money when earning their degrees. In addition, 97% of students who complete CTE programs in Illinois graduate from high school, compared to only 88% from traditional high schools. This year, almost 415,000 Illinoisans are enrolled in CTE programs.  Villa wants to highlight the bright futures of these students as well as the success of CTE programs through this measure. 

“CTE programs make it easy for students to begin earning college credits and receive industry-specific targeted learning toward post education,” Villa said. “My hope is that these programs will showcase the success of students who have found their career path and help contribute to our community and society.”

Senate Resolution 698 passed the Senate Education Committee.

SPRINGFIELD – Older adults in the LGBTQ community could be designated advocates under the Department on Aging for addressing mistreatment and disparities faced by LGBTQ seniors and seniors with HIV, thanks to a measure championed by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago).

“The LGBTQ community already faces an immense amount of stress regarding their sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of legal support and health care opportunities,” Villa said. “A dedicated advocate will help ensure older LGBTQ adults have the support they need and deserve.”