SPRINGFIELD –To ensure dental patients do not have to pay the bill for their visits out of pocket until their claim is processed, State Senator Javier Cervantes is working on legislation that would require insurance to cover visits immediately.

“Patients should not have to worry about a shelling out a majority of their paycheck from visiting a dentist when they have dental insurance,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “Thanks to this measure, their visits will be automatically paid by insurance, without making patients go through the reimbursement process.”

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure families and their children are protected from toxic heavy metals, State Senator Laura Fine advanced a measure to strengthen safety regulations for baby foods.

“Parents expect baby food to be manufactured safely,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “By informing families of the potential presence of toxic heavy metals in baby food, we can prevent exposure and give parents peace of mind about what their child is eating.”

To expand safety regulations for baby food, Fine’s bill would require manufacturers to test samples of their baby food products for toxic elements – such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury – and disclose this information directly on the product’s website.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Willie Preston passed a measure to require health insurance companies to provide coverage for speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering.

“In Illinois, we are committed to providing topnotch health care for all individuals,” said Preston (D-Chicago). “This legislation grants those from all financial backgrounds with an equal opportunity to receive speech therapy services. It also gives them confidence, relief, encouragement, and support.”

Senate Bill 40 would expand coverage for speech therapy to include rehabilitative services in addition to habilitative services for any child under 19 years of age with an early-acquired disorder that is diagnosed as a speech-language disorder, including stuttering.

SPRINGFIELD – Higher education scholarships would be easier to find under a measure sponsored by State Senator Doris Turner that passed the Senate Thursday.

“College is expensive, and scholarships should be easy for students to find,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “There’s a need for a one-stop shop that includes all scholarships for Illinois students seeking higher education.”

Senate Bill 1331 would create the Illinois Scholarship Database, developed and administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, to be used as a tool for improving Illinois students' knowledge of and access to higher education scholarships.

SPRINGFIELD – Members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus are leading measures to transition away from environmentally harmful disposable plastics and toward more sustainable alternatives.

“Illinois can’t be a true, nationwide climate leader if we leave our natural resources behind without addressing the hazards posed by plastic pollution,” said State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin). “We as legislators have a responsibility to strive toward sustainability and protect our fragile ecosystems for future generations.”

Castro is leading Senate Bill 1872, which would seek to prevent large and mid-size retailers from offering single-use plastic checkout bags to customers by 2029, but would allow them to offer recycled paper bags as an alternative. Municipalities in Illinois with current plastic bag taxes would not be able to continue charging working families for plastic bags but rather would also have to eliminate their use. Recognizing the potential impact on small businesses, it would exclude restaurants, gas stations under 5,000 square feet in size, and small independent retailers with fewer than 12 locations within Illinois.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner passed a measure through the Senate to give students and teachers more materials to learn about American Sign Language.

“We have so many residents across Illinois who are either deaf or hard of hearing who use ASL to communicate,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “If we teach our children about ASL at a young age, we could foster a generation of people who can reach out to those in the deaf and hard-hearing communities.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt scored a win for Metro East manufacturing and labor with the passage of his bill to enhance career and technical education opportunities.

“If we want to bring back and build up manufacturing in the Metro East, we need to build the labor pool,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “Career and technical education can help a young person create a stable career, leading to a stable family and ultimately a stable Metro East.”

Senate Bill 58 would expand a current program that is successful in other parts of the state to the Metro East. The program allows manufacturing companies to partner with local community colleges and high schools to set up technical training programs that would translate directly into a job. This creates a targeted labor pool that connects prospective workers with the manufacturers in their community.

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure all youth in foster care have a pathway to independence, State Senator Lakesia Collins moved legislation that would establish a transition process to ensure youth aging out of care are provided with opportunities to succeed.

“As someone who has experienced the hardships of growing out of foster care, I know how important it is to create pathways for children to succeed,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “By giving foster children opportunities to learn and navigate adulthood, we are giving them a better future.”

Under Senate Bill 1504, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services would be required to develop a transition plan for youth age 15 and older to help prepare them for their transition out of care. Currently, youth in care are not eligible to receive most services after the age of 21, and the vast majority transition out of DCFS care on their 21^st birthdays or earlier.