SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Bill Cunningham’s legislation to help turn vacant city lots into urban farms and community gardens is one step closer to becoming law, having passed the Illinois Senate Friday.

“Cities often find themselves responsible for vacant lots in older neighborhoods that can be difficult to sell,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the southwest suburbs. “Community gardens and urban farms both benefit local residents and raise nearby property values.”

The legislation enables local governments to sell or lease government-owned vacant lots to non-profit groups for urban farms, community gardens, or to sell fruits and vegetables from the non-profit’s other properties. Cities would be able to grant leases of up to 25 years (with 25-year renewals possible) or to sell vacant tracts of land for less than they would normally cost, providing the land continues to be used to grow food and/or sell food grown by the non-profit. The legislation also makes it easier for eligible non-profits to get property tax breaks.

SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) would fix a technical problem that prevents some local school councils of Chicago Public Schools from meeting.

“Local school councils are essentially the only way that local communities have the ability to impact how schools in their area run,” said Peters, who also supports an elected Chicago School Board. “Current law makes it more difficult – and sometimes impossible – for them to do the work they were elected to do when they have too many vacancies at one time.”

Local school councils are able to appoint additional members to fill vacancies. However, when membership falls below seven members as a result of too many vacancies, LSCs are prohibited from meeting. Peters’ measure would allow the councils too meet with only four members present, should the number in office drop too low.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois children will receive additional consideration when prison sentence length is determined for an expectant or current mother under a proposal from State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), which passed the Senate Thursday.

“The absence of a mother can have devastating effects on the development of young children,” Loughran Cappel said. “Stunting their growth because of the poor decisions of a parent is irresponsible.”

To discourage further disruption of families caused by a parent going to jail, Loughran Cappel’s initiative creates a weighing factor for courts to consider when determining the imprisonment time of pregnant women or women with young children in their care.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) passed a measure through the Senate Friday to eliminate infertility treatment barriers posed by a lack of disclosure in health insurance plans.

“Infertility is a difficult diagnosis for a family to receive,” Morrison said. “They may assume treatment will be covered, only to find out their insurance plan was written in another state and out-of-pocket costs will be substantial.”

Senate Bill 1905 would create the Family and Fertility Disclosure in Health Insurance Act. Under the measure, if an employer’s health insurance coverage is not written within Illinois, the insurance company must disclose a written list of services that are and are not covered.

SPRINGFIELD – In response to several instances of shackles and other hard restraints being used during the transport of youth in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) is sponsoring a measure that restricts the use of restraints.

“When a kid in DCFS care is being moved, that process alone already has the potential to be traumatic,” Feigenholtz said. “Under no circumstances should we ever condone adding more trauma by restraining children. These are children, not prisoners, and they must be treated as such.”

Senate Bill 2323 ensures that the DCFS must treat youth in their care with dignity at all times. This means that no youth may be subjected to the use of restraints during transportation services provided or arranged by DCFS. The legislation also requires the department to develop individual trauma-sensitive transfer plans for children under its care.

SPRINGFIELD – To encourage early detection and improve outcomes for Illinoisans with pancreatic cancer, State Senator Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove) spearheaded an initiative requiring health insurance plans to cover pancreatic cancer screenings.

“Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease,” Johnson said. “Early detection could make all the difference—it’s critical that screening is accessible and affordable for every Illinoisan.”

The measure would require all Illinois health insurance providers to cover medically necessary pancreatic cancer screenings starting Jan. 1, 2022.

SPRINGFIELD – A measure introduced by State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) that would begin phasing out toxic PFAS chemicals used in firefighting foam passed the Illinois Senate on Friday.

“Evidence shows that exposure to PFAS can have serious health consequences, including kidney issues and cancer,” Ellman said. “We need to step in now if we want to decrease the public’s exposure, especially firefighters.”

Per-and polyfluoradlkyl substances, frequently called PFAS, are a large group of toxic chemicals that have the ability to repel oil and water, reduce friction, and put out fires. For these reasons, they are especially prevalent in firefighting foam.

There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to negative health effects, like cancer, reproductive issues, and liver and kidney problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SPRINGFIELD – A new effort to reduce sexual misconduct on the campuses of Illinois colleges and universities, sponsored by State Senator Bill Cunningham, passed the Illinois Senate Friday.

An initiative of the Every VOICE Coalition, it would require each institution of higher education to conduct an annual sexual misconduct climate survey. The results of the survey would then be posted on the university’s website and sent to the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

“Despite important progress in recent years, sexual assault and harassment are still too common at our colleges and universities,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the southwest suburbs. “This survey would help higher education institutions form plans to address the problem and give prospective students and the public more insight on how institutions are addressing the issue.”