SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) that would require the Illinois State Board of Education to create an unused food program for schools passed the State Senate on Thursday.

“No child in Illinois should go to bed hungry,” Belt said. “This program will build on the success of the free lunch and breakfast program the state already has in place.”

The program would allow public schools to provide their leftover food to students who already receive free or reduced lunch and breakfast. Like the free lunch and breakfast program, the food must be free to the students.

SPRINGFIELD -- When a person with a mental health condition calls 911, they don’t always need the hospital – but are typically taken to an emergency room rather than the mental health facility they require. State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) lead a measure through the Senate that would change that by allowing EMS workers to take patients where they’ll most benefit.

“Imagine going through a mental health crisis, then being taken to an emergency room, rather than a place that can actually help you,” Bush said. “That’s going to cause anger and frustration – let alone waste time that could be used to begin treatment.”

SPRINGFIELD – Running for elected office calls for a lot of long days, late nights and busy weekends. It can be discouraging for people with children – especially single parents – to chase their desire to serve their communities.

To enable more women – and all parents – to seek public office, State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) spearheaded a movement to allow campaign finances to pay for child care.

“The window is narrow for women who have young children to run – and it’s time to change that,” Bush said. “No one should have to choose between serving their community and being a parent.” 

SPRINGFIELD – With the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission set to expire on Jan. 1, 2022, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), one of two Jewish members of the Illinois Senate, is sponsoring a measure to extend the expiration by ten years.

“The Holocaust is among the most heinous events in human history,” Feigenholtz said. “Nearly a century later, not only are we seeing more and more adults and children articulate the depth of the Holocaust, we have seen increased hate crimes towards Jewish people in our country. It is extremely important that we continue educating our youth and work to find innovative ways to teach tolerance alongside the atrocities of the Holocaust.”

SPRINGFIELD – To provide targeted support to college students and staff in Illinois, an initiative sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) to create an online resource hub geared toward campus mental health passed the Senate Wednesday.

“The challenges of higher education can take a toll on the entire campus community,” Murphy said. “This initiative would provide students and professors alike an easy-to-access website listing all available resources to help manage stress, anxiety and depression.”

The legislation would require the Department of Human Services to maintain a page on its website with mental health resources specifically tailored to post-secondary education institutions, their staff, students and families.

Currently, DHS provides digital brochures and links on its website of helpful tools for those who may be dealing with a mental health concern. However, the website does not contain provisions directly targeted to post-secondary education and its communities.

SPRINGFIELD – With the vaccine effort underway but COVID-19 cases still alarmingly high, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) advanced a measure out of the Senate Wednesday to give the legislature a voice in the reopening process by reinstating the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission.

“When the state was first grappling with the pandemic, the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission gave lawmakers the chance to offer input and communicate feedback from their constituents,” Murphy said. “Our work isn’t over yet. It’s time to reinstate the commission so we can help guide Illinois to a full recovery.”

Murphy’s proposal would reenact the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission, a bipartisan, bicameral commission created last May to monitor and help shape the state’s economic recovery plans after the COVID-19 crisis.

SPRINGFIELD – In order to clarify how taxes are collected from online sellers based in Illinois, State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) introduced a measure that corrects the double-taxation of Illinois sellers who sell their products through larger marketplace facilitators.

“This legislation provides a simple fix to something that has cost businesses in the state unnecessary taxes,” Castro said. “Big websites that act as a marketplace for smaller sellers provide an important service, but the way the Illinois Use Tax was interpreted by Department of Revenue in 2020 hurt some of these Illinois sellers.”

Legislation that went into effect in January of 2020 required marketplace facilitators, like Amazon and Etsy, to collect and turn over a sales tax of 6.25%, known as the Illinois Use Tax, to the Department of Revenue. However, the Department of Revenue also required that Illinois-based retailers selling through these marketplaces turn over their local sales tax to the state, which includes the same 6.25%.

SPRINGFIELD – A steadfast supporter of keeping tobacco out of the hands of children, State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) passed the Preventing Youth Vaping Act through the Senate Thursday.

“Vaping- and e-cigarette-related deaths and illnesses have become a nationwide outbreak that no user is immune to — no matter how young they are,” Morrison said. “We were doing so well on changing the culture of smoking, and now we have gone backward — especially the younger generation.”

The measure would place a number of restrictions on electronic cigarettes, including prohibiting marketing tactics that use images of cartoons or video games that appeal to children. Additionally, it prohibits shops from offering discounts on electronic cigarettes and requires sellers shipping the products to ensure the purchaser is at least 21 years old.