SPRINGFIELD – In response to her district’s opioid crisis, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) co-sponsored an initiative to expand Illinois’ medical cannabis program. It was signed into law this week.

“By expanding access to medicinal cannabis, we are giving those with an opioid prescription another option to manage their pain,” Crowe said. “Opioids are highly addictive when abused, and this program will offer qualifying individuals an alternative.”

Earlier this year, the Illinois Department of Public Health successfully launched the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program to give patients access to medical cannabis in exchange for their opioid prescription.

The legislation also expands access to the medicinal cannabis program. It gives nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants the authority to certify a patient’s eligibility for medicinal cannabis. Currently, only doctors have this authority.

The initiative also adds 12 qualifying debilitating medical conditions, bringing the total number of conditions to 54.

Senate Bill 2023 is effective Jan. 1, 2020

SPRINGFIELD – A task force aimed at examining the service-related ailments veterans often suffer will soon meet, thanks to a law sponsored by State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin).

“Our servicemen and women risk everything to protect our country, but once their service is finished and they seek treatment for conditions that arose as a result of their service, many veterans find themselves waiting months, sometimes even years, to get that treatment,” Castro said. “This is unacceptable. We owe it to the brave men and women who defended our freedom to give them the treatment they need. This task force will help identify and correct the issues that lead to delays.”

House Bill 120 creates the Veterans' Service-Related Ailments Task Force. The Task Force will consist of 11 members that will include designees from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans’ organizations, lawmakers, and a medical professional.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – A study to identify where the state could expand apprenticeship programs under a plan introduced by State Senator Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) was approved by the governor on Friday.

Senate Bill 2024 requires the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to conduct a study on the potential expansion of apprenticeship programs in the state by June 1, 2020. The study will focus on underserved communities with high unemployment. The Department will then report its findings to the General Assembly and recommend how to expand work-based learning opportunities.

“My goal is to see what we can do in Illinois to close the gap between workforce needs and available apprenticeship programs,” said Gillespie, an Arlington Heights Democrat who has made career and technical education one of her priorities. “Under this plan, the state would devote more time to studying demographic and regional workforce trends so that we can better prepare to meet the needs of employers and employees in Illinois.”

Senate Bill 2024 is effective immediately.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) was recognized at a ceremony at the Illinois State Fair today for championing the Elder Abuse Task Force.

“Elder abuse was one heinous crime that always stuck with me during my time as a prosecutor,” Crowe said. “So when I joined the Senate this year, I made it a priority to do something about it.”

The priorities of the Elder Abuse Task Force are to study and report recommendations on senior mistreatment and protective services and laws.

According to the Illinois Department on Aging, abuse takes many forms and, in most cases, victims are subjected to more than one type of mistreatment. Elder abuse can include physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; confinement; passive neglect; willful deprivation; or financial exploitation.

“Just as I proudly stood against elder abuse in my previous profession, I will stand against it as a member of this task force,” Crowe said. “I look forward to working directly to protect our elders.”

Illinois is the ninth state to create an elder abuse working group.

The task force’s first report is due Jan. 1, 2021.

SPRINGFIELD – A proposal passed by State Senator Terry Link (D-Indian Creek) to expand local government consolidation efforts in Lake and McHenry Counties was signed into law on Friday by Gov. Pritzker.

“One of the biggest concerns I continue to hear from constituents is the high cost of property taxes,” Link said. “Government consolidation is one tool we have to lower that burden for suburban homeowners and small businesses.”

Link’s new law – contained in House Bill 348 – will require that road districts in Lake and McHenry Counties be abolished if they contain less than 15 miles of roadway. The law also allows townships in McHenry County to be dissolved through a petition-initiated process.

In 2017, Link supported a law that allowed townships to merge with adjacent townships and allowed townships that share coterminous boundaries with a municipality to be dissolved.

SPRINGFIELD – Insurers will be required to cover medically necessary epinephrine injectors for minors under a proposal passed by State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) that was signed into law on Friday by Gov. Pritzker.

“With steady increases in food allergies and other serious allergic conditions, families are relying on EpiPens more than ever before,” Morrison said. “We should be doing everything we can to expand access to affordable lifesaving drugs and medicines. No child with a serious allergy should be without an epinephrine injector because they cannot afford one.”

Epinephrine injectors – commonly known by the specific brand name EpiPen – deliver the life-saving drug epinephrine to individuals experiencing a severe allergic reaction. Epinephrine works by narrowing blood vessels and opening lung airways, reversing the symptoms of a potentially fatal allergic reaction.

Morrison’s new law, contained in House Bill 3435, requires certain private insurance policies to cover medically necessary epinephrine injectors for those under 18 years of age.

SPRINGFIELD – The City of Rockford can raise license fees on video gaming machines thanks to legislation sponsored by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) that was signed into law on Friday.

“Rockford should be allowed to raise a small fee to a modest one,” Stadelman said. “The extra revenue will help the city balance the budget and hold the line on property taxes.”

Senate Bill 1558 was brought to Senator Stadelman by Rockford Mayor Thomas McNamara due to Rockford’s status as a non-home rule municipality, meaning the city needs state approval to raise the fees, unlike similar sized cities like Peoria, Aurora or Springfield.

Currently, non-home rule cities cannot charge more than $25 annually for a video gaming machine license. SB 1558 would raise that limit to $250 in Rockford only.

"I'm pleased the governor has signed this bill of Senator Stadelman's, making this a reality," Mayor McNamra said. "This brings our fees in line with other municipalities and will provide the city with much needed revenue."

The legislation take effect immediately.

SPRINGFIELD – To help with locating missing persons, Assistant Majority Leader Tony Muñoz (D-Chicago) sponsored a proposal that strengthens the relationship between local law enforcement and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems.

“Finding a missing person requires law enforcement to move fast and cover as much ground as possible and this tool helps them do just that,” Muñoz said. “By utilizing the national system we will have a better chance of finding missing persons sooner.”

House Bill 2708 adds NamUS to the list of laboratories law enforcement agencies can coordinate with under the Missing Persons Identification Act. NamUS is a national information clearing house and resource center for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases across the country.

Missing people’s information would need to be submitted to NamUS within 45 days. In high-risk missing person cases, law enforcement would be required to submit a packet of all relevant DNA samples to NamUS within 30 days.