SPRINGFIELD – Senate Democrats joined together with advocates and community leaders at the Capitol Wednesday to support equality throughout Illinois.

“We cannot let down our youth. We need to stand with them and hear them – especially when they are speaking so loudly,” said State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago).

In order to bolster support for continued efforts to achieve inclusivity and accessibility, State Senator Ram Villivalam is leading legislation that would address funding for health, safety and sexual health education in all public elementary and high schools.

In 2021, Villivalam led a law to bring forth new learning standards for age-appropriate, medically- accurate, and inclusive personal health, safety, and sexual education in public schools that opt in, whereas this legislation was championed by Senator Villivalam.

This year he is leading Senate Bill 3384 to appropriate $20 million for grants to local school district and community organizations to implement this education.

SPRINGFIELD – Private drones flown over public parks, sports games and sensitive wildlife has created the need for regulation. State Senator Julie Morrison introduced a measure to give local governments the authority to adopt reasonable rules for the airspace over their public park property.

“I am proud to represent a district with an abundance of parks and wildlife,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “This legislation, brought to me by the Cook County Forest Preserve and the Illinois Association of Park Districts, will secure the sanctity and longevity of beautiful outdoor spaces.”

SPRINGFIELD – Members of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus were joined by advocates, Latino professionals, community groups and nonprofit organizations to celebrate the annual Latino Unity Day at the State Capitol Wednesday.

“Today, not only do we foster inclusivity, promote social justice, and strengthen our place in society but we also celebrate our rich diversity, history, and achievements,” said State Senator Celina Villanueva (D- Chicago). “With Latino Unity Day, we are able to further amplify our visibility, voices, and influence in shaping policies, programs, and initiatives that address our needs and priorities.”

The two-day event featured Latino leaders engaging in forums covering topics crucial to the community, ranging from education to health care and financial literacy. With this year’s theme of “Driving Progress for Illinois,” the event spotlighted ongoing efforts to promote equity and create a better Illinois for all residents.

SPRINGFIELD — Building upon her work to establish a task force for missing and murdered Chicago women, State Senator Mattie Hunter advanced a bill Wednesday that would add two seats to the task force reserved for Chicago police officers.

“Local police officers have firsthand experience with missing persons cases,” said Hunter (D-Chicago). “It’s been noted that the data collection processes surrounding these cases is not up to the level it should be. We need to bring the Chicago Police Department to the table to hear what their practices are, how information is being managed and how we can move forward with effective solutions.”  

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Rachel Ventura presented an initiative to assist local governments with the transition to zero emission vehicles by creating a grant program to the Senate Appropriations committee on Wednesday.

“As we continue to work on the goals set forth for the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, we need to provide financial avenues to assist local governments with the transition toward zero emission vehicles,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “If enacted, this legislation will help local governments not only be environmentally friendly, but also cost-effective and save taxpayers money in the long run.”

Under a law Ventura led last year, Senate Bill 1769, state owned passenger vehicles, except for law enforcement vehicles, must be either a manufactured zero-emission vehicle or a converted zero-emission vehicle by Jan. 1, 2030.

SPRINGFIELD – To streamline a fair and just pretrial process, State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. is collaborating with the court system to enhance the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services.

“The Office of Statewide Pretrial Services will serve as a beacon of fairness, equity and efficiency in this critical phase of the legal process,” said Sims (D-Chicago). “By assessing risk rather than wealth, the office will ensure that pretrial decisions are rooted in principles of justice, not financial privilege.”

Following the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act in 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court created the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services. It employs pretrial service officers who conduct pretrial investigations and provide pretrial supervision. To date, the office has completed 11,932 investigations and 11,607 defendants have been ordered to its supervision.

SPRINGFIELD —State Senator Celina Villanueva advanced a measure to help people who plead guilty to a possession charge a second chance in exchange for diversion into a probation program.

“First-time offenders of possession are typically young people who have made a misstep and by enrolling in a diversion program, they have shown their commitment to righting their wrongs,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “Clarifying that a recorded conviction without judgement is inadmissible allows folks to turn their lives around without a negative record lurking behind them.”

Currently, a person who successfully completes a probation program will have their sentence or conviction vacated. This clean record applies while the person is enrolled in the program as well as for those who successfully complete the program.

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Celina Villanueva advanced a measure to ensure reproductive health care records are not being improperly disclosed.

“Our fight for access to reproductive and gender-affirming care is far from over,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “It is our duty as a safe haven state to preserve people’s right to care while ensuring their livelihood won’t be put in jeopardy by restrictive, overarching laws of other states.”

Last year Villanueva led House Bill 4664 – a law to shield out-of-state patients and in-state providers from legal action originating from other states regarding abortions performed here.  To expand upon that measure and provide further protections, Villanueva is spearheading House Bill 5239 this year.