CHICAGO – Former foster children may get in contact with their former foster parents and former foster siblings thanks to a measure sponsored by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz that was signed into law Friday.

Senator Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), an adoptee herself, was reunited with her biological sister through a similar service provided by the state of Illinois. Feigenholtz saw the positive outcome these services have, and wanted to expand state services for youth in foster care.

“Children in the foster system often become very close with their foster parents and siblings before they are adopted into a new family,” Feigenholtz said. “Children deserve easy accessibility to contact them as they transition into a new life with unfamiliar faces.”

CHICAGO – Vehicle emission testing sites are on track to return to Chicago thanks to a measure fought for by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) that was signed into law Friday.

“The former administration made a shortsighted, unilateral decision to close all four vehicle emissions testing sites that were located within the city limits of Chicago,” Feigenholtz said. “With a population of 2.8 million people, the City of Chicago should have more accessible testing stations within the city.” 

The new law requires the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to submit a plan by Oct. 1, 2022 to open vehicle emission testing sites in Chicago. Four vehicle emissions testing sites in Chicago were closed in 2016, leaving drivers in the lurch and forcing them to travel to the suburbs. The plan will consist of either a pilot program or permanent replacement program and a timeline of actions to implement the plan.

CHICAGO – State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) released the following statement after attending a concert at Temple Sholom commemorating Yom HaShoah, a day that honors the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust:

“The history of the Hebrew song, Ani ma’Amin, which means ‘I believe,’ is deeply spiritual. I learned the song when I was a child and until last night, I did not know its origin.

“In 1942, Azriel David Fastag wrote the melody to Ani Ma'amin while being transported on a train to the Treblinka concentration camp. Every day, Fastag sang this song in the camps.

SPRINGFIELD – In order to provide law enforcement with more technology to identify and enable them to solve crimes, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) championed a measure through the Senate to permit them to use images from expressway cameras when investigating criminal offenses.

“Camera technology helps solve crimes committed on Lake Shore Drive. Not having a means to identify perpetrators needs to come to an end,” Feigenholtz said. “We must provide our police officers with more resources to close crimes and this is one way we can do it.”

House Bill 260 would allow any municipal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive, in addition to Cook County expressways, the ability to use images from expressway cameras to investigate shootings, carjackings, terrorism and forcible felonies. The measure would require the agencies to create a webpage with details about the program objectives and counties where the program is operational.