SPRINGFIELD – Today, the Illinois Senate passed legislation requiring county clerks to issue new marriage certificates to reflect legal name changes. Sponsored by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), the measure was the second this session aimed at modernizing marriage license practice in Illinois.

“We’ve focused on removing gendered language on marriage certificates, but many individuals who adopt new gender identities often change their legal names in the process,” Feigenholtz said. “Simply removing the gendered language is not enough. Non-binary and transgender individuals should be able to have a marriage license that lists their correct name.”

House Bill 2590 requires county clerks in Illinois to issue new marriage certificates at the request of one of the parties involved that reflect legal name changes, provided the marriage occurred in Illinois and legal documentation of the name change is provided. The new certificate cannot contain additional markings, such as an indication of the individual’s former name.

SPRINGFIELD – The Senate Labor Committee approved a measure sponsored by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) that will allow teachers and other school employees to use paid sick leave after fostering, adopting or giving birth to a child.

"Today's Illinois families are formed and function quite differently than when these laws were originally written,” Feigenholtz said. "New parents, including LGBTQ+ couples and single parents, should have flexibility to decide how and when to use their earned time off to care for and bond with their new child.”

House Bill 816 redefines how teachers and other school employees outside of Chicago are able to use 30 working days of paid sick leave after the birth, adoption or fostering of a child at any time within the year after the child joins the family.

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 – 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.”