 U.S. veterans:
Senate Bill 98 provides residents at federal veterans'
facilities with the same voting options and assistance as residents
at state facilities and nursing homes.Mental retardation:
Senate Bill 1833 makes changes to language in state law to
replace the term "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability"
and "crippled" with "physically disabled."
House Bill 3238 expands the list of those arrested or convicted
of certain crimes who are required to submit to DNA testing. Crimes
include first-degree murder, home invasion, predatory criminal
sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault and
criminal sexual assault.
House Bill 3283 enacts tougher penalties for filming,
videotaping or creating a moving image of child pornography, or
possessing such items.
House Bill 1562 provides public access to hospital report cards
through the Illinois Department of Public Health website.
House Bill 1359 allows fire departments to prohibit open burning
on an emergency basis when wind, weather or other factors create a
risk of fire spreading.
House Bill 3281 allows a school board to suspend or expel a
student who has made an explicit threat on a website against a
school employee or student.
House Bill 1670 requires all current and future elected and
appointed officials in Illinois to take Open Meetings Act training
courses administered by the public access counselor in the attorney
general's office.
An additional law of the road will take effect on Jan. 3. Truck
drivers will no longer be able to use hand-held mobile devices.
Drivers won't be able to bypass this rule by using their
speakerphone. The law outlaws all mobile hand-held phones
completely. If you must use a phone, you're required to pull off the
road and park your vehicle in a safe zone.
Andrea's Law -- Creates a First Degree Murderer Database for
people convicted of first-degree murder who have been released from
a penal institution or other facility. Places them on the existing
Sex Offender Registry or the amended Murderer and Violent Offender
Against Youth Registry.
Antique vehicles -- There is a new expanded-use category of
antique vehicles (vehicles more than 25 years old). While regular
antique vehicles are generally limited to driving to and from car
shows when using state highways, the expanded-use vehicles have
unrestricted use of the highways from April 1 through Oct. 31. The
owner must pay appropriate registration and renewal fees and also
pay the $45 annual fee for expanded-use antique vehicle
registration.
Brush clearing -- A township is allowed to authorize without a
referendum the use of road funds to finance the collection,
transport and disposal of brush and leaves within the unincorporated
areas of the township.
CDL licensing -- A new state law brings Illinois into compliance
with a federal law that requires Commercial Driver's License holders
who must comply with the physical qualifications requirements of the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to provide a current
original copy of their medical examiner's certificates to the state
driver's licensing agency before a CDL is issued, renewed, upgraded
or transferred.
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Consumer loan affiliates -- Payday loan "affiliates" are defined
as any person or entity that directly or indirectly controls, is
controlled by, or shares control with another person or entity. The
law states that a person or entity who has control over another is
the person or entity who has an ownership interest of 25 percent or
more in the other.
Cottage food deregulation -- Deregulation of cottage food
operations is allowed at the local level, so only "state-certified
local public health departments" would be permitted to regulate
cottage food operation. Cottage food operations are those where a
person produces or packages non-potentially hazardous food in a home
kitchen.
Expelled students -- An expelled or suspended student may
immediately be transferred to an alternative program unless there is
a threat to the safety of students or staff in the alternative
program. A pupil must not be denied transfer because of the
expulsion. Additionally, enrollment in a charter Alternative
Learning Opportunities school must be available to any pupil who has
been expelled or suspended for more than 20 days. The district
policy choice is changed to state that the student must complete the
entire term of suspension or expulsion in a Regional Safe School or
Alternative Learning Opportunities Program before being admitted
into the school district.
Financial exploitation -- Laws against financial exploitation of
an elderly person or person with a disability are strengthened by
lowering the property value threshold that constitutes a Class 1 or
2 felony for the offense of financial exploitation. Payment of
restitution is not limited to five years for this offense as it is
with other crimes.
Seat belts -- Adult passengers in the back seat of a vehicle are
required to wear a seat belt, and students 18 and younger riding in
a taxicab for school-related purposes are required to wear a seat
belt.
Mandatory maximum fines are required for a person who has
multiple convictions of driving an uninsured motor vehicle. A $2,500
fine must be imposed, in addition to any jail sentence, for an
individual convicted of driving an uninsured vehicle in an incident
that results in bodily harm to another person, if the defendant has
two or more convictions for driving an uninsured vehicle. The same
fee is required for a person who receives a third conviction of
uninsured operation of a motor vehicle that leads to bodily injury
to another. The fee is set at $1,000 for an individual convicted of
a third or subsequent violation of uninsured operation of a vehicle
that does not result in bodily injury.
[State of
Illinois, LDN]
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