Winter storm to affect parts of
central Illinois Tuesday night

(Posted Monday afternoon)

[MARCH 3, 2003]  A cold front will drop into central Illinois Tuesday and become nearly stationary by afternoon. Waves of low pressure are expected to develop and ride northeastward along the front. As a result, precipitation will develop across west central Illinois by afternoon, then spread across the remainder of the region Tuesday evening. Initial temperature profiles will be cold enough to support snow along and north of a Canton-to-Bloomington line, with mainly rain to the south.

As colder air begins to filter southward Tuesday night, the precipitation will gradually change over to snow from north to south across the watch area. A period of sleet or freezing rain will be possible before the precipitation changes to all snow.

Snow should begin along a Springfield-to-Champaign line by midnight, with precipitation changing to snow farther south during the overnight hours. Total snow accumulations will be on the order of 4 to 6 inches along and north of a Canton-to-Bloomington line. Lesser amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected along and north of Interstate 70.

A winter storm watch is issued when severe winter weather is possible but not imminent. At the time, there is a potential for significant snow or ice accumulations. Future driving and walking conditions may become hazardous, so it is important to monitor the latest forecasts.

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For Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas,  Edgar, Logan, Macon, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Moultrie,  Piatt, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby and Vermilion counties, including the cities of Beardstown, Champaign, Charleston, Clinton, Danville, Decatur, Havana, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Mason City, Mattoon, Monticello, Paris, Rantoul, Rushville, Shelbyville, Springfield, Sullivan, Taylorville, Tuscola, Virginia and Winchester:

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Winter storm watch for Tuesday night

Rain will develop across the area late Tuesday afternoon. The rain will mix with sleet Tuesday night before changing to all snow overnight. The snow could be heavy at times Tuesday night, with total storm accumulations of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Remember, a winter storm watch means conditions are favorable for hazardous winter weather in and close to the watch area.

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For Fulton, Knox, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties, including the cities of Bloomington, Canton, Eureka, Galesburg, Lacon, Lewistown, Pekin and Peoria:

Winter storm watch for Tuesday night

Snow will develop across the area by late Tuesday afternoon. The snow could become heavy at times Tuesday night, with total storm accumulations of 4 to 6 inches possible.

Remember, a winter storm watch means conditions are favorable for hazardous winter weather in and close to the watch area.

[1:54 p.m. Monday news release]

Illinois Senate to address medical liability insurance crisis

Doctors demonstrate at state Capitol

[MARCH 3, 2003]  State Sen. Bill Brady is targeting a medical liability insurance crisis that is driving physicians and hospitals out of business and leaving Illinois citizens with fewer health care options. He was joined by Dr. Tom Pliura of LeRoy at a state Capitol press conference Feb. 26 to talk about legislation Brady is sponsoring to help avert a crisis in medical malpractice insurance rates. Pliura was the organizer of a demonstration by Illinois doctors at the Capitol Feb. 26 to avert a crisis in the way medicine is delivered throughout the state.

Physicians in our nation are facing a crisis, Brady explains. It's a medical liability insurance crisis. Insurance companies are leaving the market of selling liability insurance, and it's wreaking havoc in the health care community. And the problem is not limited to physicians. Hospital emergency departments, trauma centers, obstetrical units and other high-risk providers are in jeopardy of closing because neither the doctors nor the hospitals can afford the insurance necessary to stay open. And the real victims of this crisis are the citizens of Illinois.

"Many trauma centers have already ceased operations across the state and more are considering that option," Pliura said. "Physicians are refusing to provide high-risk procedures in fields like neurosurgery, orthopedics, obstetrics and cardiovascular surgery. The problem affects every person in the state, whether they know it or not.

"All involved groups, including health care providers, the legal profession, insurance companies and citizens' groups need to sit down with lawmakers and work collectively to resolve this problem. It is in everyone's best interest."

Brady proposes an amendment to the Good Samaritan Act, which is expected to be included on Senate Bill 1161. Currently, physicians who provide emergency care without a fee are exempt from liability under the act. As amended, Senate Bill 1161 will formally extend the liability exemption to physicians who provide emergency services to victims of trauma at designated trauma centers. There is no requirement that care must be provided without a fee to obtain the exemption.

In a nutshell, if you are a physician who treats a trauma patient at a designated trauma center, then you and the hospital will be exempt from liability for claims of negligence, absent a showing of willful and wanton misconduct. Senate Bill 1161 will give physicians immediate relief and give everyone more time to come up with a viable solution to this problem.

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Another bill that Brady is sponsoring, Senate Bill 1159, will allow patients and physicians to voluntarily enter into agreements that restrict economic damages in excess of $500,000 or limit noneconomic damages awarded for subjective issues like pain and suffering, if they choose.

Such an agreement will allow patients to lower their overall health care costs. These agreements will result in lower health care costs for patients by decreasing the incidence and frequency of unnecessary tests due to defensive medicine.

Malpractice rally television coverage

The Illinois Channel is providing coverage on the doctors' malpractice rally. It will air on Channel 20 in Bloomington on March 5, 7 and 9. It will also air on Channel 22 in Springfield on March 3, 5 and 9, at 5 and 9 p.m. Please direct your comments on this programming to the following e-mail address: Illinoischannel@aol.com.

Brady interviewed for Time magazine cover story

Time magazine reporter Maggie Sieger of Chicago interviewed Brady on Feb. 26 for a cover story about medical malpractice. The magazine plans to run the story in about two weeks -- unless international events escalate. Watch for this article, which will provide national coverage of what we are doing in Illinois to address the medical liability insurance crisis!

[News release]

Senate week in review: Feb. 24-28

[MARCH 3, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Senate Republican lawmakers welcomed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's first steps toward fixing the problems in the fiscal 2003 budget, according to Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

Less than expected revenues will force lawmakers to make tough decisions on both the fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2004 budgets.

In January, Senate Republicans offered a plan to make immediate spending reductions in the current budget year, while giving the governor more time to work on fiscal 2004. On Feb. 25, Blagojevich unveiled a similar plan to make immediate cuts in fiscal 2003. Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, said, "Making cuts where we can now will put us in a better position when it comes to preparing the fiscal year 2004 budget."

Blagojevich also offered a plan to issue up to $10 billion in general obligation bonds and refinance the pension debt. Proceeds would be used to fill a portion of the state's budget hole. Senate Republicans are remaining neutral on this plan until the governor offers more details, but the senators recognize it could help significantly reduce the budget hole.

Senate Republicans led the path toward reforming the weakened pension systems in 1996, after heavy borrowing in the 1980s had put the solvency of the systems at risk. Republican lawmakers will insist the governor's plan maintain the stability of the pension funds.

A new bipartisan ethics plan was unveiled Feb. 27 by lawmakers. Senate Bill 1871 and House Bill 3046 would create two ethics commissions to advise state officials and employees on proper ethical conduct. The bills would also provide more stringent oversight of state employees working on political campaigns and would ban contributions to campaigns by employees of that office.

In other business, the highly controversial Senate Bill 101 gained approval in a Senate committee on a partisan roll call. Senate Bill 101 affords special protection to homosexuals. Liberal Senate Democrats advanced the bill, but the future of the legislation is still unclear as three of the Democrats on the committee said they would not support passage of the legislation on the Senate floor.

The following bills are also among those approved by Senate committees this week:

Equal pay (SB 2) -- Prohibits wage discrimination based on gender. The measure was approved unanimously in committee.

Boy Scout license plates (SB 258) -- Authorizes Boy Scout license plates to benefit the Boy Scouts of America.

Nurses (SB 78) -- Requires that licensing requirements for nurses be available in both Spanish and English on the Web and changes licensing requirements for nurses seeking licenses by endorsement.

In other committee action, Senate Republicans opposed a tax amnesty bill (Senate Bill 18) that lets deadbeat taxpayers off the hook for fines and late fees when they pay their back taxes. Because this is money the state will eventually collect anyway, the lawmakers opposed the bill, refusing to reward deadbeats for not paying their taxes on time.

The Senate Executive Appointments Committee unanimously passed several of Gov. Blagojevich's choices to lead state departments. Those motions were also approved by the full Senate. The governor chose not to proceed with several more controversial appointments that may have met with opposition in the Senate.

Of the 539 bills assigned to committees, 85 were Republican-sponsored measures. The following bills are among those assigned to Senate committees:

Personal security (SB 1148) -- Eliminates state-funded security protection for former constitutional officers.

Sexual assault (SB 406) -- Clarifies that a person can withdraw consent to sexual activity, so that "no" always means "no."

Sex offenders (SB 641) -- Requires apartment and condominium managers to post notices when a sex offender moves into the building.

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State bills (SB 226) -- Requires the state to pay late fees if a vendor is forced to borrow money because the state did not pay its bills on time.

Property taxes (SB 270) -- Extends the time period homeowners have to file an objection to their property tax bill.

Wine Council (SB 336) -- Extends funding for the Illinois Grape & Wine Resource Council.

New teachers (SB 346) -- Requires schools to develop mentoring programs for new teachers.

Traffic stops (SB 353) -- Provides for a study on discrimination by law enforcement. Requires officers to record the race of a motorist stopped, whether they searched the vehicle or passenger, and resulting legal action.

Teachers' retirement (SB 599) -- Allows Chicago teachers to buy up to two years' credit for employment by a private school.

Mental health parity (SB 601) -- Provides insurance parity for eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

School funding (SB 604) -- Increases funding school districts receive from income taxes.

Drug paraphernalia (SB 642) -- Makes homemade drug paraphernalia illegal.

Public pensions (SB 892) -- Limits public pension annuities to no more than $75,000 per year.

Child abuse (SB 893) -- Eliminates the statute of limitations for reporting sex offenses against children younger than 18 years old and requires clergy to report confessions by other clergy.

Clergy confessions (SB 1339) -- Protects the confessions of clergy made to clergy as privileged religious communications.

High school requirements (SB 1124) -- Requires high school students to take at least one class in parenting and family education before they graduate, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year.

American flag (SB 1147) -- Prohibits condominium or homeowners associations from prohibiting the display of the American flag or the installation of a flagpole to display it.

Bad checks (SB 1338) -- Allows state's attorneys to create bad check diversion programs as an alternative to prosecution for offenders who agree to complete the program instead.

Insanity defense (SB 1342) -- Requires offenders found not guilty by reason of insanity for murder charges to receive inpatient treatment.

Tuition tax exemptions (SB 1344) -- Allows a state income tax deduction for contributions to college savings programs administered by other states if that state allows a deduction for contributions to Illinois' tuition programs.

Charity license plates (SB 1362) -- Creates universal charitable organization license plates with proceeds benefiting various organizations throughout Illinois.

Energy efficiency (SB 1380) -- Sets minimum energy efficiency standards for products such as ceiling fans and cable boxes sold in Illinois. Setting these limits is expected to save government, businesses and consumers $1.7 billion by 2030.

Seniors tax credit (SB 1446) -- Gives taxpayers who live in senior citizen communities an income tax credit equal to 50 percent of the property taxes paid to school districts.

State debt (SB 1449) -- Sells state debt to private companies for collection.

Death penalty (SB 1445) -- Makes reforms to the death penalty system regarding perjured testimony, public defenders, nonelectronic confessions and mentally ill defendants.

Unlicensed drivers (SB 1581) -- Seizes the vehicle of unlicensed, uninsured drivers who cause death or personal injury to another person while driving.

[News release]

New head of Department
of Insurance named

[MARCH 3, 2003]  CHICAGO -- On Friday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich named J. Anthony Clark as the new director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, the state body responsible for regulating the insurance industry.

Clark, an attorney with 18 years of legal experience, is a recognized authority on state insurance law regulations. Prior to establishing his own private practice, he served as counsel for Montgomery Ward Life Insurance for 10 years.

“Part of my effort to reform our state government is to bring in accomplished professionals, like Mr. Clark, from the private sector who have expertise and experience to make our system work better,” the governor said. “Mr. Clark's background in insurance law and his extensive civic involvement will be a tremendous asset to state government in general, and the Department of Insurance in particular.”

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Clark is a member of the board of directors of the Cook County Bar Association. Previously, he served on the board of the Center for Conflict Resolution and was president of the board for the Society of Samaritans, a suicide prevention agency. He was awarded a distinguished service award for his service with the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and earned the Cook County Bar Association's Presidential award.

Clark graduated cum laude with a degree in journalism from Hampton Institute, the same Virginia school from which Booker T. Washington graduated in 1875. After working as a reporter for the Evanston Review and Time Magazine, Clark earned a law degree from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in labor relations from Cornell University.

[Illinois Government News Network
press release]

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