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Two bills increase vehicle safety by targeting young adults, who
tend to have less experience driving, longer reaction times, more
driving errors and a higher motor vehicle fatality rate.
Senate Bill 210 prohibits drivers under the age of 18 -- or those
who have an instruction permit or temporary license -- from using
cell phones while driving. Senate Bill 229 requires every person
under the age of 19 to wear a seat belt while riding as passenger in
a vehicle operated by a driver under the age of 18.
In other news, a few of the topics that lawmakers addressed last
week were regulating sex offenders, fighting for more equitable
benefits for Illinois veterans, assisting disabled farmers and
defending the integrity of the legislative process.
A group of Senate Republican bills that were officially signed
into state law will establish new boundaries for sex offenders and
give added protection to residents in nursing homes, children on
school property, families in residential areas and kids celebrating
the holidays. House Bills 2062, 23, 1234 and 121 and Senate Bill 100
ensure that sexual predators will have less access to vulnerable
populations and will be easier for authorities to locate by
requiring that nursing homes screen for sex offenders, increasing
penalties for those offenders who fail to comply with registration
requirements, making it illegal for sex offenders to loiter on
school property, and forbidding them to dress as Santa or wear
Halloween costumes.
On a more uplifting note, Illinois veterans may soon receive more
equitable benefits with the passage of Senate Bill 40, which
requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to conduct a study
comparing Illinois veterans' benefits with the average benefits paid
to veterans in other states. Several Senate Republican lawmakers
sponsored this legislation after learning that Illinois veterans
receive some of the lowest, if not the lowest, disability payments
in the country. Several reports, including one in the Chicago
Sun-Times, revealed that the lower ratings and payments received by
Illinois veterans have been at historic levels for more than 60
years. Despite warnings from the Government Office of Accounting,
the Veterans Administration failed to take a hard look at why
Illinois benefits are noticeably lower many other states' benefits.
On the agricultural front, Illinois' disabled farmers are
expected to receive increased access to health care services,
community resources and agriculture professionals, under legislation
signed into law Thursday. House Bill 1575 creates a state version of
the federal AgrAbility Unlimited Project, which helps Illinois
farmers who have permanent disabilities as a result of farm-related
accidents, health problems or age to remain active and productive.
Specifically, the law establishes a program that will provide
disabled farmers with a variety of resources and services designed
to make their lives easier.
In other news, lawmakers and the citizens they represent were
shoved into the back seat when Blagojevich signed an executive order
July 12 that directs $10 million in fiscal 2006 budget dollars to
the Illinois Department of Public Health to fund a stem cell
research program. Skirting the General Assembly, which has rejected
public funding of embryonic stem cell research in the past, the
governor's order awards grants to medical research facilities for
this very purpose. The program, called the Illinois Regenerative
Medicine Institute, is modeled on previous legislation that failed
in the Senate.
The governor said that a $10 million appropriation in the state
budget for "scientific research" was actually tucked away for grants
to study stem cells, including those from human embryos, which some
liken to abortion because human embryos are destroyed. Lawmakers
from both sides of the aisle expressed disapproval with the
governor's means to achieving his desired result. Faced with the
legislature's rejection, he and Democratic leaders in the House and
Senate forced a partisan budget containing the $10 million
appropriation through the General Assembly without disclosing what
the funding would be used for.
Blagojevich justified his maneuver as "immaterial" because the
end result is "morally right," but his disregard for lawmaker
approval on such a sensitive issue has been deemed inappropriate,
arrogant and dishonest by several lawmakers, including members of
his own party.
Other measures signed into state law by Blagojevich during the
week of July 11-15 include:
Sex offenders -- House Bill 4030 increases the amount of
information sexual offenders must provide when registering on the
Statewide Sex Offender Database.
House Bill 350 states that sex offenders must refrain from living
with other sex offenders.
House Bill 172 requires that identifying information in indicated
reports involving sexual exploitation, physical abuse, torture or
the death of a child be retained for a period of no less than 50
years after the report is indicated or after the subsequent case is
closed.
House Bill 2077 prohibits a child sex offender from loitering
within 500 feet of a school building or real property comprising any
school (rather than on a public way within 500 feet of a school
building or real property comprising any school).
House Bill 2386 provides that for a defendant convicted of
predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal
sexual assault, or criminal sexual assault on or after July 1, the
term of mandatory supervised release shall range from a minimum of
three years to a maximum of the natural life of the defendant.
Senate Bill 1897 provides that a person charged with a Class A
misdemeanor violation of sexual exploitation of a child may not
receive a disposition of supervision.
House Bill 3451 requires school districts to perform a check of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database for all employee applicants.
Employment -- House Bill 0593 provides that when they return,
military personnel who were in line for employment be given the same
status they had when they left. Adoption -- House Bill 582 expands a public awareness campaign to
emphasize the importance of providing family medical information to
adopted individuals.
[to top of second column in this article] |
 Evidence -- House Bill 598 mandates that the identity of a
criminal informant who requests anonymity is confidential.
Firefighters -- House Bill 610 requires the maintenance of an
equipment exchange program in which fire departments can donate,
sell, trade or buy equipment.
House Bill 1402 provides that a firefighter cannot be suspended
for over 24 on-duty hours.
Internet -- House Bill 780 creates the offenses of online sale of
stolen property, online theft by deception and electronic fencing.
Mental health -- House Bill 808 allows mental health records to
be transferred between correctional facilities and mental health
facilities without inmate consent.
Conspiracy -- House Bill 923 enhances the penalties for
conspiracy to commit treason, first-degree murder, aggravated
kidnapping, aggravated criminal sexual assault or predatory criminal
sexual assault of a child, felony domestic battery, or aggravated
domestic battery.
Televisions -- House Bill 960 mandates that motor vehicles
equipped with media technology cannot be operated if the screen is
visible from the driver's seat.
Jury protection -- House Bill 1095 provides that people who
represent themselves in court and who are found guilty must obtain
leave of the court before contacting jury members.
Physical education -- House Bill 1540 excuses high school
students from physical education if they need that time to receive
special education support.
Trial -- House Bill 1587 provides a set time frame for hearings
on defendants who were deemed unfit to stand trial but have attained
fitness or will never attain fitness.
Grants -- House Bill 3488 authorizes the Illinois Board of Higher
Education to distribute funds to nonprofit health service
educational institutions based on priority.
Autism -- Senate Bill 3 requires the Illinois State Board of
Education to implement a three-year Giant Steps Autism Center for
Excellence pilot program.
Teacher training -- Senate Bill 58 adds first-aid training as an
allowable activity on Teacher Institute Days.
Illegal aliens -- Senate Bill 1623 defines "consular
identification document" as an official identification card.
Local government -- House Bill 690 creates the Eastern Illinois
Economic Development Authority and authorizes it to borrow, through
the sale of bonds, up to $250 million in order to promote economic
development projects in Ford, Iroquois, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion,
Douglas, Moultrie, Shelby, Coles and Edgar counties.
Scholarships, loans -- House Bill 60 creates the Teach Illinois
Scholarship Program for students preparing to teach in an area with
a teacher shortage.
Collective bargaining -- House Bill 908 requires employers to
honor fair-share clauses until successive collective bargaining
agreements are reached.
Receipts -- House Bill 942 provides that electronic warehouse
receipts are as valid and enforceable as those in nonelectronic
form.
Deactivation -- House Bill 1324 allows elementary schools to
deactivate so those students can be sent to a school in other
districts.
License suspension, revocation -- House Bill 1339 provides that a
person may not operate a snowmobile or watercraft during any period
if that privilege has been suspended or revoked anywhere.
Police -- House Bill 2242 requires anyone filing a complaint
against a state police officer to support the complaint with a sworn
affidavit.
School buses -- House Bill 2348 requires institution of a policy
to ensure that the school bus driver is the last person leaving the
bus.
Vocational programs -- House Bill 3646 allows school districts to
establish a vocational academy.
Taxidermists -- House Bill 3785 provides that taxidermists who
violate record-keeping provisions are guilty of a petty offense.
Identity theft -- Senate Bill 445 prohibits state universities
and community colleges from printing an individual's Social Security
number on any document that is required to access services.
Shaken babies -- Senate Bill 506 requires the Illinois Department
of Public Health to establish a statewide Shaken Baby Prevention
Program to educate parents and primary caregivers about the dangers
of shaking a baby.
Illegitimate child -- Senate Bill 529 replaces the term
"illegitimate child" with "child born out of wedlock" and replaces
"legitimate child" with "lawful child."
School board -- Senate Bill 1638 allows a school board to appoint
a student to the school board to serve in an advisory capacity.
Senior services -- Senate Bill 1967 provides that the Department
of Aging must begin restructuring the older adult services delivery
system.
Unemployment -- Senate Bill 2066 allows claimants the option to
have state income tax withheld from their unemployment benefits.
[News release from Illinois
Senate Republicans]
Note: For detailed information on any
of the bills listed in this article, enter the bill number in the
search field at http://www.ilga.gov/.
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