Lawmakers could take up measure impacting various professions when they return next week

[April 08, 2021]  By Greg Bishop

(The Center Square) – Illinois state lawmakers could soon give a private association sole authority over certifying stage riggers who want to work in Illinois.

That’s just one of several labor-focused measures advancing at the statehouse.

The city of Chicago already requires those rigging light and sound equipment to be certified by the Entertainment Technician Certification Association.

During a hearing last month in the Illinois House Labor and Commerce Committee about House Bill 419 to require it statewide, state Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, had concerns the proposal gives only one group the authority over such certification.

“While I totally support 110% having certified and the best trainers, I hate putting in legislation that puts only one pathway on it,” Willis said.

Despite those concerns, the measure passed the committee unanimously. If passed and approved by the governor, the measure would require 3,000 hours of rigging experience and a passage of test administered by the ETCA before being certified.

Separately, another measure that passed the committee unanimously, House Bill 836, would permit virtual training for professional security officers and private detectives, among other things, according to security professional David Peck.

“Also, adding an eight-hour annual training requirement that must consist of range practice with live ammunition and minimum accuracy,” Peck said.

State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, speaks on the Illinois House floor on October 25, 2017.

Image courtesy of BlueRoomStream

The House could take up these and other measures when they return next week.

In the Senate, a group of certified nurse anesthetists wants a change in state law it said will allow for better quality surgical care in rural Illinois.

Senate Bill 2566 could come up in a Senate Committee this month. Matt Bednarchik with the Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists said the measure would drop a “physical presence requirement.”

“Hospitals will not have to, they won’t interpret it as thinking that they have to have a special type of provider, specifically a physician anesthesiologist there to physically supervise,” Bednarchik told WMAY.

He said CRNAs carry liability insurance and are responsible for their actions. If the measure is approved, Bednarchik said it could help give rural hospitals more flexibility to offer more services.

“An example of this would be increased care options for things like substance abuse disorders, we’re currently in an opiod crisis, mental health disorders, cancer care and an increase in surgical services,” Bennarchik said.

Messages seeking comment from the Illinois Society of Anesthesiologists were not returned.

The Senate returns next week.