* A bipartisan bill that looks to have some, um, l’eggs…

State law says if just one egg in a carton is cracked, the grocery store has to pull the whole dozen from the shelves. The store isn’t allowed to toss the bad egg and replace it with a good one.

A proposal in Springfield would let grocery stores consolidate eggs from the same brands, grades and sell-by dates, potentially reducing waste and not letting one bad egg spoil the bunch. […]

The Illinois Farm Bureau has concerns. Spokesman Kevin Semlow said the law exists to help track when something goes wrong in a batch of eggs and not spread problems further. […]

The legislation also would require store to train its workers on the consolidation rules, and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association supports the idea, saying 41 other states have similar laws.

* On a more serious note, here’s a bill that probably isn’t going much of anywhere…

Illinois lawmakers may soon take up the controversial question of which bathrooms should be used by transgender students.

A measure filed by State Representative Tom Morrison, a Republican from Palatine, would require schools to make sure students use bathrooms matching the sex listed on their birth certificates. He says schools could provide other accommodations, such as single-occupant restrooms, if parents request it in writing.

“What my bill does is it provides an accommodation for those individuals who cannot neatly fit into either the male facility or the female facility,” Morrison says. “We want every student to have access to a restroom during the school day. We want every student to have access to a private place to change for PE. That’s what we want, and that’s what this bill provides.”

* And on the other side of the coin…

The Illinois House Human Services Committee is set to hear testimony on Tuesday, April 5th on House Bill 6073, an amendment to the Illinois Vital Records Act. The measure is a careful update of the state’s birth certificate law recognizing the needs of transgender people for accurate identity documents advances in medicine and science. Under the proposal, someone seeking to change the gender marker on their birth certificate will no longer be required to have surgery, instead submitting an affidavit from a medical or mental health care provider that the person has undergone treatment appropriate to make such a change. Twelve other states and the federal government have modernized their laws in this way. Illinois was the first state that allowed someone to change the gender marker on their birth certificate, and this policy would update that law.

State Representative Greg Harris will be joined by advocates and individual Illinois residents who would be able to change their birth certificate when House Bill 6073 becomes law. All the participants will take questions from the media.

* And on another topic…

Medical marijuana in Illinois would be required to carry warning labels about possible side effects under a bill proposed by a Republican lawmaker.

Rep. Dwight Kay said the goal is to treat medical marijuana like other prescription drugs that warn patients about possible adverse effects. His bill, which is up for a House committee vote Monday, doesn’t specify what warnings should be on the products, leaving it to the state health department to decide.

But Kay said he would like to see warnings about how marijuana can cause drowsiness and impaired driving, and that it can affect pregnancies.

* Yet another topic…

Dana Pfeiffer, the executive director of the Springfield-based Grounds of Grace, said it’s a misperception that human trafficking is an international issue.

Grounds of Grace helps around 30 clients per week from central and southern Illinois. Ninety percent of the victims it helps are trafficked by family members or significant others, she said. […]

They’re pushing a bill that would let victims have 20 years to file charges against their abusers instead of one year. The legislation hasn’t gained much traction though due to the budget impasse, she said.

“Are you really going to turn your father in, brother in, or mother in during that span,” Pfeiffer said. “You need more time.”