* A proponent claims the Pritzker administration is quietly opposed to this bill. WCIA…

A bill to create a two-year pilot program for some counties to distribute higher doses of naloxone nasal spray heads to the Senate floor for a second reading.

Under the proposal, the Department of Human Services would provide eight-milligram naloxone nasal spray kits to public health departments and other providers helping people struggling with substance abuse in Sangamon, DuPage, Cook, St. Clair, and Winnebago counties. […]

The Illinois Association for Behavioral Health supports the bill. The association’s CEO, Jud Deloss, said while they are focused on preventing people from reaching the point of an overdose, they believe the proposal is important. […]

The proposal would also require Human Services to put together a data collection program on the number of kits people use for every overdose within the two-year period. They also have to collect data on the number of people who survive an overdose after receiving the spray as well as the number of people who died after using it.

* Another bill from Sen. Fine…

Obtaining official transcripts can be a roadblock for college and university students across Illinois if they owe a past-due debt to the institution. This can hamper their efforts to pursue post-graduate opportunities. State Senator Laura Fine introduced legislation to address this issue, making transcripts more accessible to students, as well as requiring universities to make the process of withholding transcripts more transparent. […]

Senate Bill 49 would expand on this legislation by requiring institutions to provide official transcripts to current or former students if the student requires the transcript to transfer to a different institution, to apply for financial aid, to join the U.S. Armed Forces or to pursue other post-secondary opportunities. The measure also would require higher education institutions to outline the process a current or former student must go through to obtain a transcript or diploma that has been withheld due to debt to the university — making sure students have a clear path to receive their transcripts if they are being withheld. […]

Senate Bill 49 passed the Higher Education committee on Tuesday, March 7. It now goes to the Senate floor for debate.

* Press release…

State Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, is working to improve healthcare for diverse populations by introducing legislation to train medical providers to work compassionately with multicultural patients.

“Healthcare professionals must be equipped with the necessary tools to provide people of all backgrounds and identities with high-quality healthcare,” Avelar said. “In the language, they understand regardless of their citizenship status.”

Avelar introduced House Bill 2280, which would require healthcare professionals to complete cultural competency training to ensure effective and affirming care is given to communities of color, people with disabilities, immigrants with or without status, people living with HIV, people who are intersex, and people of diverse faiths, sexual orientations, gender identities, and backgrounds. The training will also provide guidance for practice surrounding language barriers.

* State Journal-Register…

Prior to securing his spot in the Chicago mayoral run-off, the campaign for Paul Vallas became a victim of a growing digital deception known as a “deepfake.”

A video, now removed from Twitter, depicted a voice resembling Vallas’ saying erroneous statements regarding police shootings. Current state law is inadequate in providing a legal resource to victims of similar scams, according to proponents of new legislation filed in the Illinois General Assembly.

Senate Bill 1392 and House Bill 2123 would allow the campaign and other victims of digital forgeries to seek legal action against perpetrators who create and share inauthentic media. Both bills advanced out of committee this week as part of a frenzied effort by lawmakers to move proposed legislation out of committees before a Friday deadline.

* SEIU Healthcare Illinois…

On Thursday, March 9, child care center workers will testify in front of the Illinois Child Care Accessibility and Early Childhood Education Committee about the urgent need to address the growing workforce shortage that threatens child care access for working families.

Parents, workers, and the governor all agree that we need to invest in the child care workforce. Illinois faces a child care crisis: providers are leaving the field due to low pay while working families struggle to access affordable, high-quality care. Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed Smart Start initiative represents a key step toward addressing the needs of parents and providers, and would provide much-needed investment in the child care workforce that powers our state.

In order to build on the governor’s plans, the state legislature must take action and invest in the pay, training, and accountability that child care workers and early educators deserve. House Bill 2310/Senate Bill 2053 will address the workforce crisis by improving quality of care in early care and education through responsible contracting, investment in training, and a focus on equity and racial justice.

As the governor’s administration has begun to move toward stable funding through contracts, HB 2310/SB 2053 will put publicly-funded centers on the path to establishing a wage floor of $25/hour, the wage needed to afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state of Illinois. “We are very much in support of the governor’s goals around stabilizing the child care workforce, said Brynn Seibert, SEIU Healthcare IL Director of Child Care and Early Learning. “And in order to support and grow the child care workforce, we must ensure that every worker makes a living wage, and that every working parent can access affordable early care for their kids.”

* Fox Chicago…

An Illinois Senate bill could help Chicago firefighters get promotions more easily and frequently by standardizing the process.

Unlike other departments statewide, Chicago’s force is exempted from the Fire Department Promotion Act, which oversees the process to ensure that is fair and free of bias.

The Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 is in support of Democratic senator Willie Preston’s bill and says the promotional exam is held irregularly, and sometimes happens only once a decade. […]

Senate Bill 1707 passed the Senate Labor Committee Wednesday and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

* Sen. Julie Morrison…

A steadfast champion of Illinois laws to keep harmful tobacco products away from young people, State Senator Julie Morrison is expanding upon her work by leading a measure to ban e-cigarettes inside public places. […]

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes – like vapes – has increased tremendously, leading Morrison to work to add such products to the Smoke Free Illinois Act through Senate Bill 1561. […]

“We applaud Senator Morrison for her leadership in strengthening our state’s smoke-free law by passing SB1561 to protect people from harmful secondhand exposure to e-cigarettes in virtually all indoor public places,” said Kristina Hamilton, Illinois advocacy director, American Lung Association. “On behalf of patient advocacy organizations across the state, we look forward to our continued work together to pass this measure in the full Senate and ultimately in the Illinois General Assembly.”

Senate Bill 1561 passed the Senate Executive Committee Wednesday. It now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

* SB 2034 was passed out of committee…

To help support families grieving the loss of a child, State Senator Karina Villa advanced legislation from the Senate Labor Committee that will create the Zachary’s Parent Protection Act.

“No family should have to endure the loss of a child, and my heart goes out to all of those who have ever grieved over the unthinkable happening,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “This legislation attempts to offer support to families who are grieving by allowing them the proper time to themselves after a loss.”

This bill was inspired when mother Laura Kane lost her son to suicide, yet she was expected to return to work merely three days later. Kane was let go due to not being able to perform her job while grieving the loss of her child. She started a non-profit, Marshmallow’s Hope, in honor of her son and to help children struggling with depression and families struggling with the loss of a child due to suicide.

Senate Bill 2034 provides extended bereavement leave to employees who have lost a child to suicide or homicide: up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for larger businesses with at least 250 workers and six weeks unpaid leave for smaller businesses with fewer than 250.

* CBS Chicago…

A bill that would ensure those who identify as Middle Eastern or North African are counted in state data progressed Wednesday.

The legislation, House Bill 3768, passed the State Government Administration Committee. It will go to the House floor for a vote, and then the Senate for a final vote.

If passed into law, the bill would add a category called Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) to the Uniform Racial Classification Act. Whenever a state agency is required by law to compile or report statistical data using racial or ethnic classification, the amended law says they must use MENA in addition to white, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

The bill was introduced in February after a years-long CBS 2 investigation that revealed the devastating impact of data not being collected on this group by federal or local governments. For instance, during the height of the pandemic, Arabs were among those dying at high rates, but CBS 2 found city and state agencies did not have a separate category tracking this information like they do for other groups. Therefore, organizations struggled to obtain funding for resources.

* SB1709 was passed out committee on Wednesday and now heads to the Senate floor…

State Senator Mike Simmons presented legislation to the Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee on Wednesday that would increase the availability and accessibility of mental health resources for students.

“Young people today are faced with unprecedented mental health challenges exacerbated by social media, toxic stress, and underlying trauma,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “This legislation will help guide schools in initiating and establishing mental health infrastructure within schools that currently lack it. This also destigmatizes mental health support for youth, and provides access to mental health care and resources for students in a way that is practical and accessible - at their school, during the school day.”

Senate Bill 1709 would require the Illinois Department of Human Services and the State Board of Education to provide technical assistance for mental health care during school days to help increase the access students have to mental health services and information.

* Capitol News Illinois…

A bill that would create a clear legal avenue for victims of “doxing” to seek damages and protections against their perpetrators passed unanimously out of a House committee Wednesday.

Doxing, as defined by House Bill 2954, occurs when an individual intentionally publishes another person’s private information, such as their social security number or home address, without their consent.

Additionally, for a doxing claim to be successful, the individual would have had to publish that information with the intent of harming the other person. In order for a claim to be justified, the victim would have to prove they faced a “substantial life disruption.”.