* SJ-R…

Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, is leading Senate Bill 2622 which would prevent any municipality from establishing a moratorium on a requirement that workers must hold residency to be employed. The bill clarifies the ability to initiate pauses is solely a state function. […]

The legislation comes after Springfield City Council adopted a moratorium in November. The pause allows Springfield to hire outside the city limits, needed to address hiring challenges its backers said.

The initiative was a push of first-term Mayor Misty Buscher with Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. and Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford voting against the ordinance. The council will revisit the moratorium in November, but no sunset date was established.

“The problem is we don’t have enough applicants for the jobs we need to hire for,” Buscher told The State Journal-Register following the vote. “It’s my job as the mayor to lead the city forward in getting the workforce, getting the things taken care of.”

* Politico…

Two state lawmakers on opposite ends of the political battlefield agree on one thing: People who make Illinois their home deserve some tax breaks.

Democratic state Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s HB5152 would benefit people who relocate to Illinois “as a result of attacks on health care access and free speech in their home states.” Under her bill, any taxpayer who relocates to Illinois as a patient or household member of a patient is eligible for a $500 tax credit. The bill also provides the same credit for licensed healthcare providers or teachers and their households. […]

Republican state Sen. Seth Lewis is championing legislation that rewards businesses who are staying put in Illinois.

His Senate Bill 2075 calls it a “legacy tax credit.” It gives $100 for each year the taxpayer owner of a sole proprietorship, LLC or corporation has been headquartered in Illinois. There would be a limit to 10 percent of their state income tax obligation, says Lewis, a small business owner as a State Farm agent.

* Sun-Times…

Illinois Senate Democrats are moving forward on legislation that would give mentally capable patients who are terminally ill an option of ending their own lives.

The “medical aid in dying” measure, sponsored by State Sens. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, and Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, would allow terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to obtain prescription medication that they can self-ingest to end their lives. It was filed in the General Assembly Thursday evening. […]

The bill would allow qualified individuals, not medical professionals, to self-administer a medication to end their lives. It also would require doctors to inform patients about all of their end-of-life options, including hospice, palliative care and pain control.

Patients would have to give two verbal requests for the medication — with a five-day waiting period between the first and second request. A written request would also be required.

And no physician, health care provider or pharmacist would be required to participate in the law — offsetting concerns from doctors and hospitals operating in institutions affiliated with religious organizations.

* Sen. Elgie Sims filed SB2535 earlier this week…

Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act. Creates the Youth Nonviolent Crimes Resource Program. Provides that the Criminal Justice Information Authority shall provide resources to people under the age of 18 who have committed a nonviolent crime. Provides that these resources shall include youth employment initiatives throughout the State, access to educational resources in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education, and parental mentorship training conducted by the Department of Human Services. Provides that the Authority shall develop a mentorship initiative for youth that have been convicted of a nonviolent crime. Provides that the Authority may establish a grant program for non-profit organizations. Provides that the Authority shall publish this program on its website by no later than January 1, 2024. Effective immediately.

* HB5320 from Rep. Kam Buckner…

Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that “hospital worker” means any person who receives an hourly wage directly or indirectly via a subcontractor by a hospital licensed under the Act. Replaces references to “nurse” with “hospital worker”. Provides for additional staffing transparency and reporting requirements. Provides that hospitals licensed under the Act must employ and schedule enough hospital workers to provide quality patient care and ensure patient safety. Provides that hospitals must make available, at the beginning of each calendar year and upon request, all staffing matrices and other staffing metrics, if any, used to assess and maintain safe staffing levels for hospital workers in each unit. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall produce an annual report based on staffing disclosures. Provides that the Department shall make recommendations for minimum staffing standards for hospital workers in each hospital unit. Provides that hospitals licensed under the Act shall conduct, within the first month of employment and at no cost, a competency validation for each hospital worker hired. Provides that a hospital must submit documentation of each hospital worker’s competency validation to the Department within 4 weeks after the worker’s start date. Provides that hospitals shall conduct ongoing verification for each hospital worker employed during a given calendar year to determine each worker’s continued competency to perform the worker’s job and shall submit documentation of each worker’s ongoing verification to the Department within 2 weeks of completion. Provides that hospitals shall submit a list of all competent employees currently employed at the end of each calendar year. Provides for a public registry of all competent employees to be maintained by the Department. Provides for the imposition of civil penalties for specified violations of the Act. Describes an assignment despite objection resolution process to be implemented by each hospital that is licensed under the Act. Provides for a Hospital Safety Advocate role to be created within the Department.

* HB5142 from Rep. Robyn Gabel…

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that insurers shall cover all services for pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care that are rendered by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives, including home births, home visits, and support during labor, abortion, or miscarriage. Provides that the required coverage includes the necessary equipment and medical supplies for a home birth. Provides that coverage for pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care shall include home visits by lactation consultants and the purchase of breast pumps and breast pump supplies, including such breast pumps, breast pump supplies, breastfeeding supplies, and feeding aides as recommended by the lactation consultant. Provides that coverage for postpartum services shall apply for at least one year after birth. Provides that certain pregnancy and postpartum coverage shall be provided without cost-sharing requirements. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that post-parturition care benefits shall not be subject to any cost-sharing requirement. Provides that the medical assistance program shall cover home visits for lactation counseling and support services. Provides that the medical assistance program shall cover counselor-recommended or provider-recommended breast pumps as well as breast pump supplies, breastfeeding supplies, and feeding aides. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall limit the number of lactation encounters, visits, or services; breast pumps; breast pump supplies; breastfeeding supplies; or feeding aides a beneficiary is entitled to receive under the program. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2026.

* Sen. Rachel Ventura…

* WAND…

State Senator Doris Turner is outlining a plan to hold funeral homes accountable following the mishandling of human remains at a funeral home in Carlinville.

“The status quo isn’t working,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “These are people who deserve dignity and respect. This legislation will ensure that no family will have to worry that the death of their loved ones aren’t handled with dignity and respect.”

Senate Bill 2643 would require the death care industry in the state as well as state regulators to implement a mandatory identification tagging system for all human remains. It also would establish a chain of custody system that tracks the human remains of a deceased person whose death occurred in the state from death to final disposition, if the final disposition is in Illinois.

The measure would put procedures and protocols in place to prevent the misidentification and misplacement of bodies or human remains and conduct that results in a method of final disposition that differs from what is stipulated by the deceased individual or the deceased’s next of kin.

* HB5063 from Rep. Anne Stava-Murray…

Creates the Gas Stove Labeling Act. Provides that no person shall sell, attempt to sell, or offer to sell to a consumer in the State a gas stove that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2025 unless a label on the gas stove bears a specified message. Provides that manufacturers or importers shall affix adhesive labels to the gas stove in a position that is easily read by a consumer examining the product. Provides that the label must be in a type size no smaller than the largest type size used for other consumer information on the product. Provides that a violation of any of the provisions of the Act is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that all remedies, penalties, and authority granted to the Attorney General by the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be available to him or her for the enforcement of the Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a conforming change.

* Rep. Sonya Harper filed HB5067 yesterday…

Creates the Lawns to Legumes Act. Establishes the Lawns to Legumes Program, which requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide assistance for installing pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns to protect and support native species of pollinators. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules for the Program. Provides for individual support grants to reimburse Illinois residents for up to $400, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides for demonstration neighborhood grants to units of local government and nonprofit organizations through a request for proposal process, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides that homeowners associations and common interest communities may not prohibit the planting of pollinator habitats. Defines terms.

* WBEZ…

New legislation in Springfield backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker would require a lawyer for young people under 18 during a police interrogation, an expansion of juvenile rights after video obtained by WBEZ showed a suburban Chicago detective extracting a teen’s false confession to a shooting.

The bill, introduced this week by state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, applies to any public official’s questioning of a child in custody about any crime. It would also bar kids from waiving their right to counsel. Under the measure, any statement by a minor without a lawyer’s presence would be inadmissible as evidence against the child in any juvenile or criminal proceeding. […]

The law enforcement groups have derailed attempts to pass similar legislation. One such attempt resulted in a compromise measure that took effect in 2017. The law requires a lawyer for kids under 15 and applies to homicides and sexual assaults only.

That measure did not protect a 15-year-old interrogated for 43 minutes in 2022 at a Waukegan police station without a parent or attorney. The police charged him with a shooting that injured a dollar store clerk. The teen went to jail and stayed there until his basketball team proved he was in another town during the shooting.