It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Nov 19, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Sen. Laura Fine…
Working with advocates for patients with chronic pain and the State Medical Society, State Senator Laura Fine advanced legislation authorizing prescribers to make chronic pain health treatment decisions for their patients. In 2016, states began instituting policies severely restricting the prescription of certain opioids, however, for some patients this is a life-saving treatment.
“Chronic pain patients who cannot access the proper treatments may turn to self-medicating with dangerous alternatives. These alternatives can put a patient’s physical and mental health at risk,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “This initiative allows for healthcare professionals to make medical decisions based on their patient’s needs.”
House Bill 5373 reflects new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the prescribing of opioids for chronic pain. The legislation allows physicians to make necessary prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids, without strict limitations based on dosage amounts except as provided under federal law.
Additionally, Fine’s bill protects patient confidentiality by preventing the release of opioid prescription and treatment information without a legal order verified by the Illinois Department of Human Services or an administrative subpoena from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
“Patients who need prescriptions that don’t conform to current recommended guidelines continue to suffer from chronic pain or risk health complications from lack of proper treatment,” said Fine. “This legislation will ensure medical professionals can provide the necessary, life-saving services to suffering patients.”
House Bill 5373 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday.
* Rep. Sonya Harper introduced HB5914 yesterday…
Creates the Enslavement Era Disclosure and Redress Act. Requires each contractor that participates in a competitive bid with the State to review its records for evidence of the contractor’s or a related party’s participation in slaveholding or the slave trade and to make certain disclosures with respect to that participation. Contains notice concerning public hearings following the disclosures. Provides that the Illinois Office of Equity shall appoint an administrator to oversee the program. Provides that each contractor that has disclosed participation in slaveholding or the slave trade shall provide the State with a statement of financial redress at the time of submitting its bid. Contains provisions creating a Redress Fund. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes.
* Yesterday, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie filed HB5915…
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that 90 days before the scheduled discharge of a person committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections, the Department shall provide the State’s Attorney of the committing county with the sentence calculation conducted by the Department, including documentation of completed programs or services that earned the person sentence credit for successful completion of those programs or services while the person was in custody of the Department. Provides that the State’s Attorney may challenge the calculation and request that the Department recalculate the sentence. Provides that upon recalculating the sentence, the State’s Attorney may request the Prisoner Review Board to review and approve the calculation.
* G-PAC CEO Kathleen Sances…
When Illinois lawmakers convene this week for their last days of session in 2024, they must act on Karina’s Bill and Safe at Home legislation to prevent tragedies that result when guns fall into the wrong hands.
We’ve seen the headlines when children and teens or at-risk people access deadly weapons in their homes and use them to inflict tragedy on themselves and others. Or in the case of Karina Gonzalez and her daughter, when a known domestic violence abuser used a gun to end their lives.
Legislators must act on Karina’s Bill to remove guns from known domestic abusers when an order of protection is filed against them. They must pass the Safe At Home package to enhance what it means to safely store weapons and strengthen reporting requirements when firearms are lost and stolen to prevent them from being trafficked to commit crime and violence. The Safe At Home package has two proposals: the Safe Gun Storage Act and the Lost & Stolen Firearms Reporting Bill.
At a time when there are more guns in our country than people, and when one in three children lives in a home with a gun, we need our laws to better prevent minors, at-risk people, domestic abusers and criminals from accessing these deadly weapons.
* WJOL…
In an attempt to address growing concerns about Illinois’ energy demands and potential national security risks, State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) has introduced legislation to prohibits data centers owned by foreign adversaries from operating in Illinois unless they generate their own power on-site, ensuring they do not strain Illinois’ energy infrastructure.
“With Illinois already facing an increased demand on our energy grid due to rapid data center expansion, we must take action to secure our infrastructure and prevent potential threats,” said Sen. Rezin. “This legislation ensures that foreign-owned data centers from known adversaries do not compromise our energy stability or burden Illinois residents with increased utility costs.”
Senate Bill 3890, also known as the Data Center Construction by Foreign Adversaries Act, requires Illinois’ regulatory agencies to jointly assess any proposed data center’s energy impact before allowing the construction of the center if it will be owned by a company tied to a foreign adversary. This assessment aims to confirm that the facility’s energy consumption is fully self-sustained, whether by on-site natural gas generation, battery storage, or renewable sources, so that no additional burden is placed on Illinois’ energy grid. The bill responds to a concerning trend of foreign entities acquiring land in the Midwest for industrial purposes, a trend that experts warn could jeopardize national security.
“Senate Bill 3980 is a necessary safeguard for Illinois and our national security,” continued Sen. Rezin. “We have to be vigilant about protecting our state’s resources and shielding our energy infrastructure from unnecessary risks.”
Sen. Rezin introduced HB3980 earlier this month.
- Anotheretiree - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 10:05 am:
Big yes to Sen Fines bill. We went overboard on opioid restrictions and harmed people who genuinely need them to function. An example of zero tolerance policy cruelty.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 10:23 am:
Rep. Sonya Harper evidently didn’t get the message 2 weeks ago that the Dems are losing base over its focus on “identity” issues. Instead of creating an additional administrative process with its concomitant costs and imposing another business mandate, JB, Welch and Harmon need to be focusing their membership on shoring up the budget and looking at ways to address base issues like property taxes.
- Benniefly2 - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 10:25 am:
Sen Rezin should rename the data center bill the “Let’s Create Lots of New Localized Air and Noise Pollution Act”.
- H-W - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:12 am:
@ Norseman
Ignorance (the art of ignoring) is not a solution to racism. Calling her bill identity politics does not refute the system harms that slavery and indentured servitude caused in Illinois prior to 1865.
While I have several reservations about the bill Rep. Harper is proposing, suggesting it is akin to identity politics and therefore unacceptable is ignorant. I will not go down that road, and recommend you not do so as well. In an era where Trumps election and reelection are 100% the result of identity politics in favor of one group and the exclusion of other groups, suggesting identity issues are unacceptable today is a false premise.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:13 am:
===evidently didn’t get the message 2 weeks ago that the Dems are===
Every four years, people claim that their own pet peeve is the reason why somebody lost. The percentage margin nationwide was narrow. I do not think you can say definitively that it’s “identity issues” what done it.
It’s fine to debate the bill, but it’s just a bill, so keep that in mind.
- Mike Gascoigne - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:20 am:
Reparations are the only way to end racism.
- Center Drift - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:27 am:
HB5914, yet another attempt at extortion of people and companies that had nothing to do with slavery. Yet another attempt to suggest that systemic racism is still alive and well in this country. If it wasn’t for Identity Politics Democrats in Illinois would have no reason for being.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:38 am:
Rep. Harper’s bill has got to be one of the dumbest bills I’ve ever seen filed and that’s saying something. Asking a company if they are aware of any association they may have had with slaves? Please. And then a redress fund? Again, please. I’m sick to death of this kind of stuff. This is just one more dumb hoop to have to jump through in the contracting process. Kill the bill.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:39 am:
===HB5914, yet another attempt at extortion of people and companies that had nothing to do with slavery.===
Probably should read the bill. It doesn’t apply to companies that had “nothing to do with slavery.”
If you believe in corporate personhood there’s no reason why a corporation that’s been around long enough to have benefited from the labor of enslaved people shouldn’t be required to redress their role in enslaving people.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:40 am:
==harms that slavery and indentured servitude caused in Illinois prior to 1865==
You just noted why the bill is ridiculous. We’re asking people to look back to the mid 1800s and before to see whether or not their company may have participated in the slave trade. That’s utterly ridiculous. Are they participating in something now? No. End of story. This force feeding of this sort of we should feel bad about ourselves because slavery existed at one time is just bonkers to me. Yes, slavery was bad. But nobody today was part of it. I’m not in favor of setting aside one dime for anything to do with slavery. Nothing.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:41 am:
==shouldn’t be required to redress their role in enslaving people.==
And who gets that “redress?” The whole concept is just silly.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:49 am:
===And who gets that “redress?” The whole concept is just silly===
You might find the premise silly, but your premise seems to be that a corporate entity should be able to directly benefit from the enslavement of people and then be able to brush their hands of it and keep all of the profits and opportunity that they obtained at the cost of whole scale human suffering.
How something is appropriately redressed is a discussion. Why are you suggesting the whole concept is silly instead of engaging in the discussion?
- Norseman - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:50 am:
=== Every four years, people claim that their own pet peeve is the reason why somebody lost. ===
Fair criticism. I’ve torn what couple of hairs I have left out over many of the post-mortems.
What isn’t a pet peeve is the polling which highlights the Dem loss of the blue-collar base across the entire demographic spectrum. Clearly, the Dems are pursuing policies intended to help these folks, but those efforts apparently aren’t being grasped. I’m just trying to understand why.
Back to the bill as Rich desires. All I see is the imposition of another mandate on an understaffed agency and a business mandate that will be added to the mantra about the Dems killing businesses in IL for little if any benefit to real people.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:58 am:
==Yet another attempt to suggest that systemic racism is still alive and well in this country.==
Our country certainly made strides in reducing systemic racism, but it is very much alive and well. And, the recently elected President made reviving and strengthening systemic racism an important part of his campaign and now an important part of his administration (which Steven Miller is helping to lead).
- Friendly Bob Adams - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 12:51 pm:
It seems that the election proved that identity politics is working quite successfully, depending on which identity you are appealing to.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 2:11 pm:
=== identity politics is working quite successfully===
This is the real fun about right wing folks that are “against identity politics” while living an extreme version of it where their political identity so trumps every other aspect of their personality that they drive around with giant flags with poorly photoshopped pictures of their idol.
===I’m just trying to understand why.===
If one’s arm has been broken one may not appreciate that new guard rails have been installed when no one has done anything to help them with their broken arm.
Democrats also need to do a better job talking about it.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 5:24 pm:
What the heck … let’s go back to root causes in the 1500’s and sue Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark and some of the northern African nations for establishing the slave trade that came to the US. I’d say they are the most culpable parties still in existence.
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 5:43 pm:
- What the heck … let’s go back to root causes in the 1500’s and sue -
No one is talking about suing anyone. Try to restrain your fragility.
- H-W - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 8:04 pm:
That some here would whitewash history is sad. Telling, since you are platform wonks, but sad in that you pretend to be hurt and angry that you have to read ideas openly. Censoring history is contrary to reading.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 10:54 pm:
Just pointing out what I consider the absurdity of the whole idea …