* WAND…

A plan to stop all carbon sequestration over the Mahomet aquifer passed the Illinois House committee Tuesday. […]

Although the Mahomet bill gets that much closer to passing, it isn’t in its original form many lawmakers were hoping. Under the plan, carbon sequestration will be banned over the Mahomet aquifer. However, one facility in the town of Gibson by One Earth will be allowed to continue their construction of a carbon sequestration plant.

Andrew Rehn the Director of Climate Policy for the Prairie Rivers Network said this deal stopped most of the opposition to the plan.

“[The facility] is not over the aquifer itself, but supplies water to one of the recharge areas that supplies water to the aquifer,” Rehn said. “By passing this bill we significantly, significantly, significantly reduce the risk to the aquifer.”

* KBSI…

A Native American advocate is speaking out in response to schools pushing back against an Illinois bill that would ban K-12 schools from using native names, logos, and mascots. […]

Native American advocate and Passamaquoddy tribe member Ted Trujillo said the mascots are dehumanizing and pointed out that the depictions are being used by non-native people.

“They’re not native,” he said. “They stole our identity. They took our customs and traditions and twist them and mock them to make them mean whatever they want it to mean.” […]

Trujillo said the mascots are offensive and often inaccurate caricatures of native people — pointing out the commonly depicted severed head of a native man wearing a feathered headdress.

“They’re plains headdresses,” he said. “They’re only used by a handful of tribes out in the western plains. They were never used in Illinois by any of the tribes over here.”

* WAND…

A state Democratic plan would require insurance companies to cover screening for peripheral artery disease.

The disease happens when blood flow is blocked from reaching the foot. Most patients are asymptomatic until it is too late. Often times it causes severe health issues which require amputations.

Doctors at the hearing said once an amputation happens, in the next five years, the patients chance of survival drops to 20%. […]

State Representative Thaddeus Jones (D-South Holland) said in the committee he has lost multiple family members from diabetes, and hopes this bill will help reduce unnecessary deaths.

The proposal passed unanimously out of the House insurance committee. It will now head to the House floor, where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.

* Daily Herald…

Harper College and other community colleges have renewed a long-sought plan to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees in select fields, but the effort has again stalled in Springfield amid opposition from universities.

The Palatine-based school first lobbied legislators in 2003 under then-President Robert Breuder, and tried again in 2009 and 2014. Now it is making another push with President Avis Proctor at the helm. She helped develop baccalaureate degree programs when she worked at a community college in Florida — one of 24 states that such schools to offer four-year degrees. […]

A coalition of university presidents said the bill could lead to duplicating efforts and increasing costs at a time of limited resources.

But they said they’re willing to compromise.

“We are encouraged by negotiations and remain committed to working collaboratively to build a higher education ecosystem that serves all of our students and employers,” the group said in a statement.

* WAND…

School districts could soon be required to include suicide prevention contact information on the back of school employee IDs.

Illinois currently requires districts to include this information on identification cards for students in grades 6 through 12. This legislation would ensure teachers and other school staff have the same information readily available.

Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) said the proposal is critical to ensure everyone knows there is help available. […]

House Bill 3000 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday. The measure gained unanimous support in the House earlier this month.

* Rep. Norma Hernandez…

State Rep. Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park, is taking aim at factors which contribute to shortages of specialist healthcare providers by passing three bills aimed at updating requirements and removing roadblocks that currently often lead to many Illinoisans being underserved. […]

Hernandez recently passed three bills aimed at helping underserved areas to see increased numbers of nearby specialist providers:

House Bill 2676 would allow ophthalmologists, optometrists and anesthesiologists to qualify for loan repayment assistance through the already-existing Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Program (UHCPW). This program incentivizes newly-trained specialists to move to and practice in “designated shortage areas” by helping with their educational loans if they do so.

House Bill 3160 would require the Department of Human Services (DHS) to more promptly furnish providers of home and community-based services with updated and detailed rate sheets for the clients they serve. Rate sheets inform providers of the rates at which they can be reimbursed when caring for specific patients. Currently, some providers haven’t received updated rate sheets since 2019, which has made it difficult for providers to budget and maintain full operation. The bill would require DHS to furnish new rate sheets within 60 days of a provider’s request.

House Bill 3385 would require public colleges and universities to employ at least three licensed mental health professionals if the student body is at least 3,750 students or one licensed professional per 1,250 students otherwise. It also would change the makeup of mental health expert panels already required at public colleges and universities. Current law doesn’t explicitly spell out requirements for the makeup of the panels, but Hernandez’s bill would require them to have a minimum of two administrators, two faculty members and one mental health professional.

* WAND…

The Illinois Senate Public Health Committee unanimously approved a bill Tuesday to require pharmacists to sell sterile hypodermic syringes or needles if they are in stock.

Sponsors said pharmacists would be able to use their professional judgement to sell the equipment to any customer for proper utilization or administration of medications.

Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) and Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) filed this bill after a constituent was unable to receive the medical equipment from her pharmacist. […]

The proposal now moves to the Senate floor for further discussion. House Bill 2589 gained unanimous support in the House earlier this month.

* Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford…

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is leading the charge to put an end to “resident dumping” – an inhumane practice in which a nursing facility discharges a resident and refuses to readmit them after a hospital stay.

“Resident dumping is a betrayal of trust at life’s most vulnerable moment,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “Seniors have made these places their sanctuaries, their communities and their final homes. To deny them return is to strip away their belonging, security and dignity when they need it most.”

To strengthen resident rights in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, Lightford’s proposal would enhance the involuntary discharge process within these communities. If a resident leaves the facility for a medical reason – and would not create imminent danger to themselves or others – the facility would be required to let them come back home under House Bill 1597.

“Resident dumping” affects thousands of nursing facility residents who are uninsured or underinsured, have a mental health condition, or have had to spend time in a hospital or rehab facility and find they’re not allowed back into their nursing facility. […]

House Bill 1597 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday.