* WAND…

The Illinois House passed legislation Thursday to require law enforcement have stricter hiring practices following the murder of Sonya Massey.

Police departments would not be able to make final offers of employment for probationary or law enforcement officers unless they review all past employment records, including background investigation materials, duty-related physical and psychological fitness-for-duty examinations, work performance records, arrests, convictions, and any records of criminal, civil, or administrative investigations of conduct. […]

The proposal would also expand the creation of sheriff’s merit boards and sheriff’s merit commissions for counties with populations of at least 75,000.

Senate Bill 1953 passed out of the House on a 101-12 vote and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk. The measure previously passed unanimously out of the Senate.

* WGLT…

At a news conference hours before the bill passed, Turner said the measure could prevent officers like Grayson from being on the job.

“When we call for law enforcement, it’s never a good day and the expectation is that the responding officer will live up to the motto ‘protect and serve’,” Turner said. “With the passage of Senate Bill 1953, I feel confident that going forward and over time, our communities and law enforcement will have built a trusting relationship, and I have kept my promise to my friend and Sonya’s mother.”

Republican state Rep. Dennis Tipsword, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, was one of 12 House lawmakers who voted against the bill. As a chief deputy for the Woodford County Sheriff’s Department, Tipsword said he was concerned a prior employer could take too long to provide documents. […]

McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane said the records requirement would not change the hiring procedures for any law enforcement agencies in the county, because he said they already seek out this information before hiring an officer.

* One Aim Illinois Executive Director Yolanda Androzzo and Paul Nestadt from Center for Gun Violence Solutions…

We have watched too many families suffer devastating losses; we’ve learned how powerful that pause can be. It’s the moment between a fleeting, impulsive thought and a permanent, irreversible action. And when a firearm is locked, unloaded and stored separately from ammunition, that small pause becomes a chance to think, to breathe and to live.

One of us is a psychiatrist specializing in suicide prevention; the other is an advocate working to keep children safe from gun violence. We see the consequences every day in our communities and emergency rooms. We know a moment of anger can end in murder. We know an impulse can end in suicide. And we know an effective policy can help prevent these situations and protect young lives.

That’s why Illinois must pass the Safe at Home bill [Senate Bill 8]. The measure is an improved child access prevention law that would increase the age of children, from 14 to 18, that would require their parents or guardians to store firearms securely. The law would reflect what we already know: Teenagers are kids. They act on impulse. When a gun is left unsecured, that impulse can turn fatal. […]

In Illinois, we desperately need that protection. The state has the third-highest Black homicide victimization rate in the country, and 91% of firearm homicide victims are Black. Firearm suicide rates are rising among Black teens, while Black children and teens already die from gun violence at a rate 18 times higher than their white peers nationwide. These are not abstract statistics: They are lives cut short, futures stolen and families shattered.

* WGEM…

A measure to enhance road safety for senior citizens could soon become law in Illinois. State senators are considering the “Road Safety and Fairness Act” after house lawmakers passed it last month. […]

The Road Safety and Fairness Act would increase the age of Illinois drivers taking behind-the-wheel driving tests from 79 to 87. A DMV visit and vision test would still be required for renewals.

“There seems to be some excitement about it. They’re removing some of the barriers I think that there are in place currently for accessing their driver’s license. It’s very important for seniors to have their driver’s license so that they can get out and engage because otherwise they’re at home,” said Vanessa Keppner, director of West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging. “Social isolation is worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, so you’re cutting them off from the world. They need to get out and just stay active, stay moving, and engage. It gives them a purpose.”

Family members of senior drivers would be allowed to contact the Illinois Secretary of State’s office with concerns about loved one’s driving abilities. Life-long Quincy resident Vicky Nelson is happy about the legislation but said safety will always be her top priority.

“The trouble with aging is that you lose so much and you don’t realize it until you actually go through it yourself,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to lose my driving privileges unless, of course, I’m not safe.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

A Senate committee on Wednesday advanced a measure aiming to limit the circumstances under which tenants can be evicted due to local “crime-free housing” ordinances.

The measure was backed by housing advocates who argued the crime-free ordinances have been used to evict people in instances where the actual residents of the homes in question committed petty offenses or no crimes at all. But law enforcement and municipal groups countered that limiting local authority to enforce crime-free or nuisance ordinances would take away policies that can be used to revitalize neighborhoods.

The Senate Executive Committee approved Senate Bill 2264 on Wednesday, which cracks down on crime-free housing policies after a recent investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and The New York Times. It found that there were more than 2,000 cases in 25 Illinois cities where crime-free housing ordinances were enforced from 2019 to 2024, with about 500 of those cases involving evictions.

The investigation found that only a third of those 2,000 violations were for serious crimes like drug charges or felony convictions. The other approximately 1,300 violations were due to misdemeanors or noncriminal offenses, “many of which were never pursued by prosecutors,” according to the reporting.

* Sen. Willie Preston…

State Senator Willie Preston is leading legislation to provide formerly incarcerated individuals resources to acclimate the person to life outside of a correctional facility. […]

House Bill 3441 would provide that upon the release of a committed person on parole, mandatory supervised release, final discharge, or pardon, the Illinois Department of Corrections must provide the person with resources to acclimate the person to life outside the correctional institution or facility. It would include access to social workers, clinical psychologists, and other counselors.

Additionally, under the measure, counselors must assist the person in obtaining housing, employment, education, health care, state identification, and other resources that the counselors deem necessary to assist in the person’s adjustment to society and the prevention of recidivism.

This legislation is a direct reflection of the Illinois Black Legislative Caucus Pillar 1. The criminal justice reform pillar was written to increase public safety for everyone while dismantling the systems that hold Black people back from achieving their full potential, as well as increasing trust between law enforcement and the Black community. […]

House Bill 3441 was heard in the Senate Appropriations – Public Safety Committee and awaits further consideration.

* Sen. Bill Cunningham…

State Senator Bill Cunningham advanced a measure that would ensure protected leave for employees whose newborns require intensive care after birth. […]

Under Cunningham’s measure, employees of mid-sized companies with 16-50 employees would be eligible for up to 10 days of unpaid leave while their child is in a NICU, while those working for larger companies with 51 or more employees would be eligible for up to 20 days. This leave is in addition to protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act and ensures continued health insurance coverage and job protection throughout the leave period.

Cunningham’s nephew was born prematurely and was placed in the NICU for months. Through this experience, he saw firsthand the tremendous burden on family members facing similar situations.

“No parent should face punishment for doing what’s right for their child’s health,” said Cunningham.

House Bill 2978 passed the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday.

* Rep. Katie Stuart…

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, advanced a bill out of the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee that would expand fentanyl classification and classify emerging synthetic drugs, specifically those closely related to current scheduled drugs, as harmful substances. […]

Senate Bill 1773, which Stuart is sponsoring in the House, would put certain synthetic drugs into new sections of the existing Illinois Controlled Substance Act, restricting how and when they can be used, and by whom. It would apply to drugs like the veterinary sedative Xylazine, the synthetic opioids known as Isotonitazene and Metonitazine, and the psychoactive drugs MAPDB and MDMA. MDMA is also commonly known as ‘ecstasy.’

The bill also reorganizes and expands the classification of fentanyl related substances to align with federal law. […]

The bill advanced out of the House Judiciary-Criminal committee and now moves to the House floor for consideration.

* WAND…

In a package of bills, Illinois Democrats hope to reduce the teacher shortage by empowering one particular group, students. […]

The first step for the Senate Democrats is to remove the unpaid policy from all universities. This bill would not require any funding from the college to support student teachers or force the universities to create an additional policy. It would only repeal the current rule that student teachers cannot be paid.

In the second step, a different proposal would give a $10,000 stipend for every student teacher. The program would pay out to each student, prioritizing public universities. This policy could cost a total of $600 million, which if passed would be paid out by the FY2026 budget. […]

Johnson’s bill is on the Senate floor, waiting to be called. Koehler’s bill is still in Senate committee, which could be called for a vote in the last weeks of session.

* Sen. Rachel Ventura…

To support ongoing efforts in protecting and revitalizing local landscapes and ecosystems, State Senator Rachel Ventura and State Representative Anna Moeller spearheaded legislation to create new rewilding strategies by giving the Illinois Department of Natural Resources more authority to implement conservation tactics.

“Over the last few decades, countless species of wild animals and plant life have been reduced significantly or completely lost to human activity,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “By creating a holistic rewilding strategy for the state, we can see landscapes restored to their previous state — a major win for the environment and their local ecosystems.”

House Bill 2726 grants the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement rewilding as a conservation strategy. This could include the restoration of land or waterways to its natural state, the reintroduction of native species — particularly apex predators and keystone species — and the restoration of ecological processes as defined by state-specific baselines.

“Rewilding” means to restore an area of land to its natural uncultivated state. This term is used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animals that have been driven out of an area or exterminated by human interference. […]

If passed, Illinois would be the first state to explicitly pass legislation on rewilding, advancing efforts to preserve and protect species.

House Bill 2726 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday and heads to the Senate for further action.