* Sun-Times…

Despite facing legislative hurdles, Democrats on an Illinois House committee voted to push forward a bill that would let terminally ill patients request life-ending medication.

The legislation, which needs approval from the state House, Senate and governor’s office, would legalize the prescription of life-ending drugs.[…]

In Illinois, however, legislation approving medical aid in dying has struggled to gain support within the General Assembly’s Democratic supermajority.

“This is an incredibly difficult issue for me and my district,” state Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said before the committee’s vote. “ I will be a yes [on the bill] now, I cannot commit to being a yes on the floor [of the House of Representatives].”

* G-PAC…

The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun safety organization, joined with lawmakers today to applaud the General Assembly’s passage of Safe At Home to protect more children and at-risk and prohibited people from accessing guns in Illinois.

House members voted 69-40 late Wednesday to pass Safe At Home (Senate Bill8) led by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and sponsoring Representatives Maura Hirschauer and Kevin Olickal. Safe At Home now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for consideration. […]

SB 8 would better promote responsible gun ownership in Illinois by enhancing what it means to safely store weapons and strengthening reporting requirements for lost and stolen guns. Working together, these safety measures will protect more children, at-risk and prohibited people from accessing deadly weapons, targeting an increasing number of instances of accidental shootings, suicide, mass shootings, and crime and violence in Illinois communities. […]

Provisions of Safe At Home include:

- Outlines improved safe storage requirements in homes where a minor, at-risk person, or someone prohibited from using firearms could gain access to them.
- Changes definition of “minor” to a person under 18 years of age (military and national guard excluded).
- Adds civil penalties associated with the failure to safely secure firearms; at first violation, courts may impose community service or restitution.
- Strengthens requirement for reporting a lost or stolen firearm from 72 to 48 hours after the owner first discovers the loss or theft.
- Requires education for gun owners of the obligation to report a lost or stolen firearm at the time of firearm purchase and FOID/CCL application and renewal process.
- Requires ISP to create a portal for law enforcement to report individuals who have failed to report the loss or theft of a firearm.
- Imposes penalty of revocation of FOID card on second violation for failure to report lost and stolen firearms.

* The Pantagraph…

Legislation that would authorize a race track and casino in Decatur has cleared the starting gate, but continued opposition from a key player in the gaming industry could keep it from reaching the finish line before lawmakers wrap up their spring legislative session later this week.

Senate Bill 1473, sponsored by state Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, passed unanimously out of the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday. However, some members would not commit to supporting the legislation on the floor amid a dispute between the bill’s proponents and Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Chicago.

The friction could effectively punt the issue to later this year, a delay that could push back a privately funded $150 million project in Decatur that proponents say is “shovel-ready.”

And it could further imperil the state’s horse racing industry, which has taken a beating in recent years due to factors that included competition from neighboring states and closure of marquee racetracks like Arlington Park.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Legislation that would require Illinois public libraries to have life-saving medications on hand for people experiencing opioid overdoses and provide staff training has unanimously passed the Illinois Senate and is now on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

The legislation, House Bill 1910, was proposed by a high school student in Elgin. It would require all Illinois public libraries to maintain a supply of opioid antagonists like naloxone — a nasal spray that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose with virtually no side effects — and have at least one staff member working at all operating hours who is trained in administering the medication.

Illinois Math and Science Academy senior Jordan Henry brought the idea for the bill to Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, after volunteering with harm reduction organizations and researching effective responses to opioid substance abuse.

“It’s a good example of how anyone can change public policy if they work at it and are dedicated and have a passion,” Moeller said. Moeller first met Henry while door-knocking one summer, and after discussing Henry’s idea for the bill, worked together with her to draft and introduce it in the spring legislative session.

* WAND…

In 2024, carbon sequestration was legalized in Illinois with multiple concerns raised by farmers and GOP members. On Wednesday, state Democrats passed a plan in hopes to quell some of those concerns.

The proposal would give compensation to land owners if their property has been disturbed by the construction of a carbon capture pipe. Property owners could receive compensation if their crops, trees, fences, shrubs, livestock or other objects were damaged during construction.

“This bill further clarifies just compensation for land owners and gives further protection for surface owners in case their land is hurt or destroyed n the process of laying down a pipeline,” state Sen Laura Fine (D-Glenview) said on the Senate floor.

When called for a vote, the plan passed unanimously out of the Illinois Senate. The legislation will now head to the House floor for further debate.

* ProPublica…

Illinois legislators on Wednesday passed a law to explicitly prevent police from ticketing and fining students for minor misbehavior at school, ending a practice that harmed students across the state.

The new law would apply to all public schools, including charters. It will require school districts, beginning in the 2027-28 school year, to report to the state how often they involve police in student matters each year and to separate the data by race, gender and disability. The state will be required to make the data public.

The legislation comes three years after a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation, “The Price Kids Pay,” revealed that even though Illinois law bans school officials from fining students directly, districts skirted the law by calling on police to issue citations for violating local ordinances. […]

The legislation passed the House 69-44. It passed in the Senate last month 37-17 and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, who previously has spoken out against ticketing students at school. A spokesperson said Wednesday night that he “was supportive of this initiative” and plans to review the bill.

* WAND…

A proposal to ban some rental junk fees passed the Illinois Senate Executive committee on Wednesday.

Junk fees that would be banned include fees that are put alongside an application fee, a lease renewal fee, eviction notice or eviction fee, routine or after hours maintenance fee, contacting a landlord fee, a maintenance hotline fee, a fee to inspect a unit and a fee to setup an online utility account.

Advocates say they’ve listed these specific junk fees because they’ve heard some Illinoisans have experienced at least one of these fees.

Originally the bill would ban move-in fees, but changed after behind the scenes negotiations. Now the proposal would not allow a landlord to charge a security deposit and move-in fee. However, when a landlord chooses the latter, the move in fee must not be more than 20% of the first full month of rent. […]

The bill passed out of the Illinois Senate Executive committee on a partisan 9-4 vote. Now this plan will head to the Senate floor where lawmakers could talk about it before the end of session.