* The governor signed a ton of bills on Friday. Here are stories about some of them…

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a measure designed to prevent people with mental disabilities from owning guns.

The proposal Rauner signed Friday strengthens existing law by requiring circuit court clerks to report the names of people a judge deems mentally disabled to the Illinois State Police at least twice a year. The new law takes effect immediately.

Under the old law, a person deemed by a judge to have a mental illness could lose his or her gun owner identification card. One of the plan’s sponsors, Democratic state Sen. Julie Morrison, had said that not all counties in the state were complying.

* Higher education reforms…

External Audits (Senate Bill 2155) – Amends existing laws to require the auditor general to audit one-third of all community colleges every year.

Community College Trustee Training (Senate Bill 2157) – Requires new college board trustees to complete four hours of professional development training that range from labor laws, open meetings act, freedom of information regulations, ethics and financial and accountability oversight.

Preventing Lame-Duck Decisions (Senate Bill 2158) – Prohibits community college boards from entering into new employee contracts or changing existing employee contracts 45 days prior to Election Day for trustees and extends through the lame-duck period until the first meeting of the new board.

In 2009, Former DuPage Community College President Breuder’s contract extension was approved by a lame-duck board.

Transparency at Community Colleges and State Universities (Senate Bill 2159) – Promotes transparency by requiring contract terms, annual performance reviews of administrators and forbids contract buyouts in cases of pending criminal charges.

University Board Training (Senate Bill 2174)- Requires every voting member of a public university governing board to complete a minimum of four hours of professional development leadership training that range from labor laws, open meetings act, freedom of information regulations, ethics and financial and accountability oversight.

* LGBT pension fairness…

Sponsored by Rep. Sam Yingling and Sen. Daniel Biss, House Bill 6021 allows retired public employees in the Illinois Teachers Retirement System, State Universities Retirement System or Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and who are in a same-sex civil union or marriage to designate survivor benefits for their spouse. Equality Illinois advocated for the bill, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support… HB 6021 passed the Senate by a vote of 49-3, and the Illinois House of Representatives approved it on April 13 on a vote of 102-4.

* Student journalist rights…

Illinois lawmakers have passed a bill that aims to protect high school journalists from interference in school publications.

The Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate and signed Friday by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

The law places responsibility for content in school-sponsored media in the hands of student journalists, under the guidance of student advisers and subject to limitations on material that is libelous or obscene, constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy, violates federal or state law or school district policies or disrupts the orderly operation of the school.

School officials would have the burden of proving that a publication is subject to restriction.

* Witness protections…

Two years after her stepson’s murder, St. Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, (D)-92nd Dist., got legislation signed protecting people who may have information about violent crimes.

Gordon-Booth and her husband, Manual basketball coach Derrick Booth, Sr., and Mecca Beasley lost their 22-year-old son DJ in May of 2014.

DJ, who was named after his father, was gunned down while at a house party in Peoria.

The parents had a difficult time getting witnesses to come forward, due to fear of retribution.

This spring, the state legislature unanimously approved the bill, and Gov. Bruce Rauner, (R), signed it into law on Friday.

The bill guarantees assistance and protection for people who may have information linking someone to a crime.

* Railroad crossing fines…

Running the flashing red lights at railroad crossings will cost you more in the state of Illinois.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law that will double the current fines if you are busted running a crossing.

The first offense will now cost you $500 and after that, it will cost $1,000.

…Adding… From a press release…

Advance Illinois applauds Governor Bruce Rauner for signing HB5729, the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) Act, into law on July 29, 2106. HB5729 is the culmination of years of work with an array of cross-sector partners and is a transformative step toward achieving Illinois’ goal of 60% of Illinoisans having a postsecondary certificate or degree by the year 2025.

This comprehensive legislation establishes four new initiatives to smooth the transition for students from high school to college or career. It helps students avoid remedial education in community college with a jointly-designed fourth year of high school math instruction. It establishes new career and college endorsements on high school diplomas to demonstrate that students have fulfilled specific requirements for that career path. To help students plan for life after high school, the bill establishes benchmarks from 8th through 12th grade for what students should know about college and career. Finally, it allows districts to pilot updated high school graduation requirements based on what students know and can do rather than what courses they have taken.

…Adding More… Hooray!…

Yoga instructors in Illinois will be able to practice freely without state regulation under legislation sponsored by Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) that was signed into law Friday. […]

The measure exempts yoga teacher training from state oversight as a trade, occupation, vocation or professional school. The legislation was prompted by news earlier this year that several yoga teacher training programs in Illinois were notified by the Illinois Board of Higher Education that they would be subject to state regulation as vocational schools and that they must obtain IBHE approval to operate in the state.