Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

It’s just a bill

Posted in:

Illinois

* Ugh…

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s recent signing of bills to reduce the backlog of patients waiting for Medicaid approval won’t save a small-town nursing home from closing next month.

Pleasant Hill Village Administrator Maryann Walker told the State Journal-Register that she’s happy Rauner signed the two Senate bills earlier this month, but that they won’t keep her Macoupin County skilled-care facility open.

Pleasant Hill Healthcare is planning to close Sept. 1, mostly driven by the backlog in Medicaid payments related to the state’s delayed decisions on eligibility. The nonprofit facility is still waiting on about $2.3 million in Medicaid payments for more than a dozen patients, most of whom have either left for other nursing homes or died.

* This was a major initiative of the attorney general’s office…

All sexual assault victims who enter an Illinois emergency room will soon be treated by a nurse trained to care for them.

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Friday night that will require hospitals to train enough medical providers in how to treat sexual assault patients that when a victim arrives, a trained provider is present within 90 minutes. Hospitals will have until Jan. 1, 2022, to comply.

An earlier Tribune investigation found that although experts recommend that rape victims be treated by providers trained in that specialty, few nurses undergo the training. The care a patient receives can depend on which emergency room he or she goes to and when; one hospital may have multiple sexual assault nurse examiners on staff while another has none.

The Illinois attorney general’s office has for years provided free training for Illinois nurses, but many say they have not been able to attend or complete it because of a lack of time or money. Nurses often spend their own time to attend training programs and their own money to travel to them.

* Sounds like a couple of decent bills…

A bill intended to make it easier for college students to transfer credits within Illinois was signed into law Monday by Gov. Bruce Rauner during a visit to Harper College in Palatine.

The changes outlined in Senate Bill 2354 also encourage colleges to advise students on how best to apply credits toward degrees, with the intention of keeping students from spending money on unneeded credits.

Rauner also signed House Bill 5020, which gives priority to returning students for MAP grants. The grants, which do not need to be repaid, are awarded to Illinois residents who attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate financial need. Nearly 130,000 students received MAP grants last year.

* Other bills…

* Rent control is an emerging issue in the governor’s race: It hasn’t received much attention yet, but the question of whether to allow local units of government to impose rent control is beginning to emerge as an issue in the race for governor.

* Yes we cannabis: Bureau County woman champions industrial hemp in her home state: Industrial hemp is poised to make a comeback in Illinois – a bill that lifts prohibitions on its production has been on the governor’s desk a month, and word is he’ll sign it this month, during the Illinois State Fair.

* Pharmacist’s Order: Birth Control Without The Doctor: Five states — including California and Oregon — allow their pharmacists to prescribe birth control, cutting out the need for a physician’s visit. Four other states — Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, and Tennessee — recently passed legislation, while several other states are currently considering similar initiatives. But in Illinois, not everyone is convinced about the approach. A proposal allowing pharmacists to dispense birth control through a standing order — similar to what pharmacists use to give vaccines — did not get sufficient votes during the spring legislative session. Some lawmakers had personal concerns about morality and birth control use; other groups said they worried with giving pharmacists too much power. Others said they were worried about the overall safety of contraceptives without a physician’s direct involvement.

* Rauner-signed legislation undoes more frequent audits required for smaller banks: Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed House Bill 4589 into law, changing the auditing period for small banks from every 12 months to every 18 months. State Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, sponsored the bill. She says it began with a call from the president of a small bank in her hometown saying Illinois regulated larger banks less than smaller ones.

* Rauner signs anti-sexual harassment bills into law: One new law bans members of the General Assembly from using any public funds, including their member office allowances, as “hush money” to keep someone silent as part of a settlement or regarding an allegation or investigation into sexual harassment that they allegedly committed. … A second new law requires at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training for professions licensed by the state that require continuing education. … Also signed into law on Friday by Rauner is a measure requiring the state Department of Public Health to develop, publish and disseminate a brochure through schools to educate the public on the effects of concussion in children and discuss how to look for concussion warning signs.

* Illinois brewers to expand as a result of new legislation on beer: According to a release from Governor Rauner’s office, the legislation allows brewers “to sell their own beer to other Illinois breweries, which will then be able to sell the purchased beer directly to customers in their taprooms, and to purchase cider for selling in their taprooms.”

* Car seat changes increase child safety: The law goes into effect in January. It’s for children 2-and-under, but also those who weigh less than 40-lbs or aren’t at least 40 inches tall . It’s definitely a law to be aware of. Violators face fines up to $75.

* Dyslexia pamphlet coming to schools: The law directs the Illinois State Board of Education to create an online handbook that will provide information about childhood dyslexia for teachers, parents and guardians. The handbook will include guidelines to help adults to recognize the symptoms of dyslexia in children; a description of educational strategies shown to improve the academic performance of students with dyslexia; and a description of resources and services available to students, parents or guardians.

* Fed looks to crack down on blue-state tax workaround before many are implemented: From what Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials have said, it appears that they are going to crack down on efforts by many high-tax states to get around the $10,000 deduction cap on how much in state and local taxes (SALT) can be written off of a federal return. This new SALT cap became active this year after President Donald Trump signed tax reform into law last December that reduced a number of income tax rates.

* Rauner signs bill easing private takeover of water utilities, stirring outcry: Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday signed an amendment to a state water bill that makes it easier for private water companies to buy large water systems, a move critics say will lead to higher water bills for consumers. Originally signed into law in 2013, the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act allows private water companies to buy out water utilities and spread the costs across its existing ratepayers. The bill renews the act’s amendments for another 10 years and removes a limit on the size of water systems that private companies can buy.

* CUB Reaction To Gov. Rauner’s Signing Of HB 4508, Bad Water Bill: CUB fought vigorously to improve this bill, arguing that customers of Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois should not be forced to finance 100 percent of the companies’ purchase of a community’s water system. We also fought to require a local referendum before communities could sell their water system to a private operator. Instead, the legislation signed into law today is a giveaway to the state’s biggest private water companies. An expensive future awaits Illinois water customers whose towns move forward with privatization deals, under this legislation.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 11:47 am

Comments

Certainly not a doctor, and I know pharmacists are highly skilled and knowledgeable about how drugs interact with each other and with certain diseases, but I think most forms of birth control are a bit powerful to bypass your doctor. Makes me a bit uneasy, but obviously good intentions.

Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 12:07 pm
>* This was a major initiative of the attorney general’s office…

No doubt in my mind she would support this, but based on her vision of the AG responsibilities, does Erika Harold believe this is the kind of thing the AG should be doing?

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 12:08 pm
And, in the interest of balance, my question for Kwame Raoul: your opponent has indicated she would do things differently than the current AG. If elected, what, if anything, would you do differently?

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 12:21 pm
The water company amendment sounds like a real bad deal. It’s not like water companies compete in a community. What’s to keep a private water company from charging whatever they want once they take over?

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 12:45 pm
==does Erika Harold believe this is the kind of thing the AG should be doing?==

Which Erika Harold? The one running for office this year, or the one that challenged Rodney Davis a couple years ago because he was “too liberal”? Or the one before that, the “gays shouldn’t adopt” and “no abortions even for rape or incest victims” version?

Harold 3.0 likely does support this bill, but Harold 1.0 and 2.0 definitely would not.

Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:04 pm
That child seat law is ridiculous. Have they actually tried to fit a kid that size in a backwards facing seats? I doubt it.

I have two kids, who are both off the charts in terms of growth. Both were forward facing before two, because they were screaming from having their legs scrunched up to their chest. The four year old JUST hit those recommended size requirements. He’s 45 Inches, 40 lbs. He grew out of his rear-capable seat last summer.

Comment by ChrisB Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:06 pm
The only thing that bothers me about the pharmacist bill is that the much needed sexual counseling that a doctor provides will be absent.

Comment by Bothanspy Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:07 pm
The water bill is horrible. I live in a town where one of those private companies operate. The water/sewer bill for a 2 person house is a minimum of $135 a month. Have a third person in the home and you have a bill of $180 a month. Price increases are consistently approved regardless of community protest including the mayor of our community.

Comment by illinifan Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:14 pm
My friends at CUB believe that the sky is falling. This simply extends the current law and does not mandate that any community sell their water system. Quite frankly, too many community water systems are crumbling because of a lack of resources that have to do with property taxes. With regard to their claims about significantly higher costs, they fail to note that the water companies have gotten hammered by Chicago which greatly increased the cost of buying water which is then passed along to customers.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:14 pm
Anonymous, only those who stand to profit from privatization love it as much as you do. Enjoy counting your money.

Comment by SameolG Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 1:38 pm
The lawyers of Illinois stand ready to gorge on their billings if rent control has any legs. And how the Rahmulans push back against it without highlighting their goal of upscaling the North and near-the-lake South Sides to increase desperately needed revenue will be good political theater.

Comment by Cook County Commoner Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 2:17 pm
The way the under 40 lbs/40 inches requirement is listed in the story about the car seats is misleading. Under P.A. 100-0672, children under 2 must sit in a “rear-facing child restraint system, unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.”
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=100-0672

That water bill is terrible for consumers. Better hope your municipality manages their water system properly, or you’ll end up with privatized water at some ridiculous rates.

Comment by Notorious RBG Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 3:35 pm
For those who don’t like the water bill, can you please explain how there can be improvements without some type of rate increase? Even if there was a capital bill (long overdue), that money would still come from Illinois residents in some way. Seems like making a private company the bad guy would be a much easier thing for a local politician to do.

Comment by SwampyCorn Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 4:11 pm
Bothanspy, it will be the exact same counseling given when a guy buys a condom. Why should she be treated any different?

Comment by a drop in Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 4:57 pm
A drop in clearly skipped high school health class, and perhaps several other important life lessons.

It’s the practice of medicine that’s the issue here, not counseling, not to understate the importance of the latter. Our pharmacists are better educated (PharmDs) now than ever before, but I tend to agree with the docs. The archaic refill rules largely mandated by penny-pinching insurance companies don’t help this problem

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 6:24 pm
==Seems like making a private company the bad guy would be a much easier thing for a local politician to do.==

A private company wouldn’t be interested in a water plant unless it could make a profit. A publicly owned utility doesn’t make a profit. It’s not about “bad guys”. It means the citizens pay more.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Tuesday, Aug 14, 18 @ 6:26 pm