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* A productive Monday from the House…
The Illinois House passed 49 bills today, including SB 380, also known as the Illinois Fertility Fraud Act, which would allow people to bring action against health care providers who knowingly or intentionally use their own reproductive cells without the patient's consent. #twill pic.twitter.com/s9Hv9Em45j
— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) May 8, 2023
* SB2253 is on First Reading in the Senate. WAND…
Volunteer firefighters could receive a $500 tax credit starting next year. The plan is gaining strong support following the deadly dust storm pileup on I-55 last week.
Democrats and Republicans are coming together to back the proposed tax break. The Illinois Firefighters Association said Monday this could be a new incentive to address the critical shortage of volunteer firefighters. Sponsors said it will also be a thank you for dedication and hard work. […]
The plan would apply to volunteer firefighters who serve at least nine months and make less than $10,000 each year. Lawmakers also spent time Monday honoring the Central Illinois heroes who responded to the deadly pileup accident during the dust storm on May 1.
“I accept this on behalf of the responders that were out there in unimaginable conditions in a scene that looked more like a Hollywood movie than it did a section of I-55,” said MABAS Division 56 President Kevin Schott.
* Journal Courier…
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer says a Senate bill he presented in the House would close legal loopholes and ensure the parents of developmentally disabled children can have access to health records without a court order.
The Jacksonville Republican said Senate Bill 188, which he presented in the Adoption & Child Welfare Committee, resulted from a case in which a parent could not obtain lab results for her 14-year-old son although he has Down syndrome and cannot make his own medical decisions. She had to hire an attorney to file a petition requesting access.
“If a child is under the age of 12, parents have access to these records. If they are over 18, they can be declared a disabled adult. Between those ages, [parents] need the child’s permission; even when the parent is required to sign a consent for the child,” Davidsmeyer said. […]
The bill was returned May 2 to the Adoption & Child Welfare Committee for discussion of a House floor amendment, according to the Legislative Information System. The amendment stipulates records could be made available for services “for which the parent is treated as the child’s personal representative” rather than “related to the health care service the parent consented to.”
* AP…
Illinois bills that would update existing laws to be more gender inclusive and add protections for LGBTQ marriages are ready for action by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who said he will sign them. […]
One bill would replace certain pronouns with the nouns to which the pronouns refer, such as “minor” instead of “he or she,” and “person who gives birth” in place of “mother” in some existing laws concerning children in the state’s care.
Before her “no” vote, Republican Caucus Whip Sen. Jil Tracy said: “I gave birth to two boys that weighed over 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms). I think I deserve more dignity that just ‘a person who gave birth.’ I’m a mother.” […]
Another bill would require state agencies to track employees who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming to help achieve workforce diversity, and a third bill would make it easier for LGBTQ couples who resided in other states to marry in Illinois.
* Northern Star…
A bipartisan vote of 50-2 Thursday passed a bill that would build on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s previous executive order to combat homelessness in Illinois.
Bill “HB2831” was passed in both Houses and was a win for the Supportive Housing Providers Association, a non-profit group that provides supportive and affordable housing services to individuals who have been homeless and/or have special needs.
“HB 2831 will expand upon Pritzker’s Executive Order creating the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and reflect the legislature’s commitment in addressing the big picture issues of homelessness, institutionalization, and housing instability in Illinois,” said David Esposito, executive director of the SHPA.
Pritzker issued an executive order in Sept. 2021, to combat homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic when a study by the University of Illinois, called the COVID-19 Eviction Crisis Study, estimated 60,000 evictions were expected to occur in 2021.
* Sun-Times…
Illinois should move carefully before repealing its three-decade-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants.
On Tuesday, the House Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee will discuss an amended version of a bill passed by the state Senate to lift the moratorium and allow “advanced nuclear reactors.” Advocates of ending the moratorium have said they want to make it possible to build small power nuclear power plants in the state, which would take advantage of new federal spending, although the technology to make that possible is years in the future. And it’s not clear how the “advanced nuclear reactors” in the bill would differ from small modular ones.
Meanwhile, Illinois still faces the problem that led to the moratorium in the first place: There is no long-term storage facility to store nuclear waste, which can go on emitting hazardous radiation for tens of thousands of years.
As envisioned, small modular nuclear power plants would have about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear reactors. Their modular design would allow them to be factory assembled, saving money and allowing them to be constructed on sites too small for traditional reactors. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has said small modular reactors can be a tool to fight against climate change.
posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 10:37 am
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Someone should ask Senator Tracy if she agrees with Marjorie Taylor that an adoptive parent is not a “mother”, because her complaint carries the same vibe.
Comment by Chris Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 10:47 am
===Meanwhile, Illinois still faces the problem that led to the moratorium in the first place: There is no long-term storage facility to store nuclear waste===
This is a perfect problem for the General Assembly to ignore as it is a problem for future Illinois, not a problem for today Illinois.
Perhaps the solution for this is a nuclear waste ramp where we begin to plan to store waste 20 or 30 years from now when magic growth has made radioactive cesspools less of a concern.
If we’re building these things, they need to be publicly owned. Otherwise some private company that has a history of criminally bribing public officials might just rake in billions of dollars and then leave us to deal with the expensive problem of nuclear waste.
Comment by Candy Dogood Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 10:59 am
One of Senator Tracy’s children is adopted, so you might want to walk that back.
Comment by Factcheck Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:02 am
Dear Senator Tracy. Giving birth does not make you a mother. Some women give birth but do not raise their children at all.
Similarly, the size of your babies at birth, as well as their sex, is not predictive of mothering.
Mothering is something you do after you give birth, not during or before.
Giving birth is a sex role. Mothering is a gender role. These are not the same. Mothering is a learned skill set. Some people who give birth are good mothers. Some are just okay, and some are not good at mothering. Some men mother. More men should. Some men are actually very good at mothering their children. Most men are not, because they avoid learning mothering skills.
Hope this helps.
Comment by H-W Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:05 am
You can NOT be pro-life and not accept that those not actually giving birth can be a parent, mother or father.
It’s disingenuous at best to have Tracy’s take, and if Tracy knows any adoptive parents she has made those friends or family aware that Tracy sees them as “less”
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:10 am
===so you might want to walk that back.===
What makes Tracy adoption rank “better” or “more”?
That’s my point with that knowledge.
Going down that road makes little sense, no?
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:12 am
Men and women are different. Men cannot get pregnant.
Comment by Okay Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:19 am
@ Okay
Really? You figured that out already, did you?
Males can get females pregnant. Indeed, every pregnancy involves a male and a female. But you are correct in your assertion that only females can give birth (or not).
As a man, I have created four children, and raised six children. I have mothered them very well, and fathered them too.
But yes. Men and women are different gender roles. So are fathering and mothering. And both males and females, can do both. Its a fact.
Comment by H-W Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:25 am
Bouncing off OW’s comment:
The fact that Senator Tracy has an adopted child and still says that only amplifies the point.
The changes don’t include adding “person who gave birth” to the definition of “Parent”, which, as Rich noted yesterday, does still include mother.
Comment by Chris Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:30 am
=== Men and women are different. Men cannot get pregnant. ===
If this drive-by comment stays up, I’m sure it will elicit outraged and/or explanatory responses. There are plenty of folks here who know, understand, and care about trans people. So that will come.
I’m more interested in the political strategy behind this kind of casual cruelty. There aren’t that many trans people in Illinois, but they exist. The GOP clearly doesn’t want their votes. There are a lot more LGBT Illinoisans, and most of them see themselves as part of a group that includes trans people. That solidarity means the GOP doesn’t want their votes either.
That spirals out further to the friends, family, and supporters of LGBT Illinoisans. Now we’re starting to talk real numbers, possibly even a majority already. So with that giant bloc of voters intentionally alienated, what’s the plan to win elections here? How does it work?
Comment by vern Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:33 am
Men can get pregnant and have given birth. Feel free to deny the existence of trans people but they do make up a portion of the population.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-first-transgender-birth-certificate-tt-01132020-20200114-qfbbf3dvufhppid5shjru6l5xu-story.html
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 11:37 am
===State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer says a Senate bill he presented in the House would close legal loopholes and ensure the parents of developmentally disabled children can have access to health records without a court order.===
I actually ran into this loophole when my autistic child turned 12, as well as the separate loophole where after age 12, parents can no longer access the child’s health care portal (child must make their own account/give consent) buuuuuuut COPPA means they can’t have their own account until they’re 13. And a lot of medical systems just won’t schedule things without the online portal. We spent a LOT of time on the phone that year.
I get the reasons for all the individual building blocks of the system, but it’s definitely created some odd holes.
=== So with that giant bloc of voters intentionally alienated, what’s the plan to win elections here? How does it work? ===
Pretty sure the plan is to scold people until they agree it’s the 16th century and forget all of modernity ever happened.
Comment by Suburban Mom Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 12:32 pm
=and “person who gives birth” in place of “mother”=
I just want to seriously ask people who get upset about this; why is your sense of value or motherhood dependent upon a definition in state law, that would still be inclusive of your identity as a mother?
A trans man who gives birth should not be left out to dry by our state laws due to a wording choice. Not making these changes means that those tasked with enforcing and interpreting the law could decide to discriminate against them.
Meanwhile, “people who give birth” covers everyone who has a baby. The vast majority of them will be cis-women, yes, but the inclusion of others does not make you less valued. You aren’t not a mother because the state decided to care about others with a unique situation.
Too much of our society has placed its value on how we differ from or see ourselves as superior to others. Let the state choose to protect these people. It doesn’t hurt you. But not changing it really could hurt them.
Please…
Comment by Shibboleth Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 12:58 pm
===why is your sense of value===
The exact same thing happened with gay marriage. People truly believed that gay marriages would somehow devalue their own marriages. Didn’t happen, but many of the very same people have now moved on to this, despite their own lived experience to the contrary.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 1:01 pm
@10:59am===If we’re building these things, they need to be publicly owned.===
I don’t know. I think the moratorium should stay in place for now. I just read recently that the cost of solar panels and battery farms are dropping in price and are expected to continue to get LESS expensive in the following years. By the time a new nuke could be built, it would be too expensive to compete with wind/solar/battery farms. If the state owned it, it could cost the state a lot of money and electric rates would have to be raised to cover the cost. If a private company builds it, they might lose a lot of money, go bankrupt, and abandon it. Then the state might end up owning it paying for it anyway, including 24/7/365 armed security for decades.
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Comment by entrepreneurs Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 3:43 pm
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer says a Senate bill he presented in the House would close legal loopholes and ensure the parents of developmentally disabled children can have access to health records without a court order.
Finally, a Republican Bill I can support.
Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, May 9, 23 @ 6:29 pm