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* SB3757 will be heard in Executive Committee at 10:30 am. Ben Szalinski…

State Senate President Don Harmon will present the Chicago Elected School Board bill in Executive Committee today. The measure would have voters choose 10 board members, with the mayor appointing 10 others. It’s a measure that the Illinois House and Chicago Teachers Union and was backed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The measure as it stands now still has some opposition from folks who want to see the 20 board members elected all at once.

* WAND…

Sen. Natalie Toro (D-Chicago) wants to require insurance companies to cover expenses for standard fertility preservation and follow-up services for any interested patient, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with infertility. […]

Many people have paid up to $15,000 for the procedure without insurance coverage. Another bill could require companies with more than 25 employees to provide insurance coverage for diagnosis and treatment of infertility.

“It’s not easy to pay. So, having that coverage and allowing that will allow a family, especially someone who may be sick, to be able to have children later in life,” said Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin).

Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort) said a constituent faced a serious problem after she met with her doctor and planned for an IVF procedure. The woman called her insurance company to confirm the procedure was covered, but the insurer told her she had to go through an IUD procedure first. […]

Each of the proposals have been assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee.

Here’s links for Sen. Toro’s SB2623, Sen. Castro’s SB2572 and Sen. Hastings’ SB2639.

* WBEZ…

[L]awmakers and reproductive rights advocates are bracing for the potential of patients and providers coming to Illinois for IVF treatment. State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said it’s still too early to tell, but they are keeping a close eye on what conservative lawmakers in other states do next. […]

Cassidy, meanwhile, is proposing that Illinois give a $500 tax credit to physicians and patients fleeing states that are limiting access to health care that is lawful in Illinois — which can include abortion, gender-affirming care and fertility treatments. […]

On top of that, [Eve Feinberg, an infertility specialist at Northwestern’s Reproductive Medicine Center] says there aren’t enough physicians specializing in fertility medicine. She says the ruling from Alabama — and any similar moves from other states — may make more trainees want to come to states like Illinois that are working to safeguard the treatment.

“My ask would be to have some funding for fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology,” Feinberg says. “As these states are going to start to overturn, to enact these personhood amendments, I fear that if IVF is going to shut down, and it’s going to negatively impact training.”

* WTTW…

Proposed legislation in Springfield is looking to eliminate that mandate despite conflicting research from some national safety groups.

Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher of Sycamore is sponsoring the bill. He said the road test for seniors doesn’t solve the problems on the road. […]

Ryan Pietzsch is the program technical consultant of driver safety, education and training with the National Safety Council. He said these numbers probably don’t show the whole picture. According to the group’s research, most young people are involved in single-car crashes while elderly drivers account for more accidents with more than one vehicle. […]

“We should provide for multiple-discipline approach, which addresses all elements of driver safety, including educating people on new vehicles,” Pietzsch said. “Think about the cars on the road today versus what they were when these drivers first started driving. So it’s not only the driver’s licensing, but that’s one element of it. It’s education. It’s safer roadways and access to medical care. So the safe-system approach is really what we should look at here.”

* WBEZ…

Around a dozen states, including Missouri and Iowa, have some form of digital ID option for residents, but this would be a first for Illinois. […]

The bill states that showing a digital ID does not serve as consent to be searched, but the American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about how that would be implemented.

Northwestern privacy law professor Matthew Kugler says it’s a fair point: “I might be concerned to hand my unlocked phone over to a police officer, even if I was pretty sure nothing in there could be used to prosecute me.”

Rep. Buckner says it’s possible the state could create a code on the ID that an officer could scan next to a car during a traffic stop. In that scenario, an officer would not need to take an unlocked phone back to a squad car.

* Heads-up…

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 9:39 am

Comments

One of the reasons people drive even if they suspect they shouldn’t is the independence that driving offers. Maybe if we expanded public transit across the state–van lines in rural areas, more frequent buses in midsized and suburban areas, fixing the CTA so it’s pleasant; we could make it so people could live independent lives without driving.
When I need to get somewhere in Berwyn, I have options, mass transit, uber, taxi, drive, bike. When my parents needed to get places in small town IL their options were to drive or be driven by family/friends.

Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 9:49 am
Why doesn’t the Chicago School Board have an odd number of members? Do they think there will never be tie votes?

Comment by Save Ferris Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 9:58 am
Genuine question, this is not snark:

How is it Constitutional that a unit local government can be set up such that some citizens are represented by an elected official, and some by an appointed official (that wasn’t filling a vacancy). This just seems inherently wrong to me.

Likewise, how is it Constitutional that people can run for the school board in some parts of the City, but are denied that right in other parts of the City? The ability to run for a local office shouldn’t depend on where in the City you happen to live.

Comment by Just Me 2 Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 11:03 am
==these numbers probably don’t show the whole picture. ==
We need a system that accounts for the natural progression of aging drivers. Drivers past 78 or 80 need yearly driving tests to ensure that they are still able to drive safely. I say this as one who would be tested and has dealt with friends and family members who were and are experiencing failing eyesight, hearing, ability to easily turn left and right for visibility and ability to respond quickly to confusing developments. Losing mobility and independence is awful but allowing people to drive who can no longer drive safely isn’t the solution. Public transportation is a great answer for those who are too young, disabled or too old to drive.

Comment by froganon Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 11:04 am
== Public transportation is a great answer ==

Public transportation is basically non-existent in rural portions of this state.

I would suggest we take a page from California, and issue somewhat restricted licenses like they do, limiting some elderly to just local lower speed roads and not valid on freeways and Interstates.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 12:35 pm
Public transport not existing in rural areas isn’t some will of the deity though. It’s a policy and expenditure priority choice. Van lines could work in rural areas. Yeah it cost money but so does disabled people being unable to work or the elderly being unable to shop.

Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 1:16 pm
==It’s a policy and expenditure priority choice==

Lol. You aren’t getting any sort of big buy in among rural folks at utilizing public transportation, especially seniors. Seniors are extremely independent minded and they aren’t going to be told they need to stop driving in favor of public transportation.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Mar 5, 24 @ 3:18 pm