102nd General Assembly Legislation
HB40 - Continuing Education Bill
I am proud to announce that Governor Pritzker signed my continuing education bill HB40 on July 28th with an immediate effective date. House Bill 40 will allow special education students to continue attending school through the end of the school year when they turn 22, rather than leave school the day they turn 22. Under prior law, special educations students aged out of eligibility on the day they turn 22, losing access to vital support services. I would like to thank all the families and advocates of this bill that we heard from statewide on the importance of this legislation especially the Kettering family who brought the "age-out" issue to my attention.
HB202
While chairing the Police and Fire committee this year, we were able to pass many new pieces of legislation that support our first responders.
I was the Chief Sponsor of House Bill 202 which requires the City of Chicago to add history of the fire service labor movement to be a part of required training for Chicago firefighters. House Bill 202 passed both houses of the General Assembly with unanimous support and was signed by the Governor this summer.
HB105
Ethics Bill. Amends the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Bars General Assembly member's spouses to be appointed to a State board, commission, authority, task force, or other similar authorized state body. If such appointment offers monetary compensation for service as a member of that body.
HB1742
Hurley co-sponsored House Bill 1742, which recently was signed by the Governor. HB1742 allows any family or household member of a survivor of assault, to petition the court for a no contact order on behalf of a domestic violence victim. Currently, a family member is only allowed to apply on behalf of the survivor if they are a minor or physically unable to go to court themselves.
HB2911
HB2911, the fire promotion bill that I sponsored, supported by The Chicago Fire Department Local 2 passed the House with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. This bill will put the Chicago Fire Department in line with other fire departments in the State of Illinois and will eliminate the long wait period between testing, scoring, and promotions.
HB3656
I was the Chief Sponsor of House Bill 3656 that increases penalties for drivers who violate Scott’s Law while using a handheld cell phone.
House Bill 3656 also creates the Move Over Early Warning Task Force, which will study how to use 21st-century technology to help drivers safely navigate emergency zones on the roads. I am proud to have had a part in passing this common-sense legislation that will keep our roads and highways safer both for drivers and our first responders. House Bill 3656 was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by the Governor on Aug. 12th.
HB3666
I am the chief sponsor of HB3666 which Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Provides that a facility may submit to a resident or a resident's legal representative a bill for all charges for which payment was not made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides that if the resident or the resident's legal representative submits evidence of the resident's financial inability to cover all charges, the facility shall make application on behalf of the resident for Medicaid services.
HB3911
HB3911 the First Responders Suicide Prevention Taskforce that I sponsored in the House passed unanimously by the General Assembly and now heads to the Governor's desk to become law. HB3911 will implement the Taskforce recommendations including peer support groups, maintaining a state and federal database on first responder suicide, and offer continuing training programs for police and firefighters to recognize signs of work-related cumulative stress and other related issues that may lead to suicide and offer appropriate solutions for intervention.
HB3977
I am proud to be a co-sponsor of HB3977. This legislation creates the First Responders Behavioral Healthcare Bill of Rights in order to ensure first responders including police, firefighters, and EMTs in Chicago and across Illinois, have full access to supportive, confidential, and responsive behavioral health services and treatment. Without fear of repercussions from their employer.
HB4125
Since the end of the Spring Session of the 102nd General Assembly, I have introduced House Bill 4125 would make it a hate crime to attack or harass a police officer. HB4125 would make attacking a police officer a Class 4 Felony with a minimum of 1 year jail time and a repeat offense on a police officer carries a Class 2 felony with a minimum of 3 years and up to 5 years jail time. I will continue to examine these issues and others moving forward as Co-Chair of the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Taskforce.
HB4153
HB4153 will make the Suicide Prevention Taskforce legislation that I carried in the House earlier this year permanent. The Taskforce will issue a report to the General Assembly once a year on recommendations and findings to prevent suicide among first responders. I look forward to the passage of this much-needed legislation in the Spring Session this year.
Spring 2022 Legislation Continued
House Bill 5768:
In response to the City of Chicago cancelling days off for police offers due to staffing shortages. I filed House Bill 5768 which will amend the state’s existing “One Day Rest in Seven Act,” which requires employers to provide at least one period of 24 hours rest each calendar week. The act does not currently apply to law enforcement, but will if this bill becomes law. In the last month alone, three Chicago police officers devastatingly lost their lives to suicide, leading wellness professionals to call the department’s practice of canceling days off as “inhumane.” Illinois has made strides for most of its employees when it comes to workers’ rights – the rights of our law enforcement officers should be no different. This legislation builds on the previous work of the First Responders Suicide Prevention Taskforce, that I founded and co-chaired, to help address mental health concerns affecting first responders.
Expressway Camera Bills
More expressway cameras will soon be installed across Chicagoland under two new laws that I supported during the recent General Assembly session in Springfield.
House Bill 4481: Increases the number of highway cameras along the state highway system in 21 counties throughout the state.
House Bill 260: Adds cameras along Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
This year’s state budget committed $20 million toward the effort, which will help law enforcement agencies investigate criminal activities, as well as better detect highway conditions and coordinate safety and incident management services. Both measures were recently signed into law by the Governor.
Safe-T Act Trailer Bills
House Bill 3443: HB3443 was one of three trailer bills that amended language to the 'Safe-T Act'. A major provision of House Bill 3443 narrowed the original bill's language to make it clear that an officer commits a form of misconduct with their body camera only when they intentionally disable it with the intent of obstructing justice. The initial bill considered it a felony when a officer's body camera was not recording, through no fault of their own. Moving forward, I will continue working with all parties including law enforcement and members of the General Assembly. House Bill 3443 passed the General Assembly with bi-partisan support and was signed into law by the Governor.
Senate Bill 2364 serves as the third trailer bill that modifies language in the original Safe-T Act. I voted in favor of the bill when it came up for a vote in the House, SB2364 currently awaits consideration in the Senate. Some of the changes include:
1. Misdemeanor Citations Clarification: The original language in the Safe-T act only allowed an officer to issue a citation for trespassing on private property. New language in SB2364 clarifies an officer has discretion to make an arrest if they determine that individual to be a reasonable threat to the community.
2. Electronic Monitoring Clarification: Delays the implementation of new supervised release provisions from July 2022 to March of 2023 to allow for continued negotiations. Additionally clarifies language for supervised released individuals on electronic monitoring in the following ways:
- Specifically clarifies that during any period of authorized movement on supervised released. The supervising authority may monitor the participant’s location, which was already existing law.
- Replaces the current phrasing of “two days” per week to “two periods of time” for supervised release, and gives the supervising authority the authority to determine those periods of time.
- Allows a State’s Attorney to file a petition to deny the movement periods for individuals on supervised released that are charged with forcible felonies and present a threat/danger to the community.
House Bill 107
Hurley was a chief cosponsor of House Bill 107, a bipartisan effort that targets the root incentives of catalytic converter theft by requiring scrap yards and metal recyclers to review and record the identification of sellers. In situations that a seller does not possess a Secretary of State issued license identifying them as an automotive parts recycler or scrap processor, the seller will now be required to fill out a 1099-MISC tax form by the buyer. Additionally, House Bill 107 outlines that if a catalytic converter is valued at more than $100, buyers would now be prohibited from paying for it in cash.
House Bill 5385
Under the Hurley-backed House Bill 5385, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be tasked with serving as the state’s principal assistance liaison to the program. The state department will:
- Educate businesses, business associations and transitioning service members regarding the program and its benefits,
- Help businesses in obtaining approval for skilled workforce tranining curriculum under the program – including internships, fellowships and apprenticeships,
- Match eligible transitioning service members with training opportunities offered by participating businesses and organizations with the intent of helping service members achieve gainful employment after their SkillBridge training, and
- Establish and maintain certifications for the program or any similar workforce training transition programs created by the Department of Defense.
House Bill 5785
Last month, I signed on to become the chief cosponsor of HB5785, known as the “Gold Star and Fallen Heroes Family Support Act.” The proposal creates a continuing appropriation for line of duty awards when the existing appropriation is insufficient to cover all claims in a fiscal year. The existing Line of Duty Compensation Act provides a death benefit for claims filed within a year of death of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, armed forces member and other state employees killed in the line of duty. Existing law also provides a burial benefit for law enforcement and firefighters killed in service. Under current practice, if funds for the benefit run out due to greater than anticipated need, the General Assembly is required to pass a supplemental appropriation. This situation occurred this past year, which resulted in a delay of support for a family of a fallen law enforcement officer. With the passage of House Bill 5785, this kind of delay would never happen again.