Rep. Nicolle Grasse

Amends the Stalking No Contact Order Act. Adds to the definition of "stalking" to include harassment that is conduct that is not necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the circumstances, would cause a reasonable person emotional distress, and causes emotional distress to the petitioner. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the following conduct is presumed to cause emotional distress: (i) creating a disturbance at the petitioner's place of employment or school; (ii) repeatedly telephoning the petitioner's place of employment, home, or residence; (iii) repeatedly following the petitioner about in a public place or places; (iv) repeatedly keeping the petitioner under surveillance by remaining present outside his or her home, school, place of employment, vehicle, or other place occupied by the petitioner or by peering in the petitioner's windows; (v) threatening the safety of the petitioner's minor child or family member; or (vi) threatening physical force, confinement, or restraint on one or more occasions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Collection Agency Act. Provides that a debtor is not liable for any coerced debt, as defined in the Act, and may assert that they have incurred a coerced debt by providing to a collection agency an oral or written Statement of Coerced Debt, as specified. Sets forth provisions concerning notice of coerced debt to a collection agency; duties of a collection agency upon receiving an incomplete statement of coerced debt; affirmative defenses in collection actions or arbitration; civil liability; protections from perpetrators of coerced debt; restrictions on waivers; and liability of collection agencies for violations of the Act. Provides that, upon receiving the debtor's complete statement of coerced debt and specified supporting information, a collection agency shall review and consider all the information received from the debtor as well as any other information available in the collection agency's file or from the creditor related to the alleged coerced debt within 90 days after receipt of the statement of coerced debt. Requires a collection agency, within 5 days after receipt of the complete statement of coerced debt and supporting information, to cease any pre-judgment attempts to collect the coerced debt from the debtor, including refraining from filing any lawsuit or arbitration to collect the coerced debt, and notify any consumer reporting agency to which the collection agency or creditor furnished adverse information about the debtor that the debtor disputes the adverse information. Establishes additional requirements for a collection agency that reviews a statement of coerced debt. Provides that, within 180 days after the effective date of the Act, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may design and publish a model coerced debt and third party written verification form in English and any other language it determines, within its discretion, is the first language of a significant number of consumers in the State. Makes other changes.

Creates the Hospitals and Homelessness Support Act. Requires the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness within the Department of Human Services to maintain on its publicly accessible website information on how a hospital or healthcare system may connect a patient experiencing homelessness or otherwise in a vulnerable housing situation with shelter and homeless support services for each continuum of care in the State. Requires the Department to ensure that the information required includes, for each continuum of care, any phone number, email address, physical address, primary agencies, or any other information that may be necessary for a person in that continuum of care territory to begin accessing shelter or other homelessness services. Requires the Department to include, where possible, a specific phone number that a hospital or health care facility may call and specific language to use. Requires the Department to also include on its website a way for the hospital or healthcare system to determine which continuum of care applies based on the physical location of the hospital or healthcare system. Requires other information, all of which must be added to the Department's website by October 31, 2025. Contains provisions concerning annual audits.

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Eddie Thomas Act. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that no later than December 1 of each year, the Department of Corrections shall prepare a report to be published on its website that contains, at a minimum, the following information about hospice and palliative care in its institutions and facilities during the prior fiscal year: (1) demographic data of committed persons who received hospice and palliative care; (2) data on the number of committed persons in the Department's hospice and palliative care programs; (3) data on the timing of hospice and palliative care programming; (4) the number of committed persons in the custody of the Department who died; (5) policies and administrative directives of each Department institution and facility regarding the institution of hospice and palliative care; (6) the staff available for hospice and palliative care; and (7) the cost of the Department's hospice and palliative care programs. Provides that all such data shall be anonymized to protect the privacy of the committed persons involved in the hospice and palliative care programs.

Amends the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act. Makes changes to assessments for admission to establishments and service plan requirements. Requires an establishment to notify the resident and the resident's representative when there is a significant change in the resident's condition that affects the establishment's ability to meet the resident's needs. Prohibits an establishment from terminating or reducing any service without the consent of the resident or the resident's representative for the purpose of making it more difficult or impossible for the resident to remain in the establishment. Adds new requirements for establishments and the Department of Public Health regarding the involuntary termination of residency. Provides that a resident has the right to not be unlawfully transferred or discharged. Makes other changes. Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Prohibits a resident from being transferred or discharged in violation of the Act. Provides that a resident has the right not to be unlawfully transferred or discharged. Provides for the assessment of a $2,500 fine for a facility that fails to comply with an order to readmit a resident who wishes to return to the facility and is appropriate for that level of care and services provided. Requires a facility that complies with an order to readmit a resident that has been deemed to have been unlawfully discharged to notify the Department within 10 business days after the resident has been readmitted to the facility. Provides that a facility may involuntarily transfer or discharge a resident because the facility is unable to meet the medical needs of the resident, as documented in the resident's clinical record by the resident's physician. Provides that the Department maintains jurisdiction over the transfer or discharge irrespective of the timing of the notice and discharge. Provides that if the Department determines that a transfer or discharge is not authorized, then the Department shall issue a written decision stating that the transfer or discharge is denied. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Drug Reuse Opportunity Program Act. Requires the Illinois Department of Public Health: (1) to develop, maintain, and publish on its website information regarding the names and locations of pharmacies participating in the program; (2) to educate pharmacies in the State about the program and how to participate in it voluntarily; (3) to develop and publish educational materials to allow program participants and the Department to inform the general public about the purposes and benefits of the program; and (4) to collect information from participants and publish the information in an annual report to the General Assembly by December 31 of each calendar year, beginning December 31, 2026. Specifies that records maintained under the Act are subject to access by the Department upon request. Defines "Department".

Amends the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Provides that employers shall provide the State labor organization with a copy of the information provided to the exclusive representative. Effective immediately.

Maddy summarySB 453 makes a technical amendment to the Labor Dispute Act. This bill updates a specific section concerning the short title of the act, affecting the legal framework for labor disputes.

Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that any authorized employee (instead of an advanced practice registered nurse, practical nurse, registered nurse, or physician) of an organization that provides hospice services to a hospice patient or that provides home health services to a person may receive a patient's prescription orders, including controlled substances, and deliver the prescription orders to the patient.

Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the law concerning limitations on the over-the-counter sale of ephedrine without a prescription does not apply to the sale of any product dispensed or delivered by a practitioner or pharmacy according to a prescription issued by a prescriber authorized by the State or another state for a valid medical purpose and in the course of professional practice.