Rep. Joyce Mason

Endorses the following principles as the Cancer Patients' Bill of Rights to express support that cancer patients in the State receive the best cancer care available: (1) cancer patients with complex cancers deserve access to specialized expertise and emerging treatments for their specific type of cancer, including precision medicine and genomic therapies, which are often only available at advanced cancer centers, (2) cancer patients deserve multidisciplinary supportive care while undergoing treatment, including care that addresses pain, emotional, and overall health needs, (3) cancer patients should have the opportunity to access emerging therapies informed by the latest cancer research through relevant early-stage and late-stage clinical trials, which are only available at cancer treatment institutions, (4) to the extent possible, cancer patients should be able to receive timely cancer care in their community, which is often supported by partnerships between community providers and academic institutions, and (5) cancer patients have a right to fully understand their diagnoses and be informed about treatment options in culturally appropriate and understandable languages.

Maddy summaryHB 2840 officially designates the black walnut as the State of Illinois' official nut. This symbolic change updates the State Designations Act to recognize the state's native tree species. The bill does not alter any laws, budgets, or government operations. It is a ceremonial measure intended to celebrate Illinois' natural heritage.

Congratulates Omer Osman on his retirement and commends him for his decades of service to the Illinois Department of Transportation, his community, and his country.

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Designates the twenty-seventh day of June of each year as National PTSD Awareness Day to be observed throughout the State as a day of awareness and recognition of how post-traumatic stress disorder affects the lives of those impacted by it.

Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Kinship in Demand (KIND) Act. Provides that the KIND Act creates the statutory vision and authority for the Department of Children and Family Services to execute a kin-first approach to service delivery and directs the juvenile courts to provide necessary oversight of the Department's obligations to maintain family connections and promote equitable opportunities for youth and families to thrive with relational permanence. Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Contains provisions concerning Department rules on relative, kinship, and licensed foster care; grants to subsidized guardians of hard-to-place children; a requirement on the Department to make reasonable efforts to place a child with a relative; documentation of the Department's reasons for failing to secure a relative placement; foster care maintenance payments for relatives who qualify for certification as a kinship caregiver home; subsidized guardianship support services for children and their guardians; certification and background checks on relative caregivers; annual reports regarding relative and kinship care placements; performance audits; and other matters. Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires the Department to adopt standards for certifying kinship caregiver family homes that are different from licensing standards used for non-relative foster family homes. Contains provisions concerning background screenings of prospective kinship caregivers; a requirement that the Department assist relatives and prospective kinship caregivers with completing the steps required for approval as a kinship caregiver home; orientation activities for prospective kinship caregivers; Guardianship Assistance Program payments and services for relative caregivers; and other matters. Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Makes changes to provisions concerning "best interest" determinations; emergency placement of a minor with a willing relative pending a temporary custody hearing; court assessments on the Department's effort to place a minor with a relative; court ordered family-finding efforts; required notification to a minor's located relatives that the minor has been removed from the custody of the minor's parents; and other matters. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes changes to Tier 2 benefits, including changing the amount of the automatic annual increase to 3% of the originally granted retirement annuity or 3% of the retirement annuity then being paid for the General Assembly and Judges Articles, changing the limit on the amount of salary for annuity purposes to the Social Security wage base, changing the calculation of final average salary to the Tier 1 calculation for persons who are active members on or after January 1, 2025, and changing the retirement age. Establishes an accelerated pension benefit payment option for the General Assembly, Chicago Teachers, and Judges Articles of the Code. Provides that, with regard to persons subject to the Tier 2 provisions, a security employee of the Department of Human Services, a security employee of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, an investigator for the Department of the Lottery, or a State highway worker is entitled to an annuity calculated under the alternative retirement annuity provisions of the State Employee Article of the Code. Authorizes the conversion of service to eligible creditable service. Provides that the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) is adopted and made a part of the Downstate Police, Downstate Firefighter, Chicago Police, and Chicago Firefighter Articles. Authorizes SLEP status under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund for a person who is a county correctional officer or probation officer and for a person who participates in IMRF and qualifies as a firefighter under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. In the Downstate Firefighter Article, includes a de facto firefighter in the definition of "firefighter". Defines "de facto firefighter". Provides that the monthly pension of a firefighter who is receiving a disability pension shall be increased at the rate of 3% of the original monthly pension. Makes changes to the minimum retirement annuity payable to a firefighter with 20 or more years of creditable service, the minimum disability pension, and the minimum surviving spouse's pension. Makes other changes. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Effective immediately.

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Provides that "day care homes" means family homes which receive more than 3 and up to a maximum of 14 children (instead of 12) for less than 24 hours per day.

Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Removes a provision requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the City of Chicago and affected units of government for specified concerns. Removes a provision that require the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct water quality and lake bed surveys to evaluate the ecology and the quality of water in Lake Michigan. Removes a provision concerning reporting requirements. Provides that the Environmental Protection Agency shall regularly monitor water quality from nearshores, harbors, and public water supply intakes in Lake Michigan and provide an executive summary biennially on conditions of the water quality in Lake Michigan to the Governor and members of the General Assembly.

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. In provisions concerning criminal background investigations, provides that a child care facility may authorize the Department of Children and Family Services or a third-party vendor to complete the investigation. Provides that an applicant is determined to have completed the criminal background investigation when he or she has completed and submitted authorization for the performance of a criminal background investigation by either the Department or a third party contracted to perform the criminal background investigation. Makes conforming changes.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands access to religious dietary food options, specifically halal and kosher meals, for students in Illinois public schools and patients in state hospitals and prisons. It requires the State Board of Education to create statewide master contracts with vendors to supply prepackaged meals that meet federal nutritional standards and specific religious requirements without needing special kitchen equipment or staff. The legislation mandates that these meals be sold at no more than the federal reimbursement rate and establishes certification rules for vendors to ensure compliance with religious dietary laws. Additionally, the bill directs the University of Illinois Hospital to offer these options upon request and strengthens existing laws by adding penalties for vendors who falsely claim their products are halal or kosher.