Sen. Sally Turner

Amends the Homeless Family Placement Act. In a provision listing certain factors a referring agency must consider prior to referring a homeless family with school age children to a shelter, requires the referring agency to also consider the military status of any member of the family to determine the family's eligibility for State or federal benefits and other supportive services for homeless veterans and their families, including, but not limited to, housing or rental assistance, job training, and employment opportunities.

Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that during the period between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026, an annuitant may accept employment as a teacher without impairing his or her retirement status if that employment is not within the school year during which service was terminated and does not exceed 150 paid days or 750 paid hours in each school year. Provides that beginning July 1, 2026 (instead of July 1, 2023), an annuitant may accept employment as a teacher without impairing his or her retirement status if that employment is not within the school year during which service was terminated and does not exceed 100 paid days or 500 paid hours in each school year. Effective immediately.

Creates the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force Act. Creates the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall develop a statewide plan to connect existing local projects and new projects to create a cohesive statewide history of the Underground Railroad in Illinois while creating new educational and tourism opportunities for the State. Establishes the membership of the Task Force. Provides that the members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources shall provide administrative and technical support to the Task Force. Provides that all members of the Task Force shall be appointed within 30 days after the effective date of the Act. Provides that the Task Force shall review available research, existing infrastructure and projects, best practices, and effective interventions to formulate recommendations. Provides that the Task Force shall prepare a report detailing the Task Force's findings and recommendations and needed resources. Provides that the Task Force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before July 1, 2024. Provides that the Task Force is dissolved, and the Act is repealed, on January 1, 2025.

Supports the "I-55 Managed Lane Project" and IDOT's efforts to pursue the project as a P3.

Designates Illinois Route 121 as it runs from the Macon/Moultrie County line to the intersection of Route 121 and Route 36 in Decatur as the "Trooper Todd Hanneken Memorial Highway".

Designates Illinois Route 140 as it travels through Meadowbrook as the "Cpl. Tommy N. Miller Memorial Highway".

Amends the School Safety Drill Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, a public school may obtain crisis response mapping data and provide copies of the crisis response mapping data to appropriate local, county, State, and federal first responders for use in response to emergencies. Provides that the crisis response mapping data shall be stored and provided in an electronic or digital format to assist first responders in responding to emergencies at the school. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall provide grants to public schools to cover the costs incurred in obtaining crisis response mapping data. Sets forth requirements for the crisis response mapping data. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the crisis response mapping data may be reviewed annually to update the data as necessary. Effective immediately.

Supports home-visiting and Early Intervention programs as an essential component of our State's multifaceted approach to the opioid crisis, helping remediate many of its corrosive impacts on young children, their parents, and families, while also assisting efforts at preventing children from future struggles with substance use disorders of their own. Affirms these vital birth-to-3 services are a top priority for increased public resources, to strengthen their quality and extend their reach to more of the children, parents, and families who could benefit from them, particularly in communities of greatest need and those hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. Affirms home-visiting and Early Intervention services are an appropriate and necessary use for some of the hundreds of millions of funding coming to Illinois from the settlement of lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors, initiatives that can help meet the settlements' stated aims of boosting opioid remediation, treatment, and prevention.

Recognizes the accomplishments of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in increasing opportunities for women and girls in all facets of education. Recognizes the magnificent accomplishments of women and girls in sports, as well as the need to continue pursuing the goal of Title IX.

Urges the Illinois Department of Transportation and the High Speed Railroad Commission to move expeditiously in preparing a Statewide Integrated Network Plan, including the identification of desired service points and key transfer stations, the construction of a theoretical rail and bus schedule with timed transfers, the creation of a ridership and revenue model for the desired network, the estimation of needed infrastructure investments, and the development of a phased implementation plan.