(SPRINGFIELD) Illinois lawmakers are responding after America First Legal (AFL) filed a federal complaint urging the U.S. Department of Education to investigate Illinois’ new law requiring annual student mental health screenings without parental consent, a move the group calls a “clear violation of federal law.” The AFL warns the screenings could trigger child welfare investigations since teachers must report suspected abuse, turning classrooms into state surveillance and eventually undermining the role of parents.
(SPRINGFIELD) Illinois lawmakers passed two-dozen bills during the annual fall veto session in Springfield last month. House Bill 767 would empower the Illinois Department of Public Health to issue vaccine guidelines amid federal uncertainty. If it becomes law, it will also allow the IDPH Director to grant more authority to the Immunization Advisory Committee, a group of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals who offer guidance to the Director. Many downstate lawmakers voted against the measure.
(SPRINGFIELD) A bill aiming to revive the state’s horse racing industry passed the State Senate but did not receive a vote in the State House. If approved, the measure would sunset power given Hawthorne Race Course in a 2019 gaming expansion law to veto any harness racetrack within 35 miles of its existing track in Stickney. The bill also would have sanctioned a harness racetrack and casino in Macon County, in the Decatur area. Other than Hawthorne, the only other track still open for horese racing in Illinois is in Collinsville.
(CHAMPAIGN) The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois in Champaign has released its monthly weather statistics for October. The preliminary statewide total rainfall last month was 2.61 inches, which was 0.65 inches below the 1991-2020 average and the 67th driest October on record. The preliminary statewide average October temperature was 59.6 degrees, 4.8 degrees above the average and tied for 9th warmest October on record. 35 records were broken dealing with high temperatures in October around Illinois.