Last week the House completed our last session action for 2021 when we adjourned Veto Session on Thursday well past midnight. To say it was one of the most unpredictable Veto Sessions I've ever participated in is an understatement. While we accomplished so much including passing the Repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act and extended the sunset deadline for Federally Qualified Health Centers to perform medical forensic exams, there were a few measurers I could not support or that did not make it past the finish line before adjournment.

Bills that passed both chambers:

  • SB 1169: This bill amends the Health Care Right of Conscience Act which was originally intended to protect healthcare providers from liability or professional discipline from withholding care because of religious or conscience based beliefs. However, most recently this law was being used by individuals as a loophole to not submit to COVID-19 testing or screening. This legislation narrowly written to clarify that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act was never intended to prohibit requirements aimed at preventing the transmission of a deadly virus during a global pandemic, such as the case with COVID-19. It’s important to note that in spite of significant misinformation to the contrary, legitimate religious objections to getting the vaccine as well as health care exemptions are still protected under state and federal law.

  • HB 370: Parental Notification of Abortion repeal. This has been at the top of my to-do list for years and was my highest priority for Veto Session. With more individuals fleeing states like Texas and coming to Illinois for healthcare services, this bill was one of the last anti-choice bills in state law. You can listen to my floor remarks here.

  • SB 336: Trailer Bill to the Black Caucus Healthcare Pillar passed earlier this year, this bill, among many updates, extends the law allowing Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHC's) to perform Medical Forensic Exams on sexual assault survivors. Currently, Howard Brown Health Center in our district is the only such facility providing this service, which is traditionally only available in hospitals for adult survivors. Building on exemptions in the law allowing minor victims alternatives to crowded and sometimes impersonal emergency rooms, this creates an opportunity for survivors who might feel unsafe going to a traditional emergency room whether it is because of the pandemic, or being undocumented and fearful, or fearing misgendering by traditional hospital staff, these kits being collected represent survivors who would not otherwise access the service.

  • HB1769: Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, this bill creates financial tax incentives for manufacturers, part suppliers and power suppliers for electronic vehicles. This bill also includes electric motorcycles.
  • HB3136: Gaming bill, creates a pilot program which allows for in state college sports betting.

  • HB3401: Midwife legalization, creates a licensing process for midwives to meet certain education and training requirements in order to work in the profession.

  • SB536: This election omnibus is a trailer bill to the election bill passed earlier this year. It makes changes to the law including allowing individuals at the time of voter registration to select "male,” "female,” or "non-binary" as their gender identity and creates further accommodations for individuals with disabilities voting in person.

  • SB1784: Chicago Board of Education clean up bill, makes changes to the dates and deadlines for petition gathering and the date of which elections take place.

  • HB3666: Energy trailer from CEJA, and clarifies drafting errors.
Legislation that did not pass:

  • HB2778: Education employee paid COVID-19 bill, allows educational support service employees to still receive pay if an e-learning day is used. Additionally, the bill requires paid administrative leave for all school district and university employees if they or their children are diagnosed with COVID-19. Lastly, any sick leave used by a teacher or school district employee during the 2021-2022 school year for COVID-19 shall be returned to the employee. This bill passed the Senate but is pending in the House.

  • HB3512: Criminal justice reform, reforms the way the state uses registry funds for those having to pay into the system and redirects any remaining funds after subtracting administrative costs. This bill is still in the House for consideration and can be taken up when we reconvene in January.

  • SB 828: Voting rights, would restore voting rights for those currently incarcerated. This bill is still in the House for consideration.
Redistricting Update

One of the most anticipated votes we took last week was for the new boundaries of our state’s Congressional districts. Due to population loss in the state mostly concentrated in central and southern Illinois, our state lost a Congressional district. The new map reflects the new makeup of the delegation of 17 seats, with an exciting and historic addition of a second district with significant Latino population. Over the course of the week as various editions of the map were released, members raised concerns over the possibility of one or more incumbents being mapped into the same district and at many points along the way it appeared likely that we would adjourn until January without passing a Congressional map. Late in the day on Thursday, a new draft was released that removed the opposition of many members from DuPage County who were hearing from constituents angry that Congressional members Casten and Newman were in the same district by combining Congressional members Newman and Garcia instead. At the same time, new IL House Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar raised objections to the exclusion of the many Latino voters in her House district from the newly drawn Latino influence district. I raised concerns about this rushed draft in caucus meetings and listened carefully to multiple colleagues’ concerns about this version of the map and ultimately did not take a vote on the bill, issuing the following statement that evening:

“The evolution of this map resulted in two women I strongly admire getting short shrift. I am strongly supportive of the creation of a second Latino district and know that hard choices had to be made to accomplish that, but I couldn’t bring myself to support a process that left two strong women leaders’ voices out. As we work to ensure the map reflects the diversity of our state, it does a lot to accomplish that goal but falls short in terms of recognizing the need for more women in leadership roles as we watch the steady march towards the reversal of Roe v Wade.”

Finally, we had expected to also vote on the first reconfiguring of the Cook County Judicial Subcircuits map in decades, but adjourned without introducing a new map for these and other subcircuits around the state. I believe that we will revisit this in early January, but it’s unclear at this point whether we will have new boundaries for the 2022 elections.

  • HB1291: Congressional redistricting and you can find the proposed map here since it has not been signed into law yet.
Metra Ridge/Peterson Stop Ground Breaking
After almost a decade of waiting for the building of this Metra stop I joined my colleagues Alderman Vasquez, Alderman Osterman, Representative Harris and Senator Simmons for the Metra Ridge/Peterson ground breaking today. You can listen to my full remarks here.
Join Us for Alderwoman Maria Hadden's Town Hall
I will be stopping by Alderwoman Maria Hadden's virtual town hall this Wednesday at 6pm to give a brief overview on veto session. Register to attend here.
Resentencing Process for Cook County
In the wake of the passage of Senate Bill 2129 (SB 2129), which affords prosecutors the discretion to motion to resentence incarcerated persons in the interests of justice, the Cook County State's Attorney Office will utilize the law to review cases from Cook County and identify incarcerated persons whose sentences may fall into a set category of cases. This process is known as the Resentencing Initiative.

You can find a flyer below discussing the current eligibility for the Resentencing Initiative. For further questions about the Resentencing Initiative, you can contact saoresentencinginitiative@cookcountyil.gov or visit the Cook County State's Attorney website to find more information, including a form they can complete to be updated as the Resentencing Initiative progresses.
Annual Fall Coat Drive
Please support our Annual Fall Coat Drive to keep our vulnerable neighbors warm in the cold months. A wish list can be found on Target's website linked in the flyer below.
Rental Assistance Programs
The Illinois Housing Development Authority has announced that they have reviewed all applications for rental assistance and released awards for those who were approved. If you submitted an application and are still waiting for a response from the department please let my office know and we are happy to assist.

The next round of State rental assistance is expected to launch later this month and details will be shared on IHDA's website here.
The Chicago's rental assistance program is open city wide. Details can be found on their website here. Organizations assisting with rental applications include:

Citywide 
Stock The Shelter Donation Drive
It's the 10th year of Stock The Shelter and it has become a Holiday tradition! This is a supply drive benefiting Chicago area pet rescues and shelters. Please consider making a donation, and help to make a shelter dog or cat's Holiday a little brighter! Together, we can support Chicago's homeless animals in need.

ALIVE Rescue
Canines & Company
Chicagoland Bully Breed Rescue
Famous Fido Rescue and Alliance
Felines & Canines
Friends Of Chicago Animal Care and Control
Live Like Roo
New Leash On Life Chicago
Orphans Of The Storm
Safe Humane Chicago
Young At Heart Senior Pet Rescue
and more...
Illinois Solar for All
Pumpkin Recycling
Sincerely,

Kelly Cassidy
State Representative, 14th District

Office of State Representative Kelly Cassidy

5533 N Broadway

Chicago IL 60640
773-784-2002(phone)
773-784-2060(fax)