Sound of the State

This edition of the News Brief from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus features State Senators Elgie Sims, Jr., Ann Gillespie, Dave Koehler, and Linda Holmes, with news about the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, ethics reform, an effort to fix the FOID card, and improvements to the state's unemployment system.

The edition of the News Brief from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus features State Senators Mattie Hunter, Ann Gillespie, Sara Feigenholtz, and Napoleon Harris III and efforts to create more affordable housing in Illinois, expand telehealth services, help bars and restaurants recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford and Senators Robert Peters, Laura Fine, and Scott Bennett and efforts to increase access for minority business owners to the state's adult use cannabis industry, improved emergency response to mental health crises, helping college students make better choices about student loans, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Steve Stadelman, Laura Ellman, Karina Villa, and Scott Bennett and efforts to give college students additional flexibility in paying for their education, improve prescription drug access, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Karina Villa, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Julie Morrison, and Tom Cullerton and efforts to expand protections for sexual assault survivors and their family members, standardize remote learning accessibility across the state, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Ram Villivalam, Sara Feigenholtz, Cristina Castro, and Elgie Sims, Jr., about efforts to expand parental leave for new parents, adding housing options for community college students, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Robert Peters, Karina Villa, Laura Ellman, Tom Cullerton, and Patrick Joyce on efforts to decriminalize HIV in Illinois, end "period poverty", restore veterans benefits to LGBTQ+ veterans, and more.

State Senator Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago) discusses SB920, an effort to create the Illinois Forensic Science Commission. The Commission would provide guidance to ensure efficient delivery of forensic services and the sound practice of forensic science.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Ram Villivalam, John Connor, Melinda Bush, and Christopher Belt on subjects ranging from an effort to amend the Illinois Constitution to guarantee the right for workers to unionize to reproductive health, and more.

This edition of the News Brief features stories about State Senators Sara Feigenholtz, Christopher Belt, Karina Villa, Adriane Johnson, and Scott Bennett on subjects ranging from expanded parental leave options to utility bill assistance to environmental concerns around coal ash pits, and more.

This edition of the News Brief includes stories about legislation from State Senators Robert Peters, Laura Fine, Bill Cunningham, Rachelle Crowe, and Steve Stadelman on topics ranging from changes to IDOC procedures in an effort to help reduce recidivism to first responder suicide prevention to the improvement of access to health care options during pregnancy, and more.

This edition of the News Brief includes stories about legislation from State Senators Mattie Hunter, Adriane Johnson, Robert Peters, and Scott Bennett on topics ranging from improving driver education curriculum and traffic stop outcomes for all Illinoisans to tackling the growing student loan debt problem in our state.

This edition of the News Brief includes stories about legislation from State Senators Karina Villa, Napoleon Harris III, Melinda Bush, and Assistant Majority Leader Tony Munoz on topics ranging from reducing the cost of prescription drugs to biomarker testing to safer drinking water in Illinois.

This edition of the News Brief includes stories about legislation from State Senators Cristina Castro, Karina Villa, Ram Villivalam, and Mike Simmons addressing topics ranging from the state's maternal mortality rate to added protections for families of sexual assault survivors and more.

Get to know new State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) in this podcast from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus.

State Senator Laura Fine discusses her bill to require hospitals and other facilities to offer a patient any unused portion of facility-provided medication, upon discharge when it is administered to a patient at the facility and is required for continuing treatment.

State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) discusses SB1905, which would help families struggling with infertility to navigate insurance coverage.

Get to know State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) in this podcast from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus.

State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) discusses her bill, SB513, which would require cable companies to stop charging customers for modems and routers, once the price of the device is paid off.

State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) discusses SB 134, which creates the Local Journalism Task Force Act to review and study the status of journalism in Illinois to improve local news access.

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) discusses SB1846, which would require restaurants to serve unsweetened beverages, such as water or milk, as the default option for kids’ meals.