State Rep. Jeff Keicher (from Sycamore, but whose district was extended into Crystal Lake to keep Carolyn Schofield from running against Democrat Sue Ness):
Below are some more updates on several pieces of legislation that I am proud to be sponsoring, and where they currently stand in the legislative process.
Legislation updates
K-12 Schools:
- Senate Bill 71: An incident involving a hazardous material spill revealed a gap in how our schools handle their emergency and disaster plans. Through this legislation, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security will develop guidance for our schools to be properly prepared in the event of a hazardous waste spill or explosion that happens near a school. This arose from a chemical spill near a school in Ohio, where the school administration was left wondering what the right approach was when there was a significant toxic spill. They didn’t know: “Do we let students go home”, “Do we keep them inside”, “Do we shut off the HVAC”, or “Do we crank up the HVAC”. The bill simply asks for schools to consider nearby exposures as they consider emergency or disaster planning. This bill has passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote on the House floor.
- House Bill 2521: This bill improves protections for our student-athletes by requiring all sports officials for school athletics to pass a fingerprint-based background check, as well as a check against the state’s sex offender registry and violence against youth database. It also requires these checks to be run every five years on officials to ensure that our students remain safe from potential predators. A recent Auditor General report showed that several officials at sporting events would have been prohibited had a fingerprint background check been run. The bill previously passed the House and is awaiting approval of an amendment in the Senate. It will then need to return to the House for a final vote. I thank my peer Rep. Joyce Mason for handing this important piece of legislation off to me last month.
- Senate Bill 191: This bill establishes a process to start equipping our school buses with seat belts. There have been various reasons why this has not happened in the past, but it’s an obvious safety concern for our children. It has language that is “as replaced” so there is no need to retrofit what is existing. This has been an issue for me as a member of the insurance industry and as someone who saw the tragedy of the Fox River Grove Metra train school bus collision in 1992. The bill has already passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote by the full House.
- Senate Bill 407: Absenteeism in our schools was a problem before covid, but the pandemic has exacerbated this problem, and we’re still not back to pre-pandemic levels. In discussions with teachers and administrators, this has grown to be a significant issue, especially in our underperforming schools. This legislation creates a task force to study the root causes, analyze the problem and offer solutions.
- Senate Bill 1605: Vocational education opportunities have helped many students find an education and career path that suits them better than the traditional classroom. Through this legislation, we are adding agricultural programs (“Ag”) to satisfy the vocational education requirements and open more opportunities for students. The bill has already passed the Senate and is awaiting a floor vote in the House.
Other Topics:
- House Resolution 304: I’m honored to be the lead sponsor of this resolution that declares May 2025 as ALS Awareness Month in the State of Illinois in support of those living with this relentless disease and calls for continued research and support in the fight against it.
- House Bill 2990: Right now, the city of Chicago is using an end-around to avoid paying videogaming taxes to the state, like every other municipality in the state has to do. This bipartisan bill closes that loophole, so Chicago has to follow the same rules as everybody else.
- House Bill 1226: This is the senior driving bill to remove the onerous age requirement of annual testing regardless of your driving record. As I’ve already reported, the bill unanimously passed the House last month. It unanimously passed Senate committee earlier this month and now awaits a final vote on the Senate floor before heading to the Governor’s desk for a signature into law.
- House Bill 2774: Rather than relying primarily on a hodgepodge of referral services, as we do now, this legislation directs the Department of Human Services to establish a single, easy-to-use statewide Domestic Violence Hotline system to provide vital assistance to anyone facing domestic violence. The bill is awaiting a final vote in the Senate, having already received unanimous support in the House.
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Mentioning the Fox River Grove train-bus accident reminds me of the disagreement I had with my brother-in-law, who headed the Emergency Dept at Good Shepherd Hospital (the closest to the accident).
He took Keicher’s position, mandate seat belts.
I disagreed.
Had the kids in the back been restrained by seat belts, more would have died.
Some in the back of the bus saw the train and rushed forward, saving their lives.
