Media literacy requirement, animal products banned among the last 53 bills signed by Pritzker Capitolnewsillinois.com

Governor JB Pritzker speaks at an event in Springfield earlier this year. On Friday, he signed another 53 bills, bringing his total number of signed bills for the current General Assembly to 97 of more than 600 that went through the General Assembly. (Capitol News Illinois file photo)

Monday, July 12, 2021

The governor signed 97 of the more than 600 laws passed this year

BY PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois public high schools soon have to teach students how to access and rate various types of news and social media that they see online and elsewhere as part of their regular curriculum.

That was one of 53 bills that Governor JB Pritzker signed on Friday, July 9th, bringing the total number of bills signed by the current General Assembly so far this year to 97.

House Bill 234 foresees that from the 2022-2023 school year, all public high schools will offer a media literacy lesson with instructions on how to access information and assess the trustworthiness of its source; Analysis and evaluation of media messages; Creating media news; Assess how media messages trigger emotions and behavior; and social responsibility.

The state school board has the task of preparing and distributing teaching materials and providing the educators with professional learning opportunities.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, and Senator Karina Villa, D-West Chicago. It passed both chambers largely according to party lines: 68-44 in the House of Representatives and 42-15 in the Senate.

Another new law makes it illegal to import into Illinois to sell body parts or products from a long list of endangered and exotic species.

Illinois, like many states, has long banned the importation of ivory and rhinoceros horns. Under House Bill 395, the list of animals whose parts or products may not be imported is expanded to include cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, great apes, hippos, jaguars, leopards, lions, monk seals, narwhals, pangolins, rays and sharks. Rhinos, sea turtles, tigers, walruses, whales, or any other species listed in the Convention on International Trade or listed as threatened or endangered under U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Martin Moylan, D-Des Plaines, and Senator Linda Holmes, D-Aurora. It passed the House of Representatives with 113-1 and the Senate with 57-0.

Illinois residents Applying for admission to the state’s public colleges and universities will no longer need to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their application starting January 2022.

House Bill 226, known as the Higher Education Fair Admissions Act, requires all public higher education institutions to have an “optional exam” policy for admission, which means that they may not require students to have standardized test scores, but they may allow students to do so if you choose.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, and Senator Christopher Belt, D-Cahokia Heights. It passed the House of Representatives with 109-8 and the Senate with 45-9.

Student athletes Both public and private schools are now allowed to change their sports or team uniforms for reasons of modesty according to their religion, cultural values, or modesty preferences.

House Bill 120, sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, and Senator Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, provides that modifications can include things like hijabs, vests, or leggings. However, any modifications must not impair the movement of the student or pose a safety risk to the student or other athletes or players. There are also limits to how headgear can be modified.

Students wishing to change their uniforms are responsible for all additional costs unless the school pays for the costs.

Driving through School zones have to slow down a little earlier on school days due to another bill that Pritzker signed.

House Bill 343, by Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, and Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, provides that special speed limits in schools start at 6:30 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. The new law comes into force immediately.

Both chambers passed the bill unanimously.

High school graduates Individuals under the care of the Department of Children and Family Services can be assured that they have completed the study grant application when they are ready to apply to the college.

Senate Bill 63, composed of Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Curtis Tarver, both Chicago Democrats, calls for DCFS to ensure, beginning in 2022, that every Illinois adolescent entering their senior year of high school receives a free student grant application of the federal government or application for state study grants by November 1st of the last academic year at the latest.

Both chambers passed the bill unanimously.

And children operate Lemonade stands no longer have to worry about approval.

Senate Bill 119, from Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, and Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, provides that neither the Department of Health, nor a local health department or district can regulate the sale of soft soda through beverages or mixed beverages a person under the age of 16.

The new law was named “Hayli’s Law” after a 12-year-old girl whose Kankakee lemonade stand was closed by local officials, according to an article on the Illinois Senate Democratic website.

Both chambers passed the bill unanimously.

Capitol News Illinois is a non-profit, non-partisan news service that covers state government and is distributed to more than 400 newspapers across the country. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

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