Nearly 260,000 uninsured immigrants in Illinois will be eligible for
health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when open enrollment
begins in October. But a plethora of barriers, including language,
literacy and culture, may stand in the way, according to a recent
report by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
A state measure that looks to revamp sex education in Illinois’
public schools was approved in the House last month and could possibly
go up for a full Senate vote this week.
The bill, HB 2675,
would require schools with sex education classes for grades 6 through
12 to stress abstinence, but also incorporate contraception into the discussion. Schools would also be required to provide students with information on how to avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Under the measure, schools currently
teaching sex education would also have to adopt medically-accurate and
evidence-based information into lesson plans.
As it stands now, those components are
not part of the Illinois School Code related to sexual health
education, said Joy Messinger,deputy director of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.
“That
piece is extremely important,” Messinger said. “We believe, and we know
based on lots and lots of research, that abstinence-only until marriage
education is ineffective, and it often presents an inaccurate view of
sexual health.”
With the Illinois House of Representative possibly voting on the legalization of medicinal marijuana this week, nearly 250 physicians in the state have announced their support of the legislation.
“Who
wouldn’t try something illegal if they’ve run out of options,” asked
Julie Falco, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 27 years ago and
said in 2004 she had thoughts of suicide as a result of a “cloud of
heavy medications.”
“The medications didn’t make me feel better,
they made me feel worse,” she said, noting that she turned to cannabis when
she saw no alternative and immediately saw an “enormous benefit.”
Four medical marijuana patients lobbied in Springfield yesterday in
an effort to boost support for legislation that would legalize the drug
for medicinal purposes.
A state bill that would allow for the use of medical marijuana is
close to getting the votes needed for approval in the House, the bill's sponsor
Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) told the Pekin Daily Times on Friday.
There are considerable problems with air and land pollution in
Chicago’s Southwest neighborhoods of Pilsen and Little Village and, at a
meeting with community residents last night, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) committed to ongoing cleanup efforts.
Approximately 50 residents at Walsh Elementary School listened Tuesday night as the EPA presented the community with four plans for pollution reduction in their neighborhood.
Illinois is the only state that requires principals be notified of
students’ HIV-positive status, but legislation working its way
through the Illinois General Assembly may change that. Here, we take a closer look at the disclosure law and the bill looking to undo it.
Illinois took a step toward legalizing medical marijuana yesterday,
as the Illinois House Human Services Committee voted to approve “Medical
Cannabis” legislation.
A state measure that looks to revamp sex education in Illinois’
public schools was approved in the House last month and could possibly
go up for a full Senate vote this week.
With the Illinois House of Representative possibly voting on the legalization of medicinal marijuana this week, nearly 250 physicians in the state have announced their support of the legislation.
There are considerable problems with air and land pollution in
Chicago’s Southwest neighborhoods of Pilsen and Little Village and, at a
meeting with community residents last night, the 
