Inside:
- House passes physician-assisted suicide bill
- Standing for Second Amendment rights
- Geneseo student was House Page for a Day
- Senior and Veterans Fair in Galesburg on June 18
House passes physician-assisted suicide bill
Last week I voted against a bill to allow physician-assisted suicide in Illinois.
Senate Bill 1950 would add Illinois to the small number of jurisdictions in the country which permit physician-assisted suicide. The bill was overwhelmingly opposed by Illinois doctors. It would send the message to the most vulnerable among us that they are a burden and that their lives are worth less. It would open up the possibility of coercion by unscrupulous actors seeking to simply cut costs. It is an ethical Pandora’s Box.
The bill was promoted as “medical aid in dying,” but Illinois already has such services through palliative care and hospice care.
The language was hastily amended onto a different bill and then rushed to the House floor for a vote. The original bill had nothing to do with physician-assisted suicide. It instead dealt with “sanitary food preparation.”
It was just another example of the kind of sleight of hand tactics that are used in the busy final days of session to slip bills through the process. The bill which contained this year’s round of tax increases (I voted No) originally had to do with creating a commemorative date for Emmitt Till Day, while the budget implementation act (also No) started out as a bill to recognize the Hindu holiday of Diwali.
This deceptive and non-transparent process needs to end.
Standing for Second Amendment rights
During the last days of session a pair of gun control bills were quickly brought to the floor and passed. Each has serious Constitutional issues, and both will create more problems for law-abiding gun owners. I opposed them both.
Senate Bill 8 puts excessive new firearm storage requirements on gun owners. Some of its provisions conflict with different parts, and other sections are unclear and confusing. It runs the risk of inadvertently making criminals out of law-abiding citizens because it is so unclear and hard to understand. Several questions were raised about the confusing aspects of the bill during the floor debate, but they were brushed aside by the majority who passed the bill.
A second gun control bill, House Bill 850, was an attempt to clean up the mess made by a gun control bill from a few years ago.
Illinois has been sued repeatedly over its “Clear and Present Danger” law by individuals claiming their rights were violated without due process and that their legally-owned firearms were seized unlawfully. Last week’s bill provides assistance to the Attorney General when he faces these lawsuits against the existing law which can result in FOID card revocation or denial without a formal hearing or adequate opportunity for the individual to contest the claim.
Both bills passed and are on their way to the Governor.
Geneseo student was House Page for a Day
Monica Ericson, a rising junior at Geneseo High School, was a Page for a Day in the House of Representatives last week.
She is the daughter of Mike and Beth Ericson, who accompanied her to Springfield along with her brother Alex. She is a member of the Maple Leafs dance team and the Geneseo High School choir, is a volunteer with her local church and a softball player.
I was very honored to have Monica join us in Springfield for one of the busiest days of the year at the Capitol.
Senior and Veterans Fair, Electronics recycling event, in Galesburg on June 18
I will once again be joining with Seminary Village for our annual Senior and Veterans Fair on Wednesday June 18 in Galesburg.
We have a new location this year: The Vault at Reserve Artisan Ales, located at 185 S. Kellogg in Galesburg. The event is FREE and open to the public. It will run from 9 a.m. until noon.
We will have free health screenings on site, as well as a number of vendors with helpful information about state programs and services available to local veterans and seniors. There will be complimentary refreshments and the opportunity to register for door prizes.
There will also be an electronics recycling event just around the corner at the same time. Eagle Enterprises Recycling, Inc. will be accepting approved electronics items only while space allows in the Knox County Sheriff’s parking lot at the northeast corner of Prairie and Tompkins Streets. See the graphic above.
If you have questions, please contact my office at (309) 334-7474. I hope to see you there!
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