Inside:
- Senior and Veterans fair on Monday
- Partisan election overhaul ruled unconstitutional
- Another trooper injured in Scott’s Law crash
- More news
Senior and Veterans Fair on Monday
Please join us in Macomb on Monday morning for a free senior and veterans’ fair.
I am joining with State Representative Norine Hammond of Macomb, along with Spoon River College Community Outreach, Western Illinois Home Health Care and McDonough District Hospital to host an informational event for seniors and veterans at the Spoon River College Community Center, located at 2500 E. Jackson Street in Macomb. The event runs from 9 a.m. until noon on Monday.
It will feature free health screenings, as well as helpful information and resources from senior service agencies at the state, county and local level. We will have refreshments on hand, as well as the opportunity to talk to your legislators about your state government concerns.
I hope to see you there.
Partisan election overall ruled unconstitutional
Earlier this year Democrats in Springfield tried to change election laws in the middle of the process but were stopped by a Sangamon County judge. They quickly introduced, passed and signed an overhaul of the portion of the state’s election law that has to do with the process by which candidates are added to the ballot.
The change would have occurred just as some candidates were about to file petitions for ballot access and would have made it impossible for those candidates to be able to run for office. The bill was filed, passed on a party-line vote and signed into law – all within the space of about 36 hours. It was challenged in court and the Sangamon County judge found it unconstitutional. The Illinois Supreme Court has now upheld that judge’s ruling.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, candidates who met the requirements for filing candidacy petitions by the June 3 deadline in the already-existing state law will be able to appear on the November ballot.
Another trooper injured in Scott’s Law crash
Illinois state law requires motorists to move over or slow down when they see an emergency vehicle on a roadside with its lights activated. The law, enacted many years ago, is called “Scott’s Law” after Scott Gillen, a Chicago firefighter who was killed when he was struck by a drunk driver while he was responding to an accident on the side of an expressway.
Unfortunately, too many drivers still do not follow this very simple instruction, and last weekend another Illinois State Trooper was injured by a careless driver. At 2:20 a.m. on Saturday the trooper’s car was parked with its emergency lights flashing when a driver crashed into it from behind. The driver has been cited for violating Scott’s Law. The trooper was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, as were the driver and passenger from the vehicle which stuck the trooper.
Saturday’s crash was the 17th such accident involving a State Police car in Illinois this year, and the eighth time a trooper was injured. Earlier this summer the Governor signed legislation I sponsored to better educate drivers on Scott’s Law. Please pay attention and be mindful of first responders on the roadsides.
I was relieved to learn that the two Macomb police officers who were wounded this week had been released from the hospital and are expected to recover. We cannot thank our law enforcement officers enough for all that they do for us.
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