Inside:
- Health care bill among three Swanson bills signed
- Farmland Assessment Seminars coming up next month
- Safety tips for students heading back to school
- Readers Make Leaders!
Health care bill among three Swanson bills signed
Legislation I sponsored to better educate health care professionals about a rare but deadly condition was one of three of my bills signed into law on Friday.
Senate Bill 1814 would help health care workers recognize the signs of Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) and respond in time to save lives. AFE can strike suddenly and is extremely dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn child if proper medical care is not quickly administered. But because it is such a rare condition too much time can pass before it is properly diagnosed. This legislation will help to change that.
In addition, the bill also directs local health departments to alert the general public when a positive case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is detected within the local area.
Two other bills were signed on Friday. One of them, House Bill 2547, made a small change in statutes referencing the Department of Veterans Affairs, while the other, House Bill 3388 adds to the definition of “fire department vehicle” to include certain off-road vehicles and watercraft designated or authorized by local authorities for fire department use.
In all, six bills I sponsored were signed into law this summer. Earlier this month the Governor signed legislation to require higher education institutions to develop a policy for awarding academic credit for training which was conducted as a firefighter (HB 1149), a bill directing the Department of Public Health to provide educational material on its website about the tick-borne alpha-gal syndrome (HB 1754), and legislation making changes to the way online auctions and estate sales are conducted in Illinois (SB 2351).
Farmland Assessment Seminars coming up next month
Right after Labor Day I am joining with Rep. Norine Hammond and Rep. Travis Weaver to host a series of Farmland Assessment Seminars in cooperation with our local Farm Bureaus.
These events will help local residents understand the farmland assessment process and how to go about challenging the assessment of your land if you feel something is incorrect.
On Tuesday September 2 we will be at the Moline Public Library, located at 3210 41st Street in Moline starting at 1 p.m.
The second event that day will be at the Knox County Farm Bureau, at 180 S. Soangetaha Road in Galesburg, beginning at 3 p.m.
There will be two more seminars on Wednesday September 3, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau office at 1000 N. Main Street, #1, in Monmouth. Then we will be at the Spoon River College Community Outreach Center at 2500 E. Jackson in Macomb at 11 a.m.
I hope you can stop by for this informative and helpful program.
Safety tips for students heading back to school
The American Red Cross has released a list of tips for back-to-school safety for all parents, especially parents of students who are younger or who are going off to school for the first time. Every student should know:
- Contact numbers for a parent or another trusted adult
- Never talk to strangers or accept rides from strangers
- Safe walking to and from a school bus
- Safe walking or biking to a school building for students who do not ride the bus
- Safe use of cell phones, including trusted weather apps
Drivers also have a responsibility during this time of year when kids are on their way to and from school. The Red Cross reminds motorists to stop, look and listen when they are in the vicinity of a school bus or a school building. Vehicles must stop when they are near any stopped school bus with its lights flashing.
Readers Make Leaders!
This week was my 2025 Swanson’s Summer Reading program celebration. A grand total of 33 boys and girls from throughout the 71st district participated.
I hosted readers and families to ice cream and cookies at my office. Also, David Casas performed a magic show. The kids had a great time, but it appeared the parents enjoyed the show too. Each reader was presented an Illinois House of Representatives certificate and a “Readers make Leaders” medallion.
It was a fun-filled day with magic and laughter.
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