Springfield Update….Stroke Legislation

The Illinois General Assembly reconvened in Springfield this week following a two-week recess. They now begin the sprint towards their scheduled session adjournment at the end of May. Although the Statehouse atmosphere has improved dramatically after the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, no one is willing to predict whether session will adjourn on time due to the economic and political uncertainties facing the state. Everyone just says, “We are in uncharted waters.”

As the session progresses, we continue to focus on the state stroke legislation making its way through the General Assembly. The Senate version of the legislation, Senate Bill 1516, passed the Senate and is now in the House. At the same time, the House version of the bill, House Bill 2244, has passed the House and is now in the Senate. We are grateful to our legislative champions, state Rep. Bob Biggins and state Sen. Heather Steans, for their enthusiasm, dedication and hard work in keeping these bills moving!

We have conferred with the sponsors and leadership in both chambers and have learned that all duplicate bills (legislation where there are identical House and Senate bills, such as our stroke bill) will be held in the House Executive Committee to avoid duplication. Basically, this means that SB 1516, which is now in the House, will be held in reserve in committee, while HB 2244 makes its way through the Senate. The legislation currently enjoys strong bipartisan support because it has been agree upon by all major stakeholders. That way, should HB 2244 pass as expected, it would go to the Governor for his approval, rather than having the Governor receive two identical bills having to sign one and veto the other.

Accordingly, in partnership with Sen. Steans, who is sponsoring HB 2244 in the Senate, we will now focus our efforts on HB 2244, building as much support as possible to ensure the bill moves through the Senate quickly and smoothly. You can track the bill’s progress and see whether your senator is a co-sponsor by following this link: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2244&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=44072&SessionID=76

We are asking everyone to contact their state senator and ask them to co-sponsor HB 2244 in the Senate. Since an identical companion bill (SB 1516) passed the Senate unanimously, this should not be a difficult request. We will be following up with an action alert to our You’re The Cure! Advocacy Network in the near future. IF YOU ARE NOT a You’re The Cure! Network member, we encourage you to sign up as more and more of our communications move online. Please follow this link to register: http://www.capitolconnect.com/yourethecure/index.aspx.

Thank you for your interest and support! You’re The Cure!