SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A state budget that left Republicans fuming isn’t the only thing Illinois lawmakers got passed in the waning hours of the shortened legislative session.
Some of the legislation dealt with things you might not normally think about.
One bill passed would ban food service workers from wearing latex gloves while preparing food.
“We are going to be one of six states…to ban latex gloves,” said State Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago). “Some folks are allergic, such as myself, to the long-term use of latex. There’s also alternatives out there that folks can use.”
The measure also applies to EMS personnel.
Another legislative measure would allow students to take a day off of school in order to attend a civic event. State Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) says a perfect example would have been when Barack Obama announced his Presidential candidacy.
“A lot of the local high school kids had the opportunity to go and meet him, and have personal conversations with him,” said Turner. “That was an opportunity of a lifetime that…how many times do young people get to say that they actually met and talked with the President, much less the first black President?”
The day Obama announced his candidacy, by the way, February 10th, 2007, was a Saturday, when kids wouldn’t have been in school anyway.
“If people can go to civic events on Saturdays or Sundays, I think most people would like to see kids in school, actually trying to learn how to read and write and do math, and attend civic events at night or on Saturdays or Sundays,” said State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford).
In one of the more serious measures passed by lawmakers, it would help victims of sexual violence in the military.
Marine Corps veteran, State Representative Stephanie Kifowit says her measure addresses orders of protection issued by military tribunals.
“It gives the authority to the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, or that military tribunal — which could be Scott Air Force Base or it could be Great Lakes — to actually go to a judge and submit those orders to a judge, so that it would be state-wide,” said Kifowit (D-Aurora).
Kifowit says the measure also helps victims take time off work to get medical care, counseling, or legal help.
All the measures now go to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
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