Chicago Sun-Times, March 15, 2017 | Original opinion piece

By Mary Mitchell

We’ve all had bad days.

But what about those periods when it seems like all of the troubles of the world have landed on your doorstep?

Unfortunately, all too often the person walking under this kind of cloud has nowhere to turn. That sense of isolation is even more dangerous when a gun is close at hand.

A bill that would make it easier for family members and police officers to intervene in such a mental health crisis passed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

HB 2354 and SB 1291 would create a “Lethal Violence Order of Protection,” similar to an order of protection in domestic violence cases.

“The heart of this is looking at the intersection between mental illness and gun violence,” said Colleen Daley, executive director of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition.

Under the proposed legislation, a petitioner could file an affidavit alleging that the gun owner poses an “immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another possessing or receiving a firearm.”

The duplicate bills are the initiative of the Coalition and the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and are opposed by the National Rifle Association.

Among other things, the proposed law would allow an immediate family member of a law enforcement official to petition the court for an order of protection. The court also would be allowed to restrain an individual from purchasing or possessing a firearm for one year.

Anyone filing a false petition could face criminal penalties.

A gun owner would have the right to appeal the court’s decision once that year, and then get their guns back, if successful in their petition.

Under current federal law, a person who involuntarily goes into a mental health facility is prohibited from owning a firearm. In Illinois, if someone voluntarily goes into a mental health facility, that person is prohibited from owning a firearm for five years.

“This is an alternative. A person could get treatment and not lose their right [to own a gun] for that long,” Daley said of the proposed legislation.

State Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago) is one of the chief sponsors of the Senate bill.

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I joined representatives of the American Heart Association and my fellow members of the Illinois Conference of Women Legislators yesterday for 2017's Go Red For Women event. Heart disease kills far too many women each year. I stand with my fellow legislators to raise awareness and fight for women.

SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, issued the following statement following the governor’s budget address today, in which he called for more State Police to patrol the highways surrounding the city of Chicago.

“Without a budget, the state loses $11 million a day. That cost is too high a price for our students and our seniors to pay,” Collins said. “In three years, we have yet to see a balanced budget from the Governor. The issues of term limits and worker’s compensation have nothing to do with proposing and presenting a budget.

“The State of Illinois is teetering on financial ruin and instability. It is the Governor’s duty under the Illinois Constitution to present a budget. The rhetoric espoused by the Governor today originated in an alternative universe peppered with alternative facts.

“Governor Rauner’s proposal does nothing to address the violence within Chicago, but simply seeks to wall it off from the outside. It’s a tone-deaf move that further distracts from the fact that the Senate continues to do his job for him. It is his duty under the Illinois Constitution to present a budget, not the Senate’s.”

The Peoria Journal-Star - Feb. 3, 2017 | Original article

by Brian Robbins

President Barack Obama's birthday may become the next state holiday, if some Illinois Democrats have their way.

House Bills 231 and 503 and Senate Bill 55 all make Obama's birthday, Aug. 4, an official holiday.

Both House bills would make Aug. 4 a "legal holiday," in which state government offices shut down, and schools and businesses have the option of closing. The Senate bill's "Barack Obama Day" would be commemorative only.

Rep. Andre Thapedi, a Chicago Democrat who is sponsoring HB 231, had tried making Obama's birthday a state holiday last year, but the bill stalled in a House committee.

The chief co-sponsor of SB 55, Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, said she hopes Republicans can appreciate the achievements of the former president.

"I hope we don't descend to what we see at the federal level," Collins said. "As a Democrat, I have no problem honoring President Lincoln. There should be reciprocity between parties, Obama belongs to Illinois, and Illinois belongs to all people, Republicans and Democrats."

See the full article at the Peoria Journal-Star.