SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, released the following statement after the passage of Senate Bill 1933, which would bring automatic voter registration to Illinois:

“Automatic voter registration is important to the health of our democracy. There are so many existing roadblocks to participation. Something as basic as registration should not be one of those roadblocks. I am dismayed by how low voter turnout is, especially in local elections, and I believe that automatic registration will give more people an opportunity to let their voices be heard in the political process.”

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate has approved legislation introduced by State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, to establish a task force investigating electronic notaries.

“With the technology that we have, it is worth looking into whether or not a person should need to see a notary in person anymore,” Holmes said. “This task force will look for inefficiencies in our current system and try to fix them with technology.”

Current Illinois law requires physical presence and proof of identity for individuals attempting to get a document notarized. The task force would investigate alternative verification methods including video or audio conference technology that are already in use elsewhere. The State of Virginia passed legislation allowing electronic notarization in 2015.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1459, has been approved by the Senate. It moves to the Illinois House of Representatives for further review and approval.

“In my district, we have an active, civically involved Islamic community, specifically in Aurora and Naperville. I do my best to listen to their concerns and experiences and represent them well in Springfield.
 
“To protect my friends and neighbors, I am a cosponsor of Sen. Collins’ measure to eliminate job discrimination for Muslims, Sikhs and other religions that involve specific garb and physical appearance. Senate Bill 1697 passed the Senate this week. It would make it illegal for an employer to force people to forgo a religious practice involving attire, clothing or facial hair as a condition for employment.”

SPRINGFIELD — Legislation to improve the adoption process for research dogs and cats has been approved by the Illinois Senate. State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, introduced legislation that would require public research institutions in Illinois to have an adoption policy in place for healthy dogs and cats used in testing.

“Last General Assembly, the ‘Beagle Freedom Bill’ sparked an important debate,” Holmes said. “We ended up needing to go back and fix a few problems with the bill to bring it back this year. The current measure reflects all of that work. It ensures that an animal is given a chance at a life outside of a laboratory, and it does so without overregulating scientific research.”

The Illinois legislation does not force research institutions to find a home for each animal, nor does it ban euthanasia outright. It requires publicly-funded institutions to have an adoption plan for animals deemed eligible by a veterinarian before euthanasia is an option.

The legislation is part of a nationwide initiative led by the Beagle Freedom Project, so named because Beagles are commonly used in scientific research. Similar legislation has already been passed in California, New York, Minnesota, Connecticut and Nevada.

The measure, Senate Bill 1884 was approved by the Illinois Senate today. It now moves to consideration in the House of Representatives.