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Ella’s death spurs new bills
The outpouring of support for police after the trag- ic murder of Officer Ella French has been constant. Hopefully it will signal a long-term change. Legisla- tors have repeatedly reached out to me offering their prayers for Chicago Police Officers over the last couple of weeks.
Representatives Fran Hurley and John D’Amico have filed House Bill 4125 since Officer French’s mur- der. This bill adds the commitment of a variety of crimes against a peace officer to the list of hate crimes in Illinois.
Governor Pritzker signed several public safety–related bills re- cently. Here are a few of them:
House Bill 3656, sponsored by Representative Hurley and Senator Antonio Muñoz, further clarifies a driver’s duty for how to respond to an emergency scene on the road, so that the protections of Scott’s Law can be wielded to their fullest extent, including adding that it is a factor in aggravation if a person commits a Scott’s Law violation while using a handheld cell phone. It also creates a task force on the topic.
Senate Bill 1575, sponsored by Senator Robert Martwick and Rep- resentative Lindsey LaPointe, requires the creation of an online re- source with a comprehensive collection of mental health resources geared toward first responders. It will address crisis services, well- ness, trauma information, stress reduction, anxiety, depression, vio- lence prevention and suicide prevention, among other topics.
House Bill 2784, sponsored by Representative Kelly Cassidy and Senator Robert Peters, creates a mechanism for mental health re- sponders to be called to mental health emergencies.
DAVE SULLIVAN
22 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2021
LEGISLATIVE Report