SPRINGFIELD – A balanced budget passed the Illinois Senate today after receiving support from a majority of the body, including State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview), who afterward issued the following statement:

“Today I joined many of my colleagues in the Senate in passing a fiscally responsible, balanced budget for the next fiscal year. This budget will provide funding to essential human services, schools and universities in our state.

“I’m thrilled at the investment this budget puts toward not just colleges and universities, but prospective students as well. We are investing in our students through an increase in MAP grants and the AIM HIGH. We need to show students in Illinois that we are willing to invest in their education and their futures.

“This budget, although not perfect, will provide predictability for our providers, municipalities, schools, community colleges and universities. It will bring stability as our state moves into the next fiscal year”

The budget passed the Senate as a series of several bills, and must be approved by the House of Representatives before being sent to the governor. Should they receive the governor’s signature, they would go into effect July 1.

SPRINGFIELD – In a historic vote, the Illinois Senate voted to pass the Reproductive Health Act, safeguarding the right of women to make decisions about their own reproductive healthcare. State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview) was one of 34 Senators to support the measure.

“These are personal decisions that need to be made between a woman and her doctor,” Fine said. “As a legislator and as a woman, I believe that reproductive rights are human rights and that it is our duty to defend those rights. I’m proud to have been a part of passing this important legislation.”

Senate Bill 25 creates the Reproductive Health Act, which establishes a fundamental right of an individual to make decisions about their reproductive care, including contraception, maternity care or an abortion. The bill also requires private health insurance plans to cover abortion services like it would any other pregnancy related care, with an exception for conscience-based refusal.

The legislation codifies existing practices into law, and will operate independently of federal law in the event that protections under Roe v. Wade are struck down.

“The federal government seems openly hostile to reproductive health, and some of the recent laws attacking these freedoms are likely to be heard by the Supreme Court,” Fine said. “By establishing this law here in Illinois, we are guaranteeing that our state will always be a place for women to safely make decisions about their own reproductive health regardless of what happens at the federal level.”

The bill passed the Senate and the House of Representatives, and will now head to the governor for approval.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview) voted to legalize cannabis for recreational use in Illinois today, with the measure passing the Senate by a vote of 38 – 17 with two members voting present.

“This carefully crafted legislation is the result of months of negotiations between many interested parties,” Fine said. “It provides local control, giving communities the ability to make decisions about allowing a business to establish operations, it protects employers, allowing them to maintain a zero tolerance policy, and it allocates revenue for education, law enforcement, and mental health services.”

House Bill 1438 legalizes the possession and consumption of recreational cannabis for people over the age of 21 in Illinois, with slightly different restrictions placed on residents and non-residents. The bill also allows medical cannabis patients to grow their own plants, and provides a process through which conviction and arrest records for cannabis can be expunged.

The measure passed the Senate and will return to the House for concurrence.

SPRINGFIELD – Six years and two governors after it was formed, a neglected task force aimed at producing workable wind energy policy should finally convene under legislation passed by State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview). This will put the state on a path toward reducing fossil fuel consumption.

“This is a positive step in addressing the issue of fossil fuel depletion and climate change,” Fine said. “We need to transition toward renewable, green energy before it’s too late. This task will bring us toward meeting our goals, and it must convene.”

House Bill 3482 urges Gov. Pritzker to convene the Offshore Wind Energy Economic Development Policy Task Force, officially formed in 2013 and then ignored by former Governors Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner. The group’s stated objective is to analyze and evaluate policies and economic options necessary to develop the state’s offshore wind energy.

The bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly with unanimous support and will proceed to the governor for approval.