SPRINGFIELD, Ill.– Working to create more opportunities and support to uplift families across Chicagoland and Illinois, State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, garnered support to pass 10 bills to the House floor for consideration. The bills address a range of topics including first responder families, homelessness and housing, and healthcare and mental health care access.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to transform the challenges area residents face into bills and law that will have a direct and positive impact on the lives of people in our far Northwest side neighborhoods” said LaPointe.
Notably, LaPointe passed House Bill 3761 out of the Human Services Committee, creating the Hospitals and Homelessness Support Act. Aiming for hospitals and healthcare systems to play a more active role in connecting vulnerable patients experiencing homelessness to homeless service resources, this bill would require the State’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness to publicly post information on how an individual or family can access shelter and the homeless service system, depending on where you are in Illinois. Unfortunately, so many, including hospital staff, don’t have accurate information on how to access or “get in line” for a shelter in any given corner of Illinois.
Continuing to address the intersectionality of mental health in the corrections system, LaPointe led House Bill 3572 through the Judiciary-Criminal Committee, which aims to reduce the number of people sitting in county jails awaiting “fitness to stand trial” evaluations or placement into state operated beds for “fitness restoration.” LaPointe notes, “On any given day, we have over 250 people languishing in county jails, waiting for an evaluation or treatment. The status quo is untenable and harmful on a human level — recently resulting in a tragic death of a mother in the DuPage County jail. The status quo also wreaks havoc on the operations and budgets of county jails.”
To address benefit shortfalls for the families of first responders lost in the line of duty, LaPointe worked to pass House Bill 3255, effectively amending the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act to extend health insurance coverage for spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty even upon remarriage. “Thankfully, this law would affect a very small pool of people,” LaPointe says, “so this peace of mind and continuity of health and mental health benefits is a small and impactful thing we can and should do.”
“These measures focus on critical solutions where they matter most — connecting people who have been through so much to housing, support and deserved benefits” said LaPointe.
Additionally, LaPointe advanced measures expanding access to mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment, streamlining electric vehicle tax credits, and supporting youth in care. These will be among the measures considered in April on the House floor.
For more information, please contact Info@RepLaPointe.com or 773-647-1174.
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