OAKBROOK TERRACE – Minors across Illinois will soon have easy access to EpiPens, thanks to a new law supported by State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton.

Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) advocated for House Bill 3435, which requires certain insurers to cover medically necessary epinephrine injectors for minors – the fast-acting treatments for severe allergic reactions.

“It’s our duty to take the necessary steps to ensure this life saving drug is affordable and easily accessible to children in Illinois,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Children with serious allergies should not have to go without a vital epinephrine injector simply because they cannot afford one.”

Epinephrine injectors – commonly known by the specific brand name EpiPen – deliver the life-saving drug epinephrine to individuals experiencing a severe allergic reaction. Epinephrine works by narrowing blood vessels and opening lung airways, reversing the symptoms of a potentially fatal allergic reaction.

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OAKBROOK TERRACE – Illinois consumers will now have stronger notification laws surrounding cybersecurity breaches, thanks to Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton.

Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) championed a new law that will require companies to notify Illinois consumers of cybersecurity breaches and compromised personal data sooner. Senate Bill 1624 was signed into law last week.

“Illinois residents go online every day to complete simple tasks, from paying their water bills to checking their bank balances,” Glowiak Hilton said. “In the event that a company experiences a security breach, residents should be notified in order to take proper precautions. We need that assurance in an age where we carry all our most sensitive data in our pockets at all times.”

Senate Bill 1624, will require companies that hold Illinois residents’ personal information to report data breaches which affect more than 500 Illinois residents to the Attorney General as soon as possible.

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OAKBROOK TERRACE – The addresses of Illinois survivors of sexual assault will now be kept confidential thanks to State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton.

Glowiak Hilton's measure, House Bill 2818, which empowers the Attorney General's Office to help keep the home addresses of survivors private from their attackers and stalkers, was signed into law last week.

“When our survivors take the brave step of seeking justice, they aren’t just leaving a painful situation behind: they are often making themselves the target of a violent person who knows them intimately,” Glowiak Hilton said. “As they strive for justice, we must take the essential steps to protect them as they seek it.”

The new law will allow survivors of sexual abuse or stalking to list the Attorney General’s Office as their contact address instead of revealing their actual address, avoiding any risk that their abuser might locate them.

The program is currently established for victims of domestic violence. House Bill 2818 expands its availability to all survivors of sexual abuse and stalking.

The bipartisan measure goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

OAK BROOK TERRACE – More than 50,000 students in Illinois were classified as homeless during the 2016-17 school year, according to data from the National Center for Homeless Education.

State Senator Suzy Glowiak (D-Western Springs) is working to change that.

Glowiak’s House Bill 2983, which creates the Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee under the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth, was signed into law on Friday

The subcommittee will review and make recommendations about the policies and procedures for agencies that handle youth leaving state custody, with the goal of ensuring housing stability for youths exiting the system.

“We need to find solutions to end homelessness among youth in our communities, and to provide stability and protection to children whose basic needs are not being met,” Glowiak said. “The State of Illinois has a responsibility to fight this crisis and provide our children housing security.”

According to the General Assembly’s findings, 1 out of 10 people between the ages of 18-25 are experiencing homelessness for some amount of time over a 12-month period. For those age 13-17, 1 in 30 experience a form of homelessness over a 12-month period.

Research shows that homeless children are 87 percent more likely to drop out of school, while those who drop out of high school are four-and-a-half times more likely to become homeless as adults.

“Stable housing is fundamental in ways so many of us take for granted,” Glowiak said. “It’s the basis for academic and social opportunities. My hope is this subcommittee will create a long-term path to help us reach our goal to eliminate homelessness among our children once and for all.”

The law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.