WESTERN SPRINGS – Illinois will join other states in raising the smoking age to 21 after the governor signed legislation supported by State Senator Suzy Glowiak on Sunday.

Glowiak (D-Western Springs) advocated for the passage of “Tobacco 21” (House Bill 345), which raises the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, prohibiting the purchase of alternative nicotine products, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products by individuals under the age of 21.

“The health risks of smoking are well known, but young adults still have access to tobacco products,” Glowiak said. “This new law will help stop this dangerous addiction at an early age. It is absolutely imperative that we take every necessary step to help save lives.”

Glowiak cited studies that found 90 percent of all adult smokers started when they were kids.

In Illinois, 34 jurisdictions have raised the age, including Chicago, Highland Park, Buffalo Grove, Evanston and Peoria.

A key benefit to raising the age is documented decreases in the number of high schoolers who smoke. In Chicago, authorities recorded a drop from 13.6 percent in 2011 to 6 percent in 2017. Raising the age was cited as a key component of the decrease.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services it is estimated that each day approximately 2,100 youth and young adults who are occasional smokers become daily smokers.

“Stopping the cycle of addiction will protect our young adults from the numerous early and long-term negative effects of smoking such as early health disease, reductions in lung function, and growth and respiratory problems,” Glowiak said. “Raising the age is a proven method to reduce smoking rates among our teens who can be easily addicted to the negative effects of nicotine and are susceptible to beginning a deadly lifelong dependency.”

This measure was supported by the DuPage County Health Department, American Lung Association in Illinois, American Cancer Society and American Heart Association along with many others.

On Sunday, Illinois become the first Midwest state to adopt Tobacco 21, joining states such as California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii and Maine. The new law goes into effect July 1, 2019.

SPRINGFIELD – Companies would need to notify Illinois consumers of cybersecurity breaches and compromised personal data sooner, thanks to State Senator Suzy Glowiak.

Glowiak (D-Western Springs) advanced Senate Bill 1624, which would 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.

“We live in a time when we can do everything online from paying our bills to buying groceries,” Glowiak said. “To achieve that, companies store our sensitive information on their servers. If this information gets in the hands of cybercriminals, consumers can end up dealing with years of identity theft and financial loss. Such breaches should be reported immediately for the same reasons that burglaries or car accidents should.”

Senate Bill 1624 will require the Attorney General to publish breach notices which will ensure the information is easily accessible to residents.

Under current law, if there is a data breach that compromises Illinois residents’ personal information, the company is required to notify the residents, but there is not yet a mechanism in place to ensure compliance.

Including the Office of the Illinois Attorney General in the process will help ensure businesses are fulfilling their duty to notify residents in a timely manner, Glowiak said.

“Illinois residents deserve to be notified in a timely manner to take steps to protect themselves,” Glowiak said. “It’s our duty to ensure there are protections in place to protect consumers during these unfortunate events and give them enough notice to make sound decisions.”

Senate Bill 1624 passed the Senate’s Committee on Telecommunications and Info Technology and heads to the full Senate for consideration.

WILLOWBROOK – A study released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health has shown that some types of cancer were elevated for people living in the immediate area of the Sterigenics Plant in Willowbrook.

The study reinforced local residents’ and elected officials’ concerns, including State Senator Suzy Glowiak (D-Western Springs).

“These alarming statistics reinforce our concerns about Sterigenics being located in a densely populated area,” Glowiak said. “We cannot risk reopening this facility and putting more people living in the area at risk.”

Glowiak said she is urging legislators to work in a bipartisan manner to stand up for residents’ health and safety.

The study specifically showed that more cases of breast cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma were found in women and there were more cases of lymphoma in children that are living near Sterigenics.

“The residents of Willowbrook have been courageous advocates in the fight to protect all of us in DuPage County,” Glowiak said. “I would like to thank them for their dedication to safeguarding our neighborhoods for generations to come.”

Glowiak is working with State Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove) in fighting to safeguard communities across DuPage County from this public health hazard.

The Willowbrook Cancer Incidence Assessment can be found on the IDPH at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/sites/default/files/publications/sterigenicswillowbrookcancer-investigation-final.pdf , along with Frequently Asked Questions http://www.dph.illinois.gov/sites/default/files/publications/faq-sterigencis.pdf .

SPRINGFIELD – State Senators Tom Cullerton and Suzy Glowiak, joined DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin and representatives of the Transform Illinois coalition on Wednesday to highlight and support proposed legislation limiting the size, scope and cost of local government.

“Government consolidation is one powerful tool we can use to find efficiencies,” Cullerton said. “Transform Illinois continues to be vital in helping lawmakers reduce the government’s footprint without sacrificing services for local residents. I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure government evolves with the needs of the people of Illinois.”

Cullerton (D-Villa Park) advanced Senate Bill 1838 on Tuesday, which creates the School District Efficiency Commission to make recommendations on the number of school districts inthe state, optimal enrollment for a school district and where reorganization and realignment of schools districts would be beneficial.

“Property taxes in DuPage County and across the suburbs are crushing residents,” Cullerton said. “The new school funding formula we passed two years ago will help us drive down taxes in our communities by funding schools the right way. The next step is evaluating redundant services at our educational system to eliminate the bureaucratic and outdated organization of school districts.”

Transform Illinois members were joined by lawmakers sponsoring more than 60 bills in the General Assembly’s spring session, aimed at improving local government efficiency, empowering voters to make decisions and increasing transparency and accountability.

“Embracing government consolidation will help save taxpayer dollars,” Glowiak said. “We need to continue to work together to reduce the redundant and outdated layers of government that we have in our state.”

The Transform coalition members noted increased interest in “smarter,” streamlined government services, evidenced by more than 100 pieces of legislation introduced since 2016, creating new opportunities for local government efficiency.

“Illinois has more units of government than any other state in the nation and one of the highest property tax rates,” Cronin said. “What unites our coalition is the notion that too many ‘legacy’ local government systems were created decades ago and they’ve never adapted to the changing times or new technology. But thanks to our Transform Illinois partners and thoughtful lawmakers, efforts to make government service delivery more efficient and effective are taking hold across the state.”

Glowiak and Cullerton look forward to working with Cronin this legislative session to streamline government services and tackle wasteful spending.