By Sarah Mansur & Jerry Nowicki & Capitol News Illinois
• May 26, 2021
The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed measures decriminalizing the transmission of HIV and requiring public high schools to teach media literacy.
Both measures have already passed the House and will need only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law.
House Bill 1063 would eliminate existing criminal statutes that penalize HIV transmission as a Class 2 felony. If Pritzker signs the bill, Illinois would join 11 other states that do not have laws criminalizing the transmission of HIV, including Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
HB 1063 also would repeal existing laws allowing law enforcement or state’s attorneys to access a person’s HIV status. Under current criminal law, a person who transmits HIV to another person can be charged with “criminal transmission of HIV.”
By Sarah Mansur
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD A bill to lessen penalties for possessing and selling small amounts of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, narrowly passed out of the state House of Representatives Wednesday after a contentious debate.
The discussion over House Bill 3447 provoked strong emotions on both sides of the aisle, passing by a 61-49 vote, or just one more than was needed to pass.
The bill filed by Rep. Carol Ammons, an Urbana Democrat would reclassify small amounts of drug possession from a low-level felony to a misdemeanor.
For example, a person who possesses less than three grams of heroin would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Currently, that offense would be charged as a Class 4 felony, which carries a one- to four-year prison sentence.
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Chicago Police Supt. David Brown is known as a 9-to-5 cop. He spends his time in the office and rarely gets out in the community to talk to neighborhood groups, let alone reporters. He leaves that to Mayor
Lee Milner / Illinois Times / Capitol News Illinois
Originally published on April 22, 2021 2:06 pm
A bill to lessen penalties for possessing and selling small amounts of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, narrowly passed out of the state House of Representatives on Wednesday after a contentious debate.
The discussion over House Bill 3447 provoked strong emotions on both sides of the aisle, passing by a 61-49 vote, or just one more than was needed to pass.
The bill filed by Rep. Carol Ammons, an Urbana Democrat would reclassify small amounts of drug possession from a low-level felony to a misdemeanor.
For example, a person who possesses less than three grams of heroin would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Currently, that offense would be charged as a Class 4 felony, which carries a one- to four-year prison sentence.