SPRINGFIELD – State Senators Paul Faraci (D-Champaign) and Doris Turner (D-Springfield) released the following statement in response to the United States Postal Service’s recommendations to downsize facilities in Central Illinois and move mail service to larger cities:

“We can’t risk our mail being diverted to St. Louis and Chicago. Moving local mail to post offices far from Central Illinois will not only slow down service, but also create life threatening hardships for those who rely on reliable mail service for their medication needs. Under these recommendations, Springfield, Champaign and surrounding communities will be directly impacted.

“Additionally, jobs will be lost or displaced, hurting our local economy, uprooting families and the increased wait times for mail will negatively impact our small businesses.

“If the Postmaster General wants to make sweeping changes that hurt our community in the name of ‘efficiency,’ we hope to see the evidence to back up the claims.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner is leading a measure that would hold funeral homes accountable by reestablishing integrity and trust in the death care industry. Her legislation, Senate Bill 2643, comes in response to a Carlinville funeral home insufficiently handling human remains, giving over 60 families the wrong remains.

“Since the news broke about the Carlinville funeral home, I have been working with Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon to ensure this never happens again in the state of Illinois,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “It’s clear – the status quo isn’t working. We have to hold bad actors accountable in the death care industry.”

Senate Bill 2643 would add identification rules and regulations for the handling and storing of human bodies. When the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation receives a complaint, the agency would be required to inspect the premises within 10 calendar days.

Turner’s initiative would require funeral establishments and crematory authorities to maintain a chain of custody records that are uniquely identified to the deceased, ensuring that the death care industry is able to identify the human remains in its possession through final disposition.

“I’ve heard directly from families who have been forced to relive the death of their loved one,” said Turner. “Dead or alive, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. With this legislation, I hope no family will receive the dreaded call that they were given the wrong remains.”

Senate Bill 2643 passed the Senate Executive Committee and heads to the full Senate.

SPRINGFIELD – To protect university and community college employees, State Senator Doris Turner advanced a measure that would ensure employees and contractors receive their daily, regular rate of pay and benefits if a campus is closed due to a winter weather emergency.

“When campuses close for weather, it’s not usually planned and can leave workers without pay for a day or more,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “This initiative would protect the workers who often aren’t paid if campuses close but play an important role in the normal, day-to-day operations for universities and community colleges.”

Senate Bill 331 would require the Board of Trustees of each public university and community college to pay employees and contractors their daily, regular rate of pay and benefits if a campus is closed due to a city, county or state declaration of a winter weather emergency. The measure would not apply if the day is rescheduled and the employee would be paid their daily, regular rate of pay and benefits for the rescheduled day when services are rendered.

SPRINGFIELD – To increase public safety, State Senator Doris Turner is sponsoring a measure that would suspend EMS professionals who have been charged with a crime while performing their duties.

“We have to ensure people’s safety is our number one priority,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “When there’s an emergency, we need to be able to trust the professionals who respond and take care of us.”

Senate Bill 3134 would allow the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, or their designee, to determine if the suspension of an EMS professional should extend statewide. This would apply in situations when an EMS professional has been charged with a crime while performing their official duties and continuing to practice poses the possibility of harm to the public.