Working for Illinois Caucus

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – A meeting involving area leaders and organizations addresses federal and state efforts to lower prescription drug costs.

A main talking point was establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) in Illinois. This is the fifth in a series of Town Halls scheduled across the state.

No matter age, race, or gender, this affects everyone. Leaders say that stateliners facing high prescription costs may be forced to choose between medications and other daily necessities.

Advocates from Citizen Action/Illinois, the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, AFSCME Retirees, the Committee to Protect Health Care, the Small Business Advocacy Council, and AARP, hosted the meeting.

Director of Citizen Action/Illinois Anusha Thotakura says, “What they would do is review the costs of really expensive medications and set upper payment limits or reasonable rates for Illinoisans to pay. This would apply across the entire supply chain it would affect what you pay at the pharmacy counter. How much you pay for your insurance and everyone else. The goal is to make sure more people have access to the medication they need.”

US Congressman Eric Sorensen, Representative Maurice West, Dr. Ram Krishnamoorthi, and Anusha Thotakura, Director of Citizen Action/Illinois were on the panel.

State Rep. Maurice West (D-IL 67) says, “People are making decisions of choosing their medicine over food and their medicine over lights. Why can’t we have both? You are in the land of the free, home of the brave you should be able to have both."

Community members were also able to share their experiences in affording their prescription drugs and ask questions.

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Democrat Heidi Henry, of Marseilles, says that if elected as the 75th District State Representative, she would focus on improving rural healthcare.

Henry says people in the district are having to travel farther and farther for care.

Henry says the State of Illinois needs to do more to hold hospital systems accountable for fulfilling promises made to residents when they close or reduce their services.

She also advocates for separating education funding from property taxes.

Henry operates a horse farm, which focuses on various forms of therapy for veterans.

84th District State Representative Stephanie Kifowit was honored by the Illinois Association of County Veterans Assistance Commissions (IACVAC) with the 2024 Legislator of the Year Award. The award was presented during an awards banquet hosted by the IACVAC in East Peoria.

Kifowit says she was deeply honored to receive the award, especially as she is one of only a few members of the General Assembly who are military veterans. She says she was proud to see many of the veterans’ bills she worked on pass the Assembly and become laws this year.

Some of those bills include addressing the language of the honorable discharge status for veterans on property tax exemption paperwork, the property tax cliff for disabled veterans, recognizing the Space Force as a branch of the military, and a veterans’ labor poster. Kifowit says she will continue to pursue veteran-related legislation to help provide veterans with the recognition and benefits they deserve.

The IACVAC oversees veterans assistance commissions across the state and serves veterans and their dependents.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, has filed a resolution calling on the Illinois Department of Corrections calling for them to improve access for families with loved ones buried at the Lincoln Developmental Center Cemetery.

The cemetery shares ground with Logan Correctional Center.

“Families need access to the places where their loved ones have been laid to rest so they can honor and celebrate their lives,” Stuart said. “When a cemetery is located on the site of a correctional facility, that is absolutely a situation that needs to be navigated carefully to ensure safety and accountability, but it shouldn’t be the case that the cemetery is effectively off-limits to the families of those interred there.”

The cemetery was associated with a state facility for the developmentally disabled which operated from 1877 until 2002 under several names. The cemetery is the final resting place for some residents whose families were not able to privately bury their loved ones for a variety of reasons. 

When the Lincoln Correctional Center closed in 2002, IDOC became responsible for the cemetery.

Stuart said that with the prison expansion it became difficult or even impossible for visitors to access the cemetery.

"IDOC has never created a procedure for cemetery access, forcing family and friends of those interred there to wrangle with prison officials, none of whom was primarily responsible for the cemetery, for clearance to visit gravesites," she said. 

Stuart’s House Resolution 907 calls on IDOC to develop a standard policy and set of guidelines that are available so that family members and researchers can easily access the site and for IDOC to consider access to the site when future renovations or improvements to the Logan Correctional Center take place.

“Prison security and public safety are important, but so is the ability of Illinois families to visit the resting places of their loved ones,” Stuart said. “It’s time for members of the public to have reasonable access to Lincoln Developmental Center Cemetery without undue hassle or runaround.”

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84th District State Representative Stephanie Kifowit says a new law will help veterans see free benefits and services provided to them in the workplace. A bill written by Kifowit, House Bill 4757, was approved by Governor J.B. Pritzker last month after passing through the General Assembly in the spring legislative session.

Kifowit says the bill will provide veterans across the state access to free information about their workplace benefits and rights available to them.

Nect to those posters will be a poster outlining the benefits and services available to them through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kifowit says as a veteran, she is proud to be a voice of the veteran community and help out those who gave their service to protect our country.

House Bill 4757 takes effect as of January 1st, 2025.

Plainfield-Oswego State Rep. Harry Benton says he’s working on a bill that would prevent patients from incurring costs for out-of-network medical specialists in pre-authorized surgeries.

Benton says his legislation would ensure that once a medical procedure is pre-authorized, all necessary services are covered.

Benton is still working on the language of the bill and has not yet filed it. He expects it will likely be heard by the next General Assembly.