Note - video added of Leader Holmes' remarks on the floor presenting SB1950 (click above to view).

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Linda Holmes’ two-year pursuit to allow terminally ill adults in Illinois to choose to end their suffering on their own terms was passed by the Illinois State Senate Friday.

Senate Bill 1950 would allow a qualified patient with a terminal disease to request a physician to prescribe aid-in-dying medication, allowing the patient to end their own life in a peaceful manner, if and when, they choose.

“I lost both of my parents to terminal cancers, and can’t forget the helpless feeling of being unable to relieve their suffering,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “This measure is about allowing qualified, terminally ill patients an option to consider ending their pain and distress.”

AURORA –The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states two weeks ago it would not fund the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program – also known as SNAP – unless the federal government reopens. According to State Senator Linda Holmes, this means 1.9 million Illinois residents – including nearly 22,000 in the 42^nd District -- are at risk of losing food assistance benefits starting Nov. 1.

SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford nutritious food essential to their health and well-being. Nearly half of Illinois’ SNAP households have older adults, children or a person with a disability, and more than 44,000 veterans rely on the program for food assistance. It also supports more than 18,000 jobs in significant sectors of the economy from grocers, farmers and manufacturers, to transportation and municipal services, nearing $1 billion in Illinois wages.

AURORA - Thanks to advocacy from State Senator Linda Holmes, adult literacy programs in Aurora and St. Charles will receive $140,504 in grant funding to support community efforts to improve literacy.

“Libraries and their programs provide significant resources to people of all ages to boost their reading, writing and speaking skills,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “Their future education and professional goals can be brighter through participating in these programs.”

The funds, awarded by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, included more than $28 million for library services and literacy programs throughout the state. In Holmes’ district, the programs receiving funds include the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora and Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley, based in St. Charles.

A full list of awardees can be found here.

AURORA – State Senator Linda Holmes’ measure to modernize Illinois’ consumer electronic recycling practices was signed into law Friday.

“Our existing electronics recycling law was set to expire next year, but rather than simply extending that date, we needed fundamental improvements to ensure these devices are safely collected and recycled,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “Consumers need greater access to recycle a wider range of products more easily – without that, they’ve often resorted to throwing them in the trash.”

Illinois’ Consumer Electronics Recycling Act was first enacted in 2008 and last updated in 2017. The number, changing sizes and new components of electronic devices highlighted the need to update the law again. With consumers needing more access to recycle these devices, Holmes worked with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County to revamp CERA through House Bill 3098.