Holmes legislation permitting terminally ill adults to consider end-of-life options signed into law

• SB1950
• End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois has joined 11 other states and Washington, D.C. in increasing access to more compassionate end-of-life options for terminally ill adults, thanks to a new law spearheaded by State Senator Linda Holmes.

“This new law will give Illinoisans access to a full range of end-of-life options,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “If someone is facing a terminal illness, they deserve the autonomy and dignity of being able to make their own decisions on end-of-life care.”

Senate Bill 1950 – known as the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act – allows 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.

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Senator Holmes celebrates construction kickoff for new Aurora University Learning Commons

• DCEO
• Aurora University
• Learning Commons
• Capital Funding

AURORA – Senator Linda Holmes joined a ceremony on November 21 at the future site of the new Learning Commons facility on the Aurora University campus. She joined Aurora University President Susana Rivera-Mills and other officials to sign their names on a beam that will be part of the structure as it is built.

“The new building will be a central hub of academic life on campus, bringing together the resources students use most to a single convenient, welcoming space,” said Holmes, D-Aurora. “This environmentally friendly project will create a high-tech hub on campus that will increase opportunities for students to gather, strengthen their skills and build relationships within their community.”

Holmes obtained $750,000 in capital funding for the project in the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, and the Learning Commons will transform the way Aurora University students learn, collaborate and connect. Holmes said the facility is expected to open in fall 2026, and it has created 50,000-man hours of union construction work.

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Holmes legislation empowering terminally ill adults to consider end-of-life options passes Senate

• Video
• End of Life Options
• SB1950

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.”

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Holmes alarmed at federal government’s plan to strip food assistance to 1.9 million Illinois residents next week

• Illinois food assistance
• Federal SNAP cuts
• Children, Elders, Persons with Disabilities

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.

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