SPRINGFIELD –Expectant parents may begin to plan and prepare for their future when they learn they are pregnant. Sadly, some pregnancies end abruptly in stillbirth or miscarriage. The unimaginable loss can bring long-lasting trauma; inconsistent insurance coverage for professional mental health care can make treatment unaffordable. Care is inaccessible, and the suffering magnifies. To assist Illinois families in this situation, State Senator Linda Holmes’ law requires insurers to cover care for mental and emotional recovery for those suffering a miscarriage or stillbirth takes effect Jan. 1.

“Those who have faced the loss of an infant may cope with the trauma for the rest of their lives; it is often an overpowering shock,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “This unaddressed pain can trigger isolation, anxiety, stress and depression, and may lead to substance abuse.”

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.

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.

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.”