SPRINGFIELD – Right now, 65.1 million U.S. households own a dog. From companionship to emotional support, pets are a vital part of their owners’ lives. In fact, 85% of dog owners consider their pets to be a member of the family. Unfortunately, families with specific dog breeds sometimes face insurance discrimination solely because their breed is perceived to be dangerous, resulting in cancelation or stiff premiums for their policies.

Longtime animal welfare defender State Senator Linda Holmes wants to prohibit that insurance practice, with exceptions only for specific dogs involved in documented incidents of dangerous or vicious behavior. Her House Bill 1049 amending insurance code to this effect was heard and passed in Tuesday’s Senate Insurance Committee.

AURORA – State Senator Linda Holmes is pleased to announce that the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Five-Year Plan includes $400,000 in funding to improve five railroad crossings in the 42^nd District.

The plan includes funding from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund and the Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan to address at-grade crossings where a public highway crosses the railroad. These funds are intended to address longstanding safety concerns.

“Railroads are vital to our local and state economies and play a big role in public transit, so improved crossings will ensure these daily moves occur safely and smoothly,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “This is yet another stage of the Rebuild Illinois program in which we’ve invested millions in repairing, replacing and building new roads, bridges and transit to keep Illinois prepared for the future.”

SPRINGFIELD – As a steadfast advocate for better, safer and less abusive practices with animals, State Senator Linda Holmes passed legislation on Thursday to address concerns around abusive testing methods on animals in medical experiments.

“In the past, it was standard procedure for testing facilities to use cats and dogs for experiments, causing suffering, excessive confinement and death for thousands of animals,” said Holmes (D-Aurora). “In recent years, a variety of new testing methods have been developed and proven effective that don’t require the use of animals.”

SPRINGFIELD – Many homeowners have something lurking in their basement or garage that could be disposed of, but there hasn’t been a means to get rid of it safely: unused household paint. A new initiative sponsored by State Senator Linda Holmes would establish a program to dispose of household paint, and the legislation passed Thursday in the Senate.

The Paint Stewardship Act in Senate Bill 836 creates a means for consumers to dispose of household paint in Illinois. No state resources are in place today to deal with this waste. Under this law, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will use PaintCare, a nonprofit organization that operates the post-consumer program with paint manufacturers to run the process and provide convenient, free dropoff sites statewide.

“It is exciting to offer this prospective service to Illinoisans with old paint taking up space in their homes,” Holmes (D-Aurora) said. “To get rid of it in an environmentally safe manner will give us an opportunity to make our state’s soil and water cleaner for our children and to safely produce our crops to feed the state and nation.”