Chicago City Wire

Mike Simmons introduced SB1515 in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 4, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Attorney General Act. Creates an Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls within the Office of the Attorney General. Provides that the Office shall: (1) serve as the legal and policy advisor to the Attorney General to ensure justice for missing and murdered Black women and girls; (2) develop recommendations for policies to address injustices in the criminal justice system's response to cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls; and (3) coordinate with State and local agencies to collect specified information and give technical assistance. Provides that, no later than January 1 after the effective date of the amendatory Act and biennially thereafter, the Office shall submit a report to the General Assembly on missing and murdered Black women and girls containing specified information."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill establishes an Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls within the Illinois Attorney General's office. The office will serve as a legal and policy advisor, aiming to ensure justice and address systemic issues in the criminal justice system concerning these cases. Its duties include developing policy recommendations, coordinating with state and local agencies to collect and analyze relevant data, reviewing case outcomes, and offering technical assistance. A centralized data repository and public dashboard will be created for tracking purposes. Beginning January 1 after the act's effective date, biennial reports on these efforts will be submitted to the General Assembly.

Mike Simmons has proposed another seven bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Simmons graduated from Amherst College in 2006 with a BA.

Mike Simmons is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 7th Senate District. He replaced previous state senator Heather Steans in 2021.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB1515	02/04/2025	Amends the Attorney General Act. Creates an Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls within the Office of the Attorney General. Provides that the Office shall: (1) serve as the legal and policy advisor to the Attorney General to ensure justice for missing and murdered Black women and girls; (2) develop recommendations for policies to address injustices in the criminal justice system's response to cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls; and (3) coordinate with State and local agencies to collect specified information and give technical assistance. Provides that, no later than January 1 after the effective date of the amendatory Act and biennially thereafter, the Office shall submit a report to the General Assembly on missing and murdered Black women and girls containing specified information.
SB1516	02/04/2025	Amends the Illinois Identification Card Act. Provides that the Secretary of State shall not collect a fee for a standard Illinois Identification Card issued to a transgender person, or the immediate family of that person, moving to Illinois due to an act of persecution. Effective immediately.
SB1609	02/04/2025	Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that, for the purpose of ensuring that there is appropriated to the Agency on an annual basis the funding necessary to address the risk to public health and safety caused by emerging drinking water contaminants that have the potential to threaten drinking water supplies in the State, there is hereby appropriated, on a continuing annual basis in each fiscal year, from the General Revenue Fund to the Agency, the amount, if any, by which the total appropriation to the Agency from the General Revenue Fund for that fiscal year for that express purpose is less than $5,000,000.
SB1610	02/04/2025	Amends the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that all State agencies shall waive any fees assessed to a formerly incarcerated person for services provided by that State agency for a period of one year after the release of that person from a facility operated by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
SB1611	02/04/2025	Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that if the United States Supreme Court holds to be unconstitutional a provision under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) that prohibits a group health plan and health insurance issuer from establishing lifetime or annual limits on the dollar value of benefits, or if the holding makes Medicaid eligibility allowed under that specified provision inoperable, then the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall fully cover the costs of medical assistance for individuals affected by that holding, subject to appropriation. Provides that the Department shall not require individuals receiving medical assistance to work a minimum amount of hours in order to receive benefits.
SB1387	01/29/2025	Amends the State Comptroller Act. Provides that all State payments that are recurring payments to a vendor shall be made through direct deposit. Provides that it is the responsibility of the paying State agency to ensure compliance with the mandate. Defines "recurring payment". Effective immediately.
SB1388	01/29/2025	Amends the Regional Transportation Authority Act. Provides that, by December 31, 2025, the Regional Transportation Authority, the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of the Authority, the Board of the Suburban Bus Division of the Authority, and the Board of the Chicago Transit Authority shall create a program to provide free rides to persons earning under 138% of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' poverty guidelines. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB1389	01/29/2025	Amends the Adult Protective Services Act. Expands the list of mandated reporters under the Act to include broker-dealers and officers, managers, and employees of financial institutions. Provides that financial exploitation of an adult with disabilities or a person aged 60 or older occurs when a person or entity (i) takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an eligible adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both; (ii) assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an eligible adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both; (iii) knowingly aids and abets in the taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining of real or personal property of an eligible adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both; or (iv) takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an eligible adult by undue influence. Sets forth when a financial institution or an officer, manager, or employee of a financial institution, a broker-dealer, or an investment adviser is deemed to have assisted in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an eligible adult. Sets forth when all other mandated reporters are deemed to have assisted in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an eligible adult. Exempts from liability nonsupervisory employees of a financial institution. Contains other provisions.
SB1262	01/28/2025	Amends the Department of Innovation and Technology Act. Provides that, on or before January 1, 2026, the Department of Innovation and Technology shall develop and implement a system that allows users accessing a website operated by the State to automatically translate the contents of that website into another language. Provides that the system shall provide automatic translation to at least the 100 most commonly spoken language in the State. Effective immediately.
SB1173	01/24/2025	Amends the Illinois Identification Card Act. Removes a provision that requires the application of a homeless individual for an Illinois Identification Card to be accompanied by an affirmation by a qualified person, on a form provided by the Secretary of State, that the applicant is currently homeless.
SB0088	01/17/2025	Amends the Illinois Affordable Housing Act. Provides that funds in the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund may be used for housing counseling. Defines "housing counseling" to mean services provided by an organization approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to be a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency.