SPRINGFIELD – Nationally, an estimated $2.8 billion worth of medications are wasted annually. State Senator Mary Edly-Allen partnered with State Representative Laura Faver Dias to champion a new law to provide Illinoisans with cheaper alternatives and transparency within the Illinois Drug Reuse Program.

“Medications can be ridiculously expensive, often leaving people to decide between rent, groceries or their life-saving medicine,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “This law is critical to helping our most vulnerable communities and improves a well-established program that has helped countless Illinoisans.”

SPRINGFIELD – In Illinois last year, an estimated 25,832 people experienced homelessness. State Senator Mary Edly-Allen worked alongside State Representative Lindsey LaPointe to champion a new law that will increase the accessibility of resources available to help homeless individuals.

“People experiencing homelessness are often in and out of emergency rooms. Hospital staff, like social workers, are usually under-equipped to connect our unhoused neighbors to services. It is difficult to find resources and we do not have enough emergency shelters to meet the needs,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “This law solves one of those problems — by providing clear information online on how to begin the process to access shelter and services.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mary Edly-Allen worked with multiple statewide education stakeholders to pass a law that will address unnecessary and burdensome Illinois School Code mandates.

“Public school teachers play a critical role in shaping our young minds and preparing them for the future,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “The School Code Mandate Reduction Council will begin evaluating the 699 mandates introduced since 1982 – an essential step toward improving our laws to fit with the evolving education landscape.”

SPRINGFIELD – Recording artists will soon have more protections from artificial intelligence (AI) replicating their voice or work under a new law from State Senator Mary Edly-Allen and State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz.

“We need strong regulations and protections in place to safeguard artists when people try to steal their work and pass it off as their own using artificial intelligence,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “This law was made to clarify existing rules, using language approved by both the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA).”