Illinois is faced with a court-ordered timetable for passing concealed carry legislation by June 9th of this year. If we don’t, “constitutional carry” automatically goes into effect. That means concealed-carry with no rules. Should that happen, hundreds of mayors and city councils would be charged with adopting their own set of concealed carry laws. Senate Democrats and stakeholders have been working diligently to come to an equitable agreement on a statewide policy on this issue prior to the June 9th deadline. 

For a number of years, downstate Senators have introduced concealed carry legislation, which has failed to gain enough momentum for passage.  The court ordered timetable has finally afforded concealed carry legislation a significant amount of consideration in both chambers.

Read more: Illinois ‘Up in Arms’: a concealed carry update (AUDIO)

Kindergarten can have a profound effect on students and their ability to succeed in school as they get older. Yet Illinois does not require students to be in school until age 7. Legislation that passed the Senate today changes that.

State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) is the sponsor of Senate Bill 1307, which lowers the compulsory school age from 7 to 6 for Illinois children.

Read more: (UPDATE) Lightford compulsory school age legislation passes Senate

Films and television programs filmed in Illinois such as “The Dark Knight,” “Barbershop” and “Chicago Fire” have put the state on the world’s stage. State Senator Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago) aims to keep Illinois in the spotlight with a plan to expand the state’s film production tax credit.

Actor Billy Zane and producer Bob Teitel, both Illinois natives, testified for the bill in Executive Committee on May 16. Zane, known for his roles in “Titanic” and “The Phantom,” and Teitel, producer of “Barbershop,” were in the Capitol to support Senate Bill 1816.

“I have been fortunate to shoot several films in Illinois, and I want to continue to do more films here,” Teitel said. “This bill will help make that possible.”

Read more: Film industry joins Van Pelt in support of Film Tax Credit

In today's competitive global economy, a college education is more important than ever. But paying for that degree can keep many deserving students in some of Illinois' most impoverished areas from even considering college. But legislation that recently passed a Senate committee aims at making that opportunity available for those students.

House Bill 194 — sponsored in the Senate by James Clayborne, Linda Holmes and Steve Stadelman — allows city councils in East. St. Louis, Aurora and Rockford to establish so-called Promise Zones. These zones in essence would provide underprivileged high school students with the resources to attend a local community college for free.

The House passed the bill in February, and on Wednesday the Senate approved it by a 51-4 vote. The Promise Zones legislation now heads to the governor for his signature.

Read more: Update: Senate passes Promise Zones bill

Senators joined about 60 breast cancer survivors in the State Capitol on May 15 asking to reverse a proposed $3.3 million cut to the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program which provides lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screening to uninsured women in Illinois.

Many believe that IBCCP cuts are permissible because of the upcoming implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the health care exchange and potential Medicaid Expansion in Illinois. However, studies show that the IBCCP is needed now more than ever to make sure women do not get lost in the health care system.

Read more: Breast and Cervical Cancer survivors visit the Capitol