West Cook News

Sen. John Curran, a Republican representing Downers Grove, said Illinois has voted for a law to create additional preventative measures against potential violence in schools.

The Illinois legislature has supported Senate Bill 3936, which requires the Illinois State Police to join together with other state agencies in handling people with mental health problems who have expressed thoughts about attacking others at school, according to a news release from Curran's office. The legislation would build on Illinois' existing Safe2Help program, which provides a hotline for students to send in tips about concerning behavior.

"As lawmakers, we must do everything we can to ensure the safety of school children," Curran said. "To provide an additional tool to school officials and law enforcement, legislation was recently signed into law that refines and improves a statewide hotline that can receive reports from the public regarding potential self-harm or criminal acts directed at schools, teachers or students. Calls into the hotline would be confidential." 

Curran also drew attention to a number of other related, proposed bills, such as Senate Bill 157, which would cut the sales tax on clothing and school supplies from 6.25% to 1.25% between Aug. 5 and 14; House Bill 4316, which would further protect students against teachers who have engaged in or been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by requiring superintendents to notify parents and the school board and would also mandate that school boards review the employment histories of new hires to verify that the teachers have not been previously fired for sexual misconduct; and House Bill 3296, which would enhance career exploration and development activities for students by giving opportunities for school districts to harness and programs through which older students can explore a variety of high-skill, in-demand career fields.