Will County Gazette

Rachel Ventura introduced SB1972 in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 6, 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 Medical Patient Rights Act and the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004. Provides that a health care provider and a person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine shall not charge a patient or client or require the patient or client to pay a fee for a missed or late appointment. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall be construed to prohibit health care providers and a persons engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine from developing and implementing an incentive program to encourage patients or clients to adhere to scheduled appointments. Provides that any health care provider or person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine that violates the provisions concerning missed and late appointment fees is guilty of a petty offense and shall be fined $500 per violation."

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

In essence, this bill amends the Medical Patient Rights Act and the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004 to prohibit health care providers and veterinary practitioners in Illinois from charging a fee for missed or late appointments. It allows these professionals to implement incentive programs to encourage adherence to appointments but stipulates that any violation of the fee prohibition results in a petty offense and a $500 fine per violation. The bill's intent is to eliminate penalties for patients and clients who miss or are late to their appointments, promoting fairness while allowing flexibility in encouraging timely attendance.

Rachel Ventura has proposed another 14 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Ventura graduated from Benedictine University in 2002 with a BS.

Rachel Ventura is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 43rd Senate District. She replaced previous state senator Eric Mattson in 2023.

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
SB1972	02/06/2025	Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act and the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004. Provides that a health care provider and a person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine shall not charge a patient or client or require the patient or client to pay a fee for a missed or late appointment. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall be construed to prohibit health care providers and a persons engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine from developing and implementing an incentive program to encourage patients or clients to adhere to scheduled appointments. Provides that any health care provider or person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine that violates the provisions concerning missed and late appointment fees is guilty of a petty offense and shall be fined $500 per violation.
SB1782	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. In a provision concerning the child care assistance program administered by the Department of Human Services, expands the list of families eligible to receive child care assistance to include families that are not TANF recipients but require financial assistance so that a responsible adult within the household can forgo work and care for a newborn child for the child's first 12 weeks of life. Provides that eligibility for cash assistance under the new category is conditioned on the responsible adult being the parent or legal guardian of the newborn child and participating in a Department-approved training program in health, safety, and early childhood development for the entire 12 weeks the family receives assistance. Provides that families eligible for child care assistance under the new category shall receive weekly assistance payments in an amount equal to the full day rate applied to licensed child care providers who provide 17 to 24 hours of care per day; and shall have their child care assistance payment amount adjusted according to the number of newborn children receiving care, up to a maximum of 3 children.
SB1971	02/06/2025	Creates the Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to establish the Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program. Provides that the Department shall implement the program by: (1) contracting with one or more prescription drug wholesalers and Canadian suppliers to import prescription drugs and provide prescription drug cost savings to consumers in this State; (2) developing a registration process for health benefit plan issuers, health care providers, and pharmacies to obtain and dispense prescription drugs imported under the program; (3) developing a list of prescription drugs, including the prices of those drugs, that meet certain requirements set forth under the Act and publishing the list on the Department's website; (4) establishing an outreach and marketing plan to generate program awareness; (5) ensuring the program and the prescription drug wholesalers that contract with this State comply with certain federal tracking, tracing, verification, and identification requirements; and other matters. Sets forth eligibility criteria for prescription drugs that may be imported into the State under the program. Contains provisions concerning program expansion; program funding; audit procedures; annual reporting requirements; the adoption of rules to implement the Act; and federal waiver or authorization requirements. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB1698	02/05/2025	Authorizes the Director of Central Management Services to execute and deliver a quit claim deed for specified real property in Will County to the Forest Preserve District of Will County upon the payment of $1, subject to specified conditions. Effective immediately.
SB1741	02/05/2025	Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education to establish and convene the Licensed School Librarian Task Force, which shall meet a minimum of 4 times and submit, no later than 12 months after the first convening of the Task Force, a report to the Governor and the General Assembly containing recommendations, including, but not limited to, recommendations on how to ensure public elementary and secondary schools consider, budget appropriate resources for, and employ licensed school librarians in future school years from available State and local resources. Sets forth provisions concerning the members of the Task Force, support for the Task Force, and other Task Force recommendations. Repeals these provisions on December 31, 2027. Effective immediately.
SB1757	02/05/2025	Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that any gift certificate issued on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall be redeemable in cash for its cash value.
SB1513	02/04/2025	Amends the Municipal Code. In provisions concerning acquisition of water systems by eminent domain, provides that eminent domain actions undertaken by a municipality under the provisions may be submitted as a referendum to be voted upon by the electors residing within the area in which the affected water system is located. Provides that the petition process for the elections shall be governed by specified procedures of the Election Code. Provides that the acquisition of water systems by eminent domain is declared to be a special use under specified provisions of the Eminent Domain Act.
SB1608	02/04/2025	Creates the Cargo Transportation Fee Act. Provides that the corporate authorities of a municipality or a county may impose a fee upon interstate carriers and intrastate carriers that (i) transport by common carrier tangible personal property in the State, (ii) transport that tangible personal property for the purpose of selling that tangible personal property at retail, and (iii) receive tangible personal property directly from an intermodal facility that is located in the municipality or county that enacts the ordinance. Sets forth the amount of the fee. Provides that 95% of the proceeds from the fee shall be deposited into the Cargo Transportation Fee Fund and 5% of the proceeds shall be deposited into the Motor Carrier Safety Inspection Fund. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Cargo Transportation Fee Fund and sets forth the uses for that Fund.
SB0143	01/17/2025	Creates the Judicial Campaign Reform Act. Creates a voluntary program of public financing of election campaigns for the offices of judges of the Illinois Supreme Court and Appellate Court, administered by the State Board of Elections. Establishes funding mechanisms, terms of participation, and a process for the certification of candidates. Sets mandatory contribution limits with respect to all judicial election campaigns. Provides for penalties for violations of the Act. Makes other changes. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Illinois Judicial Election Democracy Trust Fund. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB0179	01/17/2025	Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Prisoner Review Board shall place no additional restrictions, limitations, or requirements than that provided by the statute creating the procedure for medical release. Provides that upon a determination that the petitioner is eligible for a hearing on medical release, the Prisoner Review Board shall: (1) provide public notice of the petitioner's name, docket number, counsel, and hearing date; and (2) provide a copy of the evaluation and any medical records provided by the Department of Corrections to the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney upon scheduling the institutional hearing. Provides that a hearing on a petitioner's application for medical release is public unless the petitioner requests a non-public hearing. Provides that members of the public shall be permitted to freely attend public hearings on medical release without restriction. Provides that upon denying an eligible petitioner's application for medical release, the Prisoner Review Board shall publish a decision letter outlining the reason for denial. Provides that the decision letter must include an explanation of each statutory factor and the estimated annual cost of the petitioner's continued incarceration, including the petitioner's medical care. Makes technical changes.
SB0042	01/13/2025	Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Removes the requirement that cannabis within any area of a motor vehicle must be in an odor-proof container. Provides that if a motor vehicle is driven or occupied by an individual 21 years of age or over, a law enforcement officer may not stop or detain the motor vehicle or its driver nor inspect or search the motor vehicle, the contents of the motor vehicle, or the operator or passenger of the motor vehicle solely based on the odor of burnt or raw cannabis.
SB0043	01/13/2025	Amends the Illinois Century Network Act. Specifies that the Illinois Century Network shall be a service creating and maintaining high speed telecommunications networks that provide reliable communication throughout Illinois (rather than a service creating and maintaining high speed telecommunications networks that provide reliable communication links for wholesale connections with other registered or certified providers and the direct communication needs of various anchor institutions throughout Illinois). Authorizes the Illinois Century Network to develop an end-to-end broadband network that may include, but may not be limited to, middle-mile and last-mile infrastructure. Deletes provisions requiring the Network to avoid duplication of existing communication networks if those networks are capable of maintaining sufficient capacity to meet the requirement of anchor institutions. Effective immediately.
SB0044	01/13/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation and beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the State Board of Education shall award competitive grants on an annual basis to school districts that submit a grant application to the State Board requesting funds to purchase an electric vehicle to be used for student driver education courses. Requires the State Board to disseminate a request for applications for grants that shall be accepted on an annual basis. Requires the State Board to establish procedures for submitting requests for grants and issuing funds to approved applicants. Sets forth priority determinations for application selection by the State Board if the appropriation amount in a fiscal year is less than the amount required to fund all applications for grants. Establishes application requirements. Allows the State Board to adopt rules to implement the provisions.
SB0045	01/13/2025	Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Provides that no person may intentionally drag or pull any bovine by its tail by any means for the purpose of entertainment, sport, practice, or contest.
SB0046	01/13/2025	Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Deletes a provision that it is an aggravating factor in sentencing that the sentence is necessary to deter others from committing the same crime.