With the new year here, so are over 250 Illinois laws that went into effect on January 1.
Children under the age of two must now be secured in an approved rear-facing child seat while riding in a vehicle. It had been a forward-facing seat.
All children in kindergarten plus the second, sixth and ninth grades, in any school, must have a dental examination. This adds one last required dental exam to check for gum disease, eating disorders and other possible issues.
A new law requires law enforcement agencies to adopt a written policy for the internal review of officer-involved shootings.
An ambulance or rescue vehicle shall only operate a siren and lamp when it is reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of their approach, while responding to an emergency call or transporting a patient who needs assistance beyond the capabilities of the emergency responders.
A new law extends the previous 24-hour waiting period to 72 hours for purchasing firearms in Illinois. It also eliminates the exemption from the waiting period for the sale of a firearm to a non-resident of Illinois while at a firearm showing or display recognized by the state police.
Two new laws pertain to courts and breast-feeding mothers. Nursing mothers will be excused from jury duty, upon request; and counties with court facilities must provide at least one lactation room or area for members of the public to nurse children in private. The room cannot be a restroom.
December 3 will now be Illinois Statehood Day, to commemorate the date in 1818 when Illinois became the 31st state in the union.
