SPRINGFIELD – A more comprehensive review of prospective law enforcement officers prior to hiring would be required under an initiative led by State Senator Doris Turner in response to the horrific murder of Sonya Massey.

“When it comes to hiring police officers, we want to ensure that we have the most qualified people,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “In collaboration with the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and the Illinois Chiefs of Police, we were able to determine necessary guardrails to include in this legislation.”

Senate Bill 1953 would require law enforcement agencies to conduct a more comprehensive review of a prospective officer’s past employment to ensure his or her fitness for duty as a police officer before making an offer of employment.

To ensure the highest degree of integrity and professionalism in the hiring process of sheriff’s deputies and other personnel, Turner’s measure would also expand the creation of sheriff’s merit boards and sheriff’s merit commissions for counties with a population of at least 75,000.

Senate Bill 1953 passed the Senate with bipartisan support and heads to the House for further consideration.

SPRINGFIELD – Higher education scholarships would be easier to find under a measure sponsored by State Senator Doris Turner that passed the Senate Thursday.

“College is expensive, and scholarships should be easy for students to find,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “There’s a need for a one-stop shop that includes all scholarships for Illinois students seeking higher education.”

Senate Bill 1331 would create the Illinois Scholarship Database, developed and administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, to be used as a tool for improving Illinois students' knowledge of and access to higher education scholarships.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner passed a measure through the Senate to give students and teachers more materials to learn about American Sign Language.

“We have so many residents across Illinois who are either deaf or hard of hearing who use ASL to communicate,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “If we teach our children about ASL at a young age, we could foster a generation of people who can reach out to those in the deaf and hard-hearing communities.”

As of 2023, there are roughly 50 million U.S. residents who report significant hearing loss or no hearing at all. ASL has become the third most popular language taught in American higher education institutions and is estimated to be used by over 500,000 people in the country. Knowledge of ASL can pose many benefits to students by promoting open mindedness and tolerance toward different experiences and making them more valuable assets to companies once they enter the workforce.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner is leading a measure to mandate training for emergency medical dispatchers on how to provide CPR instructions to someone experiencing cardiac arrest.

“We are losing too many of our friends and family to heart disease,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “Ensuring that our emergency dispatchers are well-equipped to handle these situations will save lives.”

Senate Bill 1295 would mandate all 911 telecommunicators and emergency medical dispatchers to be trained in telecommunicator CPR. T-CPR involves a dispatcher providing over-the-phone CPR instructions to someone experiencing cardiac arrest. This process is a key part of the chain of survival for cardiac arrest.