CHICAGO – State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) celebrates the signing of a measure she sponsored to expand women’s access to healthy pregnancies and fetal development.

“Modern lifestyles make nutrient-deficient diets extremely convenient, which presents great risk to soon-to-be mothers lacking access to steady sources of necessary vitamins and minerals,” Villanueva said. “Expanding insurance coverage to include prenatal vitamins will increase access to supplements that lead to safer pregnancy and healthy births.”

The new law requires insurance policies that already cover prescription drugs to also cover prenatal vitamins. Prenatal vitamins when prescribed by a licensed physician can have many health benefits to both mother and child that range from supplying more oxygen to the baby to preventing bone loss in the mother.

“These supplements can be vital to the safety and wellness of mothers and their children,” Villanueva said. “This is a commonsense piece of legislation protecting pregnant women and tearing down financial barriers to quality care strategies, and I am proud to have been the sponsor of this law.”

The new law was signed Friday and took effect immediately.

CHICAGO – State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), enraged at yesterday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, issued the following statement demanding that state and national leaders put a stop to gun tragedies:

“Again, we stand at the cross-roads of a senselessly politicized debate over the right to human life. Another school shooting has incessantly taken the lives of young children –sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends. The perpetrator of yesterday’s mass shooting had a mission: he set out to murder, and because of his access to a deadly firearm, he was able to shoot and kill nineteen students and two teachers in a facility that predominantly served Latino students.

“The terror of not having a safe space to exist because a nation’s rifles are poised against you is a pandemic in itself, yet leaders on the state and national level refuse to hold each other accountable and address the violence happening across the country. There can be no debate on constitutional rights when human rights are not respected, but still our country needlessly talks in circles, skipping over the issue at hand while hundreds continue to lose their life prematurely and without reason.

“America is in crisis. Our condolences are not enough. Statements mean nothing if there is no action behind them. Our country is in a state of emergency, and we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent to the issue at hand while innocent lives are at stake.”

CHICAGO – State Senator Celina Villanueva advocated for teacher wellness by supporting a law allowing teachers to take mental health days.

“Our teachers’ service to our students is ongoing both inside and outside the classroom,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “Now that our society has recognized the importance of mental health and allows our students to be excused, the same care should be given to our educators.”

Under the new law, school districts in areas with fewer than 500,000 residents are required to include mental health absences as part of the sick days made available to full-time employees. Senator Villanueva prioritizes supporting teachers and has worked in the legislature to ensure their lasting influence on the state’s youth is celebrated and can continue.

“The people that educate and oversee our children are under intense pressure to guide future generations of community members, activists and more,” Villanueva said. “It is especially important that our instructors’ performance and ability not be affected by the challenges brought on by such a tumultuous world.”

The law, previously Senate Bill 3914, was signed into law Friday.

SPRINGFIELD–State Senator Celina Villanueva spearheaded an initiative to increase worker protections during the work week that was signed into law Monday.

“We humans perform at our best when we are well-rested and taken care of,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “This law helps ensure that employers respect the rights of workers so that they are both safe and productive in their work environments.”

The new law was brought to Senator Villanueva by the Illinois Department of Labor and Arise Chicago, a community-based organization fighting workplace injustice through advocacy and public policy. Thanks to the cooperation of businesses, agencies and community organizations, Senator Villanueva led the Senate in passing Senate Bill 3146, which modernizes the language of the One Day Rest in Seven Act –an existing law that details the duration and amount of breaks workers are entitled to in a work week. Villanueva’s measure also increases the penalties employers receive for violating this law and adjusts the cost of the penalty based on the size of the workforce where the violation occurred.

“Labor laws protect an extremely important component of all workforces: the worker,” Villanueva said. “Without the worker, no business can stand on its own, which is why we have to do all we can to make sure Illinois’ hardworking populations are neither taken advantage of nor deprived of the conditions and treatment they deserve in the workplace.”

The new law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023.