CHICAGO – To protect first-generation college students and families from predatory business practices, a new plan offered by State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) that creates transparency and fairer guidelines for educational planning services was signed into law.

“This measure reels in bad actors that prey on low-income and first-generation students,” Villanueva said. “Families must have options to get out of deceptive, long-term contracts when these services are offered by the state free of charge.”

The new law requires educational planning service providers to disclose that similar services may be available at no charge from the state, allow consumers to choose which services they wish to receive and allow consumers to cancel services at any time. Consumers will also receive a full refund for services not yet provided under the law.

CHICAGO – To keep women and children safe, legislation introduced by State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) that would establish the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee was signed into law today.

“Families are counting on us to take proactive steps to prevent domestic violence,” Villanueva said. “Our plan creates dedicated teams of advocates and survivors to craft violence prevention policy in every corner of the state. These review teams will save lives and I am grateful to the governor for his commitment to keeping women and children in Illinois safe.”

AURORA – To protect the wellbeing of immigrant communities, Illinois will reinstate the Immigrant Impact Task Force thanks to a new law introduced by State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago).

“This task force will help determine where improvements can be made in how the state invests in immigrant communities,” Villanueva said. “We must address systemic disinvestment in our communities across the state and continue building a recovery that works for all Illinoisans, regardless of status.”

CHICAGO – Legislation supported by State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) that addresses licensing issues in the state’s adult-use cannabis industry was signed into law on Thursday.

“I’m proud of the work the Black and Latino Caucuses did to ensure social equity within the cannabis industry through the changes in House Bill 1443,” Villanueva said. “I hope this move brings the needed diversity to the industry so that we can begin to correct the decades of harm done to our communities through the war on drugs.”