SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois lawmakers, lobbyists and advocates will return to Springfield next week for the start of the 2024 legislative session. WAND News checked in with two local lawmakers to see their top priorities for the new year.

"It just brought tears to my eyes," said Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield). 

After investigators uncovered the mishandling of dozens of human remains at a funeral home in Central Illinois, Turner said she is committed to making sure that never happens again.

"How do you correct situations where you have someone who wants their ashes spread in a specific place and you think you’ve done that, but it wasn’t their ashes and you don’t know where their ashes are," Turner asked. "So, it’s not just that family but the other family that’s so traumatized."

Turner wants the state to create an identification system for all human remains and a chain of custody for families to know where their loved one is from death to burial or cremation. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon helped Turner draft this plan.

"He’s just worked on this so hard," Turner said. "I mean, he’s put everything he has into it."

Lawmakers could discuss investments in housing and mental health services to address homelessness. Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) stressed it is a critical issue.

"We’ve got lots of people with severe mental health issues that are wandering the streets of our states right now because we don’t have the resources to help them," McClure said. "While this is going on, Gov. Pritzker wants to make sure that we have free healthcare for citizens of other countries? We don’t have the resources for that."

Turner also hopes lawmakers can address food deserts by expanding access to farmer’s markets and co-ops in small communities. She said far too many people are forced to get their food at gas stations or dollar stores.

"If you go in there to get a half gallon of milk, you’re picking up chips and all those kinds of things," Turner noted. "But if you go into one of these farmer’s markets, you’re getting nutritious food."

However, McClure believes Illinois could tackle inflation by permanently freezing the state’s sales tax on groceries and gasoline.

"Let’s give some people some real relief," McClure said. "There’s not much we can do as a state about inflation at the federal level. But what we can do is cut back on some of these taxes that are causing people to pay even more money that is unnecessary."

Both McClure and Turner know that lawmakers may need to pass a supplemental budget to help the state pay for resources to address the migrant crisis in Chicago. Yet, McClure argued that Illinois cannot continue to provide funding to migrants while lawmakers ignore other obligations.

"We don’t have the funds to deal with it right now, and one of the key complaints that all of us are hearing throughout the state is that there are places that feel that they are forgotten," McClure said. "They are very poor areas, high crime areas, places where there are huge food deserts, and the governor has not done anything about those areas."

However, Turner said the state must treat migrants coming to Illinois as neighbors. She said many of the asylum seekers may end up in Central Illinois looking for jobs, a home and better opportunities.

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