CHICAGO – State Senator Mike Simmons joined community advocacy groups, hospital staff and local officials Friday morning to denounce the closure of Weiss Memorial Hospital and demand that it be preserved as a safety net hospital.

“Uptown is the landing ground for many immigrants and refugees and asylum-seekers from all around the world who would not have access to life-saving health care if it were not for Weiss Memorial Hospital. This is a mournful event. We cannot lose a safety net hospital on the far North Side of Chicago,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “As a lifeline for residents of Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods, Weiss has served our most vulnerable populations for decades, providing critical emergency services and inpatient care to those who often have nowhere else to turn.”

Weiss Memorial Hospital on Chicago’s North Side was cut from Medicare and Medicaid after a years-long pattern of being in and out of compliance with state and federal regulators for everything from not having enough nurses per shift to failing to prevent inappropriate delays in treatment.

SPRINGFIELD – To remove barriers to unhoused residents, State Senator Mike Simmons passed into law the removal of notary fees to obtain a state ID.

“With no form of legal identification, unhoused individuals cannot access housing, jobs, or transit and this law will help,” said Simmons. “This bill makes it one step easier to obtain state identification, which in turn means folks will have quicker access to jobs, transportation, and housing.”

Prior to this law, application fees for standard Illinois state IDs are waived for unhoused individuals, but their application must be accompanied by a notarized affirmation. This is a difficult task for individuals with little financial resources, as notary fees can cost up to $25.

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure bikes are properly defined in Illinois, State Senator Mike Simmons’ new law aligns the definition of bicycles in Illinois.

“As an avid bike rider myself, I know how many people use our pathways every day for work, exercise, and enjoyment,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “When someone rides their bike in our communities, they can now be confident of their safety and legality.”

Simmons’ passed into law Senate Bill 2285, which expands the definition of bicycles to include low-speed electric bikes alongside any human-powered device, which will allow for expanded complete streets planning for all using bikes.

CHICAGO – State Senator Mike Simmons held his 5th annual Pride Press Conference on Wednesday at the historic Gerber Hart Library and Archives in Rogers Park, the largest independent, non-profit, LGBTQ+ library in the Midwest. As the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Illinois Senate and in a time where LGBTQ+ individuals and communities are facing unprecedented discrimination and threats to human rights, his press conference focused on LGBTQ+ mental and physical health, youth, safety, and creating safe spaces. Participants included over 45 local elected officials, advocates, business owners and organizations.

“It is so important that everyone does more than just talk about programs and policies that protect and support the LGBTQ+ community,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “We must continue to push for our dreams to become a reality - where schools and their administrations are inclusive of queer youth, where queer authors thrive, and where queer people are represented in all spaces in society.”