Measure helping families of fallen soldiers signed into law

PEORIA – Legislation allowing the immediate families of armed service members killed in action or while on active duty to terminate the lease of the deceased was signed into law today.

Previously, the law allowed service members to terminate a lease if they receive orders for a change in duty station or deployment longer than 90 days. House Bill 4317 extends the right to terminate to the dependents of fallen service members.

State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) sponsored the measure after a constituent in his district brought the matter to Springfield.

“This is one of those instances where you can’t believe we have to pass a law to do allow something,” Koehler said. “Families of fallen service members shouldn’t be met with hurdles when grieving.”

HB 4317 takes effect immediately.

Koehler moderates discussion on youth employment barriers in Peoria

PEORIA — A task force charged with determining best practices for Illinois with regard to youth who are out of school and jobless hosted a youth employment hearing in Peoria in July, and State Senator Dave Koehler helped moderate the discussion.

Three panels of Peoria-area citizens participated in the July 19 hearing. The youth panel included three young adults — Taryne Gardner, Kira Thomas and Dasontray Keys — who shared their experiences and the barriers they overcame when they dropped out of high school, then chose to earn their GEDs. They cited local programs, including the Moonlight Coalition for Adult Learning and Peoria Corps, as instrumental in their success.

A second panel addressed legislative needs for effective programming. Participants included staff from the Peoria Police Department, the Peoria County sheriff, representatives from the Moonlight Coalition, and Rita Ali from Illinois Central College.

Finally, a panel of business leaders address legislation that could help meet the needs of employers who have job vacancies and rely on young, working-age people to help fill those positions. Those panelists included Kate Cundiff from the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, Illinois Central College President Sheila Quik-Bailey, Kathy Lehmann from Unity Point Health, and Stephanie Price from HGS.

According to statistics, in 2014 nearly 191,000 Illinois youth and young adults 16 to 24 years old were jobless and out of school. Many of these youth and young adults require opportunities to become successful adults.

The State Task Force on Developing Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults Who are Jobless and Out of School is expected to issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor and General Assembly by the end of the year.

Koehler helps cut ribbon at Well Farm at Voris Field

PEORIA — State Senator Dave Koehler joined supporters of the Well Farm at Voris Field in Peoria for a ribbon-cutting ceremony recently.

This innovative urban farm in downtown Peoria produces crops and job-training opportunities, and its trees and plants help to divert stormwater runoff from the city's sewer system. The event took place June 30.

Congratulations to all involved in this great project.

Koehler: Red flag law balances public safety with due process

Families, police can seek to distance potentially dangerous people from their firearms

PEORIA – A new state law that allows authorities to put temporary distance between potentially volatile people and their firearms contains checks to balance individual rights with public safety, State Senator Dave Koehler said today.

The measure, known as a red-flag or lethal order of protection law, was signed Monday. It enables family members and police to alert a judge if they believe a person with access to a firearm could pose a danger to themselves or to the public. If the judge agrees, the court can require firearms to be temporarily removed from the person’s possession.

It passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support.

“This law is a preventative measure that balances the gun owner’s right to due process with the public’s right to be safe from violence,” said Koehler, a Peoria Democrat. “Illinois is empowering families to step in before a loved one causes suffering and destruction that can never be undone. It’s also acknowledging gun owners’ concerns by requiring a burden of evidence before firearms can be removed.”

Under the new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2019, a family member or law enforcement officer must present clear and convincing evidence that a person poses a significant personal or public danger by having access to a firearm.

If a judge agrees, the court will issue a firearm restraining order that requires the person in question to temporarily relinquish his or her firearms and FOID card to law enforcement. The person also will be barred from purchasing or possessing additional firearms during the restraining period.

Anyone who provides false information in seeking an order would be guilty of perjury.

The legislation is House Bill 2354.