General Updates from Senator Mike Simmons
Dear Neighbor,
I hope this letter finds you well! I have a newsletter for you packed with legislative updates from my past week in Springfield, reflections on recent events, and a recap from yesterday's town hall.
The biggest news I am proud to share is that House Bill 3564, my bill to limit rental junk fees, has passed the Senate and House with a 39-16 and 56-36 vote, respectively. Once signed by the Governor and made law, this legislation will provide greater price transparency on leases and more stability for Illinois’ rental market. Read more about this progressive piece of legislation below.
I also want to take a moment to remember A.J. Barks and Matt Siemer, a married couple who sadly passed away a few months ago. A.J. and Matt were superheroes for our community, and their selfless dedication to others must be remembered and honored. I know I will continue to hold them in my heart as I push for healthcare access for all and eventual Medicare for All.
A.J. was Co-Executive Director of Chicago’s Women’s Health Center, a nonprofit in Uptown that provides inclusive health care to women at little-to-no cost to the patient. Located at 1025 W. Sunnyside Ave Suite 201, A.J. and her team provide vital healthcare access on Chicago’s north side.
Matt Siemer was Executive Director of Mobile Care Chicago, a nonprofit that runs a number of mobile medical units run out of transformed vans and buses. They have a fleet of vans for asthma testing, dental check-ups, vaccinations, and more. All of their services are free of charge, and we have hosted their services before at our 2025 Back to School Bash at Broadway Armory where their asthma van provided free screenings for students.
A memorial service was held for A.J. and Matt last Friday at the Mobile Care Chicago dispatch site on the West side. My team shared a few remarks about our memories of working with Matt and A.J. My team and I are devastated by their loss, and we will keep them in our hearts forever. You can read more about Matt and A.J. story in the Sun-Times linked here. Pictured below is Team Simmons’ first time visiting Chicago Women’s Health Center and Mobile Care Chicago’s asthma van in 2024. I send my condolences to Matt and A.J.’s family, their two dogs, and the two amazing organizations they led.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who joined me at my monthly Town Hall yesterday at Welles Park. We discussed all of the legislation I am trying to advance this session—from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (SB3762) to Ending Credit Score Requirements for Voucher Renters (SB3475/HB5394). Furthermore, constituents in attendance asked about what steps we can take to address inequities in maternal health and how difficult it can be to find housing for folks who have not lived fully independently before. These discussions could lead to legislation in the future! You can read a full update on my legislation with the Town Hall handout linked here!
If you missed the Town Hall, don’t worry - you can view a recording here.
Enjoy the warm weather, and have a great weekend!
With Gratitude,
Mike Simmons
State Senator | 7th District
Legislative Updates
Senator Simmons and Representative Syed Pass Ban on Junk Fees for Illinois Renters
Caption: Senator Simmons holds a press conference to announce the passage of HB3564, which will ban 11 junk fees commonly charged to renters, alongside Max Seeley from Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA).
No more junk fees for renters! House Bill 3564, led by myself and Representative Nabeela Syed, has passed the House and Senate!
If signed into law by Governor Pritzker, HB3564 establishes a $50 cap for rental application fees, bans 11 types of junk fees, caps move-in fees at 20% of rent, and requires move-in fees to be itemized, among more protections for renters. Renting an apartment can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor, and renters deserve more financial freedom and flexibility in the application process and clarity and transparency at lease signing.
House Bill 3564 focuses on countering corporations taking over our housing supply and imposing excessive junk fees. With an exemption for owner-occupied properties with 6 units or less, this legislation will protect mom-and-pop landlords who are competing against corporate landlords that are prioritizing greed over providing quality housing.
HB3564 is the necessary legislation to empower renters in a time of limited housing supply, should it become law. Thank you to the renters and property managers who helped craft this comprehensive legislation! Thank you also to our partners in the legislative process, especially Supportive Housing Providers Association of Illinois (SHPA), Disability Survival Legislative Slate, Illinois NOW, Housing Action Illinois, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, HOPE Fair Housing Center, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, and Champaign-Urbana Tenant Union. Let’s get HB3564 signed into law to bring stability to the rental market for mom-and-pop landlords and renters alike. You can learn more about HB3564 on my Instagram page linked here and here.
Senator Simmons Fights for LGBTQ+ Rights During Spring Session
As we head into the next week of the Spring session, I remain firmly committed to advancing and championing legislation that protects the rights and identities of LGBTQ+ individuals. These are firm priorities, and necessary given the federal government is now pursuing its own restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights through executive orders and proposed legislation. The following are two bills I am carrying:
Protecting LGBTQ+ Individuals from Improper Mental Illness Diagnoses - SB594
SB594 will shield LGBTQ+ Illinoisans from their identity being used as a symptom of mental illness and protect them from improper treatment, and is directly developed by 7th District LGBTQ+ advocacy and provider organizations. With unprecedented threats to the identities of LGBTQ+ folks from the federal level, including involuntary “civil commitment” for those struggling with mental illness, we must take action to put protections in place.
Protecting Minor’ Gender-Affirming Care Personal Information - SB3481
Across the country, trans youth and their families are under attack. 27 states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for young people, with the federal government now pursuing its own restrictions through executive orders and proposed legislation. SB3481 seeks to strengthen the protections established by the Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act by ensuring that providers themselves are explicitly bound to protect minors’ information, closing a critical gap in Illinois’ existing sanctuary framework.
Senator Simmons Notable Sponsored Bills
Expanding Sexual Harassment Definition to Include Online Harassment - SB3020
Sexual abuse in the digital age is occurring in new ways that our state definition has not captured before, such as via deepfakes, nonconsensual digitally-altered sexual images, doxxing, and electronic tracking. Senate Bill 3020 updates Illinois’ legal definition of sexual harassment to include these evolving methods of abuse to reflect modern technology. The bill also improves access to the legal system for individuals seeking a new order of protection or an extension, allowing people to request a remote hearing. As a Co-Sponsor of SB3020, I voted for the bill as it passed the Senate unanimously on April 14th. It now awaits consideration in the House.
Micromobility Safety Framework Unanimously Passes Senate for E-Bikes, Scooters - SB3336
Lately, we have seen a dramatic increase in unregulated electric bicycles, scooters, electric unicycles, and similar micromobility. While I love to see more neighbors trying out new modes of transportation with less carbon emissions, we need to ensure new transport devices are up to code and safe for riders and fellow road users. As a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, I am proud to Co-Sponsor and support SenateBill 3336, which creates a regulatory framework for micromobility vehicles. Many constituents and stakeholders have been asking for safety measures to ensure micromobility devices are safe to use and won’t go over 28 miles per hour in bike lanes. SB3336 passed through the Senate unanimously on April 15th, and it now awaits a vote in the House.
Passenger Rail Planning Act - SB3285
I hear you loud and clear! As of April 21st, the fifth most popular message I have received in 2026 from constituents is in support of the Passenger Rail Planning Act, Senate Bill 3285. This bill would establish planning requirements with targeted routes/frequencies for high-speed and intercity rail by Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The legislation is still being developed, so I will keep you updated with any changes. I am excited to be a Co-Sponsor of SB3285 as it will help encourage more folks to use public transit, get cars off of the road, and invest in the next generation of public transit infrastructure. My north star is high speed rail!
Health and Human Services Appropriations Hearing
Caption: Senator Simmons asks questions to Director Elizabeth Whitehorn and her team at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services during last week’s budget hearings for state health departments.
Last Wednesday, the Senate convened an Appropriations - Health and Human Services hearing, which included subject matter hearings in support of many funding-dependent bills, including SB2814, budget legislation I am carrying that bolsters HIV and AIDS services in Illinois amid federal health care cuts, and help us get to zero new HIV/AIDS diagnoses by 2030. In addition to SB2814, I took the opportunity to bring forth important health care related questions to HFS with Director Whitehorn.
I asked Director Whitehorn what HFS is doing to spread the word and mitigate the impacts of the Federal one big ugly bill (H.R. 1). H.R. 1 has started to impose work requirements on SNAP recipients and is expected to impose the same work requirements on Medicaid recipients starting in 2027. I reiterated the need for HFS to inform the public about changes being made to Medicaid due to H.R. 1. Director Whitehorn discussed the exemptions available for Medicaid work requirements, including frailty exempting folks from being able to work. The department is looking into automating exemptions for folks who have already submitted proof they are disabled and unable to work, so I will continue to press HFS to make this automation a reality to remove another layer of bureaucracy for folks just trying to receive health insurance who are living through the most draconian cuts to Medicaid in history I am committed to working hard to ensure they and all people can access health care. It’s a policy choice and we have to be relentless in making it happen.
I also shared my scrutiny of the state of Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) in Illinois. I want to make sure that people are getting access to specialty care, even if they are on Medicaid, because preventative care is altogether more effective and cheaper for all parties involved rather than denying care to folks and forcing them to go to the emergency room when their health takes a wrong turn. Director Whitehorn shared some promising information about how the department is trying to improve the ratio of care coordinators to Medicaid recipients. I pressed for updates on how MCOs have or have not improved health care outcomes for Black and Latino individuals and households in the decade or so they’ve been contracted to manage care in Illinois. Several other senators also spoke up and asked several equity-focused questions regarding Medicaid and protections for safety net hospitals.
Bill to Expand Jett Hawkins Act to Stop Religious Hair Discrimination in Illinois Schools Passes the Senate
My legislation, Senate Bill 3361, to expand the Jett Hawkins Act to include protections for religious hairstyles in Illinois Schools has passed the Senate with a unanimous vote of 57-0. This bill will ensure students can freely style their hair based on their religious preferences in school, which is particularly important for our Jewish and Muslim scholars in the district.
Thank you to Rabbi Shlomo Soroka and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago for bringing this bill idea to my attention and for their collective help in rallying support for this Jett Hawkins Act expansion. No student should be forced to style their hair in a way that conflicts with the important role hair plays in their religious life. SB3361 now awaits consideration in the House.
Senator Simmons Chief Co-Sponsors the Wetlands Protection Act
I am proud to share that I am a Chief Co-Sponsor and supporter of the Wetlands Protection Act (Senate Bill 2401/House Bill 3596). Thank you to the Illinois Environmental Coalition for working with legislators and me to get this bill safeguarding Illinois wetlands across the finish line.
Senator Simmons in the News
- Simmons, Syed outline plan to ban junk fees for Illinois renters, Illinois Senate Democrats
- IL House Democrats pass rental junk fee ban, send bill to Pritzker's desk, WAND News
- IL Senate passes bill prohibiting private schools from banning religious hairstyles, WAND News
- Simmons Passes Expansion to Jett Hawkins Act Protecting Religious Hairstyles Through the Senate, Illinois Senate Democrats
- 49th Ward Hosts First Town Hall of Year as Resource Fair, Loyola Phoenix
- Chicago Trans Leaders on the Need for Visibility, Legal Protections, WTTW PBS
- Senator Simmons and AIDS Foundation Chicago Urge Investments in HIV Care and Prevention, Illinois Senate Democrats
- In the Spotlight - Care at Risk, Politico
- Bill limiting the use of ‘junk fees’ in leases headed to governor’s desk, The Daily Line
Trending Topics
Every week my office receives hundreds of phone calls, emails, and letters from constituents communicating what issues matter most to them, their ideas, and legislative requests. In this new section, Trending Topics, I will share the trending correspondence issues our office has received from 7th District constituents since the previous newsletter. I think it is important for everyone to know what issues are important to one another, as well as my responses!
- 53 supporting the BUILD Plan (Package of Housing Bills Supported by the Governor)
- 33 supporting the POWER Act (Proposed Data Center Regulations, SB4016/HB5513)
- 29 supporting Rep. Cassidy’s HB4834/SB3323 to Remove Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care Medications from the Federal Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP)
Advocates, Constituents, and Friends in Springfield!
I love being back in action in Springfield! Thank you to everyone who took time and effort this past week to visit and advocate for the issues near and dear to you!
Caption: Senator Simmons meets with representatives (two images above) from The National Association of Social Workers - Illinois as they advocate for SB2771, which will put 988 crisis hotline resources in public institutions.
Caption: Senator Simmons meets with 7th District organization, Centro Romero, to support their policy platform of social justice, community rights, and immigrant advocacy.
Caption: Senator Simmons meets with The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago as they participate in Illinois Muslim Action Day, along with advocating for the passage of SB3361.
Caption: Senator Simmons meets with Behavioral Health Awareness Day advocates outside his Springfield Senate office. Senator Simmons serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee.
Caption: Senator Simmons chats with advocates from The People’s Lobby.
Caption: Senator Simmons takes a moment to meet with advocates with Abundant Housing Illinois before heading back to the Senate floor.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter! If you ever want to reach out to our office, please call us at 773-769-1717, and we will respond promptly. We can also be reached at
