Bill to ban two food additives passes Illinois Senate
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A bill to ban two additives in food products has passed the Illinois Senate.
The bill bans potassium bromate and propylparaben, chemicals often found in the flour of baked goods. Businesses in the state would not be allowed to distribute food products with the additives.
The Senate sponsor, Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago), said these food additives are harmful.
'This legislation emphasizes the importance of consumer protection across our state,' Preston said. 'We must ensure that we prioritize keeping children and families safe from toxic chemicals and making sure they are informed and have access to safer alternative options.'
Measure removing cannabis odor as probable cause for warrantless vehicle search passes Senate
Preston also added that children face increased risk from chemicals as their bodies grow and their diets consist of many foods with these chemicals.
'We have taken a pivotal step forward to protect all Illinoisans from having a dangerous and poisonous food supply,' Preston said. 'Together, we can set a national standard for safer food, and ensure that every family in Illinois can trust that their food is safe.'
This comes after the FDA banned the use of Red Dye 3 in food, beverages and medications earlier this year.
The bill passed the Senate Thursday and now heads to the Illinois House of Representatives. If signed into law the ban would go into effect at the start of 2028.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What the public lands fight means for Maine
Maine is about as far away as you can get from the bulk of America's federal public lands, the vast majority of which are concentrated in a dozen states west of the Mississippi River — a result of the nation's history of westward expansion. Whereas states like Utah, Nevada and Alaska are each between 60 and 80 percent federal land, just 1.5 percent of Maine is federally managed. But Mainers have as much of a stake in the current political fight over the future of federal resources as anyone else. Public lands, waters and wildlife are part of our birthright as American citizens, a public domain that we all collectively own, regardless of our proximity. Over the last five months, the Trump administration has worked to slash funding for federal land management agencies and conservation programs; open up more public lands to fossil fuel drilling, mining and other extractive development; and lay off or force out thousands of park rangers and other civil servants. The words 'protect' and 'conserve' have been largely absent from the administration's vocabulary, as it prioritizes dismantling environmental safeguards in its quest for so-called 'energy dominance.' Meanwhile, Congress is considering federal land sales to help offset Trump's tax and spending cuts — a contentious proposal that House lawmakers ultimately yanked from that chamber's version of Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful' budget package, but that Senate Republicans resurrected this week. During a recent congressional hearing to outline the Trump administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum invoked Maine and other East Coast states to argue that Western states with large amounts of federal land are at an economic disadvantage. 'We've got states in the East, including the 13 states that were part of the original colonies, none of them have more than 2 percent of federal land,' he said. 'I don't think any of them would stand up and say, 'We need more federal ownership in our states.'' Burgum's statement is both inaccurate — nine of the original 13 states have more than 2 percent federal land, with New Hampshire on top at 14 percent — and casts aside the history of the nation's East-to-West settlement. David Feinman, vice president of government affairs at the Conservation Lands Foundation, said it also seemed designed to pit regions of the country against each other. 'Americans across the political spectrum in every state support public land protections, whether it's Maine or Utah or anywhere else,' Feinman said. 'Regardless of the secretary's narratives, these lands do belong to everybody.' Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Feinman and others The Maine Monitor spoke to encouraged Mainers to pay close attention to the battle taking place in Washington, as it will likely impact everything from visits to national parks to our ability to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. 'It does impact all of us,' Pingree said. 'If there's one thing that the changing climate has taught us it's that we're all in this together, that overheating in one part of the country impacts another part of the country, that our weather is all impacted, that we need land to sequester carbon. There's just a whole variety of reasons that we need undeveloped lands in this country wherever it may be.' Pingree worries what the current turmoil inside the National Park Service and other federal agencies will mean not only for federally managed sites in Maine, including Acadia National Park and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, but parks, monuments and wildlife refuges around the country. Since Trump took office, NPS has lost 13 percent of its workforce, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, and the administration's budget proposal calls for slashing more than $1 billion from NPS next year, approximately one-third of its entire operating budget. Current staffing shortages have already created numerous operational issues and public safety concerns at America's national parks. 'It's a real crime what they've done to these precious jewels,' Pingree said. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) echoed that sentiment during a budget hearing on Tuesday, telling Burgum 'it's hard for me to understand how gutting 'America's best idea' isn't America's worst idea.' Trump's agenda also threatens to stymie future conservation, outdoor recreation and forest protection efforts here at home. Among other things, Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, froze $68 million in funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program, which focuses on protecting private forest lands through conservation easements and land acquisitions. The program is one of several funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF, which uses offshore oil and gas drilling royalties to buy land and establish and protect parks, trails, wildlife refuges, forests and important wildlife habitat. In Maine, the FLP has been key to safeguarding more than 700,000 acres of forested land, according to the LWCF Coalition. As for LWCF as a whole, Trump's 2026 budget request proposes diverting $387 million from the fund to pay for deferred maintenance at the National Park Service and other federal land management agencies — a move that Amy Lindholm, director of federal affairs at the Appalachian Mountain Club and a national coordinator at the LWCF Coalition, said would 'rob Peter to pay Paul.' Over the last five decades, Maine has received more than $220 million in LWCF funding, which has helped boost protection for places like Acadia and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail as well as supported hundreds of conservation projects via state grants. 'It's really important that we have these tools fully funded, because there's always going to be developers with deep pockets who want to acquire pieces of land,' Lindholm said. 'We just have to balance that out a little bit with access for the local community and for growing and diversifying rural economies.' Andy Cutko, director of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, said cuts to federal conservation funding could impede progress toward Maine's goal of conserving 30 percent of its land by 2030, part of Maine's four-year climate plan. 'Programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy protect forests, strengthen the forest products sector, support rural communities, and expand outdoor recreation,' Cutko said in an email. 'They are vital tools for protecting the natural resources that are the essence of Maine.' In the absence of more public land — just 7 percent of Maine is owned by federal, state and local governments — a network of land trusts has become a model for conservation and for meeting the growing demand for outdoor access in the Pine Tree State. More than 80 land trusts have collectively safeguarded nearly three million acres, almost 15 percent of all land in the state, primarily through conservation easements on private land, according to a recent report from the Maine Land Trust Network. 'Apart from what's happening out West, the Maine model works,' said Jeff Romano, public policy director at Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which runs the Maine Land Trust Network. 'Hopefully we can push back some of these cuts to agencies and conservation programs because we do rely on that collaboration with those entities to do some good work here.' At the end of the day, public demand for open space and protecting nature isn't going anywhere, Lindholm said. 'Everybody loves the outdoors,' she said. 'It's the thing that brings people together across the political spectrum.'
Boston Globe
32 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Moving pieces mean ‘a ton going on' at Cannabis Commission
'Obviously, a ton going on which we're all aware of,' Ahern said Thursday. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The $19.88 million that Gov. Maura Healey, the House and the Senate have all backed for the CCC in the fiscal 2026 budget 'does not meet the needs of the organization,' Ahern As it prepares for a thinner-than-desired budget next year, Ahern said the CCC is 'in a hiring freeze based on our FY 26 budget projection' and is 'evaluating right now vacancies and the appropriateness of having those posted within the context of that hiring freeze.' Advertisement 'If that were to be impacted by a potential supplemental budget availability ... that will change kind of the outlook. And I would just say as well, for those who are concerned at all about that hiring freeze, just to note publicly as well, that, you know, obviously a hiring freeze can be lifted,' he said. The executive director said the CCC will now look to convince lawmakers to add a little more than $3 million to the agency's budget for public awareness efforts, IT infrastructure improvements, and to continue to engage consultants around testing issues. The CCC 'So that would get us to a little bit more of a normal state prior to new work created through this [House-approved] bill,' Ahern said. 'And then, obviously, we'll be working with the Legislature to calculate the cost of implementing some of the changes contemplated in this bill as it moves forward with the Senate.' The bill that the The House bill was sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday and the News Service asked committee chair Sen. Michael Rodrigues on Thursday about interest in the topic among senators. Advertisement 'We're always interested to see what they do and we'll be taking a look at it,' he said, adding, 'Everything has some urgency about it, so we want to do everything in as timely a manner as possible.' Rodrigues emphasized that he's focused on other matters right now, mainly the annual state budget and surtax spending bills that are both in conference committee and a $532 million budget bill that the Senate plans to take up next week. 'My life's all about budgets right now,' Rodrigues said. The CCC approved a Ahern told commissioners Thursday that the agency is 'probably in a wait and see on where the Senate might be on that as they begin to take their steps forward.' 'It does appear, as we look at the legislative process, the Senate may take a little bit more time before we probably get to a conference scenario on where the overall package looks,' he said. In the meantime, the CCC plans to meet again next week to pick up its work on social consumption regulations. The 2016 legalization ballot law contemplated establishments where adults could use legal cannabis in a social setting and the latest proposal was Advertisement Beyond social consumption and potentially rules to deal with a long-discussed issue with employee badging, Ahern said the CCC may go quiet on the regulatory front as things shake out on Beacon Hill. 'I think ultimately we're just going to have to continue to work with our partners in the Legislature on the timeline of when the Senate might be coming back with with their approach, and then also keeping an eye on when this could actually get through conference, because, from a regulatory perspective of the commissioners, that's going to impact kind of the schedule for the whole year,' the executive director said. Michael P. Norton contributed reporting.
Boston Globe
32 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
R.I. Senate president had ‘perfect opportunity' to advance gun bill but didn't, senators say
Sending the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee 'all but guarantees the bill's demise, as similar legislation has repeatedly been held for further study for years in the Judiciary Committee without a vote,' said Lauria, a Barrington Democrat. Advertisement " This practice denies the full Senate the opportunity to publicly debate and vote on one of the most consequential public safety issues of our time," she said. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up But Senate Minority Whip Gordon E. Rogers, a Foster Republican, objected, saying Lauria made her motion at the wrong point in the Senate calendar. And Lawson, an East Providence Democrat and The drama mounted when former Senate Majority Leader Ryan W. Pearson, a Cumberland Democrat who Pearson cited a section of Advertisement The Pearson told Lawson, " Madam President, your ruling that Senator Lauria's motion was out of order is, in fact, incorrect. I appeal the ruling.' The Senate then Among those voting against Lawson's ruling were the chairs of four Senate committees — Senator Mark P. McKenney, a Warwick Democrat who chairs the Rules Committee; Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma, the Middletown Democrat who has introduced Lauria's move came as a surprise to many senators. On Friday, Lauria said she made the motion because she thinks the Finance Committee is the appropriate venue, given that Also, Lauria said 24 of the Senate's 37 current members are cosponsors of the legislation. 'The will of the chamber is clear,' she said. 'I felt it needs to come to the floor for a full debate and vote.' She disagreed with Rogers' contention that she tried to send the bill to the Finance Committee at the wrong point in the Senate calendar. 'I think I gave the chamber a golden opportunity to get this bill across the finish line,' Lauria said. Advertisement She said she advocated for gun legislation for eight years with Moms Demand Action and saw the impact of gun violence as a trauma nurse. 'I am very, very passionate about this issue,' she said. But Lauria said she expects the bill to die if it remains in the Judiciary Committee. On Friday, Senate spokesman Greg Pare said, 'The Senate president is engaged in discussions with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is working to win passage of that bill. That is the process we have.' Pare noted the legislation was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee before Lawson became Senate president, and the committee heard hours of testimony on the bill. Pearson has claimed that during the Senate leadership battle in April, new Majority Leader Related : On Friday, Pearson said, 'This was a perfect opportunity to prove me wrong. This was Val's perfect opportunity, if she supports the bill, to get it to the floor.' Pearson said Lauria was within her rights, under Senate rules, to try to send the bill to the Finance Committee. 'It was clear the president didn't even understand the rules,' he said. Pearson said some senators based their votes on their understanding of the rules, but he said others were 'making a political calculation against the assault weapons ban or a show of loyalty to Val.' Advertisement Senator Alana M. DiMario, a Narragansett Democrat, said, 'I take the Senate president at her word that she is committed to getting this bill across the finish line, and I will support her in whatever way she chooses to get that done.' Melissa Carden, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, issued statement thanking Lauria for her attempt to get the legislation to the Senate floor. 'While we were disappointed with the outcome, there is still a path to move this bill to the Senate floor.' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
