Latest news with #YangRohr
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Illinois could soon ban diet and muscle supplements for teens
The Brief A new bill would prevent minors from buying diet or muscle-building supplements. Doctors and advocates say the move could help curb eating disorders among teens. The legislation has passed one committee and is awaiting further review. CHICAGO - There are a lot of things you can't buy here in Illinois until you're 18, like spray paint or fireworks, and that list is about to get a little bit longer. In a Fox 32 special report, Paris Schutz finds out what is next in line. What we know House Bill 3027, introduced by State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, would block anyone under 18 from buying diet pills or muscle-building supplements without a doctor's note or a parent with them. "So this bill basically says if you are under 18, you cannot buy these diet pills. You cannot buy these muscle supplements unless you have a doctor's note or may be a parent with you," said Yang Rohr. If you read the label, Yang Rohr points out that many of these products already say for "18 and over." Right now, there aren't any rules or regulations for retailers to make sure the consumer buying these products is at least 18. "This type of legislation has passed other states as well. It passed in New York pretty recently. There is legislation in states like California," Yang Rohr said. The bill has passed the public health committee and has now been referred to the rules committee. Why you should care "I have cared for countless youth who have misused weight-loss supplements and then developed an eating disorder that became so significant that they had to be hospitalized," said Dr. Jason Nagata. Nagata is a pediatrician who specializes in adolescent eating disorders at the University of California, San Francisco, and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "I've seen 10-year-old patients who are able to get these products, you know, misuse them, even overdose on them without their parents knowing. And then some of them have gone on to develop an eating disorder," Nagata said. "We actually know, unfortunately, that two-thirds of teenage girls are actively trying to lose weight, and 11% of them have reported using some sort of weight loss supplement," he added. Nagata says national surveys show 66% of teenage girls across the U.S. are actively trying to lose weight. "Which is, I think, an astounding percent. Like most teenage girls today, if you ask them, are trying to lose weight now. Not all of them will be using diet pills to do that, but it's actually quite common," Nagata said. Diet pills aren't the only part of the problem. The backstory "These family members came in because their son had basically tried these muscle-building supplements and had a really adverse health effect," Yang Rohr said. That's what led her to write House Bill 3027. It was introduced earlier this year. What they're saying "I think that the goal behind this is really the prevention of eating disorders. And so a lot of advocates for young people with eating disorders or they're concerned parents, and other providers have been really pushing for this at individual states," Nagata said. Nagata has also consulted with several other states who are working on passing similar legislation. Local perspective In some cases, it's young people themselves who are leading the charge for this new law. Caleb Song, 18, is a senior at Adali Stevenson High School. "We have a policy brief we typically send out so legislators have something to work off of," Song said. "From there we work with them to create something that would work in their respective state." He's part of a national youth advocacy group called "Out of Kids Hands," which is also part of an eating disorder prevention program based out of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Song and other teens across the country are trying to drum up support for bills like Yang Rohr's by contacting their state lawmakers and other organizations. While every generation has struggled with pressure to look good, Song says it's a little harder now because of social media. "I definitely think because of the fact algorithms now exist to feed people this information it's definitely been more exacerbated," Song said. Big picture view The FDA does not regulate diet pills or supplements. So it's up to the states to implement any restrictions on who can or can't buy these products. What's next Yang Rohr's bill has passed the public health committee and has now been referred to the rules committee. The Source For this story, the Fox 32 Chicago Special Projects team interviewed a nationally recognized pediatrician who specializes in eating disorders and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the state law maker writing the new legislation and a Chicago area student who is getting involved in trying to see it passed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers take steps to pass Alyssa's Law to increase safety during school shootings
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — An estimated 80 to 90 percent of the world's school shootings happen in the United States, and Illinois faces the fourth most out of all the states, ranked only behind California, Texas and Florida. The K-12 School Shooting Database, which compiles data every time a firearm is discharged on school grounds, found that Illinois has had 152 shooting incidents since 1966. State lawmakers are working to change that by taking a measure to increase safety in schools during a school shooting. Rep. Janet Yang Rohr introduced a bill, also known as Alyssa's Law. 'I think it was the right thing to pass the torch': Durbin talks about retirement from Congress This would require all public schools, including charter schools, to have a mobile panic alert system. This is a silent alarm that would allow teachers to contact and connect in real time with emergency services within seconds. Rep. Yang Rohr, who is a mother of three, said nowadays families can't stop thinking about the unimaginable. 'The reality of the day for parents is that even as we send our children to school every single day, there are moments when we have to confront the reality and think the unthinkable,' Yang Rohr said. 'We do not get a second chance when it comes to saving lives, and passing Alyssa's Law is one of the concrete steps that we can take to turn that.' The bill is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old girl who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Her mother, Lori, shared her story in a news conference and said her daughter is no longer here, but passing the law in the state will save many more lives. 'In the Apalachee shooting, the panic button was used. The teacher saw the shooter and started pressing their panic button and was able to get on the scene to help the people that were shot,' Lori said. 'All those students lived because we were able to get help faster. Time equals life, and we know the faster we can get help on the scene, the more lives we will help to save.' Alyssa was shot while in her English classroom. She survived the first shot, and then while trying to escape before help arrived, the shooter killed her two other friends and then killed Alyssa. An autopsy confirmed she was shot eight times. Three staff members and 13 other students also lost their lives in the school shooting. Illinois advocates concerned about proposed cuts to care hours for developmentally disabled Now, Lori and her husband have turned their pain into action by starting a non-profit that funds school safety projects. They are going around the state to urge lawmakers to implement Alyssa's Law in their schools. Currently, seven states have adopted Alyssa's Law. Two states—Washington and Georgia— also have a bill on their governors' desks waiting to be signed. Under the bill, the State Board of Education will be in charge of the implementation and purchases of the system that all school districts can use. The bill has been re-referred to the Rules Committee. If the bill passes, it will take effect in January 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
27-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Illinois Right to Play Act would allow on student-athletes to play on more than one team
Student-athletes juggle a lot between homework, practice, games, and other responsibilities. So who should decide how student-athletes spend their free time? That question is getting a lot of play thanks to a bill pending in the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield. Xamiya Walton used to shoot hoops at Butler College Prep, at 821 E. 103rd St. in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood, where she estimated she spent hundreds of hours on the court. She also used to play basketball outside of school for a club team. Walton was not allowed to compete for both teams at the same time — or else she would have been suspended from the high school team. "I think that would be devastating for me as an individual," Walton said. "I would hate to put my teammates in that position." Illinois state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville) is sympathetic. She has heard from everyone from upset dance moms to frustrated soccer dads. "A lot of my constituents, they were getting caught up in that rule," Yang Rohr said. Yang Rohr's Right to Play Act (House Bill 3037) would allow kids to compete for whomever they want, whenever they want. It would toss out the old policy, and its penalties that come from the Illinois High School Association — or IHSA. "They're making these decisions that say whether a student can do this or that in their free time," Yang Rohr said. "Like it doesn't make a lot of sense." Currently, a teen basketball player can't be on two courts at once — but an actor can be in the high school musical and community theatre with no problem. Supporters of the rule, as is, say the difference comes down to risk of injury. "Stress fractures, in particular, is an overuse injury," said Teri Rodgers, who spent 27 years as head girls' basketball coach for New Trier Township High School in the north suburbs. Rodgers worries changing the current policy will affect teen stress and anxiety levels. "Yes, it would give kids control," she said. "At the same time, you know, they are also answering to two different coaches, and I think that would be really, really difficult for the majority of kids." The IHSA also warned about coach retention issues in a recent letter to schools opposing the Right to Play Act. Yang Rohr noted that the push for the changes the act would bring about are far from new. "In 1985, they tried to pass this exact same bill," she said. As the decades-old debate rages on, Walton is thinking of younger players — who she hopes will get more freedom than they had. "Not being able to participate in those events in the long run can definitely hurt an athlete," she said. For Walton's own part, she turned out all right. She now plays Division I basketball for Northwestern University.
