By Alicia Obando
Dog Advisory Work Group (D.A.W.G.)
City:
City of Chicago Dog Day Care Licensing Act
The ordinance was introduced at City Council on April 9, and was sent to the License and Consumer Protection Committee, which Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) chairs. Because they know this issue will be contentious, they want to schedule a special committee meeting to discuss it. There are many key people that want to have testify, so scheduling this meeting to accommodate all those people will be challenging. There is no date set yet.
State:
HB 1089—Support
This bill passed the legislature on May 9 and is on its way to the Governor. This bill allows for police officers to go after the assets (real property) of dog fighters and cock fighters.
This humane legislation was sponsored by Representatives Kevin Joyce, John Millner, Paul Froelich, Tom Holbrook, Patricia Bailey, William Delgado, Kenneth Dunkin, Sara Feigenholtz, Robin Kelly, Kevin McCarthy, James Brosnahan, Frank Aguilar, Larry McKeon, Jack Franks, Joseph Lyons, Jack McGuire and Bill Black. Senator James DeLeo, Kirk Dillard, Don Harmon and Edward Mahoney sponsored this bill in the Senate.
HB 184—Support
Thanks to hard work of Senator Don Harmon, this bill, regarding vicious and dangerous dogs, has passed the Senate. It now goes back to the House for concurrence. Representative Skip Saviano and Senator Harmon worked extremely hard to get this bill passed.
HB 3395—Oppose
HB 3395 expands the current law dealing with rat extermination to "pest" extermination. This bill defines pest as undesirable arthropods, wood infesting organisms, rats, mice, birds, and any other obnoxious or undesirable animals.
The bill's definition of "pest" is simply too broad. Dogs and cats could be considered pests under this bill. Livestock, poultry, and even people could be considered obnoxious or undesirable animals under this bill. Tell your Senator to oppose this bill.
SB 1527—Support ONLY as amended to protect dogs & cats!
The House Agriculture Committee amended SB 1527 to make sure that dogs and cats are under the sole jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Agriculture and are not considered "wildlife" by some unscrupulous trappers or hunters. The trappers and hunters are working hard to convince legislators to strip this humane amendment from the bill. Fax or email your state representative and senator asking them to keep the Committee's amendment on SB 1527.
SB 387— Support
Animal abuse is a serious crime. It involves harming another living creature. Court supervision is simply an inappropriate sentence for these offenses. Senator Bill Haine introduced SB 387 so judges cannot order court supervision for animal abusers. This bill will also enable law enforcement officers to track offenders who have a history of animal abuse. Studies have shown that violence toward animals is linked with violence toward humans. A 1988 survey of sexual homicide perpetrators revealed that 46% of the offenders had abused animals as adolescents. Another study showed that animals were abused in 88% of the families in which children were abused. Law enforcement needs to track animal abusers so they know an offender's history and can stop the perpetrator from committing more heinous crimes.
HB 130—Support
Under HB 130, pet owners would be allowed to establish trusts to provide for the future care of their pets. Such a trust would terminate only upon the death of a pet, or, in the event an owner creates the trust on behalf of more than one pet, upon the death of the last surviving pet. The trust would be enforced by an individual appointed in the terms of the trust or by a court. Laws validating trusts for pets are particularly critical where owners cannot count on surviving family members to absorb the responsibilities and costs associated with caring for the surviving pets. In addition, pet trust laws prevent the delays in the probate process that otherwise occur where pet owners attempt to provide for their pets in their wills, and courts in the absence of such laws must expend additional effort to determine the pet owners' wishes and the feasibility of implementing them.
As the number of pet owners in Illinois and in the nation continues to increase, the issue of how to provide for their pets' surviving care will arise with even greater frequency. Enactment of this legislation will safeguard the welfare of pets, as well as afford pet owners the peace of mind that arises from the knowledge that their pets will always receive proper care.
For more information, contact D.A.W.G. at (312) 409-2169 or visit DAWGsite.org.
Contact the governor:
Three bills currently on Governor Rod Blagojevich's desk need your support by letting the governor know he should sign them: HB 1089 (forfeiture of real property for animal fighting), HB 184 (vicious-dangerous dog penalties), and SB 387 (no court supervision for animal abusers). Write to him at governor@state.il.us or to the Office of the Governor, 207 State House, Springfield, IL 62706; (217) 782-0244.
ASPCA's Ledy VanKavage routinely sends out alerts about pending legislation; you can check out the ASPCA Advocacy Center at www.aspca.org. Also, if you know the bill number, go to www.legis.state.il.us and check out its status or read more about it.
IL pet-friendly vehicle plate:
According to an article in the Belleville News Democrat, only 604 Pet Friendly Plates have sold to date. There is a bill pending in the legislature that would discontinue any plate that has not sold more than 850 plates. That bill will not be acted on until next spring. Note that the money generated from the sales (assuming enough are sold) will go to funding grants for spaying and neutering for Illinois non-profit organizations (501(c)(3)s).Having these plates sends a message that vehicle owners are willing to advertise the need for spaying and neutering and that support for the legislation that brought us these plates goes beyond letters, faxes and emails. See Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's web page on the plate at www.sos.state.il.us/departments/vehicles/petfriendly.html.
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