Chicago Tribune (CT) - MONDAY July 4, 1988 Edition: SPORTS FINAL Section: CHICAGOLAND Page: 9 Word Count: 502
Jean Davidson

The bill is one of many measures passed by the General Assembly last year that became law on July 1. Among the others are laws that increase prison terms for convicted drug dealers and sex offenders and require the state to provide services to reunite troubled families safely.

"If someone knows they could transmit AIDS and they are supplying blood, they are trying to commit a crime," said Thomas Schafer, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. "Certainly, there are safeguards in the blood supply system, but there is still a slight possibility that this could slip through."

Unlike controversial legislation intended to prevent or detect acquired immune deficiency syndrome or the HIV virus, the blood supply bill drew overwhelming support in the General Assembly last year.

Legislation intended to keep families together also drew strong support, but no funding, last year.

Implementation of the law was delayed until Gov. James Thompson's budget for 1989 took effect July 1, allocating $3 million to pay for counseling and other services as an alternative to placing children in foster care.

In a class-action suit filed last week, the American Civil Liberties Union charged the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with abusing children by removing them from their homes too readily and bouncing them between foster placements.

"I'm so happy about the funding for that program," Gordon Johnson, DCFS director, said last week. "It was supposed to take effect last year, but there was no money."

Drug dealers and sex offenders will face tougher penalties under other laws now in effect.

People who commit sex offenses during the course of another felony, such as robbery or home invasion, must serve consecutive rather than concurrent sentences. The law, backed by Cook County State's Atty. Richard Daley, means that sex offenders will pay an extra penalty for those offenses.

Big-time drug dealers will pay a higher price under a law that allows sentences of up to 60 years for people convicted of selling more than 400 grams of cocaine, heroin, morphine or LSD. Individuals convicted of selling 100 grams to 400 grams will face a mandatory penalty of 9 years to 40 years. Previous sentencing laws did not differentiate between larger and smaller drug dealers.

Other laws effective July 1 include:

- The Smoke Detector Act, which requires installation of the life-saving devices in all new and substantially remodeled homes and apartments. In the case of apartments, landlords must provide smoke detectors, but tenants are responsible for maintenance.

- An amendment to the Nursing Home Reform Act that requires nursing home workers to take an additional 12-hour course on the care and treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

- A sentencing measure that requires prison terms of at least four years for teachers who have consenting sex with minors in their charge.

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