Chicago Tribune - July 22, 2001
Christi Parsons and Ray Long, Tribune staff reporters

The measures were among dozens of pieces of legislation signed into law Friday by Ryan.

Under the prenatal testing law, many insurers will be required to cover the costs of prenatal HIV tests if requested by a pregnant woman.

If a woman tests positive for HIV during her pregnancy and is treated with a combination of drugs, there is only a 5 percent chance that her child will be born with the virus, said state Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora), Senate sponsor of the bill.

"If you don't test and treat, there is a very good chance the child will be born HIV-positive," Lauzen said. "This test can save babies' lives."

A similar measure failed to pass the General Assembly a few years ago because it would have required all pregnant women to submit to the test. However, under the law signed Friday, women can decline to take the test.

"This presents an opportunity for a woman who is pregnant to voluntarily choose this test," said state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who shepherded the measure through the House.

"It can diminish the chances that the child she is going to give birth to will be HIV-positive."

The grade-crossing measure authorizes installation of a "cop-in-the-box" at a Belmont Avenue railroad crossing in Downers Grove that would photograph the license plates of cars whose drivers maneuver around downed gates. Violators would then be issued a $500 traffic ticket.

The system is meant to improve safety in the village, which has seen about a dozen deaths at railroad crossings in recent years. It follows similar programs in Wood Dale and Naperville.

"This is one more tool that the Downers Grove Police Department requested to try to end mindless deaths of people who try to beat oncoming trains," said Sen. Kirk Dillard, the Hinsdale Republican who sponsored the law.

"It's not only the person struck by the train who is put in harm's way, but nearby pedestrians, the engineer, passengers on the train. The delay in terms of thousands of persons waiting on other trains to get to their place of employment is intolerable."

"Thousands of persons are late to work ... because some idiot goes around a downed crossing," Dillard said.

Under another new law signed by Ryan, Cook County government officials will be authorized to garnish wages of their employees in order to pay parking tickets and other debts the workers owe to other units of local government.

The measure also applies to the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Housing Authority.

Ryan also signed a bill granting state officials the authority to investigate illegal use of the title "interior designer."
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