17 new Illinois laws for 2017

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly may not have approved a full year’s budget in 2016, but they did manage to agree on nearly 200 laws that go into effect when the new year begins.

Here’s a look at 17 new Illinois laws for 2017:

1. Battling opioid and heroin addiction

Following up on landmark legislation from 2015, lawmakers passed two measures aimed addressing the state’s opioid and heroin addiction crisis. One allows drug court participants to use medication-based addiction treatments. The other requires licensed substance abuse programs to provide educational information on medication-based treatments and the use of anti-overdose drugs.

2. Declaring a state artifact

Illinois has a state animal (white-tailed deer), state bird (cardinal) and even a state pie (pumpkin), but it hasn’t had an official state artifact until now. Welcome the pirogue, a type of wooden canoe made from a hollowed-out tree.

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