New in IL in 2006

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Jan 3, 2006 11:55AM

A bunch of new laws have taken effect as of January 1. Lots of them are much needed - requirements for trigger-locks on guns, higher fines for meth makers, people who commit domestic battery in the presence of a child must pay the kid's counseling bills, job and housing discrimination against gays is finally illegal.

Some laws we were suprised weren't already in effect - drug stores didn't have to disclose medicine costs before if you called and asked them? Fuzz busters weren't illegal? You couldn't bring your kid into the voting booth? Companies didn't have to notify consumers if their personal information was viewed by potential identity theives?

Other laws seem silly.. and we're wondering why we really even spent the time to make them. Like, did we really need to take the time designate the Eastern Tiger Salamander as the official state amphibian or the Painted Turtle as the official state reptile?