On Monday, April 9, the Illinois House Agriculture and Conservation Committee will hear testimony on a bill to require state animal shelters and animal control facilities to report certain information regarding the animals entering and leaving the facilities.
House Bill 5477, initiated by the Illinois Federation of Dog Clubs and Owners (IFDCO), is an important bill that will provide essential data on exactly where and why animals are coming into Illinois shelters, and what happens to them once they are there. This includes determining how many animals are coming from outside the state and country.
Legislation that restricts animal owners and breeders is commonly proposed due to misplaced concerns about shelter population or animal health issues. House Bill 5477 will provide a full and accurate picture of exactly why animals are entering shelters, where they are coming from, and their ultimate outcome. This will provide factual data and greater clarity about issues so that real problems can be addressed and the most appropriate policies to benefit animals can be put in place.
What You Can Do:
Illinois residents are encouraged to do the following before the hearing on Monday, April 9, and express your support for House Bill 5477.
- File an online witness slip to be sent to the full committee. This must be complete by 12:45 pm on Monday, April 9. To do this, visit http://my.ilga.gov and click register to create an account. Once you are registered, select “House”, then the Agriculture and Conservation Committee. Click the gavel icon, then “view legislation” and select House Bill 5477. When creating a witness slip, you may type “self” in the representation box and then click “proponent” and “record of appearance only.”
These steps will show the committee the number of people who support this measure, even if you are not physically present at the hearing.
- Contact the members of the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee. The contact information is as follows:
Jerry Costello, II, Chairman
(217) 782-1018
staterepcostello@gmail.comRep. Sue Scherer, Vice Chairperson
(217) 524-0353
staterepsue@gmail.comRep. Charles Meier
(217) 782-6401
repcmeier@gmail.comRep. Daniel Burke
(217) 782-1117Rep. Avery Bourne
(217) 782-8071
bourne@ilhousegop.orgRep. Barbara Flynn Currie
(217) 782-8121Rep. Natalie Phelps Finnie
(217) 782-5131
repphelpsfinnie@gmail.comRep. Randy Frese
(217) 782-8096
repfrese@adams.netRep. Brad Halbrook
(217) 782-8398
Halbrook@ilhousegop.orgRep. Michael Halpin
(217) 782-5970
RepHalpin@gmail.comRep. Sonya Harper
(217) 782-5971
repsonyaharper@gmail.comRep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez
(217) 782-0044
Sjimenez@ilhousegop.orgRep. Lou Lang
(217) 782-1252
langli@ilga.govRep. Dave Severin
(217) 782-1051Rep. Brian Stewart
(217) 782-8186
Stewart@ilhousegop.orgRep. Daniel Swanson
(217) 782-8032
swanson@ilhousegop.orgRep. Litesa Wallace
(217) 782-3167
Litesa@StateRepWallace.com
AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will continue to closely monitor this bill and provide updates. For more information, contact the Illinois Federation of Dog Clubs and Owners at schipnut58@yahoo.com or AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.