VILLA PARK – Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) disagrees with the description Illinois Review made of her proposed HB 4640, which would set up an emergency data collection system of Illinoisans' health care records.
And in response to the claims Rep. Conroy makes in her letter, Illinois Review condemns anyone ever threatening the lives of public officials or their staffs – or anyone else. We cherish every life.
As of this afternoon, over 13,000 witness slips in opposition to her proposal have been filed against Rep. Conroy's HB 4640.
Her letter as received by Illinois Review Wednesday afternoon:
Rep. Conroy's letter:
Dear Illinois Review (Ms. Eaton):
I am writing to let you know that your flagrantly false post about HB4640 has resulted in dozens of death threats aimed at my staff and me. It would have taken no more than 5 minutes to verify what the bill did and where it was coming from, but instead you chose to publish false information, I assume with the intention of enraging people in the hopes they would further spread your misinformation.
Your analysis of the HB4640 is foolish at best and maliciously false at worst. It does none of the things you claim. It allows local health departments the ability to employ local health solutions to share data. It does not give any local body the authority to violate someone’s privacy rights and certainly does not allow for anyone to be detained.
In the future, I urge you to double check your information and avoid purposefully encouraging harm against public officials. I am particularly sensitive to this given your actions impact public employees who are working incredibly hard around the clock their very best to provide services to the residents of DuPage during a pandemic.
Do better. Be better.
Sincerely,
Deb Conroy
State Representative 46th District
In response from the bill synopsis itself to describe what the measure would do:
from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22 410 ILCS 535/24Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act.Provides that theDepartment of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and theDepartment of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a localhealth department in Illinois, make any and all public health data relatedto residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available tothat local health department for the purposes of preventing or controllingdisease, injury, or disability. Provides that the Department of PublicHealth, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Childrenand Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act.Contains other provisions. Amends the Department of Public Health Act.Provides that emergency access to medical or health information, records,or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided thatthe local health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic healthrecords. Provides that a person, facility, institution, or agencyproviding information under the provisions may withhold a patient's mentalor behavioral health history. Amends the Vital Records Act. Provides thatno rule adopted by the Department of Public Health shall be construed asrestricting access to vital records by any municipality, county,multicounty, public health district, or regional health officer recognizedby the Department for the purposes described in specified provisions.Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that theDepartment of Public Health may release specified confidential informationto a certified local health department engaged in the performance ofepidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or otheranalytic models that protect and promote public health. Makes otherchanges.
