The Illinois House votes to override Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill named in honor of a Mercer County student. The “Lauryn Russell Lyme Disease Prevention & Protection Law” won approval last spring, but was vetoed by Rauner. The legislation was introduced by local State Rep. Dan Swanson. One part of the measure deals with awareness and education with the other giving doctors the opportunity to treat the tick-borne illness outside CDC protocol. Swanson says the governor was okay with the education part, but vetoed the medical side.
The Illinois Senate must now agree with the House override.
Swanson says advocates for Lyme Disease sufferers contend the current recommended treatment of the disease, 10 to 21 days of antibiotics, is insufficient for people with advanced or chronic levels of the disease, such the case for Russell, who has battled the disease for three years. Nine states have enacted similar legislation including: Iowa, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Virginia.