As the Illinois General Assembly's Spring 2013 Legislative Session enters it's final week, Senate President John J. Cullerton sat down with members of the media to update them on pension talks and concealed carry legislation.

Please take a moment to listen to Senate President Cullerton's comments.

Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), who sponsored concealed carry legislation in the Senate, made comments recently in opposition to a concealed carry measure that passed the Illinois Housewith an 85-30-1 vote.

Under Senate Bill 2193 local governments would not have the right to establish their own gun restrictions.

“It’s understandable that there may be a desire to have one law that regulates concealed carry throughout the state, but what this bill does is go way beyond concealed carry and says local municipalities and counties can do nothing to regulate guns and that’s too far reaching,” said Raoul.

Read more: Raoul reacts to concealed carry legislation passed in the House (AUDIO)

State Senator John Mulroe is working to curb distracted driving in Illinois.

The hands-free cell phone legislation prohibits the use of hand-held cellular devices while operating a motor vehicle. Hands-free features and one-touch dialing would still be allowed.

There has been a great deal of research proving that hands-free cell phone use provides for safer roads. Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into serious crashes.

Read more: Mulroe’s hands-free cell phone bill approved by Senate

State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant carried House Bill 2382 in the Senate. The legislation is designed to help businesses maintain their consumer traffic while road construction is underway.

Currently, businesses struggle to attract customers during road construction projects. Congestion and detours make businesses along road construction zones harder to get to and may make them look closed.

“Road projects are obviously important to the transportation needs of Illinois. However, businesses can suffer due to lengthy construction and road closures. Making sure that we support small businesses in our communities is just as important as our infrastructure,” said Bertino-Tarrant.

Read more: Bertino-Tarrant sponsors legislation to protect small businesses during road construction

A bill aimed at kicking the habit of electronic cigarette sales to minors passed the General Assembly today.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator John Mulroe (D-10), makes the sale of electronic cigarettes to persons less than 18 years of age illegal.  While the sale of all other nicotine products to minors is already illegal, electronic cigarettes are a relatively new product and state legislation has not yet caught up with the market.

Mulroe’s goal in sponsoring this legislation is to prevent the sale of all nicotine-based products to minors.  The penalties for selling electronic cigarettes to minors would mimic the penalties for other tobacco sales to minors.

Read more: Senator Mulroe committed to keeping nicotine out of the hands of minors