Getting a religious exemption from immunizations will require a doctor’s signature.

Parents can still get a medical or religious exemption from required vaccinations for kids entering kindergarten, sixth grade, or 12th grade, but doctors will have to sign a certificate stating the parents have been informed of the risks of going unvaccinated.

Under the current law, parents didn’t have to visit a doctor for a religious exemption. Only a letter to their child’s school was required.
Between 2009 and 2014, the number of Illinois parents requesting religious exemptions more than doubled.

The law goes into effect on October 16.

In other state news, congress may soon reauthorize a program aimed at helping ex-convicts stay out of prison.

The Second Chance Act, first signed into law in 2008, provides federal grants to prisoner re-entry programs, which can provide services like job training and placement, mentoring, and counseling.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Chicago) says since 2010, $8 million in federal funds have gone to Illinois programs to reduce recidivism thanks to the act.

Davis likes the chances of the legislation heading to the House floor next month, citing the growing support in both parties for criminal justice reform.