Lake County Gazette

State Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) has received a perfect score from the Illinois Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) for votes taken in Springfield this year regarding the humane treatment of animals. 

The HSLF is the legislative/lobbying arm of the Humane Society, and each year the organization creates a scorecard to hold state and federal legislators accountable as they advance efforts to ensure proper treatment of animals.

“The ethical treatment and protection of animals is a policy issue I follow closely, and this year I was proud to support measures that protect our four-legged friends,” Wilcox said in a release. “Unfortunately, there are some bad actors out there that engage in disreputable activity. The measures I supported this year addresses some of the key areas of animal welfare where improvement was needed.”

The Illinois General Assembly, including Wilcox, voted on multiple bills last year that focused on animal safety and care. These include the Humane Pet Store Act (also known as House Bill 1711); House Bill 572 focuses on predatory pet sales loans; House Bill 168 requires forfeiture of pets in a home where an individual has two convictions for animal abuse aggravated cruelty, or dogfighting. Individuals convicted of two offenses of these types may not have pets. The final bill, House Bill 395, focuses on wildlife trafficking and restricts the sales of parts or products from a variety of animals, including giraffes,  tigers, lions,  great apes, sharks, sea turtles, pangolins and others.