Illinois house approves African-American AIDS Response Act

The Illinois house last week unanimously passed the African-American AIDS Response Act, which expands free and voluntary HIV antibody testing and counseling services in prisons and in state government offices frequented by the public, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago reports. The bill also offers assistance to HIV-positive welfare recipients and calls for other government reforms to fight HIV in minority communities. More than 150 AIDS advocates lobbied at the state capitol in Springfield the day before lawmakers voted on the measure.