NW Illinois News

Illinois Rep. Andrew Chesney received accolades for his work championing companion animal welfare.

On April 28, the Republican lawmaker from Freeport was presented the 2020 Humane Legislator Award by the Humane Society of the United States.

“It is an honor to receive this award,” Chesney said in an April 29 Facebook post where he linked to the announcement on his website. “Companion animals enrich our lives in so many ways, and it is an honor to advocate for their welfare and improving public policy to protect, especially, shelter pets and encourage shelter pet adoption.”

The legislator award is presented to the Illinois General Assembly member who best advocates for the well-being of animals.

Chesney has been involved in several bills focusing on animal welfare in the past few months. He passed legislation to ban cosmetics testing on animals and has co-sponsored bipartisan bills to prevent animal cruelty to pets. 

Chesney recently backed legislation in the Illinois House to ban pet store sales of puppies and kittens to help drive irresponsible commercial breeder mistreatment of animals out of Illinois. The measure was approved. 

The Humane Society of the United States provides hands-on care and services to more than 100,000 animals each year.

“On behalf of our members, supporters and allies in Illinois, we are proud of the animal protection initiatives that Representative Chesney has championed,” Marc Ayers, Illinois state director of the Humane Society of the United States, said. “Chesney has been a leader on animal cruelty issues over the past several years. He recently led a bipartisan effort to pass landmark legislation to dry up the market for puppy mills in our state.”