Harper Fights for Reducing Financial Burden on Low-Income Families

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, is advocating for measures that would provide working families with financial relief with the aim to reduce crime and improve the economic climate of low-income communities.

“Many people resort to crime because they are put under financial strain that they cannot easily get out of,” Harper said. “To reduce crime and violence we have to give people more opportunities to succeed, which can only be done by improving schools and creating new jobs that are located in the community.”

Harper is including in her legislative agenda initiatives that would provide working people with the necessary resources to prosper, such as House Bill 2609, which would create a low-income assessment freeze homestead exemption. The legislation would freeze the amount of property taxes that low-income families pay and reduce their financial burden.

“Many families in low-income communities cannot pay their bills because their wages are not high enough,” Harper said. “Far too many people do not acknowledge that the solution to reducing crime is through improving the economic environment for the people who live in the communities that are most affected by it. This cannot be a conversation that is ignored any longer, and I will continue advocating for policies that address the true issues.”