SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. John D’Amico, D-Chicago, took the oath of office Wednesday for a new legislative session, in which he looks forward to strengthening the state’s commitment to education, protecting critical services for women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly and ensuring a more responsible and transparent state government.
“The next two years are an opportunity to lift up Illinois after the damage from the Rauner years,” D’Amico said. “Now is a time to make bipartisanship the norm and the petty squabbles a thing of the past.”
D’Amico will look to continue his commitment to public education by building on the bipartisan state education funding legislation that boosted funding for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by $450 million. He is also looking forward to working on legislation allowing for an elected Chicago School Board, as CPS is currently the only district in the state that doesn’t have an elected school board. D’Amico will also advocate for more funding for colleges and universities like North Park and NEIU, as Illinois’ system of high education recovers from the nearly three-year budget impasse.
“Educating our kids is the most important job we have,” said D’Amico. “Fully funding education, from our elementary schools to our world-class colleges, is not only the right thing to do, but a necessity to grow the economy.”
In addition to education funding, D’Amico supports protecting critical services such as Meals on Wheels and domestic violence shelters. In 2014, the most recent year with data, Illinois police received more than 65,000 reports of domestic violence. Gov. Bruce Rauner blocked funding for domestic violence shelters during the budget impasse, even though many survivors turn to these state-supported organizations for shelter and counseling.
While D’Amico will advocate protecting funding for critical services, he is also committing to slash wasteful spending like pensions for part-time public officials and free, lifetime health care for politicians. D’Amico also looks to make government more transparent by shining a light on budget gimmicks and accounting tricks.
“Transparent government is accountable government,” D’Amico said. “People deserve peace of mind that their elected officials don’t try to enrich themselves at the taxpayers’ expense.”
