SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following the inauguration of the 101st General Assembly, state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, issued this statement on his legislative priorities for the next two years:
“The past few years have been difficult to implement much needed reforms under Bruce Rauner, but we were still able to pass good laws in that time. As we look ahead, especially with a new administration in the governor’s mansion, we can build on education funding, criminal justice reforms, asking the ultra-wealthy in our state to pay their fair share, protecting accessible and affordable health care for everyone and reducing deadly gun crimes.
“We enacted historic education funding reform to make Illinois the number one state in the country with a progressive funding formula that ensures schools will not miss out on money they deserve. I want to work with my colleagues in the General Assembly to build on that progress so we not only protect, but strengthen, funding to local schools. It is also critically important for CPS to adopt an elected school board so residents can get a fair voice in their children’s education.
“In order for us to adequately strengthen funding to our schools, Illinois should waste no time to adopt a progressive income tax structure. For the families in my neighborhoods, this means tax relief. Asking the wealthiest in our state to pay their fair share allows us to invest in critical human services everyday people rely on.
“Another area where we can continue bipartisan reforms is modernizing our criminal justice system. I passed a law last year to allow inmates to see their loved ones more frequently, and I want to see more done to allow for an effective reentry process.
“Unlike Donald Trump and his extreme allies in Washington who are actively seeking to eliminate affordable health care protections for families and women, I am working to expand access and affordability. Requiring Illinois insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions was a great reform measure that will ease the burdens on families having to pick and choose health care policies, and I would like to see renewed efforts to prevent price gouging of generic drugs and keep them affordable.
“It is my sincerest hope that the Pritzker administration will work with us to enact new gun safety laws like increasing the age to buy a gun to 21, outlawing 3D printing of guns, or ghost guns, implementing a one-gun-a-month law, and removing lead from bullets to protect our environment. Gun crimes are crippling South Side families, and my residents deserve safer communities to live in to improve their quality of life.
For more information, please contact Slaughter’s constituent service office at 773-445-9700 slaughterj@ilga.gov.
