Latino Caucus Responds to Budget Address

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus released the following statement in response to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget address:

“Last year marked a historic moment for working families in Illinois and we’re ready to continue building on that progress by ensuring our communities get their fair share of funding. We are encouraged that the governor’s proposal echoed our values by having investments in education, human services, public safety and ensuring the accurate count of our communities in the 2020 Census. In order to have true equity for all Illinoisans, we need a balanced budget that allocates additional revenue to provide our local schools with more funding than just the minimum that they need to reach adequacy; to make health care and child care more accessible; to invest in affordable housing; and to ensure the safety of our families.

“While we have made great strides to protect immigrant communities, much more remains to be done to provide Illinois with the tools it needs to fight back against our bigoted president. So it is with great urgency that the vacancy in the Office of New Americans is addressed. We look forward to working with Gov. Pritzker to ensure we have an all-inclusive immigrant rights office that works to protect and educate families about their rights as immigrants in this country.”