Benton Takes Office, Focused on Affordable Child Care, Support for Middle-Class Families

PLAINFIELD, Ill. – Union ironworker and community leader Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, took office as a new state Representative in Will and Kendall Counties on Wednesday. He intends to focus on expanding training opportunities for work in the trades, reducing costs for families, supporting workers’ rights, fighting for property tax relief and making healthcare more affordable for all.

“I’m a union ironworker and father, which isn’t what we’re used to in Springfield. But our community isn’t looking for business as usual,” Benton said. “I know the challenges families are facing right now because I live them myself. That’s why I’m going to fight for property tax relief, to rein in unaffordable healthcare and childcare costs for working families, and to always support people looking to build a middle-class life in our community.”

Benton’s legislative priorities include significantly expanding vocational and trade education and apprenticeship opportunities, helping families to afford childcare—an expense that has become massively and unsustainably inflated for many, with daycare for two children sometimes costing $35,000 per year, or more—as well as supporting special education programs for children and teens with developmental delays, neurodevelopmental disorders and learning differences.

“I believe in community and in character. I believe in compassion. I believe that what we can achieve by working together and supporting each other surpasses what we can accomplish working only as individuals,” Benton said. “But, at the same time, I believe that the rights of individuals are the bedrock upon which this country and our state are built. I am excited to take on the crucial job of ensuring that each person’s voice is heard in the halls of power, and I look forward to working with, and for, all those I’ve sworn to represent to move our state forward.”

For more information, call 815-254-0000 or email dstevens@hds.ilga.gov.