Jones Prioritizes Resources for Historically Disinvested Communities During Spring Session

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Reforms to uplift local families, a balanced budget that provides for historically disinvested communities, and new healthcare resources are among the major steps state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-South Holland, is highlighting from a productive legislative session.

“This legislative session has been very productive, and we’ve passed a lot of great bills that make our communities across Illinois better,” said Jones. “This year, we made government more efficient by cutting down on unnecessary expenses and putting more resources into the things our community values: innovative solutions to uplift people in need, youth summer jobs, and resources for cities and towns that are too often left behind.”

Jones prioritized the creation of a new $50 million child tax credit, which will provide direct assistance to families raising young children on modest incomes—scaling up a more modest proposal introduced by the governor last spring in order to reach more families struggling with rising costs.

The state’s new budget increases funding for Home Illinois, an innovative, multifaceted approach addressing homelessness. In the program’s first year of existence, Home Illinois created and preserved 4,700 units of affordable rental housing, and supported 416 permanent supportive housing units for people earning less than the area median income. Jones’ expanded investment in Home Illinois is directed in part at prioritizing the recommendations of the Racial Equity Roundtable on Black Homelessness, which identified systemic inequities that perpetuate homelessness in Black communities.

Jones also prioritized tools local governments need to address the broken property tax system, including $350 million in new funding for classroom education and nearly $500 million in new support for local governments. Jones worked to enact a local road improvement plan, which directs state funds to historically underfunded communities for the purposes of repairing local roads. 

Jones passed legislation to cover the testing of inherited gene mutation diseases (House Bill 4562). Current law only covers the most common types of gene testing – BRCA 1 and 2 – which is the highest indicator of breast and ovarian cancers, whereas his legislation would allow for high-risk gene mutations through a more comprehensive panel of “multi-gene” testing.

“Testing for genetic-based diseases and illnesses have revolutionized our ability to address systemic health issues, but coverage for these tests hasn’t kept up with advancements. I’m proud to have fought for this commonsense change and brought security to our Illinois families that live in uncertainty about if their children, parents or themselves may face a genetic-based illness, but may not know it.”