Manley Addresses Affordability, Schools, Autism

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – As the spring legislative session concludes, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, is highlighting her efforts to address affordability, increase investment in schools and advance support for people who are neurodivergent. 

“Families are struggling to make ends meet, which has been a focus for me here in Springfield,” Manley said. “Illinoisans are counting on us, state legislators, because they know they can’t rely on Washington.”

Highlights of Manley’ affordability agenda include:

• Freezing the state gas tax and instituting a sales tax holiday (Senate Bill 3019),
• Granting everyone access to digital coupons so that the price people see is the price they pay for groceries and other items (House Bill 45),
• Developing new safeguards against artificial intelligence (AI) schemes that use a consumer’s personal data to raise prices on them (House Bill 4248),
• Creating new transparency requirements to crack down on hidden junk fees (House Bill 228),
• Preventing unfair insurance increases designed to pad profits or make Illinois customers cover losses in higher-risk states (Senate Bill 1486), and
• Supporting utility relief by helping more households access home energy assistance (House Bill 4456).

 

Also on Monday, Manley supported a responsible and compassionate state budget that increases investment in education, reinforces essential services for seniors and prioritizes support for first responders. Reflecting uncertainty in Washington, the measure strengthens support for critical healthcare services people rely on.

“Our country is facing pessimistic financial uncertainty,” Manley said. “It is more important now than ever to adopt a responsible budget that prepares for these challenges, and puts us on better financial footing moving forward.”

As a founding co-chair of the first-of-its-kind bipartisan, bicameral Illinois Legislative Neurodiversity Caucus, Manley continued to support legislation to help make the lives better for the 15-20% of Illinoisans who identify as being neurodivergent, as well as their families.

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural variations in brain function, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, Tourette’s syndrome, dyscalculia (difficulty with math) and dysgraphia (difficulty with writing), numerous rare brain disorders and many others.

Manley successfully passed House Bill 5225, which enables qualified speech-language pathologists to diagnose autism spectrum disorder in children under age three, addressing bottleneck wait times and helping families access care sooner when every moment matters for early brain development.

“People with neurodiversity are a vulnerable and underserved community,” Manley said. “There’s still more work to do, but legislation like this is going to change the trajectory of lives for the better. It underscores what we can accomplish when we put politics aside and focus on making life better for the people we serve.”

For more information, please contact repmanley@gmail.com.