CHICAGO, IL. – Students with unique learning needs will have improved access to the personalized learning strategies that help them succeed under a new law led by state Rep. Mike Crawford, D-Chicago, streamlining access to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

“I’m grateful to Governor Pritzker for signing this legislation into law. This legislation is deeply personal, not only to me and my family, but to countless families across the state. Every child deserves dignity, respect, and the opportunity to learn in a safe, supportive environment. 

“This legislation ensures that families are informed that they can have an advocate to support them in navigating the special education process. Every family deserves to know their rights and have the tools to advocate for their child’s well-being. This is a meaningful step forward for students with disabilities and the communities that support them.” 

Crawford’s House Bill 1366 would require notification to parents or guardians of a student with a disability that advocates experienced with Individualized Education Programs (IEP), which are tailored to the specific needs of the student, can be present at meetings and that ISBE facilitation may be available in some cases. These programs help make sure teachers, staff and families work together to create the most supportive learning environment for the child with benchmarks and best practices to help the child meet their learning goals. 

House Bill 1366 passed out of the House and Senate unanimously in May. 

For more information on House Bill 1366 and Crawford’s legislative achievements, visit ILGA.gov. 

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – New state Rep. Nicolle Grasse, D-Arlington Heights, will host a community blood drive in collaboration with state Sen. Mark Walker next week.

“I invite neighbors across my community to join us for a community blood drive and give the gift that can change someone’s life for the better,” said Grasse. “Blood drives are extremely important to make sure hospitals have a stable supply to help others in tragic accidents, treatments for cancer patients, and other emergency situations. Donating blood is fast and easy — plus, you can save lives and significantly impact local families in times of crisis and beyond. I look forward to seeing members of our community come together for this event.”

The blood drive will take place on July 11 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Pioneer Park (500 S Fernandez Ave.) in Arlington Heights. Walk-in appointments are accepted. Those interested can also register for the community blood drive by visiting Versiti Blood Center of Illinois – Donor Portal.

Who: State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, Senator Mark Walker, Commissioner Maggie Trevor
What: Community Blood Drive

Where: Pioneer Park (500 S Fernandez Ave.) in Arlington Heights

When: Thursday, July 11, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Health workers delivering critical care to the developmentally disabled will see their wages increase under the state budget plan supported by state Rep. Mary Gill, D-Chicago.

“Our caregivers provide quality, critically-needed work to support individuals who need assistance,” Gill said. “Securing funding for an increase in pay is an important step forward to support a profession that is too often overlooked.”

The Gill-backed state budget includes an increase in funding that is expected to raise caregiver wages by $1 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2025. Impacted Direct Support Professionals handle daily living caregiving responsibilities, and serve individuals with disabilities with employment assistance and emotional support. Direct Support Professionals play a critical role in enabling individuals with disabilities to fully participate in their communities, but the profession and care worker field broadly faces worker shortage issues that can limit many from benefitting.

“This increase is helpful, but more work remains,” Gill said. “There are shortages in Illinois and across the country when it comes to caregivers, causing excessive waitlists and overtime issues. Let’s make it a priority in Illinois to responsibly support these essential professionals, attract new caregivers and ensure our most vulnerable receive the care and attention they deserve.”

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

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, D-Arlington Heights, will work to make state government more efficient, make healthcare better and more affordable, and prioritize economic development as a member of several key House committees.

“I’m looking forward to making our voices heard in some of the most important conversations regarding our health, our state, and our economic future,” said Grasse. “I’m ready to take the tough stuff head on, stay true to my community’s needs, and ensure that no one is left behind when discussing important topics that affect family and individual’s daily lives, especially regarding how to responsibly manage taxpayer dollars within our state government to get the best services possible for our residents.”

Grasse will bring her experience as a hospice chaplain to the House Public Health Committee, where she will prioritize steps to expand access to compassionate care and make healthcare more affordable for middle-class families. Roles on the State Government Administration Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee will allow Grasse to demand more efficient and responsive state government, particularly related to resources for service members. Grasse will also work toward smart, responsible steps for stronger economic growth on the Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee. 

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, will be reaching out to her community with two town halls to take questions about recent progress in Springfield. The first town hall will be July 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, at 500 N. Dunton Avenue in Arlington Heights. Canty will be joined by state Sen. Mark Walker, and state Rep. Nicolle Grasse.

The second town hall will be on Thursday, July 18, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Prospect Heights Public Library, at 12 North Elm Street in Prospect Heights. Canty will be joined by Walker.

“I’m eager for this opportunity to hear from my neighbors about their thoughts on the direction Illinois is taking, as well as answer any questions they might have,” Canty said. “Communicating like this is a big part of my role as lawmaker and one that I enjoy. I encourage everyone interested in Illinois’ future to join us.”

Anyone with questions can reach Canty at info.repmbc@gmail.com or 224-248-8187. Sign-up is not required, but encouraged: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI2-y2BMkTC-y9NB5vFzouLAac93BHnDpSTt2xuCF-VXuFEg/viewform?usp=sf_link. The July 10 town hall will be streamed live at tinyurl.com/AHLivestream24.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Newly appointed state Rep. Nicolle Grasse, D-Arlington Heights, will host two upcoming town halls to meet with constituents and build her legislative agenda, which includes strengthening reproductive rights, healthcare affordability and accessibility, and responsible management of taxpayer dollars.

“I invite all community members to join me and other local policymakers in our area to discuss issues facing our community and how we can improve,” said Grasse. “I deeply appreciate the support I’ve received in this role thus far, and I pledge to use this momentum to ensure all voices are heard when brainstorming legislation that will benefit families in our corner.”

Grasse will host a town hall on July 10 at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library (500 N Dunton Ave) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in tandem with state Sen. Mark Walker and state Rep. Mary Beth Canty.

A town hall will also occur the following day, July 11, at the Park Central Banquet Hall in the Rolling Meadows Park District (3000 Central Rd) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with Walker.

The town halls will be accessible through a live stream on Grasse’s Facebook page. For more information, please reach out to contact@staterepgrasse.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public Citizen, a renowned nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, recognized State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, with the Democracy Champion award. The award was presented at their gala at the National Press Club, where they also recognized U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

Public Citizen, founded in 1971, has a mission to defend democracy, resist corporate power, and fight for a government that serves the public interest. With a membership of 500,000 supporters nationwide, the organization remains fiercely independent, taking no government or corporate money.

“We are proud to recognize Representative Rashid’s dedication to safeguarding our democracy and defending the interests of working families, including through his proactive leadership on complex issues such as artificial intelligence,” said Public Citizen President Robert Weissman. We are honored to acknowledge his valuable contributions.”

Rashid has been working with Public Citizen on legislation to regulate AI-powered political deepfakes that aim to deceive voters with false audio, video or images of candidates for public office. The Federal Communications Commission recently announced it would begin a rulemaking process to require disclosure of AI in political ads.

Earlier this year, Rashid announced a legislative package aimed at tackling new challenges posed by AI. Dedicated to steering Illinois toward a more safe, effective, and responsible use of AI technologies, the representative’s legislative package underscores his commitment to both optimizing AI innovation and implementing essential guardrails. Rashid is the co-chair of Illinois’ AI Task Force.

For more information about Public Citizen and the Democracy Champion award, please visit www.citizen.org or contact Ilana Beller at ibeller@citizen.org.

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CHICAGO – State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, responded to last week’s rash of outages in the Metra transit system’s app Ventra, by inviting officials from the company to Springfield to speak to state lawmakers.

“Last week many Chicagoans faced major disruptions to their daily commutes due to a technological failure of the Ventra app used as a payment facilitator. This extended and substantial problem is an unacceptable standard for Chicago’s transit system,” Buckner said. “In addition to these disruptions, Metra incurred a major loss of revenue that will now have to be corrected. I am inviting officials from Ventra to Springfield to brief the House and Senate and help craft solutions to these problems so we can prevent similar disruptions from happening again.”

The Ventra app was not working properly for days last week, either by crashing, freezing, not scanning at card readers or not debiting an account following a successful scan, and affected thousands of Metra riders. These problems are surfacing again after similar issues came up earlier this month.

“A reliable public transit system is absolutely vital to life in Chicago, problems like this cannot happen,” Buckner said. “I have pushed for substantial legislation to reform various aspects of Chicago commuter transit already, and will continue to work with officials to put guardrails in place to prevent similar disruptions.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Wanting to ensure that family farms can be passed from one generation to the next without unreasonable tax burdens, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, is backing an overhaul of the state’s estate tax specific to farms.

“When a loved one passes, we don’t want state taxes to force families to sell land, lose equipment and break up a farm,” DeLuca said. “This is too often the reality with the current tax structure, which is irresponsible and overdue to change. I’m proud to join a bipartisan effort supported by the Illinois and Will County Farm Bureau that will not only address this issue now, but moving forward as well.”

The DeLuca-sponsored House Bill 4600, dubbed the “Family Farm Preservation Act,” would apply only to farm estates and would implement a $6 million true exemption. Only value over the $6 million exemption would be taxed, and the exemption rate moving forward would be connected with annual increases tied to inflation. Additionally, unused exemption amounts would be transferred to a surviving spouse under the proposal.

House Bill 4600, and the identical Senate Bill 2921, have received bipartisan support from members of every caucus.

“Our state’s family farmers are an essential part of Illinois’ economy and heritage,” DeLuca said. “We should be doing what we can to strengthen and support our agriculture industry for this generation and the next. This measure would be a great step forward.”

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Local seniors would receive relief from high property taxes under new, progressive solutions backed by state Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, expanding property tax freezes and refunds for low-income seniors.

“It is of utmost importance that we continue to prioritize legislation that benefits all groups in Illinois, and these two key bills reaffirm my commitment to expanding opportunities for the senior community, especially those who are struggling financially,” said Avelar. “With these pivotal bills, we are uplifting a community that needs it most. By providing more resources and lenient paths to receive tax freezes or refunds, we are lifting a burden off our senior community who rely on these benefits to get by.”

Avelar is sponsoring House Bill 2529 and House Bill 3511, which will expand benefits to low-income senior citizens. House Bill 2529, the Senior Property Tax Freeze, will increase the maximum income allotment for low-income senior citizens to receive benefits by $10,000 — from $65,000 to $75,000, reaching a key audience who were not able to benefit from this tax freeze previously.

House Bill 3511 proposes an important amendment to tax legislation, particularly benefiting senior citizens. Under this bill, seniors would be eligible for a property tax refund, irrespective of whether they applied for the homestead exemption, which typically covers up to $15,000 of property equity. This legislation expands the avenues through which seniors can access tax exemptions, ensuring that even those who miss the application window can still benefit from financial relief on their property taxes.