CHICAGO – The Illinois Legislative House Black Caucus issued this statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision blocking efforts to expand equity and opportunity in college admissions:

“Our radical Supreme Court’s tragic decision to sever equitable opportunities and curtail human rights for countless Black Americans will exact a devastating toll on our communities. Opportunities for higher education, which were growing thanks to effective affirmative admissions policies, will once again be denied to Black students who have often had to overcome major obstacles to achieve academic excellence.

“This move serves only to meet a partisan agenda while propping up a deeply-racist power structure that has haunted the Black community for generations. Affirmative action was undertaken to overcome the lingering effects of slavery and Jim Crow policies and provide the promise of opportunity to Black children suffering under those effects. Now that promise has been broken.

“The Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus is eager to work with Governor Pritzker to take immediate action to continue expanding access to college education for all, and to continue pursuing equity-based reforms. Recent steps to substantially expand MAP grants and other education programs that benefit the Black community are a good start.  All students deserve better than a Supreme Court that embraces fundamentalism over fairness and acts consistently to preserve a system of oppression. Illinois will take every step we can to combat the racial injustice the court favors.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following a detailed negotiation process that stretched right up to the end of the spring legislative session, state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, is highlighting some of the benefits for Illinois families and communities contained in the latest state budget.

“We’ve done a lot of work and, while much more remains to be done, the result is a balanced budget that addresses a number of issues important to families in our communities,” Flowers said. “No one effort can do everything, and this process involved a number of difficult decisions between often imperfect options, but it wasn’t that long ago that Bruce Rauner left us teetering on the edge of junk status. In light of that, we’re positioned better than anyone back in 2018 would have expected we would be.”

Flowers emphasized transformational funding for career and technical education to give ambitious young Illinoisans a high-paying alternative to traditional college, along with major investments in public education along with cities and villages that are aimed at providing more tools for local governments that want to get local property taxes under control.

She gave particular emphasis to measures modernizing reimbursement rates for caregivers and ambulance services in small towns and other underserved areas, as well as critical funding for “safety-net” health providers in at-risk communities. Flowers said these measures would be especially beneficial, respectively, to Illinoisans with disabilities as well as vulnerable healthcare populations such as Black women, who continue to have above average rates of maternal and infant mortality.

“We went line by line through this budget, prioritizing spending to enable us to build the smart, compassionate state we all want,” Flowers said. “We shouldn’t accept a choice between compassion and responsibility, we can and should choose both. And I’m happy to be able to say that that’s what we’ve begun to do here. Our job isn’t yet close to being finished, but we have a foundation here from which we can move forward.”

Flowers’ office can be reached at 773-471-5200 or tsnow@hds.ilga.gov.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Deputy Majority Leader Mary E. Flowers, D-Chicago, passed a bill to improve the quality of mental health care by requiring community mental health or developmental services to renew their licenses more frequently.

“We continue to see that some community mental health facilities are falling short of acceptable standards, and mental health deficiencies continue to be an issue across Illinois,” Flowers said. “Yet, in many cases, these facilities continue to retain their certification for years, despite low quality and compliance scores. That’s why my bill shortens the licensure period for these facilities. When facilities must certify more frequently, they must pay closer attention to their standards of care.”

Since 2018, community mental health agencies have been subject to a quality scorecard system administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Under Flowers’ House Bill 1032, more frequent licensure examinations would enable IDHS to increase scrutiny of deficient mental health agencies. The bill would also permit additional sanctions including freezes on admissions or license revocation for agencies based on low compliance scores.

“Tolerating noncompliance with mental health treatment standards is a choice,” Flowers said. “We owe vulnerable people in our state a well-regulated mental healthcare system. When agencies or facilities fall short of standards, it is not enough that they eventually face accountability. The harm that can result to already troubled individuals when conditions like this aren’t rectified quickly is too serious.”

Flowers’ office can be reached at 773-471-5200 or tsnow@hds.ilga.gov.

CHICAGO – A bill introduced by Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Mary E. Flowers, D-Chicago, which recently advanced out of committee, would reform compensation for Illinoisans who are wrongfully convicted and then exonerated, as well as remove a great deal of uncertainty from the process.

“More and more, we see people being exonerated after shoddy police work, prosecutorial misconduct, judicial failures or even outright prejudice and systemic inequality left them unjustly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit,” Flowers said. “It’s clear that more needs to be done for those whose lives have been turned upside down by this type of flagrant injustice. That’s why I’m working to increase compensation and eliminate limits for those impacted by failures of justice.”

Currently, there is no minimum compensation for those exonerated after a wrongful conviction, and the amount—if any—a person can be awarded is mostly at the discretion of the Court of Claims. There are, however, statutory maximums of $85,350 for five years or less of imprisonment, $170,000 for five to fourteen years and $199,150 for more than fourteen years.

Flowers’ House Bill 1016 would remove entirely these statutory maximums and replace arbitrary awards with guaranteed and fixed award amounts of $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, including pretrial incarceration or detention while awaiting trial; along with $25,000 per year wrongfully spent not incarcerated but on parole, on probation, or on a sex offender registry. These amounts would be prorated for partial years and the Court of Claims would retain the ability to raise them by up to 5% per year to account for increases in the consumer price index. The bill contains other measures as well. Full details are available at ILGA.gov.

“It’s true that this opens the door to much larger payments to the wrongfully convicted, but that’s the whole point,” Flowers said. “Miscarriages of justice shouldn’t be affordable. Instead of placing limits on compensation, if the state doesn’t want to pay massive settlements, it should ensure that police, prosecutors and courts do their jobs correctly and in good faith. Tolerating official incompetence, prejudice and bad convictions is a choice. And it is a choice that should have consequences.”

Flowers’ office can be reached at 773-471-5200 or tsnow@hds.ilga.gov.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In response to the release of police body camera footage showing the killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis officers, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (ILBC) released the following statement:

“The release of police body camera footage makes clear what we already knew: the murder of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was brutal and unjustified. Our deepest condolences are with his family and all those who knew and loved him. The police officers who beat this young man to death have no place in law enforcement, and were rightly dismissed. Still, this is not enough. These officers callously and viciously killed another human being and Mr. Nichols’ family deserves justice.

“For the people who are angry, for the people who are sick of living in fear, we will always stand with you in the fight for justice. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken in Illinois, including passing major criminal justice reforms as part of our four-pillar agenda two years ago, but there is still much more work to do.”

CHICAGO – State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, is holding a joint hearing of the Healthcare Availability and Accessibility Committee and the Appropriations-Human Services Committee on July 20 at 10 a.m. on the 6th floor of the Michael A. Bilandic Building at 160 North Lasalle in Chicago. It will be open to the public and accessible to view online at https://ilga.gov/houseaudvid.asp in Virtual Hearing Room 2.

The hearing will cover reimbursement issues between safety net hospitals and managed care organizations as a result of the lawsuit between St. Anthony’s Hospital and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Upon the historic confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus released the following statement:

“Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is one of the most impressive, qualified and fair-minded Supreme Court justices ever confirmed. Her dedication to economic justice, civil rights, reproductive health care access and other pressing issues exhibits her extensive expertise and commitment to justice under the law. As the first Black woman Supreme Court justice, Justice Jackson will defend the rights of all Americans, regardless of race or background, and work towards a more just system for generations to come.

We are excited to see how Justice Jackson uses her integrity, upstanding character and expert legal knowledge to positively impact our country and inspire the next generation of Black leaders. We stand with Justice Jackson in our dedication to public service and justice, and celebrate this monumental day in our history.

By nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden has delivered on his promise of nominating the nation’s first Black woman Supreme Court justice with an established record of judicial fairness and a commitment to equal justice for all.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – With her recent appointment to the newly created Public Safety and Violence Protection Task Force, state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, will help examine the root causes of violence and search for ways to reduce violence without furthering the cycle of incarceration. 

“Constantly incarcerating people in the name of reducing violence has only further disadvantaged people of color,” said Flowers. “I look forward to working with community organizations and fellow members of the task force to help address youth recidivism, and make sure that our young people are not pulled into a cycle of violence and incarceration.”  

Flowers was recently appointed to the newly created Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force. The goal of the task force will be to bring together law enforcement, prosecutors, and community organizations to look at the root causes of violence with an emphasis on youth and youth recidivism. Over the past year, Flowers and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus have achieved significant work on criminal justice reform and measures to address systemic injustice, including eliminating the cash bail system. Flowers has also fought for additional funding to schools in low-income areas and scholarships for minority teachers. 

“If we are going to be serious about reducing violence in Illinois, we need to address the real root causes of violence,” said Flowers. “We need to address the institutional and systematic policies that have segregated communities and kept people in a cycle of incarceration. Our task force can help reduce violence by working with the trade unions to ensure that everyone, including formerly incarcerated individuals, has the opportunity for career training and high-paying jobs.”

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