Romeo Crossing is the only lighted miracle field in Illinois

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, joined Romeoville Mayor John Noak for the grand opening of the Romeo Crossing Community Park, which includes a fully-accessible “Miracle Field.” It is the only lit miracle field in Illinois.

They were joined by Joliet Junior College President Dr. Clyne Namuo, and representatives of the offices of state Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avalar, D-Romeoville, and state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, at the ribbon cutting and park party Tuesday.

Rep. Manley secured over $300,000 funding for this new park, which will include a lighted field designed to ensure that individuals who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices can fully participate in recreational activities.

“This baseball field truly is a miracle, particularly for those who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices,” Rep. Manley said. “Giving people – especially children, the chance to cruise the baselines like everyone else is what this new park is all about. I was honored to help make that happen.”

The adaptive sports field also contains a soccer field and a challenge fitness course, with a wide array of climbing obstacles. The playground has several slides and swings, including a wheelchair-accessible swing. The park is next to the sledding hill, and Wiggly Field dog park, which opened in 2024. There is a picnic pavilion and restrooms.

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, the public joined the fun with an inflatable, DJ music and free hot dogs.

CREST HILL, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, congratulates the City of Crest Hill on the 84th anniversary of the Lidice Memorial, commemorating the 1942 total annihilation of the Village of Lidice, in Czechoslovakia by Adolf Hitler.

The City of Crest Hill held a memorial service Sunday morning, June 7, at the monument located at Hosmer Lane and Prairie Avenue. The subdivision, known as Stern Park, located north of Joliet’s Raynor Park, was the first to be named after the village following the horrific event.

Earlier this week, Rep. Manley read House Resolution 933 at the Crest Hill City Council Meeting, which she offered, honoring Crest Hill’s memorial.

“Let the memory of Lidice never be forgotten,” Rep. Manley said. “This memorial is an international symbol of resistance to Nazi brutality.”

The Story of Lidice, Czechoslovakia:

Beginning June 9, 1942, Hitler ordered the total annihilation of the Village of Lidice in retaliation of the death of a high-ranking Nazi officer. At the time, Hitler falsely claimed that residents of Lidice were linked to the death, when in fact, the officer was killed as the result of a top-secret British and Czechoslovakian operation. 

On that evening, Nazi forces executed 173 men and boys by firing squad in groups of ten. Women and girls were shipped to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where they endured forced labor, medical experimentation and execution in gas chambers. Children were evaluated for potential “Germanization” under Nazi racial laws. Nine children were selected for “Germanization” through the Lebensborn Program. The rest were executed in gas chambers, and placed in orphanages, where few survived.

About 20 Lidice residents who were working away from home were captured in following days and executed.

The entire village was burned and plowed flat, while Hitler broadcast the total destruction as propaganda as to what would happen to anyone who resisted the Nazi rule.

Two days later, in the U.S., a local developer of the Stern Park subdivision, (located north of Raynor Park,) Dominic Romano, became the first person to rename his development after Lidice, dedicating it on July 12, 1942. A year later, Romano rededicated it during a visit by exiled Czechoslovakian President Edvard Benes in May 1943. 

The area known as Lidice, Illinois, was incorporated into the City of Crest Hill in 1960. Also, Crest Hill became a sister city to the Czechoslovakian village.

In 1995, vandals destroyed the monument, which received global attention. Through the generosity of the Czechoslovakian American Congress, and global donations, the original monument was replaced with a larger granite monument, plaza and park. Then, in unity with the Park and Peace and Friendship in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, the City of Crest Hill planted 82 rose bushes, in honor of the 82 innocent Lidice children whom Hitler killed.

“The Lidice Memorial is a national treasure, respected around the world,” Rep. Manley said. “It is an important stop along Route 66 for many national and international visitors.”

CREST HILL, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, offered a House Resolution honoring Crest Hill’s memorial to the Village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia, which was destroyed by Adolf Hitler, in 1942. Rep. Manley read House Resolution 933 Monday at the Crest Hill City Council Meeting.

“The Lidice Memorial that the community of Crest Hill has so dedicatedly nurtured for eight decades is an international symbol of resistance to Nazi brutality,” Rep. Manley said. “Many generations of local volunteers have enhanced it, making certain that Lidice will never be forgotten.”

Beginning June 9, 1942, Hitler ordered the total annihilation of the Village of Lidice in retaliation of the death of a high-ranking Nazi officer. At the time, Hitler falsely claimed that residents of Lidice were linked to the death, when in fact, the officer was killed as the result of a top-secret British and Czechoslovakian operation.

On that evening, Nazi forces executed 173 men and boys by firing squad in groups of ten. Women and girls were shipped to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where they endured forced labor, medical experimentation and execution in gas chambers. Children were evaluated for potential “Germanization” under Nazi racial laws. Nine children were selected for “Germanization” through the Lebensborn Program. The rest were executed in gas chambers, or placed in orphanages, where few survived.

About 20 Lidice residents who were working away from home were captured in following days and executed.

The entire village was burned and plowed flat, while Hitler broadcast the total destruction as propaganda as to what would happen to anyone who resisted the Nazi rule.

Two days later, here in the U.S., a local developer of the Stern Park subdivision, (located north of Rayor Park,) Dominic Romano, became the first person to rename his development after Lidice, dedicating it on July 12, 1942. A year later, Romano rededicated it during a visit by exiled Czechoslovakian President Edvard Benes in May 1943.

The area known as Lidice, Illinois, was incorporated into the City of Crest Hill in 1960. Also, Crest Hill became a sister city to the Czechoslovakian village.

In 1995, vandals destroyed the monument, which received global attention. Through the generosity of the Czechoslovakian American Congress, and global donations, the original monument was replaced with a larger granite monument, plaza and park. Then, in unity with the Park and Peace and Friendship in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, the City of Crest Hill planted 82 rose bushes, in honor of the 82 innocent Lidice children whom Hitler killed.

“There is good reason why this jewel of Crest Hill has become a destination stop for visitors along the Historic Route 66, who come from around the world,” Rep. Manley said. I want to particularly thank Mayor Ray Soliman, and Council Member Tina Oberlin, along with countless other past mayors, community members and volunteers, who have dedicated their time to this memorial. Because of them, the memory of those children and people of Lidice will never die.”

The Lidice Memorial stands at Hosmer Lane and Prairie Avenue in Crest Hill. There will be a memorial celebration Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m. commemorating the 84th anniversary of the Lidice Memorial, which is in conjunction with the Route 66’s 100th anniversary, and the USA’s 250th anniversary.

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.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Recognizing that medical examiners and coroners regularly deal with difficult scenes, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, sponsored and supported a plan that would expand insurance coverage for mental health counseling services for these professionals. 

“The work that coroners and medical examiners perform is not easy, but it’s necessary,” Manley said. “They see a lot of the same trauma our first responders do, and it makes sense to ensure they receive the same access to mental health support.”

Under current practice, municipalities and counties that oversee employee health insurance coverage must provide mental health counseling to defined first responders – including firefighters, police and emergency medical services personnel – without a deductible, co-insurance, copayment or other cost sharing requirement.

The Manley-backed Senate Bill 2770 updates this definition to include county medical examiners and coroners, as well as their deputies.

“In the worst moments, our community’s first responders work together as a team and enable us all to move forward,” Manley said. “I appreciate the important role our medical examiners and coroners provide, and thank them all for their dedicated service. This measure can provide meaningful assistance that they should take advantage of.”

Senate Bill 2770 passed with bipartisan support, and will now head to the governor for final approval.

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

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In coordination with the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, sent a plan to the governor Thursday that will clarify and strengthen provisions in the state’s Behavior Analyst Licensing Act, helping residents access the professional care they deserve.

“This is a needed update that clarifies existing law so we can better protect multidisciplinary care models, increase access to services and ensure clinical decisions remain with licensed professionals delivering care,” Manley said. “These are technical changes in our law, but they have real world impact to support our skilled professionals.”

The Manley-led Senate Bill 712 applies to licensed behavioral analysts in the following ways:

• Protects multidisciplinary practices by explicitly including behavior analysis as a related profession with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy;
• Strengthens consumer protection by explicitly stating that only licensed clinicians can make decisions regarding clinical care;
• Increases access to ABA services by explicitly stating that schools and non-for-profit organizations are exempted from the business structure requirement (this structure only applies to privately-owned entities); and
• Updates additional definitions in state statute.

Senate Bill 712 passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support, and will now head to the governor for final approval. For more information, please contact repmanley@gmail.com.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Building on her efforts to make life more affordable, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, supported a proposal Friday to ban online retailers and apps from using shoppers’ personal data or demographic profiles to raise prices through “surveillance pricing.”

“Technological advances often make our lives easier, but sometimes they open up new ways to hit our wallets,” Manley said. “With surveillance pricing, because companies have your personal data, you may see a higher price for the same item your neighbor got for less. That’s worsening the affordability crisis and simply isn’t fair. So, we’re taking action.”

Increasingly, online businesses are using automated systems and data-driven algorithms to generate prices that vary among consumers for the same goods or services. These prices can be informed by customers’ personal data, browsing history, and financial and demographic profiles in an effort to set the highest price they are willing to pay.

The Manley-supported House Bill 4248 bans apps and online retailers from using shoppers’ personal data or demographic profiles to raise prices. Traditional, non-AI pricing models including voluntary rewards programs, manufacturing cost adjustments and special discounts would still be able to continue.  

“We’re on the frontier of AI and new data-driven approaches from businesses,” Manley said. “Let’s make sure our consumer protections are also evolving.”

House Bill 4248 passed the House Friday, and will head to the Senate for further consideration.

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

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, testified during the House Revenue and Finance Committee for her proposed legislation to reduce the wrongly inflated property tax burden for many Illinois homeowners. Other Will County leaders also testified, including Channahon President Missey Moorman Schumacher, Will County Executive Chief of Staff Mike Mahoney and Will County Supervisor of Assessments Dale B. Butalla.

Rep. Manley’s House Bill 5086 aims to add accountability that would give county supervisors of assessments authority to step in and correct when township assessors fail to assess commercial and industrial developments properly, completely, or at all. The potential shift in assessed properties could mean millions of dollars for a number of wrongly-taxed homeowners.

“Property owners are bearing the brunt of higher taxes in areas where some township assessors are not properly addressing new construction, warehouses, and other commercial and industrial properties,” Rep. Manley said. “House Bill 5086 would give the county-level assessor oversight, creating a more equitable system, regardless of which township residents are from. This is only the first step in a series of necessary property tax reforms.”

New construction of residential warehouses, or other commercial and industrial properties, should spread the property tax burden across a broader number of payees. When these new developments are not correctly factored in, the result is higher taxation for some residential property owners, while the warehouses, or other commercial properties are not taxed correctly or at all.

The legislation was initiated after Will County identified several missed new construction properties that had not been added to the property tax assessment rolls, including several large distribution warehouses. The cost to homeowners could potentially result in millions of dollars of property taxes.

By law, township assessors are currently required to review all property in their jurisdiction every four years, and to provide the county with the value of any new construction in order to factor into the annual property taxes for all. However, many of the township assessor offices, this is not being done thoroughly, consistently, or not at all.

Concerning commercial and industrial properties for the same time frame, less than a third (27%) were revalued. Ten of those 24 townships failed to revalue nearly all (97%) of their commercial and industrial properties. And, an alarming five townships had revalued zero of the commercial or industrial properties.

“Ensuring accurate tax bills for homeowners should be a top priority,” said Village of Channahon President Missey Moorman Schumacher. “If passed, this legislation would create checks and balances locally to ensure that residents can have confidence in how their properties are assessed.”

This bill would not only empower a county’s supervisor of assessment to evaluate and re-assess properties, but it would put the financial burden caused by township assessors back onto the townships. County-level assessors would be able to invoice townships for additional costs incurred in completing the re-assessments.

The threshold that would trigger a county-level re-assessment would happen when either new construction was omitted, or when at least 20% of any properties were not reassessed or revalued. This would occur during the general assessment year that occurs every four years by township assessors.

“Illinoisans deserve a system of checks and balances, especially when it comes to taxation,” Rep. Manley said. “House Bill 5086 will shine a light on wrongly-assessed or under-assessed property taxes, and create necessary accountability for those who determine our taxation. Townships and their assessors that are following the law and assessing properly will not experience an impact from this proposed legislation. The intent is for this oversight to work with townships toward prioritizing assessments more thoroughly.”

“This legislation creates a more accurate and fair tax bill,” said Executive Bertino-Tarrant. “The existing process is creating inaccuracies due to countywide inequities. Commercial and large-scale industrial properties are not seeing the same tax impact that homeowners are.”

Rep. Manley is a Certified Public Accountant, who serves as vice-chair of the House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee, in addition to serving the House Counties and Townships Committee, and other committees. She also serves on the state’s Legislative Audit Commission.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – As part of her efforts to ensure residents can access the professional care they deserve, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, advanced an initiative of the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis last week to clarify and strengthen
state rules regarding occupational therapists.

“Currently, occupational therapists cannot own and operate applied behavioral analyses companies,” Manley said. “This measure is a series of changes that will clarify the intent of existing law and ensure our licensed professionals are able to deliver the care we need.”

The Manley-led Senate Bill 712 impacts licensed behavioral analysis in the following ways:
– Adding “occupational therapists” to the existing list of other practitioners who canperform or advertise activities considered to be the practice of applied behavioralanalyses;
– Clarifying that members or agents of a behavior analysis services organization must bethemselves personally licensed if involved in clinical care decisions;
– Exempting nonprofits, public schools and charter schools from unnecessary andunintended ownership requirements; and
– Updating additional definitions in state statute.

Senate Bill 712 passed the House Health Care Licenses Committee with bipartisan support. For more information, please contact repmanley@gmail.com.

JOLIET, Ill. – In an effort to help build family involvement in schools, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, was one of the many sponsors for the Edna Keith Elementary School Family Bingo Night on April 29, by providing snacks and drinks for everyone.

“Edna Keith School’s family bingo night is a great way to keep parents connected to their children’s school, which goes a long way toward these kids’ academic success,” Rep. Manley said. “When the school asked for a little help providing the snacks, it was very easy to say yes.”

Manley provided the refreshments and snacks for all the students and their families, and delivered them to the school, located at 400 Fourth Ave., in Joliet.

“My family participated in several names of bingo, and everyone was excited when they were given an opportunity to win raffles in between each game,” Rep. Manley said. “It was a fun way to spend a Wednesday evening.”