HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – To ensure that child victims of sexual assault or abuse are protected during the investigation process, state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, led the effort to establish the right for children to have their forensic interview conducted by interviewers from an accredited children’s advocacy center.

“After experiencing a traumatic event like sexual assault or abuse, it is vital that forensic interviewers use a trauma-informed, child focused approach to not traumatize the child,” said Crespo. “Staff and personnel at Children Advocacy Centers are certified and trained to interview child victims in a developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive ways to appropriately obtain information regarding the investigation.”

House Bill 3462 gives every child that is a victim of sexual assault or abuse the right to have their forensic interview conducted by an interviewer from an accredited children’s advocacy center serving the child’s jurisdiction. This law solidifies the right of children to have a trauma-informed interviewer from an advocacy center lead their interview and establishes that investigating agencies must provide this option when possible. With the expertise of an interviewer from an advocacy center, children are less likely to go through multiple interviews and will avoid having to recall traumatic details of the event more than once.

“Before children’s advocacy centers, children who experienced sexual abuse and other extreme trauma often had to tell their story multiple times to multiple people. Forensic interviews are conducted using techniques that are developmentally appropriate for children and are designed to be non-leading, non-judgmental, and non-traumatizing,” said Char Rivette, the Executive Director of Chicago Children’s Advocacy Centers. “They are key pieces of evidence that law enforcement and DCFS can use to make arrests, create safety plans, protect children, and ensure offenders are held accountable, and in a CAC’s trauma-informed, child-friendly environment they generally happen only once. I’m proud that with the passage of HB 3462, every child will have access to this incredible tool for healing and justice. It’s a victory for everyone who cares about child welfare in Illinois.”

There are 40 Children’s Advocacy Centers in Illinois that have served over 14,000 kids and their families in this past year. Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois coordinates and provides comprehensive response to child abuse in Illinois, specializing in the most child-friendly approaches in investigation and treatment of child abuse. Crespo served on the Children’s Advocacy Center of North & Northwest Cook County.

“Child victims of abuse have the right to be heard and the passage of HB 3462 ensures that right for all children in Illinois. The passage of this law ensures that all children have access to the best possible response to allegations of child abuse which includes well-trained, trauma informed, professional investigators and treatment providers.  Child abuse investigations coordinated through the CAC make a difference.   They are more effective in holding offenders accountable, they are cost efficient, and most importantly; kids who are seen at a CAC are four times more likely to receive vital mental health, medical and follow up services than those that don’t,” said Kim Mangiaracino, the Executive Director of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois. “The passage of this law is a huge win for them and us as Illinoisans.  Thank you to all that supported this key piece of legislation.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Local seniors who qualify for cost-saving property tax exemptions would no longer have to reapply annually for relief under legislation passed by state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates.  

“Local seniors, many of whom live on a fixed income, are hurting because of skyrocketing property taxes,” Crespo said. “This legislation will bring much-needed stability and relief to seniors by ensuring that they don’t have to jump through unnecessary hoops or even miss out on property tax savings.”

Crespo worked with Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi on House Bill 833, which creates a five-year pilot program (from 2020-2024) for qualifying seniors to continue receiving their Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption without having to reapply every year. Currently, Cook County is the only county where older homeowners are forced by state law to go through a burdensome process of reapplying annually for the cost-saving exemption, a process which adds to the burden of seniors and could result in homeowners missing out on savings. Crespo’s measure passed the House with unanimous support. 

“I’m grateful for Representative Crespo for his continued advocacy on this issue. Our office has worked in collaboration with him on the plan for its technological implementation and the safeguards necessary to prevent fraud while also making these annual exemptions more accessible for seniors,” Kaegi said. “We have heard from many taxpayers during my countywide listening tour about the need for HB 833 as it will help modernize operations in the Assessor’s Office and ease an unnecessary burden for seniors in Cook County.”

Crespo represents the 44th District, which includes portions of Hoffman Estates, Streamwood, Schaumburg, Hanover Park, Bartlett, and Elgin.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, worked to ease the tax burden on middle-class families, protect access to health care for Illinois’ most at-risk children and seniors, provide $350 million in new funding for local schools and pass monumental government transparency legislation which revealed billions of dollars in fiscal mismanagement by Gov. Bruce Rauner during the spring legislative session.

“At a time when access to health care is being threatened by out-of-touch politicians in Washington and skyrocketing property taxes are devastating middle-class families, we should be working together to find real solutions,” Crespo said. “Time and time again, Governor Rauner has chosen to play partisan games rather than work with us on solving the issues facing our families.”

Crespo worked to lessen the tax burden on middle-class families by voting to pass Senate Bill 1437, which extends a $2,175 personal income tax exemption that was scheduled to sunset at the end of the fiscal year. As part of the budget working group, he worked to ensure the budget plan cut wasteful bureaucracy and had no new taxes put in place. Crespo voted to pass an overwhelmingly bipartisan, balanced budget that will pay down the state debt, which was tripled during the Rauner budget crisis.

Crespo passed House Bill 4736, which will ensure that children with severe medical conditions continue can be covered by Medicaid, and not moved into programs with decreased care and high denial rates. He also supported legislation to address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs by supporting House Bill 4900, which would ensure big pharmaceutical companies do not price gouge seniors living on fixed incomes.

He also worked tirelessly to provide millions in additional state funds to local schools, lessening the property tax burden on middle-class families. As chairman of the Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee, Crespo was focused on putting children’s education and well-being above all else. He passed legislation to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing No Child Left Behind and providing greater accountability and supports to struggling schools.

Crespo led the effort to pass the Debt Transparency Act, House Bill 3649, which transformed the way state agencies manage their finances. This monumental measure revealed that Illinois incurred more than $1 billion in late payment interest fees, and $2.3 billion in unappropriated debt during the governor’s two-year budget crisis. Crespo’s bill has been labeled the top-rated reform of the year by the Better Government Association, as it is assisting legislators as they work to put the state’s finances back on track. Additionally, he was the lead sponsor of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act, which will ensure that all state grants are subject to the same regulation and scrutiny of federal ones.

“These reforms and a bipartisan budget that holds government accountable, will bring about much needed stability to our state,” Crespo said. “More work remains to be done to move Illinois forward, but this compromise budget shows yet again that when Governor Rauner’s extreme demands are not preconditions to negotiation, Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature get the job done on time.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, is fighting to protect medical care for Illinois’ most at-risk children, including two in the northwest suburbs, who are defined as “medically fragile.” Crespo’s legislation will ensure that children like Michelle Kish of Bartlett and Guilianna Soristo continue to be covered by Medicaid, and not moved into programs with decreased care and high denial rates.

“I took on this fight for two of the strongest people I’ve met, Michelle Kish and Guilianna Soristo Anderson, who live right here in our community and are both medically fragile,” Crespo said. “Children like Michelle and Guilianna deserve access to quality health care and the Managed Care Program is not providing them the care they need.”

Crespo’s House Bill 4736, would exempt children who are Medically Fragile, Technology Dependent (MFTD), and Children requiring Nursing Personal Care Services (NPCS) from the state’s Medicaid Managed Care Program (MCO). Additionally, Crespo’s legislation would allow children with severe medical conditions currently enrolled in the MCO program to unenroll, and receive Medicaid services through the current fee-for-service plan.

There are roughly 1,000 medically fragile children in Illinois, which the Rauner Administration moved into the Medicaid Managed Care program. In almost every other state, children who are medically fragile have been excluded from managed care. The few states that have attempted managed care have seen detrimental consequences. For example, in Texas, a child who could not breathe on his own, had his ventilator denied, and Iowa saw several cases of people dying due to homecare being reduced by the MCO. Crespo’s measure now heads to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.

“Without this legislation, the biggest fear we have as parents is that we’ll lose the ability to take care of our children at home,” said Mary Kish, mother of Michelle Kish. “As a fellow parent, I urge Governor Rauner to protect our children’s health care and ensure families are able to stay together and support one another.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, met with talented students from Hoffman Estates’ Neil Armstrong Elementary visiting the Capitol for TECH 2018 and discussed how technology is being incorporated into the classroom to enrich students’ learning experience.

“It was a pleasure meeting these talented young people who traveled all the way to our state’s Capitol to showcase their work,” Crespo said. “In order to prepare our young people for the jobs of tomorrow, it is essential that we fully fund education at every level and ensure that every child has access to STEAM programs like the one offered at Neil Armstrong Elementary.”

Crespo met with students at TECH 2018, a statewide initiative that is supported by a broad range of education and business organizations to demonstrate to lawmakers, business leaders and citizens how technology is being used to create more interactive learning environments. The sixth grade students of Neil Armstrong Elementary demonstrated MiniJumbotron which they have been learning about in FUSE Club. FUSE is an educational program that brings interactive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) learning to schools.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In response to the recommendations released today by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in regards to Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) special education policies, state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, is calling for aggressive legislative action to address the inequities taking place.

“I am pleased to see ISBE take this matter seriously.  For too long, systemic violations of federal and state special education laws at CPS have gone unchecked,” Crespo said. “There is a pattern within CPS of denying children, especially minority children, access to quality education and a safe learning environment. The status quo is completely unacceptable.”

In 2016, CPS made changes to their special education policies which resulted in systemically denying or delaying services to children.  In late 2016, over 150 parents signed a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel protesting the changes, but the violations were not addressed.  It took multiple news reports and a letter from 13 advocacy organizations to prompt ISBE to begin its first ever public inquiry into a school district.

In April 2018, ISBE released a report which found CPS had systematically violated federal and state special education laws.  As Chair of the House Elementary and Secondary Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee, Rep. Crespo has held over 12 hours of testimony on the topic in order to shed light on those systemic violations and bring about solutions to the problem. Today, ISBE released a corrective action plan for CPS, which among other things, includes an ISBE appointed monitor to ensure compliance with their plan.

“Throughout the extensive hearings I have convened on the topic, it became apparent that there was gross oversight which directly hurt our most vulnerable students and their families,” Crespo said. “During the hearings, CPS was unable to explain basic information regarding their special education services and did not have a clear and effective plan to ensure student needs were being met.  It should not take years of news articles, parental complaints and legislative inquiries to provide necessary services to special education students.”

“That said I appreciate ISBE’s recommendations and believe an independent monitor of CPS is a step in the right direction,” Crespo continued. “I can assure you the committee will be closely monitoring the situation and taking legislative action to ensure CPS provides its special education students the services they are entitled to by law.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, passed legislation through the House which aims to grow the economy of suburban communities like Schaumburg and others across the state by promoting tourism.

“Trade shows and all the different types of meetings hosted at local conventions centers are key contributors to the success of suburban economies,” said Crespo. “This legislation is a bipartisan effort to continue supporting communities like Schaumburg so that they are able to grow and prosper like bigger cities.”

Crespo is the chief sponsor of House Bill 4990, which would provide grants from the Tourism Promotion Fund for convention centers to offer incentives in order to ensure a meeting, trade show or convention uses their facility. Currently convention centers in Schaumburg, Quincy, Springfield, Tinley Park, Peoria, Collinsville, Moline and Lombard as well as the Indoor Sports Center in Rockford qualify for the grants.  In order for a convention center to be eligible under the program, the facility must be owned by a local government.

“Meetings Means Business to Illinois and HB 4990 is a great example of revenue neutral approach to bring new meetings and events into Illinois to make a positive economic impact,” said Dave Parulo, President of Meet Chicago Northwest – the tourism bureau for Chicago’s Northwest Suburbs.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, is demanding the state follow commonsense accounting practices to begin paying down a multibillion dollar backlog of bills allowed to pile up during Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget crisis. Crespo voted to pass bipartisan legislation that will require the governor to account for old bills and late fees in his budget proposals.

“While Governor Rauner talks a big game about fiscal responsibility and holding government accountable, it is far from what his administration has actually done,” Crespo said. “In the last two-and-half-years, Governor Rauner’s budget games have tripled state debt to an unprecedented $16 billion, and forced taxpayers to pay more than $1 billion in interest fees because his administration couldn’t pay bills on time. Still, his phony budget proposals do not account for this. We need to hold this administration and future administrations accountable, and ensure they are managing taxpayer money properly.”

Crespo stood with a group of Republicans and Democrats to pass House Bill 5814, which would require governors to identify and account for late payment fees in their yearly budget proposal. Currently, most late payment interest penalties accrue at a rate of 12 percent per month for bills not paid within 90 days of the bill date. Between 1998 and 2015, late fees owed to vendors providing services to the state totaled $1.0396 billion. However, Crespo’s Debt Transparency Act has revealed that in the last two-and-a-half-years alone, Illinois accrued $1.1396 billion in late fees without a clear plan in place to pay for them.

“Rather than putting money into education, health care, services for seniors, or tax cuts for the middle class, over a billion dollars will now have to go toward paying off avoidable fees,” Crespo said. “Like other good government reforms, this legislation passed the House with bipartisan support and it’s my hope that the governor will finally work with us to restore financial sanity to our state.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, issued the following statement after Gov. Bruce Rauner falsely claimed that the findings in the Illinois auditor general’s report were fundamentally inaccurate:

“Governor Rauner has sunk to new low in his attempt to draw attention away from his negligence and incompetence as he smeared the audit’s findings as fundamentally inaccurate and erroneous, or as Donald Trump would claim, ‘fake news.’ All the while, his very own Department of Healthcare and Family Services has already started implementing most of the auditor general’s recommendations.

“It is beyond frustrating that the same man who just stood in front of the General Assembly to speak of fiscal discipline is disregarding over $7 billion in unaccounted Medicaid bills in this way. I believe the fact that HFS could not come up with complete data on what they spent on administrative costs, how many claims had been denied, or whether the state had overpaid calls for further investigation.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, issued the following statement after the Governor Rauner’s State of the State Address:

“For three years, the governor has time and time again denied responsibility, and blamed everyone else but himself for his inability to work across the aisle. It took Democrats and Republicans to come together—despite the governor’s objections—to pass a balanced budget that puts Illinois back on the right track.

“The governor’s points on fiscal discipline were nothing more than empty political rhetoric because when it comes down to it what you do says a whole lot more than what you say. Governor Rauner vetoed commonsense legislation which has now uncovered that his administration accrued over $2 billion in unauthorized debt, and a recent audit uncovered that his administration cannot account for $7.11 billion in Medicaid spending.

“It’s time for Governor Rauner to recognize that he is in charge, and start acting like it. Next month, when he presents his budget proposal to the General Assembly, he must lay out a plan to address how the state is going to deal with the billions of dollars in lost opportunity. But if he chooses to continue down his path of destruction, the General Assembly must move forward without him and continue restoring financial stability to our state.”