CHICAGO – Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, the House Deputy Majority Leader, is pleased to see that important equity and diversity legislation she sponsored signed into law.

“I want to thank Governor Pritzker for signing House Bill 3914 into law. We appreciate his willingness to acknowledge the persistent inequities in state hiring and contracting and to step up to try to do something about it,” Flowers said.

The new law, now known as Public Act 102-0617, requires the state to, “take positive action toward addressing systemic racism and barriers to increase workforce diversity in State employment.”  

“When it comes to traffic stops, Black people are grossly overrepresented compared to our percentage of the overall population. But when it comes to state jobs and contracts, we are just as noticeably underrepresented. Why is that?” asked Leader Flowers. “State government should be leading on diversity in hiring and contracting. But instead of leading, we’re lagging. Clearly, more has to be done to level the playing field.”

Further, the new law also requires that state hiring panels who interview job candidates be more diverse and fair.

“People feel more comfortable when they talk to someone who looks like them. For the hiring process, this is true on both sides of the equation: for the people who do the hiring as well as the job candidates they are interviewing,” Flowers said. “This has worked well for people in the majority for centuries. But now, if we want to do something to challenge the status quo, we’re going to have to be more inclusive when we interview candidates for state jobs.

“Good intentions are not enough. As a huge employer, the State of Illinois must have equity and diversity in its own workforce,” concluded Leader Flowers. “This legislation simply tries to put a structure in place that moves us from good intentions to positive action.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, is highlighting a new law to increase diversity in college admissions in Illinois.

“Being able to successfully engage with people from different backgrounds and who have different experiences is becoming an increasingly critical skill in today’s economy and society,” Lilly said. “Ensuring that our colleges and universities have a broad range of gender, geographic, racial and socioeconomic diversity in student admissions will not only enrich our students and campuses, it will help build better leaders for our future.”

Lilly supported House Bill 26 to institute a pilot project for a top ten percent admissions plan for Eastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University. Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, and lasting for four years, each of these institutions will be required to admit general admissions applicants who have graduated in the top ten percent of their high school class, completed minimum college preparatory requirements for a particular institution and satisfied ACT or SAT score requirements for a particular institution. At the University of Texas, students enrolled under a similar law are a far more diverse population than students admitted under other criteria.

“This law will help ensure that institutions of higher education in our state reflect the great diversity of the people of Illinois,” Lilly added. “After four years of destruction and devastation public universities, it will also show our top-performing students that they do have a place at our colleges and universities.”

AURORA, Ill. – Legislation supported by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, to increase the number of apprenticeship jobs for minorities throughout the state was signed into law last week.

“Jobs in the construction industry are in high demand and can be a great career to make a quality living wage,” said Hernandez. “Despite the high demand, minorities throughout the state still struggle to land a job that can support them and their families.”

Hernandez co-sponsored Senate Bill 534, which will create the new Bureau on Apprenticeship Programs within the Illinois Department of Labor and an accompanying advisory board. Leadership from each chamber will appoint a member to the advisory board, totaling 12 members. The bipartisan board will be given the task to examine the current systems and processes that are limiting minorities from gaining access to careers in the construction field, along with giving recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly on how to increase these jobs. The bill received large bipartisan support, and the new law will take effect on Jan. 1st, 2020.

“There are countless barriers that minorities face that prohibit them from finding a well-paying career compared to their white counterparts,” said Hernandez. “An apprenticeship is a crucial kick-start to a long and successful career, and it is time that minorities are better represented in the construction field.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – Women and African-Americans will be ensured a seat in the corporate boardroom under legislation recently passed by state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, requiring Illinois’ publicly held corporations to prioritize gender and racial diversity on their boards of directors.

“It’s important that the leadership of large companies in Illinois reflects the diversity of our state,” Lilly said. “For too long, women and African-Americans have been excluded from the opportunity to serve on corporate boards and this measure will make sure they are represented.”

Lilly sponsored House Bill 3394 and voted to pass the bill out of the House last week. Lilly’s measure requires publicly held corporations based in Illinois to have at least one female and one African American on their board of directors by the end of 2020. The bill also allows the secretary of state’s office to fine corporations that are not in compliance with the law and requires the office to publish an annual report on the diversity of corporate boards in the state. Research from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation and the Credit Suisse Research Institute show that diverse corporate boards outperform their competitors in profitability, risk management, share price, social governance and valuation.

“It’s clear that having a diverse corporate board means more success for businesses because more experiences and perspectives are represented in the development of products and services,” added Lilly. “I encourage my colleagues in the Senate and Governor J.B. Pritzker to support this measure.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Committed to supporting women’s rights, state Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, voted to pass legislation that would require publicly owned corporations in Illinois to have at least one female and one minority member on its board of directors.

“While women and people of color are in executive roles within companies and government, more must be done to ensure equitable representation in the predominantly white and male world of corporate America,” Didech said. “This legislation is a step in the right direction as we continue working to remove barriers that often get in the way of talented individuals achieving personal and professional success.”

Didech sponsored House Bill 3394, which would require all publically held corporations with principal executive offices located in Illinois to have a minimum of one female director and one African-American director on its board of directors by 2020. The Didech-backed measure also requires the Secretary of State to publish a report about equitable representation.

Didech also recently voted for House Resolution 85, which draws attention to how far into the year a woman must work to earn what a male peer earned the prior year by designating April 2 as Pay Equity Day.

“These measures allow us to have an open discussion about how to address the inequities still present in our society, such as pay discrimination and lack of diversity,” Didech said. “I remain committed to supporting initiatives like these in order to move our state forward, creating a more equal and just society for women and our minority residents.”