GLENVIEW, Ill. – State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, is joining Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Niles Assessor Scott Bengall and other state and local officials to host a free Property Tax Appeals Seminar on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Skokie Public Library, located at 5215 Oakton St.

“Rising property taxes make it difficult for families and seniors living on fixed incomes to budget their expenses and save their hard-earned money,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “It is important to me that residents have the resources they need to accurately appeal their property tax so they don’t miss out on any savings and overpay on taxes.”  

Gong-Gershowitz’s event is free and open to the public. Representatives from the Cook County and Township assessors’ offices will be on site to assist homeowners fill out their appeals and explain potential eligibility for existing property tax exemptions. Notices of appeals for Niles Township will be mailed out on September 9 and the appeal deadline is October 9. Please bring a copy of your most recent property tax bill. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Gong-Gershowitz’s full-time constituent service office at (847) 486-8810 or info@GongGershowitz.com.

Gong-Gershowitz has supported a number of measures to address high property taxes in the state. She supported the new Property Tax Relief Fund to offer rebates to those claiming a homeowner’s exemption. She also voted for this year’s bipartisan, balanced budget which increases funding to public K-12 schools in order to decrease the pressure placed on property taxes for funding local schools. Additionally, she voted for the creation of the Property Tax Relief Task Force, a bipartisan commission which will study the state’s property tax system and recommend further comprehensive solutions to addressing the state’s high property taxes. She has been appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve on this task force.

 “I am committed to continue to find ways to reduce the financial strain property taxes place on our community while maintaining the excellence of our schools and parks,” Gong-Gershowitz continued. “I encourage all those in Niles Township to attend my seminar so we can offer them the tools they need to reduce their property tax burden.”

CHICAGO, Ill. –State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, released the following statement after attending the historic signing of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), which protects women’s right to choose in Illinois:

“100 years ago, Illinois demonstrated its commitment to equality and self-determination by being the first state to ratify the 19^th amendment, paving the way for women’s right to vote. Today, we renewed that commitment by signing the Reproductive Health Act into law, which ensures we trust women to make their own medical decisions.

“While there are those who wish to diswtort and politicize this issue, we must not forget that this is about women having the freedom to know their own minds and make their own choices about their bodies. The RHA ensures that comprehensive reproductive health care will remain a reality in Illinois, regardless of what happens at the federal level. I am proud to stand ever vigilant against those who wish to take us back to a time when women died attempting to exercise freedom over their own lives. We will not go back.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – With session ending for the summer, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, spent this past spring working on a number of measures to protect reproductive rights, hold corporations accountable for pollution, protect immigrants from discrimination and pass a balanced, responsible budget that protects the middle class while funding critical services and education.

“Across the country, we are seeing states pass restrictive laws aimed at eliminating a woman’s right to choose as opponents of choice wage their war on women,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Throughout history, women have been devalued, dismissed, discounted and have died just for attempting to exercise bodily autonomy. We cannot go back to a pre-Roe world. That’s why I supported the Reproductive Health Act because abortion is healthcare, and because Donald Trump and his allies should not be dictating what women can and cannot do.”

Right now, there are a number of antiquated anti-choice laws in Illinois that are only blocked from enforcement because of Roe V. Wade. Senate Bill 25, also known as the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) not only repeals those antiquated policies, but it ensures that access to reproductive services are protected in Illinois should Roe be overturned.

Gong-Gershowitz supported Senate Bill 9, which places stronger regulations and enforcement on coal power plants when disposing of their waste. Coal ash, a by-product of the combustion of coal, contains a number of toxic pollutants that deteriorate the quality of water making it unsafe for drinking. Recently, a study done by a number of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, found that of the 24 coal power plants located in Illinois, 90% had groundwater contamination with one or more unsafe pollutants. Gong-Gershowitz’s initiative will prevent the reckless disposal of waste in local water supplies.

“It is unacceptable that large corporations are skirting regulations to enrich themselves, while poisoning the local communities and taking no responsibility,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “It is on us to fight back against big business to ensure our children and future generations inherit a planet with clean water and air.”

Gong-Gershowitz also introduced House Bill 836 which provides a clearly defined path to designate a short-term guardian to protect children in the event that a parent or guardian is detained, deported or otherwise separated from their children by immigration officials. She also passed Senate Bill 1429 which places limitations on when someone’s immigration status can be used in civil proceedings in an effort to silence victims.

“As a human rights lawyer, I have brought my experience and expertise navigating the legal system on behalf of vulnerable populations to the General Assembly. I have witnessed firsthand how deficient, and in some cases malicious, immigration policies are and how they can tear families apart,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “I authored a bill to mitigate the pain and anxiety of family separation by ensuring that parents may designate a trusted legal guardian in the event they are deported or detained. While there are those who wish to exploit the status of undocumented people by targeting them for crimes, I passed legislation to prevent a victim’s immigration status from being used to intimidate them into silence.”

Gong-Gershowitz supported the “Fix the FOID Act,” which expands background checks to all firearm purchases and strengthens the background checks for FOID card applicants by requiring fingerprint submissions. It also requires coordination between the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement to ensure that individuals who have lost their FOID cards privileges surrender their guns when necessary. Under the Act, FOID cards must be renewed more frequently to ensure there are regular background checks for gun owners. That legislation, Senate Bill 1966, passed the Illinois House last week.

“Gun violence continues to plague communities across Illinois, which shows how much more work is required to end this epidemic,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Recent tragedies, like the Aurora shootings this year, have proven the dire necessity for comprehensive background checks and new finger-printing requirements for FOID applications. I am proud to have supported this key gun safety reform to close loopholes and keep guns out of those who may cause harm.”

To help stabilize Illinois’ financial footing, Gong-Gershowitz supported a responsible, balanced budget that funds critical services like education, senior resources and health care, while making a full pension payment and meaningfully addressing the backlog of bills accrued under the Rauner administration.

“Cuts to education at the state level over the past two decades have led to higher property taxes and fewer opportunities for Illinois’ students. In particular, draconian cuts to higher education under the previous administration forced students to out-of-state colleges, where most of them will remain long after they graduate. This costs our state young college graduates, young families and economic growth,” Gong-Gershowitz added. “In this budget, we increased the state education funding for our K-12 schools to promote equity and alleviate property taxes.”

Gong-Gershowitz supported increased funding to our monetary assistance grant program (MAP) to provide financial assistance for low-income students who wish to attend university and keep our young people in Illinois. She also played a key role in the House Appropriations-Human Services budget working group, where she successfully negotiated more investments toward critical programs like meals on wheels, autism funding and addiction treatment.

“I voted to send the question of a fair tax to a direct referendum because I believe Illinois voters should have a voice in our state’s tax structure and supported a task force to investigate innovative methods of property tax relief in Illinois,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “We need responsible financial leadership now more than ever. It is my commitment to advocate for responsible spending on behalf of my residents.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In a push back against attacks across the country on reproductive rights, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, helped to pass the Reproductive Health Act out of the Illinois House. She released the following statement:

“The intent of the Reproductive Health Act is to codify common-law standards developed under Roe v Wade, which reflects the framework we live under now. There has been no shortage of incendiary rhetoric and misinformation disseminated by those who intend to strip women of their rights under Roe v Wade. No woman that I have ever known at any point in my life decides to terminate a healthy pregnancy moments before birth as opponents of choice would have us believe.

“In rare cases where a woman chooses an abortion later in pregnancy it’s because something has gone tragically wrong, and she is faced with a choice that only her and her doctor are qualified to make. Not government. This isn’t about what I believe – it’s about whether women have agency over their own lives to decide what they believe. I trust women to own the self-determination over what happens to their bodies and their lives.

“This isn’t about challenging anyone’s religious convictions. This is about our power to know our own minds, our God, our bodies, our choice. I for one do not need anyone in this room to make it for me. To women who throughout history have been devalued, dismissed and discounted, this is our moment to say that we will not go back.

“Today I was proud to vote yes to protect women’s rights to self-determination over our bodies and our lives.”

Senate Bill 25 passed the House by a vote of 64-50 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In an effort to end the exploitation of immigrants, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, has introduced legislation to encourage them to speak up against those who have harmed them.

“All too often, immigration status is used as a weapon to intimidate vulnerable members of our community into silence,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Threats to reveal irrelevant immigration information in open court and other cowardly tactics are routinely used to prevent victims from attaining justice.”

Undocumented immigrants are disproportionately targeted as victims of crimes due to their status. Perpetrators rely on their immigration status to deter them from seeking legal recourse. Gong-Gershowitz’s Senate Bill 1429 addresses this tactic by placing limitations on the use of immigration evidence in civil proceedings. This includes requiring the court to decide that an individual’s immigration status is essential to prove an element of a claim before allowing that status to be admitted into evidence.

 “Our communities are safer when justice is available to everyone, regardless of their immigration status,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “We must ensure that rhetoric that attempts to dehumanize others is not allowed in our courts and that our legal system remains fair and just.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A resolution backed by state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, defends women’s reproductive rights by calling on the federal government to restore funding to women’s health clinics.

“The federal government is taking every chance to push their dangerous agenda against the reproductive rights of women across the country,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “This latest move will ratchet up the costs of healthcare for women, making it difficult or even impossible for some women to afford critical medical screenings and procedures. We can’t stay quiet while the federal government places constraints on doctors, limits accessibility to women’s health clinics and restricts funding for reproductive services.”

Gong-Gershowitz is supporting House Resolution 204, which urges the federal government to get rid of a new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that strips federal funding from health clinics that provide reproductive health services. The rule also prevents doctors from referring patients to other providers who may provide the services.

“It is a fundamental right for a woman to make health care decisions about her own body,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Putting financial hurdles in front of women is wrong and it has to end.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To strengthen background checks for firearm purchases, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, introduced a bill to require applicants to provide fingerprints when applying for a state license.

“Protecting our families from those who have a history of harming others requires us to take a hard look at the laws we have on the books and how we can improve them,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Our communities deserve the peace of mind that our process for approving FOID cards is comprehensive and holds public safety as a priority.”

Gong-Gershowitz’s House Bill 3104 would require all individuals applying for a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) to submit a full set of fingerprints to the Illinois State Police. The fingerprints would then be checked against all available state and local criminal history record information files, including the Department of State Police database, FBI criminal history record databases, and records of juvenile adjudications.

Recently, a mass shooting in Aurora resulting in the deaths of five employees and wounded five police officers shined a light on loopholes in current state gun laws. Without submitting a fingerprint, the shooter was approved for a FOID card despite having a criminal history including a guilty plea to aggravated assault, which authorities say included him beating a former girlfriend with a bat and stabbing her with a knife. This conviction did not show up on the initial fingerprint-less background check. It was not until he later applied for a concealed carry license and submitted a fingerprint to expedite the process, the felony conviction showed up.

“Tragedy after tragedy signals that we must enact common sense gun safety legislation to prevent further needless suffering,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Those who have a record of harming others should not be given the green light to purchase firearms and our laws should reflect our desire to keep our communities safe.”

SPRINGFIELD – Continuing her mission to help the vulnerable, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, passed her first bill out of committee this week to improve the process of designating a legal guardian of children in the event the child is separated from their parent during immigration proceedings.

“Parents who are undocumented immigrants can be suddenly detained or deported due to immigration enforcement, unwittingly leaving their children in unstable situations,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Parents should be able to designate a guardian that they know and trust to care for their children in the event of separation. It is important that children feel safe and not be punished for events not of their own making.”

Gong-Gershowitz is the chief sponsor of House Bill 836, which enhances the process of guardianship for minors in cases of separation in connection with immigration enforcement. The legislation amends current law to provide a clearly defined path to designating a short term guardian to protect children in the event that a parent or guardian is detained, deported or otherwise separated from their children by immigration officials. Current Illinois law does not adequately provide a pathway for immigrant parents to do so without expending financial resources that are out of reach for many families. House Bill 836 was passed out of committee with a unanimous vote and now moves to the House floor.

Gong-Gershowitz represents the 17th House District which includes portions of Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook, Skokie and Wilmette.

SPRINGFIELD – Continuing her efforts to combat workplace harassment, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, introduced a package of bills to create an improved reporting process.

“Part of creating a safe working environment for all individuals is making sure we have a clear and reasonable reporting process that encourages people to speak up,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “We must enact laws to ensure that allegations are taken seriously and that a respectful and safe working place is a priority to employers.”

Gong-Gershowitz’s package of bills make a number of improvements to the reporting process. House Bill 2061 extends the statute of limitations for civil rights violations, such as discrimination based on sex or race, from under one year to three years. This is to take into account that it is often difficult for survivors to bring allegations forward immediately, as they themselves need to process the incident.

House Bill 2062 creates the Freedom to Disclose Act which prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent the employee from discussing work-related sexual harassment or sexual violence. The act also stipulates that any such agreement is void.

House Bill 2063 directs employers with 50 or more employees to retain their records of sexual harassment employee complaints for a minimum of 10 years after the date it was received. It is important that such records are kept so employers can track repeated poor or dangerous behavior of individuals.

“If we want to empower victims to speak up for themselves, we cannot allow employers to proactively silence their employees or destroy records of complaints,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “We must demonstrate that we are serious about addressing workplace harassment by setting basic guidelines for reporting. These bills are a step in that direction.”

Gong-Gershowitz represents the 17th House District which includes portions of Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook, Skokie and Wilmette.