CHICAGO— State Rep. William “Will” Davis, D-Homewood,  is releasing the following statement on Governor Pritzker’s budget address Wednesday. 

“Today we heard the governor’s budget address, which begins an important process—making sure Illinois continues to meet its obligations that we have to our communities, who are relying on us.”

“Many programs like Medicaid and Medicare are not extreme line items; they are what thousands of families depend on around the state. As we move through this budget process, I will continue to focus on protecting access to quality healthcare, child care, and other services that shore up our residents’  stability across the south suburbs. ”

“Plus, we must continue expanding opportunities for minority-owned businesses through fair and accountable contracting. Economic inclusion strengthens our entire state, and our budget should reflect that commitment.”

“Illinois has shown that we can balance fiscal responsibility with meaningful investment. As we review the governor’s proposal, I will work to be sure that our final budget protects healthcare access, supports public education, promotes equity and opportunity for all.”

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HOMEWOOD, Ill – Working to provide more relief to Illinoisans facing rising energy costs, State Rep. William “Will” Davis, D-Homewood, passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Act (CRGA) that will help bring down home energy bills immediately and provide long-term relief for residents.

“Across the state, rising energy bills have been a serious concern for Illinois families,” said Davis. “This Act will provide people with immediate relief while also creating the foundation to advance the Illinois power grid, bringing long-term relief to people across the state.”

Beginning this year, utility customers in Northern Illinois will receive a monthly Carbon Mitigation Credit, which will reduce home energy costs by up to $11 every month. Alongside providing customer savings, CRGA will include major innovations to generate and store energy and bring down costs even further, including:

• Capturing clean energy: By capturing and redistributing energy already being produced, including from home solar panels, ComEd customers can see immediate relief on monthly costs.
• Increasing battery storage: By building out our grid to increase the state’s battery storage, power systems will become more reliable and affordable to power millions of Illinois homes.
• Investing in energy efficiency programs: This law will directly expand energy efficiency programs for residents, lowering electricity prices by reducing overall demand.

This law is estimated to create up to 115,000 jobs, with many of them going to equitable energy contractors. CRGA requires that grid-scale storage projects meet labor and equity standards that ensure historically disadvantaged communities can benefit from these new jobs. It will also fund technical assistance to help small and disadvantaged businesses comply with Project Labor Agreement requirements.

“The Clean and Reliable Grid Act will help families across the state, including here in my district,” said Davis. “Not only will it reduce energy costs, but clean energy innovations will be expanded, and jobs will be created. This is a major win in the fight to provide people with affordable clean energy.”

CHICAGO – Buses and trains will be safer, more reliable and more efficiently managed under a major transit reform package law passed by state Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood.

“Thanks to the efforts of so many people, the Chicagoland transit systems are finally being transformed,” said Davis. “Our transit systems serve millions of people every year, and it’s up to us to ensure that they’re getting quality service. With these new reforms, not only will our transit systems be financially stable; they will also provide safe, reliable transportation that anyone can feel comfortable using.”

Across our state, public transit takes people to work, takes people home, and connects people, businesses, and communities more than 400 million times every year. But that system has faced major challenges; fragmented governance, uneven investment and post-COVID ridership losses have left transit struggling with unreliable service, delayed trains, canceled routes and a looming fiscal cliff that’s threatening to derail it all.

Davis worked to save and improve transit by passing Senate Bill 2111, a transformational package of reforms that brings Pace, CTA, and Metra together into one modern, efficient system. The new Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) is a major step toward a transit system that gets people where they need to go affordably, protects taxpayers and offers a better experience for riders and workers.

Davis’s reforms mean:

● More efficient administration: NITA will operate with new internal and independent auditors to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in transit. It will be required to maintain a reserve fund to prevent future bailouts.

● Reliable, modern service: NITA will bring uniformity to fares and schedules to better meet the needs of riders—whether on buses or trains, whether in the city or the suburbs.

● A safer experience for riders and workers: A multijurisdictional law enforcement team will step up enforcement right away. NITA will deploy ambassadors across the system to assist people experiencing mental health crises, and a permanent office of safety will lead long-term planning to keep riders and workers safe.

Senate Bill 2111 was signed into law Tuesday.

HOMEWOOD, Ill. – A new law introduced by state Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, will bring more transparency to the state contracting process and encourage more diverse businesses to compete.

“Although we have made some strides in getting more diversity in the list of vendors that do business with the state, we still have a long way to go,” said Davis. “It is absolutely critical that we use every tool at our disposal to make sure that some of our tax dollars flow back to our community in the form of payments to businesses that work with the state.”

Davis introduced House Bill 2192, which offers more transparency and guidance to help minority-owned and women-owned businesses navigate the state contracting process. The measure requires state agencies, including the Department of Transportation (IDOT), Capital Development Board (CDB) and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISHA) to submit in writing reasoning for rejecting a firm’s bid after four failed attempts.

The bill was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last month.

“This law is just the latest step in a long line of efforts to make our state’s list of contractors and vendors more diverse,” said Davis. “There are countless businesses run by underserved individuals, and I think they deserve all of the help and assurance that the state can provide to help them pursue opportunities.”

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. – On Tuesday, April 11th, after experiencing a medical emergency, State Representative William “Will” Davis of the 30th District was involved in a minor car accident. 

The Davis family wishes to thank the first responders for their expeditious response as well as the medical staff for the excellent care he is receiving.

He and his family are very appreciative of the prayers, thoughts, support and well-wishes.  During this time, as he focuses on making a full recovery, the family respectfully asks for privacy.   

Representative Davis’ office will continue to serve the constituents of the 30th District

Springfield, Ill. – To bring attention to rising utility rates, state Rep. Will Davis, Homewood, will join Illinois residents and advocacy organizations to promote legislative solutions to improve oversight of utility rates and provide additional protections to ensure affordability.

WHAT: Press conference regarding utility rate affordability and the PURR Act (HB 2172).

WHO: Rep. William Davis, Rep. Ann Williams and Sen. Johnson. Blacks in Green, National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI), National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club Illinois, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

WHEN: Tuesday, May 21, 2023 11:30 AM

WHERE: Blue Room, Illinois State Capitol