SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –To reduce the gender wage gap, state Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation to address the pay discrepancies between men and women in Illinois.

“Obviously, we should have equal pay for equal work,” Williams said. “It’s 2017 – the fact that women in the workplace still, on average, earn 79 cents on the dollar to their male colleagues is ridiculous.”

Williams is one of the sponsors of House Resolution 124, designating April 4, 2017 as Pay Equity Day in Illinois. This measure highlights how long women have to work in one year in order to earn the same pay their male counterparts received in the previous year. She is also cosponsoring House Bill 2462, which requires employers to pay women the same as equally qualified men doing the same job. This legislation prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their previous wages, a practice that can lock women in to lower pay for their entire careers. This measure also bars companies from requiring employees to sign contracts that would prevent them from discussing their salary.

“The significance of this issue has not gone away and it must be a priority until we address it head on,” Williams said. “When people do the same job, they deserve the same pay.”

CHICAGO, IL – State Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, announced today that she will serve as chair of the Illinois House of Representatives’ Tourism, Hospitality & Craft Industries Committee.

“I’m looking forward to this exciting opportunity to work with a bipartisan group of colleagues to grow Illinois’ tourism, hospitality and craft industries,” Williams said.  “These sectors are critical to our state’s economic growth and represent some of the biggest economic successes over the past few years.”

The City of Chicago reported a record 54.1 million visitors in 2016, resulting in $15 billion in direct spending. Overall, the Tourism and Leisure industry employs 600,000 people in the State of Illinois, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Illinois continues to be a premier tourism destination in the Midwest,” Williams said. “As chair of this committee, my priority will be to support legislation that expands revenue opportunities and spurs economic development within these industries throughout Illinois.”

The past few years have also seen exciting growth in the hospitality and craft industries. The state have seen numerous new craft beer breweries and distilleries open for business, and an increased production of many other Illinois-made products.  Thousands of new hotel guestrooms have come online, and Chicago continues to be a top destination for culinary tourism. With the start of the 100th Illinois General Assembly, Williams is committed to expanding the new opportunities in these sectors.

Additionally, Williams was appointed to Vice Chairman of the House Civil Judiciary Committee, and she will also serve on the Labor and Commerce, Police & First Responders, and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Today in his State of State address, Governor Rauner spoke about the challenges and opportunities facing our state. I share the Governor’s hope for a quick resolution to the budget impasse that continues to harm our communities, and urge the Governor to work with our legislative leaders to end the political roadblocks that have prevented us from moving forward together.

To date, the Governor has refused to negotiate the budget unless and until his political agenda is passed. The consequences of this are growing, as we continue to operate without a complete and full budget. The social service safety net is more and more vulnerable every day, our schools are facing significant budget cuts, the amount of unpaid bills continues to increase, and our economic climate remains unstable.

This is not governing. I continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a way through the impasse – and agree that neither party can address this alone. I am open to the Governor’s ideas about redistricting reform and term limits on leadership, but my focus remains on passage of a budget as the top priority.

While the Governor stressed the importance of investing in education and said “nothing was more important that educating our young people,” his actions of the past two years have contradicted this. In his speech, he stated he supported “unprecedented funding” for our schools – yet last year he called any short-term funding to address the CPS fiscal crisis a “bailout” and refused to sign a pension bill to address the inequitable way pensions are funded in Chicago – leaving CPS with a $200M shortfall they are scrambling to make up. Moreover, he failed to support legislation to revamp the inequitable school funding formula that shortchanged low-income school districts like Chicago. I will continue to work toward sustainable and equitable funding of our neighborhood schools; this must be a top priority as the budget discussions evolve.

Now, more than ever, we need to work together toward fiscal stability for Illinois – and pass a fair, complete budget which takes into account the priorities of our communities. The Governor, legislative leadership and legislators from both sides of the aisle must stand up for the constituents they represent and find common ground. We have no other option.