Accomplishments in our First Year
I was the chief co-sponsor of 13 bills, which means I led the process of drafting bill language, collaborating with community organizations, and recruiting my Senate colleagues to vote yes. All 13 bills passed in both chambers and were signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker.
Here is a quick breakdown of what each bill will do now that they have been signed into law. If you want more details, simply click on the bill number and you can see the legislation yourself!
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Banning Private Detention Centers: HB2040 bans all private civil detention centers in Illinois. I worked with the Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois to pass this bill, which is the first in the nation to ban private detention centers.
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Providing SNAP Benefits to Students: SB1641 requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to identify and flag college students who could be eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits
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Expanding Access to Preventative Services: HB2665 allows minors 12 years of age and older to seek preventative treatment against HIV from a doctor without parental consent, opening up thousands of queer youth to treatment that they’ve been historically denied
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Ending ‘Pay to Stay’: HB900 ends the Department of Corrections' practice of suing formerly incarcerated people to recoup the cost of their incarceration, also known as “pay to stay.”
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Requiring Transparent Class Sizes in Chicago: HB254 requires CPS to publicly report their data on class sizes on their website, which will bring us closer to a win on class size caps.
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Bringing Civics to Incarcerated People: HB2541, also known as the Unlock Civics Bill, brings non-partisan civic education into prisons to teach civics to soon-to-be released citizens who will be re-entering society.
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Youth Feedback for Foster System: SB1743 requires the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to develop a survey to regularly gather feedback from children who transition out of foster care.
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Expanding Post-Adoption Support Services: HB3587 requires DCFS to establish and maintain a toll-free number to respond to requests from the public about its post-placement and post-adoption support services.
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Preventing Youth Homelessness, Incarceration, and Unemployment: SB1808 requires DCFS and other agencies to work together to provide preventative care to ensure young people have the resources and tools they need to be successful.
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Funding Youth Apprenticeships: SB1525 provides eligible youth an apprenticeship stipend to cover those costs associated with entering a program.
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Expanding Transparency for the Department of Corrections: HB386 required correctional facilities to annually publish a report on their use of evidence-based practices to set conditions of local supervision and mandatory supervised release.
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Growing the ‘Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce’: HB2723 adds two people who work for child welfare providers to the task force.
In addition, I was proud to support key legislation that will support families across the 13th District and Illinois.
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I voted yes on the Reproductive Health Act, which protects the right to an abortion and makes Illinois a leader in protecting reproductive health in the Midwest.
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I supported the capital bill, which will invest billions of dollars in our roads, parks, schools, and more (all while supporting good-paying jobs for years to come).
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I helped stop the dangerous“pipeline protest” bill, which would have made protesting the building of new pipelines a felony offense in Illinois.