Belt: A child’s success starts with early childhood education

SPRINGFIELD - State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) will serve on the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding to improve access to quality early childhood programs for all Illinois families.

“If we expect our children to have successful careers, we need to continue to invest in early childhood education,” Belt said. “This starts with making sure students have an intellectual skill set before entering kindergarten and ensuring the most disadvantaged children have the opportunity to succeed alongside their more advantaged classmates.”

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As legalized cannabis poised to begin, Pritzker signs Steans’ tweaks to new law

CHICAGO — Less than a month before cannabis cultivation and sale become legal in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation finalizing certain parts of the new statute alongside the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Heather A. Steans, at a ceremony in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood.

“When we embarked on the long road to legalization of adult-use cannabis, we set out not just to end bad drug policy and lay the groundwork for opportunity in a new industry,” Steans said, “we also sought ways to make amends for how drug enforcement has ravaged communities. As we stand poised for legalization on Jan. 1, I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to make this legislation a reality, and I want to remind all of us that to ensure we see justice, we must listen to the community and respond to their concerns swiftly.”

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Harris donates $2,500 to the Rocky Clark Scholarship Fund

SPRINGFEILD – On Tuesday’s National Day of Giving, State Senator Napoleon Harris III (D-Chicago) attended the Rocky Clark Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser at South Suburban College and donated $2,500 to the Rocky Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund.

"Schools across the state must continue to prioritize the education and well-being of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Harris said. “South Suburban College is doing an amazing job to provide resources to promote equity for students with disabilities, and I am pleased to support this cause.”

The Rocky Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2012 to assist students with disabilities at South Suburban College. The scholarship was named after Rocky Clark, a former football player at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island.

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Never underestimate the power of ordinary people who speak up and demand change

(The following op-ed from Senator Andy Manar has been published recently in The Telegraph and the Springfield Journal-Register)

This summer, my colleagues and I traveled the state to talk to regular citizens affected by the skyrocketing cost of insulin, a crippling financial burden for thousands of families in Illinois, and to garner support for legislation to make Illinois the second state in the country to cap the price of insulin. We knew it would be a tough fight against powerful special interests, which is why grassroots supporters from all across Illinois who spoke up against the abuses of the pharmaceutical, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), and insurance industries were so critical.

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