Koehler announces $1,425,000 in Business Interruption Grant funding for 28 local businesses

PEORIA – State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) announced several local businesses will receive financial assistance from the Business Interruption Grant program to help offset financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The BIG program has demonstrated what can be done when we lawmakers in Springfield put our heads together and proactively seek ways to help those we serve,” Koehler said. “Because of this, businesses that have served our communities for generations are able to continue operations.”

28 businesses in the tri-county area received a combined $1,425,000 in $5,000-$150,000 grants to help cover the costs of payroll, rent, utilities and other working capital during the time they have experienced interruptions due to the pandemic.

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Rockford area small businesses receiving over $1 million in second round of pandemic relief

ROCKFORD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) is highlighting the second round of Business Interruption Grants the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is awarding to Rockford businesses and other small business communities that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19-related losses and closures.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of my community,” Stadelman said. “They need this grant money to endure, and I’m happy the state continues to prioritize communities like Rockford in these hard times.”

Forty Rockford-area small business will receive a total of over $1 million in this second round of BIG funding, which builds on the more than $49 million in grants awarded statewide in August. The Rockford area received nearly $2 million in grants during the first round, which ranged from $10,000 to $20,000 to assist businesses with expenses like payroll costs, rent, utilities, equipment and other possible unexpected costs to relieve the effects of the pandemic.

Read more: Rockford area small businesses receiving over $1 million in second round of pandemic relief

Lightford emphasizes the importance of student support services, developmental education and teacher recruitment

CHICAGO – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) joined the Senate Education and Higher Education Committees for a hearing focused on student support services reforms, teacher reforms and developmental education reforms for Illinois college students.

Wednesday’s hearing was the seventh hearing dedicated to education and workforce development, the second pillar of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda to rid Illinois of systemic racism.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous effect on college students and their mental health,” Lightford said. “It’s a necessity for students to have access to support services that keep them engaged and connected with other students, make them feel welcome and ease emotional stress. Colleges must ensure as many students as possible are receiving this assistance.”

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Testimony: Lack of diversity among teachers harms Illinois students

Senate hearing reveals need for more teacher training, easier access to scholarships to close racial gap in profession

SPRINGFIELD – Teachers in Illinois have increasingly come to look like just one demographic, and it’s ultimately bad for all students in general and students of color in particular, according to just one line of testimony at a joint meeting of the Illinois Senate Education and Higher Education Committees Wednesday.

Illinois Higher Education Committee Chair Pat McGuire and Senate Education Committee Chair Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant led the committee, which met virtually.

John Cusick, Legislative Director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, said teachers see a direct connection between educator preparation and the effort to address systemic racism. Cynthia Riseman Lund, also with IFT, said teacher diversity in Illinois has gotten less racially and ethnically diverse, and more female, a development which has lead to an adverse effect on students, including male students of color.

Testimony at the virtual hearing Wednesday also focused on how access to scholarships and aid for prospective teachers contributes to their ability to finish college and enter the teaching profession. 

The hearing also focused on why the performance gap between white students and students of color persists. Partnership for College Completion’s Kyle Westbrook said Illinois community colleges still have wide completion rate disparities between Black and Latinx students and white peers, and that colleges are more likely to place Black and Latinx students into developmental education, where students are less likely to graduate.

“Today's testimony revealed a dreadful cycle. A paucity of Black male teachers restrains student achievement, yet Black males seeking to become teachers encounter many impediments in pursuit of a teaching degree. Thank goodness we learned today that there are remedies. Our task now is to put them in place,” McGuire said.