Stadelman is joined by governor and local leaders to announce job training program funding

ROCKFORD - With Illinois continuing to face an unprecedented public health emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) was joined by Governor J.B. Pritzker, Rockford Mayor Thomas McNamara and Dr. Lisa M. Bly-Jones, Executive Director of Workforce Connection today to discuss investments to expand job opportunities in the City of Rockford.  

"The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting jobs and changing the skills employees need to do them,” Stadelman said. “To meet this challenge, state government and its partners need to step up to help ensure workers are equipped with the skills critical to our economic recovery.”

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Villivalam: Completing the census crucial for Illinois’ fastest growing demographic

CHICAGO – State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) is strongly encouraging all Asian Americans to fill out the census before the deadline closes.

“We need to ensure Asian Americans have access to all of the same state services as other Illinois residents,” said Villivalam, the first Asian American elected to the Illinois Senate and the Co-Chair of the Illinois General Assembly’s Asian American Caucus. “I represent one of the most culturally diverse districts in the state. I am extremely grateful for the numerous contributions our Asian American neighbors, friends and family have brought to our community – everything from cultural to the culinary traditions.” 

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Lightford, Black Caucus to build a Black agenda through four pillars

CHICAGO –Senate Majority Leader and Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) joined colleagues at the Westside Justice Center on Tuesday to announce a plan to build a legislative agenda that addresses systemic racism in Illinois.

“We have an opportunity to leverage this moment to make sure other Black women, Black mothers and Black wives just like me can truly have peace, justice and hope for our future, knowing that our children and our grandchildren will not share the same kind of life experiences that everyone in my generation and generations before me have had to endure,” Lightford said.

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Hunter voices support for Emmett Till landmark

CHICAGO — State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is joining advocate groups and Alderman Jeanette Taylor in calls to make the childhood home of Emmett Till a landmark on the 65^th anniversary of his death. 

“Emmett’s unjust death parallels many today – George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and too many others to count,” Hunter said. “Emmett received no justice for being murdered senselessly, just as others we’ve seen this year that are still waiting for justice. This is why we proclaim, ‘Black Lives Matter’ – because the justice system hasn’t shown us that they do.”

Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago, visiting family in Mississippi when he was brutally beaten and killed for allegedly flirting with a white woman on Aug. 28, 1955.

When his body was found days later, it was so disfigured he could only be identified by an initialed ring. His mother’s decision to hold an open casket funeral changed the pace of the Civil Rights Movement, exposing the country to the horrors of racism.

Still, no justice was served for Till. The all-white jury debated for less than an hour before deciding Till’s killers were not guilty. Years later, it was revealed that the woman lied about Till coming on to her.

“We are tired, and we have been for generations. When will it end?” Hunter asked. “The first step to eradicating racism is to be educated about it. If we make Emmett Till’s home a landmark, and share this grave history, we can raise awareness in the hopes that the generation to come will have no more Emmett Tills.”

Last year, the Woodlawn residence where Till grew up was bought by BMW properties, which buys distressed property and sells them as turn-key investments to investors seeking passive rental income. If the home was made an official landmark of the city, it would be prevented from possible demolition or renovation that would dampen its architectural history.