Black Caucus prompts second criminal law hearing to tackle sentencing reform

CHICAGO—Illinois lawmakers from both chambers will come together to discuss the current condition of sentencing reform on Tuesday.

State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) of the Senate Criminal Law Committee and State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) of the Senate Public Safety Special Committee will co-chair the Senate Criminal Law Committee hearing. State Representative Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago), chair of the House Judiciary-Criminal Law Committee, and other members of the committee will be active guests during the hearing.

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Morrison calls on DCFS to abide by Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act

DEERFIELD – During a Senate Human Services Committee Monday, Chairman Julie Morrison called on the Department of Children and Family Services for greater transparency relating to child deaths and injuries that happen under the agency’s watch.  

“Every member of the General Assembly should receive the Death or Serious Life-Threatening Injury Report each month so we can all be aware of these tragedies,” Morrison (D-Lake Forest) said. “We need to know about those children, their cause of death and the circumstances.” 

Read more: Morrison calls on DCFS to abide by Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act

Joyce announces Will and Kankakee Counties will receive economic recovery grants

KANKAKEE – To create jobs and promote economic recovery during the pandemic, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is eager to announce Will and Kankakee Counties have been selected to receive a combined $1.14 million in grants for job training and placement programs. 

“Increasing job opportunities across Will and Kankakee Counties is especially vital right now, during a time when so many people are out of work due to the pandemic,” Joyce said. “These grants will ensure people have the tools they need to get our communities back on track and help restart our economy.”

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Security (DCEO) has received two $8.3 million grants as part of the National Dislocated Worker Program, totaling a $16.6 million investment to place, train and hire Illinois workers to fill high-demand positions and assist local disaster relief programs.

Of that funding, the County of Kankakee Northeast has been awarded $296,570, and Will County Northeast has been awarded $825,000.

The state has distributed funding to 12 Local Workforce Innovation Areas to expand education and training opportunities throughout Illinois. DCEO will partner with local workforce agency partners to assist with filling high-need, temporary roles to help mitigate COVID-19 in communities, including contact tracers, COVID-19 protocol workers, building sanitization workers, temperature screeners, and food preparation and distribution workers.

Training and hiring for new workforce programs are expected to begin this fall. Local workforce agencies will prioritize applicants who have been laid off or otherwise lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis at the time of their application. A full list of available training and hiring opportunities is available on Get Hired Illinois.

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.”

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