SPRINGFIELD – To curb the devastating economic effects brought on by COVID-19, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) is encouraging small business owners to apply for the second round of Business Interruption Grants, a key piece of the State of Illinois’ pandemic response effort.

Manar, the Senate Appropriations II Committee Chair, fought to ensure necessary funding for this program during last spring’s budget negotiations.

DECATUR – With the deadline to complete the 2020 Census looming, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) was joined by Governor JB Pritzker and local leaders at the Decatur Public Library for a press conference Wednesday afternoon to encourage residents of Macon County to complete the 2020 census.

“When your city council and your mayor sit down to formulate budgets, they need all the help they can get. Everyone needs to be counted so our communities have the revenue necessary to maintain the quality of our roads, schools, hospitals, and other programs people rely on,” Manar said. “Every last dollar is going to count as we continue to navigate our way through the COVID-19 crisis, so please take just a few minutes and fill out that census. This simple action will result in a positive impact on your community that will be felt for the next decade.”

Seven municipalities in Macon County have a response rate of 64% or higher. The cities and villages are:

• Forsyth 83.8%
• Zion 81.4%
• Harristown: 75.4%
• Blue Mound: 68.4%
• Niantic: 66.8%
• Decatur 66.2%
• Warrensburg: 64.1%

"I’m here today because I want to be sure the Decatur community gets its fair share and that all of you get counted," said Pritzker. "It will bring more investment, better schools, better roads and better health care to your community – and you and your family. Call your friends and neighbors or send them a text or email and urge them all to do their part: just like voting, filling out the census is an act of civic engagement – a demand to be fully heard and fully counted."

Residents can complete the census for their household and check response rates in their area at www.my2020census.gov.

SPRINGFIELD – Senate Agriculture Chairman Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) and State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) are inviting area farmers to apply to the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s “Fall Covers for Spring Savings” cover crop program to receive a discounted crop insurance rate in spring 2021.

“I’m thrilled to see this program return after seeing a lot of success in its inaugural season,” Bennett said. “This program serves as an important tool to help farmers as they increase cover crop acres beyond what might be eligible for other state and federal programs.”

Bennett and Manar worked closely with the Department of Agriculture last year to develop the program, which allows eligible applicants to receive a $5 per acre premium discount on the following year’s crop insurance invoice for every acre of cover crop enrolled and verified in the program.

“The Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program has given our farmers the chance to make additional long- term investments in the health of the finest soil in the world,” Manar said. “By continuing to prioritize this program in this year's state budget, Illinois will remain an agricultural standard bearer for decades to come."

SPRINGFIELD – With the deadline to complete the 2020 Census looming, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) joined with the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, Macoupin County Public Health Department, and local elected officials at a press conference this morning to encourage residents of Macoupin County to complete the 2020 census.

“Completing the census is a simple step people can take to help their neighbors,” Manar said. “An accurate census count gives our communities a chance to properly maintain the quality of our roads, schools, hospitals, and other programs people rely on. Every last dollar is going to count as we continue to navigate our way through the COVID-19 crisis.”

Nine municipalities in Macoupin County have a response rate of 60% or higher:

• Brighton: 76.7%
• Staunton: 75.2%
• Carlinville: 75.1%
• Bunker Hill: 73.5%
• Olive: 72.2%
• Gillespie: 70%
• Virden: 69.4 %
• Benld: 66.5%
• Girard: 60.7%

“Census information is used to allocate hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding to communities all across the country,” Paula Campbell, Associate Director of Health Equity for the Illinois Primary Health Care Association said. “The results will show where communities need new schools, new health clinics, new roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children.”

The Macoupin County Public Health Department has staff dedicated to helping people through the census completion process who can be reached by phone at (217) 854-3223.

“I appreciate the people who’ve already taken a few minutes to get counted, but we have so much more work to do before the Sept. 30 deadline,” Manar said.

Residents can also complete the census for their household at www.my2020census.gov.

SPRINGFIELD – To call for increased assistance from Vistra Energy for communities affected by recent power plant closures, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) attended an Energy Summit with fellow Senate lawmakers and stakeholders in Canton, Illinois today. Attending the summit from Montgomery County were Montgomery County Treasurer Nikki Lohman, Hillsboro Community School District Superintendent Dave Powell and Montgomery County Supervisor of Assessments Ray Durston.

When the Coffeen Power Station closed its doors nearly one year ago, Manar began collaborating with colleagues in Springfield to evaluate the best path forward to help families and local governments affected by several closures statewide.

“We know from firsthand experience that the coal industry has been a key cog in the downstate economy for decades.  But, we also know that we have to be realistic when it comes to the industry’s current condition,” Manar said. “Welcoming solar energy infrastructure would create jobs and undo some of the damage done to the local economies in Coffeen and Canton, but that’s not an immediate solution to the problems these people have right now.”

Though the legislative session was delayed by COVID-19, one proposal Manar is co-sponsoring would require property tax assessments on coal, gas, and nuclear plants to be frozen at pre-closure rates for five years, ensuring local governments and school districts with a consistent source of revenue in the short term.  Additionally, it provides an extra week of unemployment insurance benefits for those who are laid off from their job at a plant or mine.

“The task of providing relief to communities that have been directly harmed by the decision to shut down power plants has fallen to the legislature,” Manar said. “As we move forward to confront this challenge, our goals must include providing middle class families, local governments and school districts with as much leeway as possible to ease their revenue losses and tax burdens.” 

This legislation will likely be a piece of a larger package of energy legislation that could be taken up as early as the fall veto session.

SPRINGFIELD – In response to ongoing federal investigations surrounding Illinois government, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) is calling on the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform to consider including in their final report sweeping measures that would overhaul ethics laws in Illinois.

Manar has spent his career in Springfield advocating for stronger ethics laws, sponsoring a 2017 piece of legislation that closed loopholes allowing Cabinet-level appointees of the Illinois governor to use official positions to campaign for candidates. Additionally, he was a Senate sponsor on a 2019 piece of legislation that created the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform.

SPRINGFIELD - Farmers and their families have the opportunity to complete a survey aimed to improve a wide range of services that will be available to them from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Farm Family Resource Initiative program in the coming months.

Manar, who chairs the Illinois Senate Appropriations II Committee, worked closely with fellow Downstate Democrats to include funding in this year’s state budget to address many of today’s challenges facing Illinois farmers.

“Farmers and farm families are the lifeblood of our state’s economy, and they face unique challenges,” State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) said. “By prioritizing programs like the Farm Family Resource Initiative through a trusted partner like Southern Illinois University, we have the ability to reach out with support during this immensely difficult period.”

SPRINGFIELD - The City of Springfield is one step closer to achieving a centralized public transportation hub following the announcement of a $41 million state contribution earmarked for the Springfield-Sangamon County Transportation Center, advanced in the General Assembly by State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill).

The landmark investment is part of the state’s latest Multi-Year Plan under Rebuild Illinois.

“This is a transformational investment in Springfield’s future, especially for East Side residents. The plan will make everyday commutes shorter, safer and more efficient for Springfield drivers and residents using all modes of public transportation,” Manar said. “In addition to modernizing our transit system, the project will boost economic development in a neighborhood that has lacked investment in recent years. I was proud to champion this effort in the General Assembly, and I look forward to continuing to support the Springfield rail consolidation project as a whole.”

The Springfield-Sangamon County Transportation Center will combine Springfield Mass Transit District buses, the Amtrak station, intercity buses, paratransit vehicles and taxis at one location along the Tenth Street corridor with an adjacent parking garage.

The project is a component of the Springfield Rail Improvement Project – a cooperative venture of IDOT, Sangamon County and the City of Springfield – to finalize long-awaited plans aimed at reducing train-related traffic stoppages that will improve public safety while upgrading the high-speed commercial rail service between Chicago and St. Louis that passes through Springfield.

The project will ultimately relocate all passenger and freight traffic from Third Street to the Tenth Street rail line, consolidating them into one common corridor. It will also construct new underpasses and one overpass at critical rail crossings on the Tenth Street and 19th Street corridors in order to reduce street-level rail crossings.

Set to begin in the current fiscal year, construction for the Transportation Center is to be completed in 2025 based on projections according to consulting firm Hanson Professional Services, Inc.

“Transportation systems can be a driving factor in any city’s growth or decline,” Manar said. “I appreciate the state, local, and federal leaders who share my vision for Springfield and are committed to seeing it through.”