DANVILLE – To help address the dire need for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 crisis, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) delivered 200 face shields and 1,400 face masks to Vermilion County medical professionals and nursing homes Thursday.

“I am more than grateful to be able to provide masks to frontline workers with the help of some tremendous community partners,” Bennett said. “Especially now, it’s important we come together to support those working to keep us safe and healthy during these trying times.”

Personal protective equipment prices are volatile due to the current shortage, and some providers have struggled to acquire adequate supplies.

To support front-line health workers leading the fight against COVID-19, Bennett partnered with John Deere and the Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA) to donate face shields to Aunt Martha’s Health Center in Danville. Bennett was also able to donate face masks to the Vermilion County Health Department, thanks to a generous donation from General Eric Huang of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.

Huang contacted Bennett earlier this month to offer support to east-central Illinoisans battling the coronavirus pandemic. Bennett established a relationship with Huang and the Taiwanese delegation last fall when he hosted them at his family farm to celebrate their commitment to purchase Illinois crops between 2020 and 2021.

“This is another great reminder that we are all in this together,” Bennett said. “I want to thank, John Deere, Illinois Manufacturers Association and Director Huang for their generous donations to support healthcare workers in Vermilion County. With their help, we can protect front-line workers and slow the spread of COVID-19.”

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) lent his support to a comprehensive education package that was signed into law Thursday. It addresses the unique challenges facing the state’s education system due to COVID-19. 

“When the COVID-19 pandemic began, schools shifted to remote learning, leaving teachers, students and families to face unfamiliar challenges for the remainder of the spring semester,” Bennett said. “This package offers them support during an unprecedented time and ensures students will get the best education possible – whether it be online or in-person.”

The education package does a number of things to help students and teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including extending educator license renewals for one year, so teachers don’t have to go through the renewal process while working remotely. 

Additionally, for public college and university students, any grade of “pass,” “credit,” or “satisfactory” during the public health emergency is transferable and will fulfill prerequisite requirements for more advanced courses. 

The legislation – Senate Bill 1569 – was signed into law Thursday and takes effect immediately.

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) joins Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White to announce the 16th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award.

“This is a great opportunity for talented writers to showcase their creative writing,” Bennett said. “Winning can bring emerging poets recognition and generate valuable publicity.”

The competition is named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks and is co-sponsored by the Illinois Center for the Book. The competition to recognize new literary talent in the state is open to Illinois residents age 18 and older and has an entry deadline of June 30. To submit an entry, please visit the link here.

The award for first place is $500, second place is $300 and third place is $100. Winning poems will also be submitted for possible publication in Illinois literary magazines, including: “Ninth Letter,” “Quiddity” and “RHINO Poetry.”

For more information, contact Illinois Center for the Book Coordinator Bonnie Matheis at 217-558-2065 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

CHAMPAIGN – As temperatures rise, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is urging outdoor workers to familiarize themselves with the warning signs and preventative measures for heat-related illnesses.

​“As summer approaches, so do the dangers of working outside during hot weather,” Bennett said. “For workers who are exposed to the heat over the course of a work day, taking safety measures is an important part of staying healthy and comfortable.”

More than half of outdoor, heat-related deaths occur in the first few days of working in hot situations because the body needs to build a tolerance to heat gradually. Workers that do not acclimatize to the heat and humidity face a much greater risk factor for serious injury or death, according to the Illinois Department of Labor.

While heat can affect anyone, it poses specific dangers to workers who do physical labor in the humidity – both indoors or outdoors.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related health problem and can be fatal if not recognized and treated quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of heat stroke include:

• Confusion, altered mental status, slurred speech
• Loss of consciousness
• Hot, dry skin or profuse sweating
• Seizures
• Very high body temperature
• Fatal if treatment delayed

To prevent heat-induced illnesses, frequent breaks in the shade to drink cold water are recommended. For more information and other recommendations, visit www.cdc.gov.

CHAMPAIGN - To help restore child care in Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) announced a $270 million Child Care Restoration grant program, provided by the new state budget. 

“Child care services are an essential service to support families as they return to work and it is critical to our state’s economic recovery,” Bennett said. “This grant program will focus on helping child care providers stay in business.” 

The Child Care Restoration grant program will dedicate at least $270 million of the state’s Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) Fund to support the economic health of child care providers as the state’s economy continues to reopen in the coming weeks and months. 

As part of CURE, the Business Interruption Grants Program is specifically designed to support businesses that endure lost revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services, is charged with developing the grant program for licensed child care providers. The Child Care Restoration Grants will be administered by the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies.

The “Intent to Apply” survey launched Wednesday and is available online here. The information gathered will help inform the development of the grants program to be released in July 2020, and providers will receive their first installments later this summer. The opportunity to respond to the survey will close on June 19, 2020 at 5 p.m.

More information will be added to https://www.ilgateways.com/financial-opportunities/restoration-grants. People are encouraged to continue to check back frequently for information and resources.

SPRINGFIELD – As Illinois continues to address the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) hopes struggling families and local businesses will see relief under a state budget that sustains education funding at all levels and makes important investments in communities and programs to help begin to repair the economy.

To protect the public during this health crisis, this budget provides an additional $600 million to the Illinois Department of Public Health – in part thanks to the federal CARES Act – and fully funds other vital state agencies that are helping protect residents during this emergency. In addition, it provides an additional $400 million for local health departments.

“This budget represents stability in a time of uncertainty,” Bennett said. “We cannot combat the COVID-19 pandemic without investing in our public health departments, so these investments are critical as our health departments are our fighting force against this virus.”

To help communities recover from COVID-19, the budget also provides $200 million to help businesses in downstate communities. Nearly $80 million is set aside to help people with rent and mortgage assistance and nearly $60 million in additional funding to the Department of Employment Security to help address the challenges with the unemployment system.

“During this crisis, we have seen record increases in the number of people applying for unemployment, and it’s vital that IDES has the resources to aid residents who are struggling through this pandemic,” Bennett said. “This added funding is crucial to protect Illinoisans displaced by the pandemic.”

To ensure students do not fall behind, this budget also maintains the state’s commitment to fully fund P-12 education and represents level funding for higher education.

The approved budget is for Fiscal Year 2021, which begins July 1.

SPRINGFIELD – A new law backed by State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) aims to provide relief and flexibility to property tax owners.

“We are seeing the economic impact COVID-19 is having on residents who are struggling to get by,” Bennett said. “With property taxpayers suffering, it made sense to do what we can to help working families and small businesses find additional savings.”

Under this legislation, local businesses and residents would see property tax relief in the form of:

• Empowering county governments to approve 2020 homestead exemptions for those with disabilities, veterans with disabilities and senior citizens, as long as the property had been granted this exemption for 2019;
• Allowing counties with less than 3 million residents to waive interest penalties and fees for late property tax payments due in 2020;
• Deferred property tax sale.

“With residents desperate for property tax relief, these measures address problems plaguing property tax payers,” Bennett said. 

The legislation - Senate Bill 685 - was signed into law Friday and is effective immediately.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) joins the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Office of Broadband to announce the new Illinois Connected Communities grant program.

The program is designed to assist local governments, schools and community organizations with building broadband capacity. The $150,000 grant opportunity will help communities close existing gaps and lay the groundwork for improved broadband access, adoption and utilization. The grants will be provided on a competitive basis, and applications will be accepted here through June 12.

“The pandemic has really magnified the challenges that people who have a lack of internet access have dealt with,” Bennett said. “As we continue to face this crisis, it’s clear that access to broadband is a necessity for people to access education, healthcare, jobs and even state benefits.”

This latest grant program builds on the capital commitment made through Connect Illinois, which includes a $400 million investment, and is aimed at improving access to broadband for the entire state. The first $50 million of this investment is expected to be awarded in the coming weeks.

A product of partnership between the Illinois Office of Broadband and the Evanston-based Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the Illinois Connected Communities program is designed to engage a first-year cohort of communities through best practice curriculum, expert consultation, and up to $15,000 for initial community planning and capacity building. By collaborating with the Benton Institute and area philanthropy, the State of Illinois will leverage additional funds of at least an equal amount to provide expert consultations and best practices curriculum available to the grantees.

Grantees will participate in a combination of focused in-person and/or online community-specific, cohort-wide, and regional activities throughout a period of up to 12-months. These activities will involve a representative community broadband steering committee, and build toward creation of a community-driven Broadband Strategic Plan. At any point during the program communities may invest their grant funding toward one or more of the following:

• Connected Community staff time or overhead,
• Study, planning, or preparation for broadband access, adoption or utilization,
• Additional broadband-related support, technical assistance or consultative services.

Communities seeking more information on the grants program are encouraged to tune in to the Developing Broadband Leadership webinar series, a collaborative effort among the Illinois Office of Broadband, the Benton Institute and University of Illinois Extension. Live webinars invite national experts, community leaders, and broadband providers from across Illinois to connect. The next webinar is at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The first meeting was held last week, with Governor JB Pritzker providing opening remarks and encouraging communities to take advantage of the state’s broadband grant programs, as well as other Office of Broadband resources. Register for future webinars and gain access to archived materials here.