CHAMPAIGN – With cold, snowy weather approaching, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is reminding drivers with travel plans of the winter road conditions map on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Getting Around Illinois website.

“Drivers who are unprepared for winter road conditions create dangerous situations for themselves and everyone on the road,” Bennett said. “This roadmap is a great resource for commuters and residents, and I encourage folks to utilize it before getting on the roads.”

Previously, the map displayed conditions by county. New this year, the map shows how weather events are impacting roads, including the ability to identify and zoom in to a location, travel route or destination with current information recorded by plow drivers.

People can interact with the map to understand how weather events are affecting roads across the state. The winter road conditions map is available on IDOT’s website.

DANVILLE – To help residents stay warm this winter, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is launching a warm socks drive in partnership with Robinson Chiropractic to benefit shelters across Danville.

“Homeless service providers continue to face a long list of needs, with socks being a major sought-out item of clothing by people experiencing homelessness,” Bennett said. “With winter approaching, I’m asking folks to consider donating a pair of new socks to help our neighbors in need keep warm.”

CHAMPAIGN – The annual Conservation Achievement Scholarship is now accepting applications, and State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) urges eligible Illinois high school seniors to apply.

The Conservation Achievement Scholarship will award up to four scholarships of $2,000 each to outstanding high school seniors in Illinois who demonstrate effective, voluntary, long-term dedication to the preservation, protection or enhancement of the state’s natural resources.

“I encourage high school seniors interested in conversation stewardship and protecting our natural resources to apply for this scholarship,” said Bennett, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “This scholarship opportunity is a chance to help students lessen the burden of college debt and will help you achieve your post-secondary educational goals.”

The scholarship funds may be used for tuition, college or university fees, textbooks, or room and board. Funds are mailed directly to the college or university of the successful applicant.

Detailed instructions and the 2022 application form can be accessed through the ICF website. Applications must be received by the ICF by March 1, 2022.

Questions should be addressed to the Illinois Conservation Foundation at 217-785-2003 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

CHAMPAIGN – Prospective students applying to any of Illinois’ 12 public universities can now use the Common Application, and Senate Higher Education Chair Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is encouraging incoming students to take advantage.

Bennett worked with his colleagues in the General Assembly and the Illinois Board of Higher Education to obtain $1 million in funding to add all of the state’s public universities onto the Common App platform so that students in Illinois will consider continuing their educational journey at home.

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) sponsored a bill to recognize the month of November as Native American Heritage Month in Illinois.

“Native American Heritage Month is a tremendous opportunity for Illinoisans to learn more about the rich history of the first Americans,” Bennett said.

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) congratulated local businesses struggling from the pandemic that were awarded grants from the latest round of the Back to Business program awards.

“This is a much-needed award for businesses in Champaign and Vermilion Counties,” Bennett said. “These grants are important because they will help equip our businesses with valuable resources during this time of uncertainty.”

The B2B program allocated $250 million in American Rescue Plan dollars for small businesses negatively affected by the pandemic. Each business received between $5,000 to $150,000 to be used to cover a wide range of operations such as staff and overhead costs.

34 businesses in the district Bennett represents received a combined $2.5 million through the program. Businesses include restaurants, bars, hotels, retailers, arts, barbershops and salons, museums and theaters, and fitness centers, demonstrating the diversity of the local small business community and how many different kinds of businesses are eligible for grants.

“I’m pleased to see so many local businesses receiving aid from the B2B program to help them get through this tough time,” Bennett said. “Now more than ever, we must continue to do everything we can to support our small business community.”

For a complete list of grant recipients, click here.

DANVILLE – In an effort to support our troops overseas, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) has designated his district offices as drop off locations for the nonprofit Cell Phones for Soldiers organization.

“As Veterans Day is just around the corner, I can think of few better ways to honor our military veterans than by supporting those who serve to protect our freedoms today,” Bennett said. “This is a great program that allows our troops to stay connected to their families and is a way we can all support our troops.”

The national program collects new and gently used cell phones and tablets for soldiers and their families. Those with old cellphones, MP3 players or tablets laying around are encouraged to donate them to be refurbished or recycled. Proceeds from those sales are used to send prepaid international calling cards to our troops and to provide emergency funding to veterans. All cell phone donations are tax deductible.

To donate, stop by Bennett’s Danville office located in the County Board Building at 201 N. Vermilion St., Suite 323 or his Champaign office located in the Illinois Terminal Building at 45 E. University. Each office will accept donations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The collection runs from Oct. 21 through Nov. 15.

Bennett urges residents with questions or concerns to contact his office at 217-442-5252 or visit www.CellPhonesForSoldiers.com.

SPRINGFIELD – To keep students safe in school, Senate Higher Education Chair Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) advanced a plan through the Senate Wednesday that would ensure students are protected from grooming and other sexual misconduct.

“Children should be able to turn to their teachers when there’s a problem, and to trust that their teacher is acting in their best interests,” Bennett said. “This legislation will better equip educators if an issue arises, as well as help put a stop to sexual abuse.”

Bennett’s legislation would make it mandatory for schools to develop a sexual misconduct code of conduct, review employment histories, and teach students about grooming and sexual misconduct in sex education. It would also allow for schools to set aside two days of in-service learning for teachers to train on identifying such behavior and publish a resource guide on sexual abuse for parents.