ELGIN – State Senators Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) and Karina Villa (D- West Chicago) look forward to the investments in infrastructure coming to Kane County announced by the Illinois Department of Transportation last week. The projects are funded by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program.

“For both Kane County residents and visitors, having a modernized, safe transportation sector is so important,” Castro said. “Updating things like traffic lights and sidewalk ramps to be ADA compliant will make our community more accessible while also bringing more jobs to the area.”

The projects in Kane County include:

• Illinois 31 (Lake Street) from Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88) to Rathbone Avenue: Resurfacing project with new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps scheduled to begin this spring and be completed this fall.
• Illinois 31 (State Street) from Strom Drive to West Road: Ongoing resurfacing project with new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, improved drainage, and repairs to the State Street bridge over U.S. 20 (Elgin Bypass), which started last summer and is anticipated to be completed this fall.
• Illinois 47 at Main Street: Ongoing project to replace the existing bridge, reconstruct the intersection and modernize traffic signals. The project started in 2019 and is anticipated to be completed in summer 2022.
• Illinois 72 (Oak Knoll Drive) at Getzelman Road/State Street: Intersection improvement project, with new traffic signals, paving, ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, along with improved drainage and lighting. The project is scheduled to begin this summer and completed in late 2022.

The Rebuild Illinois capital program is investing $33.2 billion into the state’s aging transportation system, creating jobs and promoting economic growth. It is the largest capital program in Illinois history and touches all sectors of Illinois transportation.

“Our state is proving its commitment to our community by investing significant resources to improve local infrastructure in Kane County,” State Senator Karina Villa said. “Families in the 25^th District will greatly benefit from the numerous job opportunities and road safety enhancements that will come from these projects, and I urge residents to be patient and slow down in work zones as these projects get underway.”

For a map of the projects in Kane County, visit here. Find traffic and road conditions at http://www.gettingaroundillinois.com/. 

SPRINGFIELD – The Senate Committee on Energy and Public Utilities heard from a variety of witnesses testifying about the Clean Energy Jobs Act — a measure championed by State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) – in a subject matter hearing on Thursday.

“As Illinois begins to move away from coal and towards cleaner energy, it is important that we make sure everyone has a seat at the table,” said Castro, sponsor of Senate Bill 1718, also known as CEJA. “CEJA puts communities that have historically been disproportionately impacted by the dirty effects of the fossil fuel industry at the forefront of the new clean energy economy.”

CEJA is a comprehensive piece of legislation that seeks to move Illinois toward a greener future by providing jobs in clean energy and shifting away from fossil fuels and other pollutant methods to help slow down the effects of climate change. One of the major goals of the legislation is to move the state toward 100% dependency on renewable energy by 2050.

ELGIN – A new mass vaccination site offering hundreds of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine is coming to Elgin’s Eastside Recreation Center starting on April 7 thanks to efforts made by State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin).

“I’m so glad to see this vaccination site opening in the district I represent,” Castro said. “This site will provide vaccines to vulnerable communities in Cook and Kane Counties, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by this awful pandemic.”

The new vaccination site is the result of a unique collaborative effort between the city of Elgin, Kane County and Cook County. It will bring 270 daily doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible residents in the area. As of April 12, everyone above the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the vaccine.

The vaccination site is located at the Elgin Eastside Recreation Center at 1080 E. Chicago Street. An appointment will be required for vaccinations at this location. Residents can get appointments by going to www.kanevax.org  or by calling 855-4-KaneVax (855-452-6382).

“As we look toward the future, getting vaccinated will be the best option for keeping you and your family safe,” Castro said. “In the meantime, as we work to move our state out of this pandemic, please remember to continue to wear a mask, wash your hands often and practice social distancing.”

Residents who don’t have access to or need assistance navigating online services can call the toll-free IDPH hotline at 833-621-1284 to book an appointment. The hotline is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight with agents available to discuss options in English and Spanish.

ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro is announcing that school districts in the 22^nd District will receive about $157 million in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to acknowledge all the hard work students, teachers and parents have undertaken in the last year as we all adjusted to these unprecedented times,” Castro said. “As we begin to transition to what life was like before the pandemic, I encourage schools to use this funding to help students who have been disproportionately impacted over the past year.”

The funding comes as part of the most recent federal COVID-19 relief packages. Schools, students and parents have overcome challenges that no one could have imagined before the pandemic began, including remote and hybrid learning, digital connection issues, new processes for receiving state and federal aid that normally flow through schools, and more.

Local school districts are set to receive the following amounts:

• School District Unit 46 - $95,027,296
• Community Unit School District 300 - $29,746,705
• Township High School District 211 - $13,400,938
• Schaumburg Community Consolidated School District 54 - $18,762,224

The majority of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan, which gives local schools a great deal of flexibility in how they can use the money over the next 3 ½ years. At least 20% of the funding must be used to address learning loss, but beyond that, school districts can use the money to address many different issues and costs. For example, it can be used to better equip schools for safe learning, to prevent layoffs, to address students’ social and emotional needs, to fund summer programs, or to ensure all students have access to reliable Wi-Fi and technology.

The State Board of Education, in collaboration with other state agencies that address education, has produced a guide for local school districts to help them decide how to best use their resources. While the guide and other state-sponsored services are completely voluntary, the state aims to support local districts during this difficult time.

“The guide from ISBE was created with input from teachers, administrators, parents and students, and it will be a great resource for schools to rely on as we move forward,” Castro said. “I’m confident this funding for local districts will address stressors schools have faced throughout this pandemic.” 

In total, Illinois received nearly $7 billion to support local school districts.

SPRINGFIELD – To make sure Kane County gets its fair share of the money from legal cannabis sales, state Senator Cristina Castro won approval of legislation giving the county a new deadline to file paperwork with the state.

“One of the major selling points of legalizing cannabis sales was the revenue it would bring to local governments to support programs and services. This proposal makes sure Kane County will get its fair share,” said Castro, an Elgin Democrat.

Castro’s legislation is a technical tweak regarding the deadlines for counties to file paperwork with the state in order to begin collecting revenue from taxes on cannabis sales. Under this new window, Kane County would be allowed to begin collecting sales tax on cannabis in May of 2021.

ELGIN – To help Illinois diversify its workforce, the Illinois State Board of Education has awarded multiple Career and Technical Education (CTE) Education Career Pathways Grants to schools in the district State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) represents.

“These grants will help schools recruit and support future educators in the Career and Technical Education field by providing them with hands-on learning experiences, mentorships and more,” Castro said. “I am excited to see three schools the district I represent receive these grants so that they can prioritize funding for CTE development.”

The CTE Education Career Pathways Grants were awarded to 62 schools and vocational centers across the state, totaling almost $2 million. Among those schools are Dundee-Crown High School, Elgin High School and Larkin High School. Currently, only 18% of teachers identify as people of color. ISBE’s CTE Education Career Pathways Grants will help increase the diversity of the CTE teaching profession in Illinois.

Applicants to the CTE Education Pathways Grant program had to submit an implementation plan outlining how they will recruit underrepresented students into education careers. The grant also requires a partnership between grantees and institutions of higher education to ensure students can earn dual credit or other certifications while still in high school.

“CTE includes everything from health sciences to manufacturing, and so much in between,” Castro said. “To truly get the most out of students who choose this path, it is important we have skilled educators who can relate to their students.” 

For a full list of the grant recipients, visit the ISBE website.

ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) announced many communities in the district she represents are set to receive funding for transportation projects under the Rebuild Illinois capital program, including a grant for $1.2 million to the city of Elgin.

“It’s great to see such a strong investment in infrastructure from these grants,” Castro said. “The fact that these grants are going to local governments means these communities can redirect money that would otherwise be going toward things like fixing up roads and bridges to other parts of their budget.”

As the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus prepares for the negotiations during budget season, they look forward to collaborating with Governor Pritzker to devise a series of strategies anchored in addressing the chronic fiscal and structural issues faced by our state in both spending plans and revenue generation. This year presents additional layers of constraints and opportunities as the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened awareness of systemic racism call on public servants to be more precise and deliberate with mitigating impact and reconciling past harm.

The Latino Caucus especially looks forward to continued partnership with the Governor's Office in the areas that greatly impact over two million Illinoisans who identify as Latinx, nearly 750,000 individuals who are immigrants and/or refugees, and an estimated 324,000 who are undocumented from Latin America-all who count on our ingenuity and commitment to protect basic elements of dignified life. We are prioritizing building on the following areas this budget cycle: