ISDC
  • Home
  • Senators
    • Alphabetical
    • Committees
    • Leadership
    • Find My Senator
  • Caucus News
    • ILBC Committee Roundup
    • Subscribe
    • Majority Report
  • Issues
    • Agriculture
    • Budget
    • Business
    • Criminal Law
    • Diabetes
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Ethics
    • Health
    • Higher Education
    • Law Enforcement
    • Seniors
    • Transportation
    • Veterans
  • Multimedia
    • Monthly Minute
    • Photo of the Day
    • Sound of the State
  • Resources
    • Bills / Resolutions
    • Fact Sheets
    • For Educators
    • I Like Illinois
    • Illinois Compiled Statutes
    • Illinois General Assembly
    • Internships
    • Media Guidelines
    • NCSL
    • Senate Schedule
  • About the Senate
  • Contact Us
    • How to contact a Senator
    • Employment
    • Submit Feedback
  • ILBC Pillars
    • Pillar 1
    • Pillar 2
    • Pillar 3
    • Pillar 4
  • COVID-19

Castro announces recipients of infrastructure grants for local communities

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Friday, March 12, 2021 12:47 PM
  • Castro
  • Rebuild Illinois

Road workELGIN – 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.”

Read more: Castro announces recipients of infrastructure grants for local communities

Latino Caucus responds to Governor Pritzker's budget address

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Thursday, February 18, 2021 01:53 PM
  • Muñoz
  • Castro
  • Aquino
  • Villanueva
  • Latino Caucus
  • Pacione-Zayas
  • Villa
  • FY2022 Budget

latino caucus 021821As 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:

Read more: Latino Caucus responds to Governor Pritzker's budget address

Castro calls for Clean Energy Jobs Act

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Tuesday, February 09, 2021 06:40 PM
  • Castro
  • CEJA

Senator CastroELGIN – During a virtual press conference this morning, State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) announced the reintroduction of the Clean Energy Jobs Act and called for its passage.

“It is clear that the time for the Clean Energy Jobs Act is now,” Castro said. “Illinois must take state-level action to ensure the benefits of clean energy policy flow equitably to communities of color which are often left behind, support the development of rooftop solar and energy efficiency programs, hold all utilities accountable, deploy electric vehicles, and support a just transition for former fossil fuel communities.”

Read more: Castro calls for Clean Energy Jobs Act

Castro inaugurated for second term

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Thursday, January 14, 2021 03:37 PM
  • Castro
  • 102nd Inauguration Ceremony

Senator CastroSPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) and several other members of the Illinois Senate were sworn in as the 102nd General Assembly began earlier today. Castro’s inauguration marks the start of her second term.

“I was very proud of all the good my colleagues and I were able to accomplish during my first term, and I am both honored and humbled that the people I represented trusted me enough to continue that work for another General Assembly,” Castro said. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, particularly to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am eager to begin the conversations with my fellow lawmakers to make Illinois a better place to live.”

Castro was first elected to the Senate in Nov. 2016 for a four-year term. Her current term, along with the terms of entire 102nd General Assembly, expires Jan. 11, 2023.

Castro’s cannabis bill ensures social equity

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 02:13 AM
  • Castro
  • Cannabis
  • Social Equity
  • HB122

castro 011321SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to deliver social equity in cannabis licensing, State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) passed a package to follow-up on 2019’s legalization measure through the Senate this evening.

“During these impactful times, as the General Assembly works to pass the Black Caucus pillars to rid Illinois of systemic racism, it’s important to ensure social equity in other areas of society as well, and a good place to start is with cannabis dispensaries,” Castro said. “This legislation helps address some shortcomings of the original law that are preventing it from being as successful as it could be.”

Among the fixes, the measure:

  • Creates the Tiered Applicant Lottery and Qualified Applicant Lottery, which determine the circumstances under which an entity might be awarded a dispensary license;
  • Allows cannabis containers to be resealable;
  • Allows people to begin working at a cannabis dispensary while their background check is being processed.
    • This allows the individual to begin working immediately. Should they fail the background check, they will be immediately terminated.

“The main goal here is to get more licenses out the door and into the hands of socially equitable applicants,” Castro said. “This plan adds more validity to Illinois’ already strong claim to being the industry leader in cannabis legalization that other states can seek to model their programs after.”

State Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), the Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, helped Castro move the measure through the Senate and stressed its importance in ensuring social equity and delivering the justice Black and Brown communities have been in need of for generations.

“Black and Brown communities suffered for decades under the War on Drugs. We saw our sons, brothers, and fathers go to prison and violence tear apart our communities,” Lightford said. “Now that we’ve legalized cannabis, we need to be make sure the benefits go to people in our communities to help us heal.”

The legislation is House Bill 122. Having passed the Senate, it must now return to the House for a vote of concurrence.

Castro: Cap on child care co-pays will help struggling families

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Wednesday, January 06, 2021 04:42 PM
  • Castro
  • Child Care Centers

Child careELGIN – Families who use the Child Care Assistance Program will have their child care co-pays capped to $1.25 per month in the first two months of 2021. State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin), who has long been an advocate for working-class families, is hopeful the cap will relieve some of the burden from those who need it most.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many parents to decide between continuing to work and providing child care for their children,” Castro said. “This is a difficult choice that nobody should have to make, and my hope is that with a new cap on the co-pay under CCAP, they won’t have to.”

Read more: Castro: Cap on child care co-pays will help struggling families

Legislators to DCEO: Enforce your law

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Wednesday, December 02, 2020 03:41 PM
  • Castro
  • DCEO
  • Minority and Female Businesses

dceo diversity 120220HAZEL CREST – During a virtual press conference Tuesday afternoon, State Rep. Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) and several advocates called upon the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to enforce a law they helped author to expand opportunities for minority- and female-owned businesses in Illinois.

“The big businesses that are getting a special tax break from the state need to start providing opportunities to Illinois small businesses to work with them,” Davis said. “The Department of Commerce and Economic Development must enforce the law and make that happen.”

An expansion to the EDGE program was passed in 2017, and requires that any company seeking a tax credit must publicly file a report on their voluntary supplier diversity. State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin), Chair of the Senate Revenue Committee, shared her sentiments.

“When we passed the EDGE expansion, we did so under the assumption that if businesses did not comply with the requirement to disclose their supplier diversity, DCEO would step in and force them to,” Castro said. “That has not yet happened, so it is time for the Department to do its job and enforce the law it helped us write in order to ensure that opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses can continue to flourish.”

Also commenting on Davis’s call to action was State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora), who said “during these difficult times minority-owned-small businesses need more opportunities and resources that would allow them to reach their full potential."

Jorge Perez, of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association, added "our members pay more state income taxes than these huge companies that get edge tax credits, and it's insulting these companies aren't following the law and filing supplier diversity reports."

Larry Bullock, Executive Director of the United States Minority Contractors Association, as well as representatives of the Federation of Women Contractors and Black Contractors Owners and Executives, applauded Davis’s efforts and echoed the calls for businesses and the Department of Commerce and Economic Development to follow the plain language of the law.

Castro announces area grant recipients, encourages additional applications

Details
Category: Senator Cristina Castro News
Friday, October 30, 2020 01:36 PM
  • Castro
  • DCEO
  • COVID-19
  • Business Interruption Grants

Empty restaurant

ELGIN – To help combat the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has been awarding a second round of Business Interruption Grants to struggling small businesses. State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) is pleased to announce that several local businesses were recipients.

“It is great to see many local businesses, which are the backbone of our community, receive such crucial help in a time of crisis,” Castro said. “Through no fault of their own, these businesses have been struggling, but now thanks to the BIG grants, they have a second breath of life. The pandemic has been difficult on all of us, and our businesses are no exception.”

Read more: Castro announces area grant recipients, encourages additional applications

More Articles …

  1. Castro-sponsored flu shot clinic coming to Hanover Park in November
  2. Castro joins Pritzker to announce $30 million in funding for Immigrant Welcoming Centers during pandemic
  3. Castro, DCEO to host Business Interruption Grants webinar
  4. Illinois senators urge residents to fill out census as soon as possible
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19

Page 15 of 21

Follow ILSenDems

Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Sign up for the Majority Report

Laws Going Into Effect 2025

Employment Opportunities

Find Your Senator

Senate Schedule

Bills & Resolutions

SPRINGFIELD OFFICE

phone(217) 782-2728

phone309 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Senate Floor, Illinois State Capitol, Springfield, IL

Senate President Don Harmon © 2025 Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus
FacebookInstagramTwitterYouTube
CHICAGO OFFICE

phone(312) 814-2075

phone160 N. LaSalle St., Ste. 720
Chicago, IL 60601