ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) spent Monday afternoon harvesting vegetables to distribute to local college students who struggle with food insecurity with Elgin Community College students at the Advocate Sherman Natural Prairie and Community Garden.

"In the midst of this pandemic we have found people who have never struggled accessing food before needing to go to food pantries," Castro said. “It's amazing to see these students giving back and helping their classmates."

The community garden contains 54 garden beds and was created by the hospital in 2010 through a partnership with the University of Illinois Extension. It is available for hospital employees and community members to sustainably grow their own fruit, flowers and vegetables.

ECC students who work in the garden also run the ECC Spartan Pantry, which serves an average of 30 students per day. They post pictures of items they have harvested from the garden on social media and post signs around campus to let students know what they have available.

“I’m inspired by these young people who have such a passion for helping their fellow students while also learning the importance of gardening sustainable, healthy food,” Castro said. “Food insecurity is unfortunately a big problem, especially among young college students. Projects like this show how meaningful action can have a big impact on a community.”

About 13% of the population of the district Castro represents experience food insecurity at some point. ECC students can learn more about the Spartan Food Pantry on the ECC website. To learn more about accessing food in the Elgin area or to volunteer at or donate to a local pantry, visit the Food for Greater Elgin website.

SCHAUMBURG – State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) was honored to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the 90 North District development project in Schaumburg. The project includes $40 million in funding for community improvements this fiscal year.

“From job creation to beautification, I am excited to see all the improvements this new development will bring to the community,” Castro said.  “I commend the Village of Schaumburg and Village President Tom Dailly in their hard work throughout this difficult year in securing the grants and funding to make this project happen.”

CHICAGO – State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) commends Gov. JB Pritzker for signing a measure to overhaul the adult-use cannabis dispensary lottery and increase diversity in the industry.

“This is a major step forward in making sure Illinois remains a leader in dismantling inequities in the cannabis industry,” said Castro, who has been a longtime advocate for legalizing cannabis in the state and who co-sponsored the new law. “Ensuring opportunities for people who have been disproportionately impacted by unjust cannabis laws was a top priority, and these additional lotteries will help set things right.”

The three lotteries will allow the state to distribute 185 dispensary licenses with a focus on social equity applicants. Applicants who previously applied for licenses will not need to submit a new application or pay a new application fee and will be automatically entered into the new lotteries.

Lotteries for all cannabis-related licenses will be a completely blind process managed by the Illinois State Lottery. All draws will be automated via a computer program and the Lottery will run multiple quality assurance checks before delivering the final results of each lottery to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

“Black and Brown communities have faced the unfair repercussions of the war on drugs for too long,” Castro said. “We need to place business owners from these communities at the forefront of this booming industry.”      

The measure, House Bill 1443, became effective immediately.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) celebrated the signing of an expansion to Ashley’s Law allowing designated caregivers at summer camps and other park district programs to administer medical cannabis products.

“Ashley’s Law was so important to making sure students are able to get the medication they need,” said Castro, who sponsored the original law. “This expansion will make sure they get continued care during the summer months, and I am happy to see it signed into law.”

Ashley’s Law passed in 2018 in response to the case of an 11-year-old student being denied use of medical cannabis prescribed to her to alleviate symptoms of leukemia treatment. Although she was a qualified medical cannabis patient, previous state law prohibited her use of medicinal cannabis on school grounds.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) spearheaded a new law to create a program that will help people with serious mental illness or substance use disorders by enabling access to affordable housing and support services.

“Supporting those struggling the most in our communities is a top priority,” Castro said. “Taking a ‘Housing First’ approach to mental illness and addiction treatment will ensure that those most vulnerable are treated with dignity and compassion.”

Often, people with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder lack affordable housing, causing increased institutionalization, incarceration or risk of death from an overdose. This law creates the Housing is Recovery Pilot Program to help prevent people with a serious mental illness or people who are at high risk of overdose due to lack of support services from being institutionalized or dying.

ELGIN – One of the nation’s top credit rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, recently updated its outlook on Illinois’ fiscal status, a move that State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) commends as a reflection of the state’s responsible spending.

“Illinois’ outlook change shows how the actions we’ve taken over the last few years, as well as the balanced budget we passed this year, have improved our state’s finances,” Castro said. “Even with the pandemic, we’ve managed to fully fund our pensions and even increase K-12 education funding.”

Along with those successes, Illinois has also cut spending by nearly $1 billion since 2020 and reduced Illinois’ bill backlog to less than $200 million from a high of nearly $1 billion in 2017.

Two other credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, also adjusted Illinois’ outlook to be reflective of the positive changes Illinois has undertaken.

“Fitch improving its rating outlook for Illinois is a good thing for taxpayers in the state,” Castro said. “If we stay on track, borrowing will cost less which will end up saving taxpayers money.”

Fitch’s full analysis is available here.

ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro (D- Elgin) released the following statement on the sentencing of Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd:

“I hope today’s sentencing brings a sense of peace to George Floyd’s family. While nothing will ever fix the loss of a loved one, I hope that knowing that the perpetrator is behind bars will bring some comfort to those who knew him.

“As we begin to move forward, I stand with many in calling for reform at the national level to ensure that tragedies like this are prevented.”

ELGIN – To encourage young people to continue learning during the summer, State Senator Christina Castro (D-Elgin) is launching a Summer Reading Club for students in and around the Elgin area.

“Summer vacation and other breaks from school can result in learning loss for students,” Castro said. “Students who continue reading during the summer are more likely to remain engaged and continue to do well in school.”

The Summer Book Club requires students to read eight books of their choice during the summer break, record the names of the books and return the form to Castro’s office by Aug. 11. Senator Castro will host a pizza party for those who finish the program.

“Reading helps students develop healthy minds,” Castro said. “This program will help them make reading into a habit and prepare them for the upcoming school year.”

Parents can visit senatorcristinacastro.com to download and print the book club form. They can also call Castro’s office at (847) 214-8864 to request a copy by mail.

Castro urges interested residents to call her office with any additional questions.