SPRINGFIELD – After seeing the stress social isolation put on residents of long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) has sponsored a measure to require long-term care facilities to help residents have daily communication with their family when a disaster is declared. 

“I’m sure we all felt the effects of isolation during this pandemic, but for people in long-term care facilities, those feelings were even more intense,” Cullerton said. “If anything like this happens again, ensuring residents of these homes have a connection to their loved ones must be a priority.”

According to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older report feeling lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these statistics.

House Bill 3147 would require long-term care facilities to make every reasonable effort to facilitate at least one phone or video call between a resident and a family member each day during a disaster declared by the governor, unless doing so could pose a danger to residents or staff, or redirects resources away from direct resident care and protection.

The measure also requires hospitals to develop a contact policy to encourage patients to engage with family members during a pandemic or public health emergency.

The measure passed the Senate Health Committee and now moves to the floor for further consideration.

VILLA PARK – Following the release of a report from the Office of the Inspector General on the COVID-19 outbreak at the state-run LaSalle Veterans Home in November 2020, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) called for hearings to further investigate the issue, discuss the obvious mistakes that occurred and how to move forward.

“It breaks my heart and I can’t imagine what the loved ones of those lost during this outbreak must be feeling,” said Cullerton, chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “This report will give me, my colleagues and our veterans’ families an opportunity to seek understanding of what occurred plus offer clarity on what can be done to prevent this situation in the future.” 

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) recently honored 179 high school students from the community who were named 2021-22 Illinois State Scholars by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Illinois State Scholar winners rank in approximately the top 10% of the state’s high school seniors from 676 high schools in all 102 counties. Selection is based on a combination of standardized test scores and class rank or unweighted GPA at the end of the student’s junior year. ISAC works in conjunction with the students’ high school guidance counselors to determine the winners.

“I want to congratulate all the hard-working students who are recognized as Illinois State Scholars this year,” Cullerton said. “After such a difficult and unprecedented year, these students really went above and beyond to achieve this recognition.”

SPRINGFIELD – As rates of suicide and depression among young people rise, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) advanced a measure that would ensure suicide prevention information is readily available to college students.

“Crisis lines are such an important resource to those struggling with their mental health,” Cullerton said. “Something as simple as providing this information on a student ID card, which most college students are carrying around all day anyway, could save a life.”

The measure would require any public institution of higher education that issues student ID cards to publish the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line on the back of each card as well on their website.

SPRINGFIELD – To encourage government consolidation and promote cost-saving initiatives at the local level, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) passed a measure through the Senate that prohibits the creation of any new local unit of government through the dividing of existing local governments.

“The amount of taxes that go to administrative costs in this state is excessive,” Cullerton said. “This measure aims to do something about the enormous number of units of local government in this state to help cut back on some of those costs.”

Currently, Illinois has approximately 7,000 local units of government, the most of any state. Senate Bill 1800 would extend the moratorium, originally enacted from 2015 through Jan. 1, 2020, on the division of local units of governments into two or more units. The moratorium would be extended through Jan. 1, 2023. However, this measure would allow for new units to be created if two or more local governments are consolidating.

VILLA PARK – To continue his commitment to advocate for people with developmental disabilities, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) met with members of the Ray Graham Association on Monday.

“I had a great time meeting with Christian from the Ray Graham Association today. I always enjoy getting the opportunity to meet with local Ray Graham participants. The work Ray Graham does and the services they provide are essential for the disability community in the 23^rd District and DuPage County,” Cullerton said. “I will continue to make this community a priority as we work to pass a budget and various pieces of legislation aimed at supporting organizations like the Ray Graham Association.”

The Ray Graham Association is non-profit organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout DuPage, Will, Cook, Grundy and Kane counties. The group helps people with disabilities find jobs and ensure themselves independence through interview training, resume writing, and learning to dress for success.

The Ray Graham Association, which was founded in 1950, now serves over 2,000 people with disabilities and employs nearly 350 people. It believes in a person-centered approach to care and community, and provides people with disabilities and their families an array of services that cater to their individual needs, strengths and dreams.

“After this unprecedented year, support for this community is more important than ever,” Cullerton said. “I hope to continue meeting with organizations like the Ray Graham Association to learn how I can best advocate for the funding and support they need.”

To support people with disabilities, Senator Cullerton is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 1787, which would expand and accelerate state support services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

*Photo attached. Caption: Sen. Cullerton meets with Christian, a participant with the Ray Graham Association. Credit: Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus.

VILLA PARK –State Senators Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) and Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) are excited to see incoming improvements to roads and bridges in their communities after last week’s announcement from the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding funding for infrastructure investments in DuPage County.  The projects come as a part of the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program.

VILLA PARK – State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park) is announcing that school districts in the 23^rd District will receive about $285 million in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the end of the pandemic in sight, it’s important that districts use these funds to move their schools forward and help uplift students who may have fallen behind,” Cullerton said. “This past year has been hard for students, teachers and parents, but the additional funding to help with the full transition back to the classroom shows them there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

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:

• Addison School District 4 - $8,584,972
• Bloomingdale School District 13 - $899,513
• Community Unit District 300 - $29,746,705
• Community Consolidated School District 93 - $4,501,233
• DuPage High School District 88 - $5,501,213
• Elmhurst School District 205 - $3,102,819
• Fenton Community High School District 100 - $2,367,440
• Itasca School District 10 - $613,740
• Glenbard Township High School District 87 - $9,065,618
• Lake Park Consolidated High School District 108 - $2,333,579
• Lombard School District 44 - $3,560,759
• Marquardt School District 15 - $9,973,316
• Medinah School District 11 - $801,717
• Queen Bee School District 16 - $3,548,467
• Roselle School District 12 - $502,988
• Salt Creek School District 48 - $769,368
• School District 45 DuPage County - $6,489,459
• School District U-46 -  $95,027,296
• Wood Dale SD 7 - $2,058,532

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.

“This funding will provide much-needed relief to local teachers and students who have worked so hard to adjust this past year,” Cullerton said. “I hope schools take advantage of the guide from ISBE to help them navigate how to get back on their feet.”

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