SPRINGFIELD – The Senate Higher Education Committee held a hearing Monday on the progress of SHIELD Illinois, the system which administers University of Illinois’ state-of-the-art rapid COVID-19 test, which uses saliva rather than the common nasal swab and is intended to be made available to all of the state’s public universities.

"Everyone at the U of I involved in developing and utilizing the saliva test deserves our thanks," said Senator McGuire, Chair of the Higher Education Committee. "Our next task is to implement the test at our eight other public universities so they can resume in-person learning next semester."

According to Tim Killeen, president of the U of I System, the university is organizing a testing program and infrastructure to deploy the innovative test across the state. This plan includes a prototype lab on wheels that will allow testing to take place where it is needed most.

The Illinois Senate Higher Education Committee is set to discuss the progress toward making the U of I’s state-of-the-art COVID-19 test, which uses saliva rather than a nasal swab, available to all of Illinois’ public universities at its meeting Monday.

"The U of I proved its mettle as a world-class research institution by developing a saliva test which is helping to keep COVID-19 cases at its campuses to a minimum," said Pat McGuire, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. "My colleagues and I are eager to learn when the saliva test will be available at Illinois' eight other public universities so students at those schools can safely resume full-scale in-person learning."

The committee is also set to hear an update on the Discovery Partners Institute, a long-term U of I project aimed at business and economic development in partnership with the university.

"The U of I's planned Discovery Partners Institute--billed as 'the Silicon Valley of the Midwest'--now has nearly $1 billion in state and private money behind it,” McGuire said. “It may well lead to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. But will it lead to jobs for average Illinoisans? We're eager to find out."

WHAT: Illinois Senate Higher Education Committee hearing on U of I’s rapid COVID saliva test

WHO: Members of the Senate Higher Education Committee, representatives of the University of Illinois

WHEN: Monday, Dec. 14, 1 p.m.

WHERE: The committee will meet virtually. Proceedings will be streamed live at https://ilga.gov/senateaudvid.asp. The link will become active at 1 p.m.

JOLIET – State Senator Pat McGuire (D-Joliet) congratulated the Bolingbrook Park District and the Will County Forest Preserve District on receiving substantial Illinois Public Museum Capital Grants to improve their services to the public.

“Nature always refreshes and educates,” McGuire said. “These grants will enable Bolingbrook and Will County residents to better enjoy time outside, a need that is great during this pandemic and certainly will be after it.”

The Bolingbrook Park District plans to use the more than $500,000 grant to improve its Hidden Oaks Outdoor Pavilion – an outdoor classroom space for nature programs.

The Will County Forest Preserve District is using its $750,000 grant to make improvements to its Four Rivers Environmental Education Center. Located where the Des Plaines, DuPage, and Kankakee Rivers meet to form the Illinois River, the center provides indoor nature exhibits and observation spaces.  

You can find more information about the Bolingbrook Park District and the Will County Forest Preserve District at their websites here and here.

JOLIET – State Senator Pat McGuire (D-Joliet) encourages businesses and nonprofit organizations to utilize state and federal economic assistance as a COVID-19 surge threatens Illinois residents and hospitals.

“We all must sacrifice to protect one another,” McGuire said. “The price of sacrifice varies. It costs next to nothing to don a mask, wash one’s hands frequently and maintain six feet of social distancing. But for impacted businesses and nonprofits, including bars and restaurants, the sacrifice is considerable. Yesterday 30 businesses and nonprofit groups in Senate District 43 were awarded state Business Interruption Grants ranging from $5,000 to $150,000. BIG funding is awarded on a rolling basis. It’s not too late to apply.”

Senate hearing reveals need for more teacher training, easier access to scholarships to close racial gap in profession

SPRINGFIELD – Teachers in Illinois have increasingly come to look like just one demographic, and it’s ultimately bad for all students in general and students of color in particular, according to just one line of testimony at a joint meeting of the Illinois Senate Education and Higher Education Committees Wednesday.

Illinois Higher Education Committee Chair Pat McGuire and Senate Education Committee Chair Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant led the committee, which met virtually.

John Cusick, Legislative Director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, said teachers see a direct connection between educator preparation and the effort to address systemic racism. Cynthia Riseman Lund, also with IFT, said teacher diversity in Illinois has gotten less racially and ethnically diverse, and more female, a development which has lead to an adverse effect on students, including male students of color.

Testimony at the virtual hearing Wednesday also focused on how access to scholarships and aid for prospective teachers contributes to their ability to finish college and enter the teaching profession. 

The hearing also focused on why the performance gap between white students and students of color persists. Partnership for College Completion’s Kyle Westbrook said Illinois community colleges still have wide completion rate disparities between Black and Latinx students and white peers, and that colleges are more likely to place Black and Latinx students into developmental education, where students are less likely to graduate.

“Today's testimony revealed a dreadful cycle. A paucity of Black male teachers restrains student achievement, yet Black males seeking to become teachers encounter many impediments in pursuit of a teaching degree. Thank goodness we learned today that there are remedies. Our task now is to put them in place,” McGuire said.

JOLIET – In light of hardships imposed by the coronavirus pandemic and an ongoing call from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to address structural racism at all levels, Illinois Senate Higher Education Committee Chair Pat McGuire (D-Joliet) and Senate Education Chair Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) will convene another joint hearing of their respective committees Wednesday to address college affordability and the possibility of expanding college access through free tuition.

“Thirty years ago, Illinois ranked #1 in the U.S. for post-secondary access, affordability and attainment of certificates and degrees, but now we’re far from that,” McGuire said. “This hurts all students, especially those of color. Wednesday’s hearing will search for answers.”

The hearing is part of an ongoing effort by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to gather information as it forms a legislative agenda for the upcoming fall session in Springfield that aims to reform longstanding racial inequities. Besides education, the Black Caucus has also prompted discussions on health care, economic and financial access, and criminal justice reform.

WHO: Members of the Illinois Senate Higher Education and Education Committees

WHAT: A joint Education/Higher Education committee hearing to address college affordability

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 21 at noon

WHERE: A virtual meeting. The meeting is accessible through the Illinois General Assembly website here: https://ilga.gov/senateaudvid.asp. The link will become active at noon. The meeting can also be viewed via the Blue Room Stream subscription service.

JOLIET – To continue efforts to address structural racial inequality in Illinois, the Senate will hold a joint Education and Higher Education Committee tomorrow.

“As chair of the Higher Education Committee, I've learned that the foundation for successful post-secondary education is built early in one's life,” said Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Pat McGuire (D-Crest Hill). “Tomorrow's hearing will explore how to provide that foundation for every Illinois child.”

The committee serves as another step in building the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Education is one of four major policy areas the ILBC is targeting this year, along with criminal justice, health care, and economic access.

JOLIET — State Senator Pat McGuire urges businesses in Will County affected by the current COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigations to apply for economic assistance announced today by Governor JB Pritzker.

“The measures needed to stop the spread of COVID-19 require extra sacrifice from certain businesses,” McGuire said. “That’s why the new Business Interruption Grants grant competition prioritizes those businesses.”