SPRINGFIELD – Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement after the State Senate advanced a resolution nominating Judge Michael McCuskey to be the new Legislative Inspector General:

“The position of Legislative Inspector General is too important to stay vacant for as long as it has. An impasse is not an option, so we are taking decisive action to move forward with an excellent candidate.

CHICAGO HEIGHTS – State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is encouraging families in need of assistance filing their 2021 income taxes to take advantage of new assistance programs offered by the Internal Revenue Service and AARP.

“Filing taxes can be stressful, but there are resources available to help,” said Joyce. “Please share this information with friends and loved ones who need assistance filing their tax return.”

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs offers assistance to individuals who earn $58,000 a year or less, people aged 60 or older, people living with a disability and taxpayers with limited English-speaking skills.

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) advanced a bill to include community service as a possible punishment if a person speeds in a school zone or illegally passes a stopped school bus with its stop arm extended.

“Children taking the bus to school should be worried about their schoolwork, not worried about reckless drivers,” Morrison said. “This measure will further deter folks from speeding or passing school buses and really reflect on how their actions could harm members of their community.”

Morrison is a longtime advocate of transportation safety. She previously added community service as a possible punishment for violations of Scott’s Law, which requires that drivers reduce speeds and change lanes for emergency vehicles. She hopes that her latest measure will emphasize the importance of driving safely around school buses to keep children and bus drivers out of harm’s way.

Springfield- A measure to make the capitol complex more accessible for visitors with disabilities clears an important hurdle thanks to State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago).

“The Capitol grounds belong to all of the people,'' said Peters. “Everyone, regardless of ability, should be able to freely move about the Capitol and be able to navigate their way through our public spaces.”

Senate Bill 0180 requires the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate to each appoint an accessibility coordinator to work in consultation with the Architect of the Capitol to address accessibility needs for each chamber.

SPRINGFIELD – To offer students more options following graduation from high school, State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) advanced two measures out of the Senate Wednesday.

“Many students are pushed toward college from a young age, but it’s important for them to know that there are other options if that’s not what they want to do,” Pacione-Zayas said. “From furthering education in the trades or going straight into a career, these young adults deserve to know what else is out there.”

Senate Bill 3990 requires school counseling services to include Career and Technical Education to help students consider secondary education plans following high school. Notably, provisions in Illinois’ Clean and Equitable Job Act will create new opportunities for technical jobs in the clean energy sector.

SPRINGFIELD – Thanks to the work  of State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), a measure to inform college students who are parents or have dependents of child care and other assistance programs passed the Senate Wednesday.

“Being a parent requires an enormous amount of time and mindfulness, and it has the potential to make other areas of life far more challenging,” Villanueva said. “The demands of receiving an education on top of being a student make balancing the two lifestyles extremely difficult, which is why we should do what we can to support our most vulnerable students.”

Senate Bill 3149 will help student parents focus on their education by ensuring they are notified of child care assistance available to them. It also gives higher learning institutions the ability to create a student-parent liaison to assist with applying for public benefits programs. The idea behind the measure was brought to Senator Villanueva by Young Invincibles, an organization working to bring equity to the political, educational, social and economic structures in the country.

SPRINGFIELD – To restore public trust in local government officials, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) is sponsoring a measure alongside Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford), to create a process to place local officials on administrative leave for those accused of violating their oath.

“We are ensuring that while criminal charges are pending, residents can have trust in their government to act appropriately,” Stadelman said. “This allows townships and counties the ability to remove bad faith actors within the system.”

Senate Bill 3460 creates a process in which countywide elected officials or township officers can be placed on administrative leave in the wake of a criminal charge for a crime or any offense in violation of their official oath. Specifically, this measure allows county or township boards to vote to determine if the official should be placed on administrative leave with a three-fifths vote.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Julie Morrison’s legislative package to further protect children in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is on its way to the House.

"We owe it to the children and families who rely on DCFS to do everything in our power to keep them safe and give them the best services we are able to provide," said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). "While there is much more work to be done, these measures are a step in the right direction."

Senate Bill 3747 provides that all children under the age of five in the child welfare system would be eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps provide financial assistance for quality child care. Additionally, infants and toddlers in the care of DCFS would automatically be eligible for the state's Early Intervention Program, supporting families in promoting their child's development.

Senate Bill 3853 provides families who receive Extended Family Support services from DCFS with additional resources through a three-year pilot program. The measure includes broader "wraparound" case management services, home visiting services for caregivers of children under five, and more.

Both measures passed the Senate Wednesday and head to the House for further consideration.