SPRINGFIELD – When students struggle with reading comprehension, they often struggle in other areas of education. To address this issue, Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood), Illinois Senate Majority Leader, is sponsoring a measure to increase students' literacy and reading comprehension. 

"Children with strong reading abilities oftentimes have a confident approach to their education," Lightford said. "It’s critical for educators to focus on developing a child’s literacy development within the early stages."

Senate Bill 3900 creates the Right to Read Act in the School Code to help students achieve greater levels of literacy and reading comprehension at an early age through evidence-based literacy instruction. 

Additionally, educators will have additional professional development to ensure those teaching this new curriculum are given the proper tools to help mold our youth. A pilot program will be created to award Early Literacy Grants to districts that commit to comprehensive reform of core literacy curriculum and support for teachers implementing instruction of the new material.

Currently, only 37% of students in the third grade and 35% in the fourth grade met or exceeded learning standards in English Language Arts. Students who are not proficient readers in third grade are four times more likely not to finish high school and six times more likely if they live in a low-income family. Additionally, 85% of juvenile offenders struggle with reading, and 60% of inmates are illiterate. 

"Poor literacy can hurt a student's access to successful career opportunities which may persuade them to low-grade alternatives," Lightford said. "Reading comprehension skills are critical for success and help ensure students are prepared academically and professionally.” 

Senate Bill 3900 passed the Senate Education Committee and now heads to the Senate floor for further debate.

SPRINGFIELD – Schools fees may soon be waived for low-income students with veteran or active military parents under a measure by State Senator Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove).

“Veterans and active military members endure many hardships, and individuals with young children are finding it difficult to keep up with school fees,” Johnson said. “By offering support to our heroes and their families, we can assist them through a difficult financial time.”

SPRINGFIELD – To help eliminate the teacher shortage in Illinois, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) advanced a plan out of the Senate Education Committee to increase the number of days substitute teachers may cover for licensed teachers in the classroom.

“We need to provide our superintendents with every tool to assist with the ongoing teacher shortage,” Joyce said. “This legislation allows substitutes to stay in the same classroom for longer, giving students more consistency.”

Currently, Illinois law allows substitute teachers to cover for licensed teachers for up to 90 days. Joyce’s initiative would increase the amount of days substitute teachers can stay in the classroom to 120. This measure helps keep substitute teachers in the same classroom, instead of having to teach lessons they are less familiar with after 90 days.

SPRINGFIELD – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) passed legislation Tuesday to help the Kendall County Courthouse grow to serve the demand for additional facilities and more timely resolution of court cases for area residents.

Senate Bill 3737 would allow the county to finish space that was built but never completed, and to house additional judicial staff hired to support the increasing needs for court services in the growing county.

SPRINGFIELD – To address cases of sexual abuse against mothers while giving birth, State Senator Rachelle Aud Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) advanced legislation to allow parents to remove the physician’s name from a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

“When giving birth, women trust their physician to offer support, guidance and encouragement on one of the happiest, most memorable days of her life,” Crowe said. “Unfortunately, there are multiple cases where mothers endure sexual assault and abuse in the process, and this measure aims to remove the disgraced physician’s name from the child’s birth certificate.”

In Illinois, the short form birth certificate does not include the physician’s name. Under Crowe’s proposal, a parent or 18 year old child can request a long form birth certificate with the physician’s name removed. The redacted certified copy of the birth certificate does not replace the original certificate.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is partnering with the Illinois treasurer’s office to bring an I-Cash event to Champaign.

The event will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28 at the Champaign Public Library located at 200 W. Green St. in Champaign.

“Many people who have unclaimed property with the state aren’t aware they’re owed money,” Bennett said. “I’m thrilled to partner with the treasurer’s office to help folks claim property that belongs to them.”

SPRINGFIELD –To bring more awareness to the impact Career and Technical Education has on student's success, Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) is supporting an effort to make February 2022 Career and Technical Education Month.

“Career and Technical Education programs not only provide technical skills for the future, but also provide academic and employability skills students can use for years,” Villa said. “These programs play a vital role in helping students choose career paths and explore other opportunities for success in and out of the classroom.”

Career and Technical Education, or CTE, are programs designed to prepare students for careers in major industries, such as finance, health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing and education. Coursework includes both academic and technical materials, allowing many students to use their knowledge from the programs to earn industry-recognized credentials or college credits. This makes careers in these fields much more accessible for many students who may struggle to complete coursework in traditional academic programs.

Many students have found massive success with the innovative program. Across the state, around 30,000 students earned college credit from their CTE courses, saving them time and money when earning their degrees. In addition, 97% of students who complete CTE programs in Illinois graduate from high school, compared to only 88% from traditional high schools. This year, almost 415,000 Illinoisans are enrolled in CTE programs.  Villa wants to highlight the bright futures of these students as well as the success of CTE programs through this measure. 

“CTE programs make it easy for students to begin earning college credits and receive industry-specific targeted learning toward post education,” Villa said. “My hope is that these programs will showcase the success of students who have found their career path and help contribute to our community and society.”

Senate Resolution 698 passed the Senate Education Committee.

SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) is leading a measure to address Illinois’ ever-growing teacher shortage by bringing back retired educators.

“There are thousands of classrooms across the state where students are going without any instruction,” Martwick said. “We need this bill to put teachers in classrooms and ensure our children thrive academically.”