CHICAGO – The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund application recently opened, and State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is encouraging homeowners who have been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic to apply.

“A lot of people have fallen behind on their mortgage payments due to COVID-19 and could benefit greatly from this program,” Hunter said. “This program ensures homeowners much-needed relief and can help them avoid debt and even foreclosure.”

The ILHAF provides up to $30,000 for homeowners who have outstanding housing payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This free assistance fund will provide $309 million in total to cover a multitude of housing costs including past-due mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, and delinquent homeowner or condo association fees.

The application deadline has been extended to May 6

CHICAGO – The deadline to apply for the Phillip Jackson Freedom School Grant has been extended, and State Senator Patricia Van Pelt encouraging all who are eligible to apply.

“While students are getting a standardized education, many children could benefit from an extra system of support,” Van Pelt said. “Today’s Freedom Schools carry the essence of the movement that preceded them, and can offer a load of knowledge to those who take advantage of it.”

The Phillip Jackson Freedom Schools Grant establishes a Freedom School network to supplement public school learning by creating programs that improve the odds for disadvantaged children.

CHICAGO – While the state continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, people are still struggling to get back on their feet following the immense financial distress it caused.

State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) announced a new assistance program that will provide Illinois homeowners with much-needed housing relief.

“No one should have worry about how they’re going to keep a roof over their head,” Aquino said. “Housing is a basic human right. Just because we are trending toward normalcy, doesn’t mean people aren’t still feeling the pandemic’s affects each day. Families need us now more than ever.”

CHICAGO – Carjackings are on the rise across Chicago, often leaving victims to pay the price for someone else’s doing when they go to retrieve their vehicle from an impound lot. This all-too-common circumstance led State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) to lead conversations about why victims shouldn’t be on the hook for these fees.

“When someone is a victim of a carjacking, they are already dealing with a traumatic experience that could be worsened by burdensome fees they weren’t even at fault for,” Aquino said. “Ending this practice is about economic security for folks who have already been victimized.”

Chicago will no longer force victims of carjackings to pay for towing and storage fees to retrieve their vehicles. The City Council voted unanimously this week to approve a measure to waive such fees if the victim is able to obtain a police report verifying their car was stolen. 

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Bill Cunningham joins the Illinois Department of Labor in recognizing Workers’ Memorial Day.

“Today, I join working families across Illinois to remember the workers who put their lives on the line to provide for their family and never returned home,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the southwest suburbs.

Workers Memorial Day – on April 28th – coincides with the legislative anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. It created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as we know it today.

CHICAGO – State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) released the following statement after attending a concert at Temple Sholom commemorating Yom HaShoah, a day that honors the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust:

“The history of the Hebrew song, Ani ma’Amin, which means ‘I believe,’ is deeply spiritual. I learned the song when I was a child and until last night, I did not know its origin.

“In 1942, Azriel David Fastag wrote the melody to Ani Ma'amin while being transported on a train to the Treblinka concentration camp. Every day, Fastag sang this song in the camps.

Arab American Heritage Month first became nationally recognized on April 1, 2021.

The U.S. Department of State issued a proclamation acknowledging the month of April as the sanctioned commemoration of Arab Americans’ history, culture and legacies. The initiative was supported by Congress and a large number of governors through additional written proclamations.

Since AAHM’s official announcement, only four states have taken official action in maintaining such an initiative on the state level. Illinois is among these four states.

SPRINGFIELD – As school districts around the state continue to struggle to fill teaching positions, Senate Democrats led a number of legislative measures signed into law Wednesday to address the void.

“Illinois, like everywhere else in the country, is facing challenges with recruiting and retaining teachers,” said State Senator Meg Loughran Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “It was a struggle even before the pandemic hit, but now, finding someone to sub in when a teacher is out sick is even harder for Illinois schools.”

According to a survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, 90% of Illinois schools are currently experiencing staffing shortages. Loughran Cappel’s law, originally House Bill 4246, will reduce the renewal fees for substitute teachers’ licenses to $50 instead of $500.

Additionally, she led House Bill 4798, which expands the substitute teacher pool.

The new law allows currently-enrolled Illinois students in the field of education who have at least 90 credit hours to obtain a substitute teaching license. By giving them creditable hours for this on-the-job training, more students will be able to substitute teach, and schools will have additional resources for finding temporary, short-term teachers.

Paraprofessionals in schools help provide students with one-on-one or small group assistance and support teachers in the classroom. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the number of unfilled paraprofessional positions in school districts across the state nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022. There were 1,237 unfilled positions last year compared to 2,397 this year, making State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas’ (D-Chicago) Senate Bill Senate Bill 3988 even more vital.

Her law lowers the age requirement for teacher assistants from 19 to 18 for those who work in pre-K to eighth grade classrooms.

“With more than 2,000 unfilled teacher aid and paraprofessional positions, it’s critical we open the door to this profession to as many qualified candidates as possible,” Pacione-Zayas said. “By lowering the required age for this profession in some classrooms, we can help students get the individualized assistance they may need.”

Further, State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) championed Senate Bill 3907, which will allow short-term substitute teachers to teach up to 15 consecutive days instead of five for any one licensed teacher under contract in a school district.

Additionally, if a teacher is absent for longer than six days, a school district will be able to hire a person holding a short-term teaching license if it is during a period of time in which the governor has declared a public health emergency.

“The pandemic has caused many aspects of our society to adapt – especially our schools,” Turner said. “We have many well-qualified substitute teachers ready to fill the void when teachers are out of the classroom – let’s empower them to step up.”

For a list of all bills in Senate Democrats led to address the teacher shortage, people can visit IllinoisSenateDemocrats.com/TeacherShortage.

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