SPRINGFIELD – To increase accessibility for higher education, State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) has advanced a measure to allow the state treasurer’s office to make payments to Children’s Savings Accounts specifically for students from financially insecure households.

“Historically, Black and Latine families have faced systemic barriers to higher education including affordability, and we need to make sure the programs we have in place to help children are as equitable as possible,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Children’s Savings Accounts are a great mechanism for helping students afford education expenses, but we need to make sure families who need help get assistance.”

The Illinois Children’s Savings Account program will go into effect in 2023. Under the current program, applicable families will receive a seed deposit of $50. Senate Bill 3991 allows the state treasurer’s office to supplement CSA’s for financially insecure households with additional funds.

SPRINGFIELD – In an effort to honor our state’s fallen heroes, State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) is championing a measure to honor their next of kin with the presentation of an Illinois flag. 

“Our country would not be where it is today without the sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform,” Turner said. “This measure will help show the respect we have for the families that pay the ultimate sacrifice.”

Under Turner’s measure, if an Illinois resident dies while on State Active Duty or Federal Active Duty, their next of kin would be presented the Illinois state flag by military personnel.

SPRINGFIELD –Thanks to a new measure sponsored by State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview), people with disabilities may soon be able to choose their spouse to serve as their provider of personal care instead of having to hire a personal assistant.

“Many times, a spouse must leave his or her job to care for a loved one. This results in a loss of family income,” Senator Fine said. “This measure will ensure these families are not forced to choose between the health of their loved one and financial stability.”

Currently, people with severe disabilities may hire their own personal assistant to help care for them through agreements between the patient and the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Under this agreement, DRS supplies and pays personal assistants to support designated patients. However, there is a current shortage of medical staff to fill these vacancies. This is causing many families to choose between the quality of life of disabled family members or financial stability, as many spouses are leaving the workforce to help care for their loved ones without compensation.

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) passed through the Senate Wednesday.

“Veterans and active military members endure many hardships, and families 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 difficult financial times.”

Johnson’s proposal allows school boards to waive fees for students with a parent who is a veteran or an active member of the military with an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is an estimated $55,500 for an average family of four.

SPRINGFIELD – Student loan debt is the 2nd highest consumer debt category, just behind mortgages.  To help address this issue, today, State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview)’s Senate Bill 3032 passed the Senate unanimously. Part of this legislation prohibits universities from withholding official transcripts from potential employers as a means of debt collection.

“It is discouraging for students who have made immense sacrifices to earn their degrees to be denied access to their transcripts until their debt is paid off,” Senator Fine said. “Having access to their transcripts is essential for students to seek the jobs necessary to pay off their debts, as well as finding a fulfilling career.”

Under Senator Fine’s legislation, universities would be prohibited from withholding transcripts as a means of debt collection. The bill also requires colleges to institute a hardship policy to ensure students that have to withdraw due to significant financial or physical hardship leave school with as little debt as possible. Additionally, the legislation would prevent student debt that gets sent to a collection’s agency from being used against a student’s credit score.  

SPRINGFIELD – People searching for long-term care facilities are a step closer to avoiding misleading information regarding available services, thanks to a measure championed by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago).

“Imagine not being able to access information on potential long-term care facilities due to incorrect and misleading information,” Villa said. “Finding a long-term care facility that fits the needs of the patients is hard enough – the facility’s websites should not add to the confusion.”

Villa’s measure would eliminate an obligation for the Illinois Department on Aging’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to label the Consumer Choice search tool with the name “Resident’s Right to Know.” This elimination would allow residents additional information on services offered by facilities, including memory care, transportation, dialysis, multilingual staff and more without being misled or confused.

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation spearheaded by State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood) to waive application fees for short-term substitute teaching licenses cleared the Senate Wednesday.

“As a parent and former teacher, I believe we have an obligation to ensure our children have access to a high-quality education,” Loughran Cappel said. “A student’s education should not stop when their teacher is sick or unable to be in the classroom, which is why we need to simplify the process for qualified individuals to substitute teach.”

SPRINGFIELD – Two measures to assist social workers with earning and paying off their degrees, introduced by State Senator Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights), passed the Illinois Senate on Wednesday.

“Incentivizing students of social work to start their careers in Illinois will help our local governments recruit the qualified professionals they need, while mitigating the student debt crisis,” Gillespie said.

Senate Bill 3912 expands the Post-Master of Social Work Professional Educator License scholarship to municipal social workers. Recipients would be required to work for an Illinois municipality for at least two of the five years immediately following graduation.