CHICAGO — More scams are popping up as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) urges people to be careful when responding to requests for money or personal information. “We can all understand the desire to help others during this time, but I can’t stress the importance of using extreme caution when giving personal information over the phone or computer,” Martinez said. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said attorneys general from across the nation have seen an increase in reports of people posing as charitable organizations or public health agencies. Those scams, according to Raoul, include cyber scams, telephone and text messaging scams, counterfeit product offers, bogus door-to-door offers of tests and products related to the coronavirus and solicitations for donations to phony charities. Some of the most common scams seen by Raoul include: • Emails claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and other health care organizations, offering to share information about the virus; • Emails asking for the verification of personal data, including Medicare or Medicaid information, in exchange for receiving economic stimulus funds or other benefits from the government; • Email phishing scams, text messages from unknown sources which may include hyperlinks to what appear to be automated pandemic updates, or interactive infection maps; • COVID-19 vaccinations and home test kits that are made online, in stores, through electronic messages or over the phone. For more information or to report scams connected to COVID-19, please visit the attorney general’s website: https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/.
SPRINGFIELD – Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) is advancing an initiative to classify crimes against individuals based on their actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status as hate crimes.
“Hate crime laws are intended to protect individuals against biased crimes,” Martinez said. “Expanding the definition to include citizenship or immigration status is necessary to defend immigrants against senseless, discriminatory crimes.”
Under current law, crimes by reason against people of an actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals are considered hate crimes.
The measure seeks to add citizenship or immigration status to the list of qualifications.
Senate Bill 2345 passed the Senate Criminal Law Committee and moves for further consideration before the full Senate.
SPRINGFIELD – Pleased by the governor’s commitment to continue progress for a more equal, fair state benefitting all Illinois residents in his State of the State address to lawmakers Wednesday, State Senator Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) released the following statement:
“Our state is back on track toward financial responsibility, while taking the needs of minorities into consideration. I believe we’re progressing to a state government that works for everyone.
I also share a passion with his administration to continue investing in the care and education our children need to succeed making Illinois the best state to raise our young ones. I commend the governor’s sincerity and look forward to what we can accomplish this legislative session.”
SPRINGFIELD — A new law sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) will create training programs for young people looking to enter the building trades.
Her measure creates the “Training in the Building Trades Program,” which would award grants to community-based organizations to establish training programs for people ages 18-35 with interest in that industry.
“There is no one-size-fits all career path for young people, so we need to provide them with a variety of opportunities to learn and train for their future,” Martinez said. “These programs will give future trades professionals the tools they need to obtain a good-paying job and to give back to the state.”
SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) is continuing her work to ensure all qualified applicants are eligible for professional licenses, regardless of their citizenship status.
“If anyone in our state wants to contribute by working hard and paying taxes, they should not be denied because of where they were born,” Martinez said. “I am glad to continue the work we started last year by expanding the ability for immigrants to apply for professional licenses.”
Martinez passed a law last year ensuring that citizenship is not required for licenses issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional or State Board of Education. It also requires the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to allow an applicant to use a taxpayer identification number as an alternative to a Social Security number.
SPRINGFIELD — A new law sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) will overhaul the manner in which sexual assault investigations involving students are conducted.
Martinez passed the legislation out of the Senate this year as a bipartisan effort to address the issue of educator misconduct in classrooms across the state.
“The importance of protecting our children is an issue we can all agree on, no matter our political party,” Martinez said. “The report released last year was shocking, and I am thankful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to work on a solution. Students should be able to feel safe at school.”
SPRINGFIELD – Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez spoke Thursday on the need for clarity in state law regarding worker cooperatives, a model in which businesses are owned and controlled cooperatively by workers.
“Worker cooperatives are a proven model that provide living wage jobs, especially for workers in communities of color, who often work in the low-wage economy where wage theft and discrimination are extremely common,” Martinez said.
Martinez is sponsoring House Bill 3663, which would provide clarity of what a worker cooperative is and the benefits and rights of those that operate under its construct. It also sets guidelines for organizing and managing a worker cooperative.
Speaking at a Latino Unity Day press conference on Wednesday, Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez stressed the importance of a complete count in Illinois during the 2020 Census.
“Each person not counted means revenue lost for the State of Illinois from the federal government,” Martinez said. “This means fewer dollars for roads and infrastructure, less money for education, less reimbursement for cities and towns, less money for essential human services and less money for the most vulnerable among us.”
Martinez is the sponsor of Senate Bill 1408, which would appropriate $25 million to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide grants to community providers and local governments to encourage full participation in the upcoming Census.
SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) passed legislation yesterday that works to move away from the use of lead ammunition for hunting in Illinois.
The measure mandates that only steel or other non-toxic shotshells can be used to take waterfowl. It also bans the use of any shotgun larger than 10 gauge or smaller than a .410 bore to take wildlife and the use of lead shotshells on Department of Natural Resources properties on or after Jan. 1, 2022.
“As we become more aware of the dangers of lead exposure, we must work to eliminate it in all forms,” Martinez said. “There is no reason why people should not be able to hunt safely without endangering animals or people with lead ammunition.”
The Centers for Disease Control states that there is no safe level of lead exposure. Lead ammunition puts animals at risk, but anyone who eats meat from animals killed with lead-based ammunition is also at risk of exposure.
Senate Bill 780 passed the Senate without opposition and now heads to the Illinois House for consideration.
SPRINGFIELD – Senate lawmakers and advocates gathered Thursday to stress the importance of getting a full and accurate count in Illinois during the 2020 Census.
Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez spoke to the potential consequences of an undercount.
“The census is used to determine federal funding and representation for our state,” Martinez (D-Chicago) said. “That means, if we are undercounted, we stand to lose billions in federal funding, along with two congressional seats and two Electoral College votes.”
Martinez is the sponsor of legislation, contained in Senate Bill 1408, that would appropriate $25 million to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide grants to community providers and local governments for the purposes of encouraging full participation in the 2020 federal census.
SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) is continuing her long-time advocacy for the Grow Your Own Teacher (GYOT) initiative by advancing legislation that expands the ability of schools and future teachers to participate in the program.“Illinois is dealing with a teacher shortage, so we need to do all that we can to place dedicated teachers in schools,” Martinez said. “We especially must work to ensure students at schools that are traditionally hard to staff – like those in low-incomes areas – have the same access to quality education as anyone else.” The Grow Your Own Teacher initiative is a program designed to train people to become teachers in hard-to-staff schools. Martinez’s legislation would expand the definition of "eligible school" and "hard-to-staff" schools for the initiative to include early childhood programs in which no less than 40 percent of the children it serves are receiving subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child Care Assistance Program.It would also extend eligibility for participation in the initiative to high school students enrolled in a dual credit course at a participating institution of higher education.Senate Bill 244 is similar to legislation Martinez passed last year that then-Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed. It passed the Senate Higher Education Committee without opposition Tuesday and heads to the full Senate for consideration.
SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) is continuing her work to expand opportunities for students at the University of Illinois to run for the position of student trustee by amending the university’s residency status requirements.
“Our institutions of higher education should be about promoting leadership opportunities,” Martinez said. “Being a student trustee is one good way students can serve and enhance their skills. And students who serve in these positions will graduate with an appreciation for the importance of civic engagement.”
Martinez first introduced similar legislation in 2016 after being contacted by an undocumented student who was unable to run for student trustee, despite the fact that he was enrolled in the university and an Illinois resident. The University of Illinois is a proponent of the initiative.
The University of Illinois Trustee Act requires students to be residents of Illinois in order to be selected as a student trustee.
Residency is currently demonstrated by three factors:
But under Martinez’s proposal, a student would have to live in Illinois for six months and either have a driver’s license or ID card, or register to vote in Illinois.
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the plan in 2016, and the House failed to call it for a vote after it was reintroduced and passed the Senate in 2017.
Senate Bill 172 passed the Senate Higher Education Committee on Tuesday and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) issued the following statement today after Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order strengthening the state’s commitment to welcoming immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers:
“Our country was founded by immigrants who came here looking to build a better life for themselves and their families. We would not be where we are today if it were not for the contributions they made and continue to make to our society.
“Welcoming immigrants, particularly those fleeing danger like refugees and asylum seekers, is at the core of our American values. Officials at the federal level, including the president, seem to have forgotten that. I’m glad we in Illinois still remember what our country is about.”
More than two dozen community agency leaders turned out at a recent forum to tell local senators that the state is overdue on a new program that puts people to work building up our communities.
It’s been nearly a decade since the state last invested in roads, bridges and school construction.
Assistant Majority Leader Iris Y. Martinez and Senator Omar Aquino hosted the town hall and workshop to make sure local agencies know how to apply for state funding and assess the local needs as support grows across the state for a new, state-sponsored construction program.
“We wanted to make sure we expanded what people knew about the capital bill, that it goes into infrastructure, it goes into brick and mortar stuff, and how we’re going to be creative in making sure that we’re getting equitable dollars in our districts,” Aquino said.
Over 30 local community agencies ranging from health, social service, the arts and afterschool programs gathered at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture for the Oct. 24 event.
“The two-year budget impasse hurt many organizations out there, so now we want to make sure we engage them so that we will be able to start doing some new things,” Martinez said. “I think the most important thing is our civic engagement, so our constituents can see that we’re working for them and we’re ready to respond to their concerns.”
Speakers included Becky Locker, Director of Policy and Budget for the Illinois Senate Democrats; Jen Walling, Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Council; Colleen Smith, Legislative Director for Illinois Environmental Council and Representative Luis Arroyo.
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