Working for Illinois Caucus

Rep. Katie Stuart, center, receives a tour of the new Collinsville Area Vocational Center, which is due to be done in late summer. (Collinsville Schools photo)

By Tribune Staff • State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who serves as assistant majority leader and floor whip, toured the Collinsville Area Vocational Center expansion to see how construction is progressing.

Her last look at the facility was Jan. 8, 2026, when snow was on the ground and most of the building’s steel structure was in the welding phase. This week, she saw classrooms and workshops fully framed and undergoing electrical and HVAC installation.

CAVC Director Joe McGinnis and Collinsville School District Superintendent Dr. Mark B. Skertich, along with representatives of Holland Construction Services, guided Stuart through the facility. The CAVC expansion, which broke ground in March 2025, is expected to be operational for the 2026-27 school year.

Stuart was an early and strong advocate for this project which aligns with the State of Illinois’ focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE). She was instrumental in promoting the project in Springfield to procure funding.

“Our community will greatly benefit from this investment in CAVC, increasing class sizes from 500 to almost 1,000 students and expanding the scope of trades to study. The space is so impressive and I’m excited to see the space when it’s finished!” said Stuart.

In 2023, the State of Illinois appropriated $25 million (SB 250; page 1024) to Collinsville School District (the governing board of Collinsville Area Vocational Center) for the expansion and renovation of CAVC. Most of the funding is for the construction of the expansion but a portion is allocated to renovate the existing facility to help bring in new vocational programs.

Once completed, the new and improved CAVC will serve as an important source of trained workers for employers in the trades, service industry, education and healthcare. The result will be more opportunities for students and a skilled workforce for current and future businesses.

“Representative Stuart’s efforts to secure funding for the CAVC expansion and renovation are becoming a reality, with the facility scheduled to open in late August or early September,” said Superintendent Dr. Skertich.

“This project will provide students with valuable opportunities to pursue careers in the skilled trades, while also serving as a critical workforce pipeline for business and industry across the Metro East. We are excited about the immediate and long-term impact this investment will have on our students, our communities and the regional economy.”

CAVC Director Joe McGinnis added, “We are excited to see the continued progress of construction as this project brings new opportunities for our students, workforce and local economy closer to reality.”

The new CAVC was designed by FGM Architects. Holland Construction Services is the construction manager. The cost is projected to be $21,454,783 for the expansion and an additional $3,082,831 for existing facility renovations. Completion of the overall project will allow enrollment to nearly double to more than 900 students annually.

The CAVC expansion is located at the intersection of South Morrison and Caseyville Roads in Collinsville. The property is located across from the existing CAVC building and Collinsville High School campus.

About CAVC

The Collinsville Area Vocational Center was built in 1971 and is one of 27 Area Vocational Centers in Illinois. It currently serves students from 10 high schools in Madison and St. Clair counties, including: Civic Memorial High School, Collinsville High School, Dupo High School, East Alton-Wood River High School, Edwardsville High School, Highland High School, Lebanon High School, Mascoutah High School, Roxana High School and Triad High School. Madison High School and O’Fallon Township High School will begin sending students in the 2026-27 school year, bringing the total number of schools to 12.

Have you started planning some summer activities with the kids?

Democrat State Representative Amy “Murri” Briel of Ottawa says she can connect you with free admission to over 15 Chicagoland museums including the Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, and The Field Museum along with Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoos.

If interested in getting a museum pass, stop by Briel’s Ottawa office or call/text 815-587-7912. Her office is at 628 Columbus Street.

A pair of Central Illinois legislators acknowledge the national scene is bleak for members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community.

But Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria and Rep. Sharon Chung of Bloomington say Illinois’ Democratic supermajority is working to keep the state a beacon of LGBTQ+ support.

In fact, much of the legislation they discussed Monday night at an annual legislative town hall hosted by the Prairie Pride Coalition and Equality Illinois is aimed at keeping in place support that’s being scuttled by the Trump administration.

“We’re just kind of protecting vulnerable populations against some of the possible attacks that might be coming from the federal government,” said Chung.

It’s making Illinois a popular destination for members of that community, according to the pair, who both recounted meeting people who’ve moved from states like Texas and Florida.

Moderator José Che Che Wilson, director of civic engagement at Equality Illinois, said it was something he’d heard as well.

Koehler thinks the situation is temporary.

“As long as we can keep our democracy, we’re going to see a change," he said. "We’re going to see this pendulum swing. And so we just have to be ready for that. But in the meantime, there’s Illinois.”

Speaking to a group of about 35 people at Heartland Community College’s Astroth Community Education Center, the pair discussed their support of proposed legislation benefiting the LGBTQ+ community.

Among those bills:

• A bill that would tighten privacy around gender listed on driver’s licenses.
• A measure to require health insurance to support hormone therapy — something Chung stressed as important for women’s health care as well as transgender treatments. 
• A bill that would prevent the state from tracking hormones such as estrogen and testosterone as part of the Prescription Monitoring program within the Illinois Controlled Substances Act
• A “Bill of Rights” prohibiting discrimination in long-term health care because of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The lawmakers also took questions and comments from the audience on topics ranging from the dangers of “conversion therapy,” as well as statistics around LGBTQ+ migration to Illinois. Other wishes included support for Medicaid and housing issues that disproportionately include the LGBTQ+ population.

Several members of the McLean County Board, Bloomington City Council and others were in attendance, and several booths were outside that included both county clerk candidates — Republican incumbent Kathy Michael and Democratic challenger Joshua Crockett.

Organizers said both Republicans and Democrats were invited to sit on the panel, but local Republican legislators didn’t respond.

Still hopeful 

While Chung and Koehler pair decried the situation nationally, both held out hope. Koehler emphasized the federal policies didn’t represent a shift in most people’s beliefs.

“I don’t think that the country has changed so much as it has the Trump political leadership … And we will have a realignment with the politics and where the people are,” he said.

The pair said local actions such as the town hall are important alongside legislation. “Finding those little glimmers of hope that we can sort of grab onto, I think is important in these times,” Chung said.

And Koehler said that at its core, diversity is good.

“Diversity is our strength. Somehow diversity has become a bad name nationally and we’ve politicized it. But diversity means that you respect one another and if there are differences, if there are different thoughts, different lifestyles, whatever, that we appreciate that,” he said.