Working for Illinois Caucus

Working to ensure our law enforcement has the resources they need to do their job safely and effectively, State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) joined local leaders, police and community members on Monday, June 29, for the ceremonial groundbreaking of a new police station in Shiloh.

“This new station is a significant investment in public safety, delivering our officers a modern facility that will better support their mission and better serve this community,” Hoffman said. “It reflects the needs of a growing area, and I want to thank Mayor Bob Weilmuenster, his team, Senator Christopher Belt and all the local leaders who stepped up to champion this project and helped to secure funding.”

Hoffman and Belt helped secure $4 million in state funding to support the project, which is expected to be completed and open in about a year. The new building will be located near Church St. and Oak St. in Shiloh, and will replace the existing station that the department has outgrown.

“I also want to thank Chief Rich Wittenauer and the members of the Shiloh Police Department for their advocacy and continued service to this community,” Hoffman said. “This project isn’t an endpoint. It’s an opportunity to further strengthen and build a quality police department to serve this community and its residents. I’m excited to see this project move forward, and can’t wait to see it open and running.”

For more information, contact [email protected].

Photos provided by State Rep. Jay Hoffman’s office.

Illinois House of Representatives member Carol Ammons has pledged to devote the remainder of her public service to raising global awareness about the origins and lasting effects of the transatlantic slave trade while advocating reparative justice for people of African descent.

She said reconnecting descendants of enslaved Africans with their ancestral roots is essential to healing historical trauma and restoring identities lost through centuries of slavery.

Her remarks followed her enskinment as the Queen Mother for Peace and Development of the Paga Traditional Council in the Upper East Region after DNA findings traced her ancestry to the Nania community in Paga.

Describing the ceremony as a deeply emotional homecoming, the American legislator said the experience had strengthened her resolve to use her public office to champion reparations as a means of promoting justice, healing and sustainable development for Africa and its diaspora.

"We have been pressed on every side, but we have not been crushed as a people. Our great president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, said, Forward ever, backward never. Yes, we have been pressed, but we have never gone backwards. I thank you for allowing me to travel 5,900 miles back to Nyanya. The policy work I do focuses on the areas where human suffering is often the most hidden, yet the most severe.

"We work in healthcare, human services, consciousness awareness, and personal mastery. We want to build and restore. This is hallowed ground. And I intend to spend the rest of my years ensuring that people understand that the trafficking did not begin at the Cape. It did not begin in the dungeons. It began right here," she said.

In recognition of the life of Lt. Gregory Jonas, State Representative Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) joined family, friends and colleagues Monday to officially designate Bond Avenue in Cahokia Heights from S. 43rd St. to S. 47th St. as the “Lt. Gregory Jonas Memorial Avenue.”

“Lt. Jonas is a man who was committed to our community, someone who helped countless people through decades of impactful work,” Hoffman said. “In talking with his wife Viola and other family members, I’m touched by his story and of their commitment to keep his memory alive. I hope that this designation and sign can provide a meaningful moment of reflection for those who view it.”

Lt. Jonas served in the Alorton and Centreville Police Departments, tragically losing his life in the line of duty on patrol in 2009.

In honor of Lt. Jonas, Hoffman and Belt passed House Joint Resolution 1, designating a portion of Bond Avenue in Cahokia Heights as the “Lt. Gregory Jonas Memorial Avenue” and further directing the Illinois Department of Transportation to place a sign in recognition.

For more information on Monday’s remembrance, contact [email protected].

Photos provided by State Rep. Jay Hoffman’s office.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Prioritizing the safety of children and young drivers, state Rep. Matt Hanson, D-Montgomery, introduced, championed, and passed a bill requiring school districts to include railroad safety messaging in their respective handbooks.

“Young children and new drivers especially may not be aware of the dangers around railroad equipment,” Hanson said. “Accidents can happen very quickly. Similar to crossing a street, young people in Illinois need to know to stop, look, and listen. Trains travel in either direction, at any time, and sometimes after one train passes, another one follows. Children need to have access to this information for their own safety.”

House Bill 3743 requires school districts across the state to provide rail safety language in the student handbook. This new language includes information about existing laws on rail safety, best practices when walking or driving nearby or over train tracks, and other general advice to help avoid a train-related accident. For school districts that are not located near train tracks or feel railroad safety is not necessary to include in their handbook, they have the ability to opt out of the requirement.

“I know from my own experience how important railroad safety is. It’s my hope that, with this new legislation, we will be able to better communicate with children about the need for safety precautions and the increased risk around trains,” said Hanson.

House Bill 3743 passed both chambers and is headed to the governor’s desk.