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Brooks earns endorsement of Independent Voters of Illinois

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Illinois State House District 72 candidate Thurgood Brooks has received the endorsement of the Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) in the June 28 primary election.

“I am honored that IVI-IPO has endorsed my campaign for Illinois State Representative in District 72.  IVI-IPO’s commitment to open and honest government runs parallel with our campaign commitment of improving government accessibility and transparency. The endorsement of a multi-partisan and independent political organization means a great deal to our campaign.” Brooks said in a news release. 

To learn more about Brooks and his campaign for Illinois State Representative, visit here.

IVI–IPO is a not-for-profit, multi-partisan, independent political organization, with the mission to achieve social justice through good government by increasing voter participation and knowledge, by providing a framework for candidate evaluation, and by electing responsive government officials. Learn more here.

via WHBF

May 16, 2022 at 05:36PM

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Gordon-Booth reacts to potential fund sweeps included in state budget

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PEORIA, Ill. – If the state budget includes a fund sweep by Governor JB Pritzker to help pay for a new 988 mental health hotline, it’s news to State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth.

We talked with Gordon-Booth recently about reports through other lawmakers including State Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin) that $5 million in 911 funds are being swept for the new hotline, and she says she’d need to look more in to it.

“Every situation…should stand alone, specific to whether funds should be swept,” said Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria). “It is a practice that does happen. It’s certainly happened before, where there have been sweeps. I’m not as familiar with this issue, in terms of 911 fund sweeps.”

Gordon-Booth says even though she was involved in the budget-making process, sometimes you find things out about the budget after you get back to your home district.

Nevertheless, Gordon-Booth says mental health is a very important cause right now, and the state budget taking effect July 1 is a very good one.

“This budget year was a really good budget year,” said Gordon-Booth. “This is not one of those bad budget years.”

Feeds,News,Region: Peoria,Region: Central

via d2227 https://www.mix1069.com

May 16, 2022 at 12:57PM

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Teacher bills co-sponsored by Stuart become law

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Two bills sponsored by State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, to address Illinois’ ongoing teacher shortage have now become law.

HB 5472 removes barriers that prevented retired teachers from serving as substitute teachers without jeopardizing their retirement benefits; and SB 3907 extends the number of consecutive days that a substitute teacher can work from five to 15. The two bills were signed into law last month by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted our education system, and retired teachers are an obvious choice to fill the ranks of substitutes during a shortage, but under existing law these experienced professionals could not act as substitutes without endangering their retirement benefits,” said Stuart. “With the signing of this bill into law, we’ve removed bureaucratic red tape which needlessly kept many qualified people from being available to support our schools at this critical time.”

“Supporting our schools as they continue to deal with the ongoing reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic is paramount,” said Stuart.

Stuart highlights state funding adjustments for area schools

Stuart is also raising awareness after the Illinois State Board of Education found and corrected a coding error in the funding formula it uses to calculate state funding levels for local schools. The error, which is now being corrected, caused schools and school districts throughout Illinois to be underpaid by the state.

“I commend the State Board of Education for finding and correcting this coding error,” said Stuart (shown). “No system is perfect, which is why having procedures in place to ensure integrity and correctness – especially where taxpayer dollars are concerned – is so important.”

Schools in the 112th State House District, which Stuart represents, were among those that will be receiving funding adjustments. Collinsville Community Unit School District 10, as one of the bigger examples, is slated to receive in excess of $791,000. Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 will also be receiving supplemental funds.

Stuart, a former teacher and reliable advocate for education at all levels, voted in favor of legislative measures aimed at ensuring sufficient supplemental funds were available to properly address the underpayments. She also, in 2017, supported the original implementation of an evidence-based funding formula. The recently enacted state budget contains $350 million for evidence-based education funding, a measure that Stuart supported.

“There is no such thing as a dollar wasted on education,” said Stuart. “Ensuring our schools receive all the money they are entitled to is very important.”

via Illinois Business Journal

May 14, 2022 at 08:28AM

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Local lawmakers investing $1.5 million to Peoria High School fine arts

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Peoria, Ill. (WMBD) — Illinois lawmakers are investing $1.5 million into fine arts programming at Peoria High.

State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) alongside state Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) joined District 150 leaders Thursday afternoon to announce the creation of P-Media.

Gordon-Booth said P-Media will be a 21st-century teen digital learning space, exclusive to Peoria High School. She said there will be an emphasis on print, digital, and visual media.

She said the idea came after speaking with young people during a speed mentoring session where she heard stories about similar programs on the southside of Chicago. She said these programs helped young people explore their creativity, identify areas of interest and keep them out of trouble.

She said she, then, reached out to Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat and PPS School Board President Gregory Wilson about the concept. She said the funding comes from the state’s fiscal year 2023 budget.

Gordon-Booth said the space will allow students to work on graphic design, photography, videos, podcasts, and there will even be a music studio.

She said the goal is to provide students, early on, with technological skills that will ensure success.

"We know that graphic artists, digital artists, content creation that isn’t a novelty it’s a reality, and in business it’s a necessity and we want our young people to go out into the world and be second to nobody," Gordon-Booth said. "So, we’re going to make sure they have the tools for success right here at Central."

She said the space will allow students to write their own destiny.

Martha Ross, Peoria Public School Vice President said, the lab, which will be offered during the school day, will allow students the chance to exercise more of their creative side.

"I know that we have students that are A-B students and they get recognized but you know we have students also that are C students who if had the opportunity to show their talents and to show their creativity would become A students," Ross said.

Dr. Kherat said the upcoming year will be for planning and 2023/2024 will be for implementation.

Feeds,News,City: Peoria,Peoria,Central

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May 12, 2022 at 06:45PM

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Pritzker signs Gordon-Booth-crafted police-related legislation in Peoria

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PEORIA, Ill. – A local lawmaker says she is grateful Governor JB Pritzker came to Peoria to sign her legislation that will help both mental health, and police response to calls related to mental health — and not just for that reason.

Among pieces of legislation Pritzker signed at the Peoria Civic Center Tuesday, was one crafted by State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth allowing for mental health responders on police calls related to victims of violent crime.

Gordon-Booth, who lost a stepson to gun violence in 2014, says it should prove that she’s not a part of any movement to “defund the police.”

“There are those who have lots of catch phrases, none that I accept,” said Gordon-Booth. “Because I believe we should be funding the community. We should be funding the police. We should be funding programs, and funding Peoria.”

Money for hiring and retaining police officers, funding to help witness protection programs and making it safer for victims to report crimes, and paying for the funerals of children who die due to violent crime were the other initiatives signed into law by Pritzker.

“Starting right here in Peoria, and in locations across the state, this initiative will bring intervention training and mental health first aid education to first responders,” said Pritzker.

Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria says it’s legislation that’s something he knew from the minute he took office almost one year ago would help the city.

“Looking at the data in Peoria, I knew we needed to evaluate how we were going to respond to those in the community experiencing emotional distress, and/or experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis,” said Echevarria.

The chief says more than 1,200 police calls last year alone were related to a person who was feeling suicidal, or who had committed suicide, among other statistics on calls.

State Senator Dave Koehler of Peoria calls the legislation signed Tuesday “the right thing to do.”

“Locking a person up doesn’t really solve the problem,” said Koehler. “You probably have alcohol abuse, or substance abuse, or mental health issues, or emotional issues, and you have to address it. That’s a root cause. These bills do that.”

The legislation is also supposed to help violent crime be protected while reporting such crimes.

Feeds,Region: Peoria,News,City: Peoria,Central

via Local News – d2226 https://ift.tt/Y0IQD2f

May 10, 2022 at 04:27PM

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State rep salutes heroic Collinsville firefighters

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State Rep. Katie Stuart, R-Edwardsville, saluted members of the Collinsville Fire Department who have received awards for bravery and heroism in the line of duty during 2021. The Collinsville Fire Department is receiving the Unit Citation (Group) award, and Firefighter/Paramedic Colin Fuhrmann is receiving the Medal of Valor.

“We all sleep soundly at night knowing that valiant and selfless first responders, exemplified by the firefighters being honored with these awards, are on watch,” said Stuart. “Illinois’ first responders are all heroes, and these incredible individuals are no exception.”

The Medal of Valor is given to a firefighter for an act of heroism or bravery that clearly demonstrated courage and dedication in the face of danger above and beyond the call of duty, at extreme personal risk and having been instrumental in rescuing and saving another person’s life. It is the highest award given to firefighters by the State of Illinois.

The other members of the Collinsville Fire Department being awarded the Unit Citation are: Lt. Chris Castens, Lt. Frank Arnold, Firefighter/Paramedic Jim Wilderman, Firefighter/Paramedic Daniel Gulledge, Firefighter/Paramedic John Canull, Firefighter/Paramedic Justin Verner, Firefighter Eric Freeman, and Firefighter David Badgett.

“Our first responders are always there for us when we need them, and today I call on all Illinoisans to join me as I reaffirm my commitment to supporting and advocating for first responders in return,” said Stuart. “I am proud to represent such people in our state’s government, and today I salute them as they receive well deserved recognition. To the awardees: Thank you, and may you all stay safe and well.”

The firefighters will be honored at the 29th Annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Firefighter Medal of Honor Award Ceremony, being held Tuesday, May 10, 2022 beginning at 10 a.m. on the grounds of the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, IL.

Region: Metro East,Feeds,Business,Metro East,City: St. Louis, MO

via Illinois Business Journal https://ift.tt/bF7mHiG

May 10, 2022 at 06:54AM

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Local Leader Debbie Meyers-Martin Educates Students on Her Role as State Representative

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Local Leader Debbie Meyers-Martin Educates Students on Her Role as State Representative (Park Forest, IL) — Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts today hosted State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin (D-Olympia Fields) at their 2021-2022 Career Day Expo. Michelle Obama School is a middle school in Chicago Heights-Park Forest School District 163. At the day-long event, 7th and 8th grade students heard from industry experts about their career choices.

State Representative Meyers-Martin spoke to the students about her history in public service, what a State Representative does, and the importance of getting involved. She encouraged the students to follow their passions and dreams.

Meyers-Martin told the middle school students about her history of public service, which began with simply getting involved and volunteering. Later, she was asked to serve on a commission by the former mayor of Country Club HIlls. She then became a trustee in Olympia Fields, followed by Mayor of Olympia Fields. Meyters-Martin is now the State Representative for the 38th District in Illinois.

Meyers-Martin further explained her duties and responsibilities as a State Representative, including a description of what a State Representative does. Her testimony included a story of how she had to debate a bill on the house floor regarding a teacher mentorship program. She described the process that a bill takes to get voted upon and written into law, and provided several examples of bills that have been proposed.

She stressed the importance of standing up for what is right for the communities she serves. “There are times when things that should be easy are extremely difficult…if your purpose is to be a public servant, then my motto is to be relevant. To be relevant to the people that I serve, so that when they think about that office, that they know that I am standing up and that I am speaking for them. And that is why I am going to Springfield 6 months out of the year…I have to firmly believe that what I am doing will have benefit and value in that community.”

Meyers-Martin also explained the importance of having integrity in everything you do. “Every night, when you look in the mirror, you have to feel good about what you have done, what you have represented, what you have said, and what you have stood for. Otherwise, you will not be successful, and suddenly, you won’t feel complimented by the work that you do.”

Local Leader Debbie Meyers-Martin Educates Students on Her Role as State Representative

via The Southland Journal

May 7, 2022 at 07:39AM

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State Rep. Moeller hosting town-hall meeting May 11 in Elgin

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State Rep. Anna Moeller will hold a town-hall meeting May 11 to answer constituents’ questions and provide updates on the recent spring legislative session.

The event will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Elgin Room of the main branch of the Gail Borden Library, 270 N. Grove Ave.

For more information, contact Moeller’s office at staterepmoeller@gmail.com or (847) 841-7130. Moeller, a Democrat from Elgin, represents the 43rd House district in the Illinois General Assembly.

Feeds,News,DuPage,Region: AH,Region: Suburbs,City: Arlington Heights

via DailyHerald.com > Top News https://ift.tt/aPBq2We

May 4, 2022 at 11:50AM

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Scherer discusses ongoing teacher shortage

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a package of bills that are designed to help school districts fill open teacher positions quickly and temporarily.

The state has been dealing with an ongoing teacher shortage, but the latest data from the State Board of Education shows the state is moving in the right direction.

House Democrat Sue Scherer joins Capitol Connection to talk about the ongoing shortage, and what the states next moves should be.

via WHBF

May 1, 2022 at 07:43PM

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