Oswego-Aurora Democratic State Representative Stephanie Kifowit says with House members sending bills to the Senate for their approval, senators are sending bills through to the House for approval as well. Those bills are making their way through various committees before they can be delivered to the House floor for debate and potential approval.
Kifowit says being on two pension-related committees, there is work to be done on fixing some of the current issues with the Tier 2 pension system to remain in compliance with federal laws.
"Also, I’m on two pension committees and working to get a fiscally responsible and respectful fix to the tier two pension situation we find ourselves in. As I’ve said before, to various outlets, maybe even this one, our pension system is a Social Security replacement plan. It is in place to replace Social Security, so those that get a state pension do not receive Social Security. And so there are certain thresholds that we have to maintain federally for it to continue to be a Social Security replacement plan."
Kifowit says it is important to find a fiscally responsible solution to secure pension program federal compliance and ensure state employees have access to their retirement funds. The spring session is set to end on May 31.
State Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, D-Ottawa, talks with Shaw Local reporter Bill Freskos about rural healthcare access, the state of local hospitals and her objectives in the Illinois General Assembly.
You can listen the podcast here, download it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth hosted the 4th annual Mother’s Day Senior Brunch at Childer’s Banquet and Catering Center, encouraging senior citizens to focus on self-care and offering …
97th District Democratic State Representative Harry Benton says the final month of the spring session is going to be somewhat chaotic, as each chamber of the General Assembly reviews and passes legislation while also discussing major state projects like the budget.
Benton has been very vocal about maintaining fiscal responsibility and is looking forward to taking a detailed look at the budget to determine the best path forward for the state. Benton says one issue that the state is running into with the budget is waiting on federal funds for Medicaid.
"Right now the federal government is behind in payment by about two billion dollars on Medicaid. Medicaid is a large portion of our budget, and if that continues to happen, we are gonna have to either find a way to find the money for critical services or start making cuts. Unfortunately…I don’t typically get into federal politics when we do these radio shows, but it is directly affecting the states, it is directly affecting residents here in Illinois by withholding funds for critical services for seniors, folks with developmental disabilities, and people that are just trying to make it."
Governor J.B. Pritzker unveiled his proposal for the fiscal year 2026 budget in February with a projected $3.2 billion deficit. Benton says lawmakers will have to find the money to cover the deficit or face potential cuts to services for Illinois residents.
84th District State Representative Stephanie Kifowit has been working hard on getting legislation from the House to the Senate as the General Assembly enters the final five weeks of the spring session. Kifowit says she continues to fight to bring effective policies forward for residents in her district, especially active duty military and veterans.
One of those bills is House Bill 1362, which cleans up some technical language regarding the differential that is paid to active duty military members from their military pay compared to their regular wages in their other jobs. She says there was an error that would only offer 50 percent differential pay if a shift was split between two days versus a traditional one-day shift.
"They were getting shortchanged what’s called a differential. So, what it is is when they are called up on duty, if it’s active duty, they’re normally paid less than their salary. So what we do is give a little bit of a differential that difference between, let’s say your army pay and firefighter pay, and that differential goes to the employee so that their family doesn’t experience extreme hardship due to the service of their loved one."
Another bill that Kifowit got through the House was a bill that would ensure veteran organizations would get donations that are allocated when veterans are issued special license plates designating their veteran status.
Kifowit says as bills go from the House to the Senate, bills are making their way from the Senate to the House for consideration, so committees will begin meeting next week to go over senate bills for potential discussion on the House floor and possible action.
97th District State Representative Harry Benton says it continues to be a busy time for lawmakers in Springfield as they gear up for the final six weeks of the spring session. He says he had a few pieces of legislation pass through the House and are now in the Senate for further review.
One of those bills is House Bill 2967, which would amend the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act and require higher education institutions to conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey of all students biennially instead of annually among other changes.
"I ended up working on a reporting for universities for, sexual assault, to put on another board member, and then change the way that the reporting is done. That was somebody’s bill. We ended up having five that we could pass, so I helped out a colleague to try to move that bill forward."
Another bill Benton advanced through the House was House Bill 3444, which would offer potential exemptions for licensing of day care facilities that serve military families or are located on military bases. The bill advanced to the Senate after a unanimous vote in the House.
Benton says the rest of the spring session will continue to keep lawmakers busy, as the next big topic to tackle will be the state budget.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois House passed legislation Thursday to allow former or currently incarcerated people to participate in higher education programs and receive financial aid.
Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) said recent Prison Policy data show nearly 70% of incarcerated people have interest in getting a college degree, but only 3% have post-high school education.
Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) presented House Bill 2466 on April 10, 2025.
Her proposal would allow these prospective college students to receive MAP grant funding as they leave the Illinois Department of Corrections.
"Those who are incarcerate may not be paying taxes currently, but all of their family members are paying into the same pot that we’re trying to get them access to," Ammons said. "The estimated cost for this is insignificant to the state budget."
Ammons explained this change would only cost the state $3.2 million for the next fiscal year.
House Bill 2466 passed out of the House on a 72-39 vote. The plan now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
Scherer suffered a rib fracture and three small vertebrae fractures. A doctor said the injuries "would heal with time and did not require surgery," according to the crash report.
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois K-12 schools may soon be required to pick new mascots to replace those that reference Native American names and imagery.
That would include logos, team names and mascots which 90 schools throughout the state use, such as the Mt. Zion Braves or the Cahokia Comanches, according to legislators. House Bill 1237 passed in the House on Thursday with a vote of 71-40.
The bill points out specific mascots and names like “Redskins, Braves, Chiefs, Chieftains, Tribe, Indians, or any synonymous term” as those being banned. It also applies to logos with Native American feathered headdresses or traditionally Native American weapons, especially if combined with feathers.
If signed into law, schools would have to have a new mascot chosen by July 1, 2026. Other big changes, that would cost schools money, have a slightly longer delay.
Instead of requiring schools to buy new athletic uniforms and other school materials with new iconography as soon as the bill passes, schools could keep using those old materials until Sept. 1, 2030, as long as the new names and logo designs have been picked out.
There is also an exception for any school whose mascot has a direct tie with a federally recognized tribe and the school gets permission from that tribe to continue using the mascot. That consent would have to be renewed every five years, according to the bill.
This isn’t the first year the bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, has tried to pass the Native mascot ban.
When West tried in 2020, members of the Native American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois asked him to push for teaching Native American history in schools first.
That education bill didn’t make it into law until 2023. Read more: Bill requiring schools to teach Native American history heads to Senate floor
“This is about the welfare and benefit of our students. It’s about not harming our students,” said Andrew Johnson, executive director of NACCI, during a March 20 committee hearing. “It’s also not about polls, popularity, contests, anecdotes, tradition, honor, DEI, wokeness or political correctness.”
Advocates said they wanted to focus on K-12 schools because they can choose not to be fans of professional sports teams like the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL, but they can’t choose not to send their children to school.
This bill also does not apply to universities.
Educators and representatives said the bill would minimize children’s exposure in school to stereotypes about Native Americans.
“At one point, native mascots and logos were the most widespread education about native people in our state,” said Megan Bang, a professor at Northwestern University, during a committee hearing. “This year is our first time as a state to require teaching about native people.” Read more: Pritzker signs bills expanding protections for Native Americans
“The contradictions of both having educators teach about real Native people, but continue to perpetuate stereotyped images, sets up for educators to have harder times with young people, and sets in motion contradictory learning objectives for young people as well,” Bang said.
When the bill was discussed on the House floor, Republicans were united against the bill in their votes after they came back from an hour-long meeting they took during the bill’s debate.
“If there’s bad actors, absolutely let’s get rid of them. And I will also just leave you with this question,” Travis Weaver, R-Edwards, said. “This group of people were oppressed, but is oppressed and forgotten better?”
Aaron Golding, member of the Seneca Nation Beaver Clan and member of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative, said in March that Native Americans’ input and concerns are often dismissed.
“Our voices and expertise on these issues are ignored,” Golding said. “See, when people are taught about our history prior to 1900 only, without an understanding of our contemporary experiences over the most recent 125 years – and ‘recent’ is pretty loosely said there – it’s easy to dismiss us as ghosts of the past whose needs don’t matter today.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
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