Working for Illinois Caucus

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, has filed a resolution calling on the Illinois Department of Corrections calling for them to improve access for families with loved ones buried at the Lincoln Developmental Center Cemetery.

The cemetery shares ground with Logan Correctional Center.

“Families need access to the places where their loved ones have been laid to rest so they can honor and celebrate their lives,” Stuart said. “When a cemetery is located on the site of a correctional facility, that is absolutely a situation that needs to be navigated carefully to ensure safety and accountability, but it shouldn’t be the case that the cemetery is effectively off-limits to the families of those interred there.”

The cemetery was associated with a state facility for the developmentally disabled which operated from 1877 until 2002 under several names. The cemetery is the final resting place for some residents whose families were not able to privately bury their loved ones for a variety of reasons. 

When the Lincoln Correctional Center closed in 2002, IDOC became responsible for the cemetery.

Stuart said that with the prison expansion it became difficult or even impossible for visitors to access the cemetery.

"IDOC has never created a procedure for cemetery access, forcing family and friends of those interred there to wrangle with prison officials, none of whom was primarily responsible for the cemetery, for clearance to visit gravesites," she said. 

Stuart’s House Resolution 907 calls on IDOC to develop a standard policy and set of guidelines that are available so that family members and researchers can easily access the site and for IDOC to consider access to the site when future renovations or improvements to the Logan Correctional Center take place.

“Prison security and public safety are important, but so is the ability of Illinois families to visit the resting places of their loved ones,” Stuart said. “It’s time for members of the public to have reasonable access to Lincoln Developmental Center Cemetery without undue hassle or runaround.”

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84th District State Representative Stephanie Kifowit says a new law will help veterans see free benefits and services provided to them in the workplace. A bill written by Kifowit, House Bill 4757, was approved by Governor J.B. Pritzker last month after passing through the General Assembly in the spring legislative session.

Kifowit says the bill will provide veterans across the state access to free information about their workplace benefits and rights available to them.

Nect to those posters will be a poster outlining the benefits and services available to them through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kifowit says as a veteran, she is proud to be a voice of the veteran community and help out those who gave their service to protect our country.

House Bill 4757 takes effect as of January 1st, 2025.

Plainfield-Oswego State Rep. Harry Benton says he’s working on a bill that would prevent patients from incurring costs for out-of-network medical specialists in pre-authorized surgeries.

Benton says his legislation would ensure that once a medical procedure is pre-authorized, all necessary services are covered.

Benton is still working on the language of the bill and has not yet filed it. He expects it will likely be heard by the next General Assembly.

Oswego Democratic State Representative Stephanie Kifowit took part in several veterans-related activities during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. While she was not involved in the DNC directly, she was a part of a veterans’ event as well as a council that met during the convention.

Kifowit says she is excited about increasing veteran representation in local and national government, as vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is a veteran of the National Guard.

Kifowit says having an event like the DNC in Illinois is an opportunity to showcase the state on a national and international level, and the opportunity to network with representatives and leaders from across the U.S. in that environment is a one-ok-a-kind experience.

The four-day convention is being held at the United Center and ends Thursday with Kamala Harris set to accept the democratic nomination for the November presidential election.

Plainfield-Oswego State Representative Harry Benton is co-hosting a Senior Health and Wellness Fair on August 28 at the CW Avery YMCA at 15120 Wallin Drive in Plainfield from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event in partnership with the CW Avery YMCA, Plainfield Township, and Plainfield Park District.

Benton says the community event had over 300 seniors attend last year with over 70 vendors on-site offering products and services like heath services. He says this event is a great time for local seniors to interact with others in the community.

Benton says the Secretary of State’s Office will be on hand with their mobile DMV services, but those interested in the mobile DMV service must pre-register for that service. A link to the pre-registration and more information on this senior health fair can be found here.