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BOLINGBROOK, IL — A local lawmaker is attempting to help local school-age students whose families may not be able to afford school supplies and who may be able to use the generosity of the Bolingbrook community.

Illinois Rep. Dagmara "Dee" Avelar announced a school supply drive on Monday that will run through the end of June that will help local families who struggle financially.

Avelar’s offices in Bolingbrook (623 E. Boughton Rd., Suite 130) and Sen. Eric Mattson’s district office (20660 Caton Farm Rd., Crest Hill) will be collecting the school supplies. Local residents may drop off supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, glue sticks, pencil cases, crayons, colored pencils, rulers, wide-ruled notebook paper, and other school needs at Avelar’s office between 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. Mondays and Fridays and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and on Saturday.

Mattson’s office will be accepting the donations between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"If students don’t have school supplies, they can’t fully participate in class and may feel left out or excluded by their peers," Avelar said in a news release. "As a community, we must support these students and provide them with the school supplies they need for a successful academic year. By meeting these needs, our students can fully focus on their academics."

Avelar has been a strong supporter of students and education, the release said. The local Democrat helped to pass a budget that increases evidence-based education funding by $350 million and invests millions in special and early childhood education.

"An investment in Illinois’ students is an investment in our state’s future. Even a small donation of crayons or notebooks can make a difference in a student’s academic career and lead to greater opportunities down the road," Avelar said. "I encourage everyone to give what they can and support the students in our community. I will always advocate providing our students with the high-quality education they deserve."

For more information on the school supply drive or other events, please contact Avelar’s full-time constituent service office at (815) 372-0085 or info@repdagmara.org.

The Democratic candidates for the 51st District Illinois House seat say they would promote green energy initiatives, if elected.

Vying for the party’s nomination in the June 28 primary are Nabeela Syed of Inverness and Chelsea Laliberte Barnes of Palatine.

"This is an issue that is a top priority of mine," Syed said. "Science has made it clear that we need to act swiftly to protect our environment."

Likewise, Barnes said environmental concerns are top of mind with her.

"I look at my little baby’s face every day, and this is one of those issues that just pops in my head. Is he going to have a community, a planet to thrive on? It keeps me up at night," she said.

Both candidates praised the state legislature for passing the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which aims to put the state on the path toward 100% clean energy and invests in workforce training.

"It addresses both the economic and the environmental concerns," Syed said. "It addresses the need for immediate action and also the disproportionate impact that climate change has on communities of color."

Both believe Illinois has more work ahead of it.

Barnes said the state could provide resources to conservation groups like the Lake County-based Citizens for Conservation and Ancient Oaks Foundation. She also supports investing in green energy.

"We have a huge landmass, and our landmass alone could be an absolute haven to expand solar and wind energy," she said. "And it will help us decrease our dependency on coal and oil. while hiking up those good paying jobs."

Syed said she is a strong proponent of a coal severance tax, which would place a tax on the severance and preparation of coal for sale, profit or commercial use.

"If we implement what other states like Texas and Alabama have done, we could generate nearly $100 million from this and help communities transition away from coal," she said.

Both pointed out the need to take care of environmental concerns close to home.

Barnes said she is concerned about the damage to the environment from new businesses coming into the area, such as gas stations and car dealerships, and believes the onus should be on the companies for environmental cleanup.

Syed said community members are concerned about highly hazardous materials traveling by freight train through the region. Engaging the chemical and the railroad industry is important, she said.

The winner of the June 28 primary will face Republican state Rep. Chris Bos of Lake Zurich in the Nov. 8 general election.

The 51st District includes parts of Palatine, Inverness, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Barrington, Kildeer, Deer Park, Long Grove, Vernon Hills, Lake Zurich and Hawthorn Woods.

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.

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.”