24-ILGA

Oswego SD308 Supt, Other Education Officials Will Join in Education Roundtable Thursday

An area representative will hold a roundtable discussion on education on Thursday.

Democratic State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego will host the event on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Aurora Public Library – Eola Road Branch on S. Eola Road in Aurora.

Kifowit will be joined by a panel of Aurora area school officials, including Dr. John Sparlin, superintendent of Oswego SD308, Dr. Jennifer Norrell, superintendent of East Aurora School District 131, Michael Raczak, Indian Prairie School District 204 Board president, and a representative from the Illinois State Board of Education.

The panel will provide updates about the school districts and give attendees the opportunity to ask questions. The event is free and open to the public.

State Rep. Kifowit says the event is, " a great opportunity to receive an update about how our schools are doing and what they have planned going forward."

For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Kifowit’s constituent service office at 630-585-1308 or RSVP@ILDistrict84.com.

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via WSPY NEWS

October 15, 2019 at 09:41PM

October 15, 2019 0

Itasca mayor asks lawmaker not to seek state funds for Haymarket addiction treatment center

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A state lawmaker has shelved plans to get Itasca financial support for a proposed addiction treatment facility after the mayor asked her to hold off.

State Rep. Deb Conroy had hoped to address a major concern about Haymarket Center’s plan to convert a Holiday Inn into a 240-bed drug and alcohol treatment center by securing an annual grant for Itasca that would replace local tax dollars lost by the hotel’s closure.

But in a letter dated Friday, Mayor Jeff Pruyn basically said thanks but no thanks.

“At this time, I have no choice but to request that you hold off on requesting any state funding for this project until village staff has sufficient time to analyze all the data presented at the upcoming public hearings to better determine the total financial impact to Itasca taxpayers,” Pruyn’s letter reads.

On Monday, Conroy said she was “surprised” by Pruyn’s request.

“I feel very strongly that the state and the county have a responsibility to support this community any way we can,” the Elmhurst Democrat said, “because this facility is going to save lives throughout the entire county, which is going to benefit the county and the state.”

Nevertheless, Conroy said she’s decided to “put on hold” legislation that would provide grants to Itasca if Haymarket’s facility opened there.

“It’s stunning that we could provide those funds, and they’re still very much in opposition,” she said.

Conroy received Pruyn’s letter days before the Itasca plan commission is scheduled to hold the first of several public hearings on Haymarket’s plan. The Wednesday night hearing will be at 7 p.m. at Lake Park High School’s west campus in Roselle because the crowd size is expected to be massive.

The proposal is facing strong opposition from residents who say Itasca is too small to support the proposed facility, which Haymarket officials said on Monday will have 240 beds.

Part of the concern is that the hotel along Irving Park Road generates roughly $250,000 in annual tax revenue, including $150,000 in property taxes. The village and other taxing bodies in Itasca would lose that revenue if Haymarket, a nonprofit group, acquires the property.

To replace the lost tax revenue, Conroy was planning to pursue legislation to give Itasca $200,000 a year in state grant money. She also was going to ask DuPage County to contribute $50,000 annually to bring the total grant amount to $250,000.

On Monday, Pruyn said in a statement that he asked Conroy to hold off on seeking state funding because “we do not have data on Haymarket’s historical demand for public safety responses at its facilities, and what resources that may drain from Itasca.”

“We are missing so many facts and figures; we cannot predict the unknown for a proposal that the plan commission hasn’t even seen yet,” Pruyn said.

He said Conroy’s decision to hold off “is the right thing to do.”

In the meantime, Conroy said she is supporting Haymarket’s plan.

Haymarket is making its second attempt at opening a recovery center in DuPage. Nearly 100 people died from drug overdoses last year in the county, and more than 2,000 residents from DuPage and other collar counties were patients at Haymarket clinics from 2017 to 2018.

“We need this facility desperately in DuPage County,” Conroy said. “The location wasn’t chosen because it’s in Itasca. It was chosen because of the hotel and how ideal it is.”

If the plan is approved, Haymarket would spend roughly $1.5 million to remodel the interior of the hotel. The facility would provide inpatient and outpatient care and have beds for treatment and recovery.

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Feeds,Region: AH,Local,Region: Suburbs,City: Arlington Heights,Suburbs

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October 14, 2019 at 04:38PM

October 14, 2019 0

Legislators send letter to county in support of DuPage probation workers’ demand for pay hike in new contract

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It was signed by Sens. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, Western Springs, and Laura Ellman, Naperville, and Reps. Kathleen Willis, Addison; Deb Conroy, Villa Park; Michelle Mussman, Schaumburg; Stephanie Kifowit, Oswego; Diane Pappas, Itasca; Karina Villa, West Chicago; Anne Stava-Murray, Naperville.

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via chicagotribune.com

October 11, 2019 at 08:37PM

October 11, 2019 0

Will County prosecutors, state lawmaker seek to make secret video recordings of minors a sex offense

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The Will County State’s Attorney and a state lawmaker are working to close a gap in Illinois law that does not require people convicted of secretly video recording minors to be on the sex offender registry.

Last year, Ryan M. Thompson, 29, of Joliet, pleaded guilty to taking videos that captured minors changing their clothes for gym class while he worked as a janitor at Chaney-Monge School in Crest Hill.

Even though prosecutors said Thompson took the videos for “sexual gratification” and a psycho-sexual evaluation showed he had an above average risk of committing similar offenses in the future, he was not required to register as a sex offender.

Thompson was convicted of unauthorized video recording of minors, an offense that does not require him to be on the sex offender registry.

Judge Dave Carlson, who sentenced Thompson to probation, was frustrated he would not have to register.

“I think it’s absolutely crazy. … Unless people really, really look for it, they won’t know what you did,” Carlson said at a May 2018 court hearing.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and his staff is drafting legislation that would require people to be placed on the sex offender registry if they are convicted of video recording minors in certain circumstances, state’s attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said.

“On the proposed legislation, when the issue regarding sex offender status was brought to the state’s attorney’s attention, he concluded that there is a gap in Illinois law,” Cheney said.

State Rep. John Connor, D-Lockport, a former Will County assistant state’s attorney, said he’s spoken with Glasgow about revising the law so the crime would be added to the list of offenses that require sex offender registration.

Connor said if a someone wanted to find out if a person like Thompson poses a threat to children, they would have to search for news stories about them online when they could find out about them more easily through the sex offender registry.

“Often times, they’re like submarines,” Connor said of child sex offenders. “The biggest danger is you don’t know who they are or where they are until they have a charge that puts them on the registry.”

Another case similar to Thompson occurred this year.

In August, Richard K. Buss, 36, of Channahon, pleaded guilty to video recording a minor while she was in the bathroom of his home.

Buss has yet to be sentenced, but as with Thompson, he would be eligible for probation and would not be required register as a sex offender.

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Feeds,City: Joliet,Region: Joliet,Region: South Suburbs,Opinion

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October 9, 2019 at 05:02PM

October 9, 2019 0

Stuart appointed to infrastructure panel

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To ensure needed local capital infrastructure projects come to fruition, state Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) was appointed to the Legislative Advisory Committee for the Southwestern Illinois Regional Planning Commission.

“Illinois cannot wait any longer to address crumbling infrastructure throughout the Metro East and across the state,” Stuart said. “Our region has a lot of untapped potential with our close proximity to St. Louis. We have the opportunity to grow our regional economy, create jobs and attract visitors by investing into transportation infrastructure projects.”

Stuart supported the first capital infrastructure plan that Illinois has seen in a decade. Her plan will create 500,000 high-wage jobs while generating over $8 billion in economic activity.

The Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan and Regional Planning Commission provides planning, zoning, project development and technical assistance services for community and economic development, transportation and other areas. As a member of the Legislative Advisory Committee, Stuart will work with local leaders to develop plans to address and implement infrastructure improvement projects.

“Passing an infrastructure investment plan was a step toward making desperately needed improvements and repairs to infrastructure throughout our state, growing our economy and creating new, high-wage jobs,” she said. “I will be a strong voice for the Metro East on the Legislative Advisory Committee and work to ensure that this plan is executed for local projects.”

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October 8, 2019 at 10:06AM

October 8, 2019 0

Representative Rita Mayfield (60th) on the closure of Medline in Waukegan: The Illinois EPA has failed to protect human life

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Representative Rita Mayfield (60th-Waukegan) joins John Williams to explain the legislation that will require plants like Sterigenics to be voted into a community. Her own bill, HB3888 requires hospitals to phase out the use of ethylene oxide to sterilize materials.

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Feeds,News,Region: Chicago,City: Chicago

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October 8, 2019 at 03:46PM

October 8, 2019 0

Batavia woman launches bid for state House

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BATAVIA – In her first bid for public office, Maura Hirschauer of Batavia is mounting a campaign for the Illinois House of Representatives.

Hirschauer is running for the Democratic nomination to succeed state Rep. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago.

Villa, who is endorsing Hirschauer, recently declared her own candidacy for the state Senate seat now held by Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, who in turn is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville.

Hirschauer launched her campaign on Oct. 6 in front of about 80 supporters during a rally at the Peg Bond Center along the Batavia Riverwalk.

This sets up a contested Democratic race for the 49th District seat in the March 17, 2020 primary election between Hirschauer and Christopher Sparks of North Aurora.

Sparks is an attorney with the Kane County Public Defender’s Office and a member of the West Aurora School Board.

Hirschauer is presenting herself as a volunteer and community activist who will focus on education, health care and gun violence while looking out for middle class taxpayers.

“My promise is I will always listen with compassion and act with conviction,” Hirschauer told her supporters.

Hirschauer is the president of the Batavia Mothers’ Club Foundation and a founding member of Kane-Kendall chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

On Sept. 26, Hirschauer accompanied her 10-year-old daughter to Washington, D.C. at the invitation of Underwood, who was hosting a press conference on gun violence at the U.S. Capitol.

Maggie Hirschauer, a fifth-grader at J.B. Nelson School, had attracted Underwood’s attention after describing active-shooter drills at her school in a letter to state lawmakers.

“As I watched her, I was struck by the thought that she and her amazing brave peers will change the world,” Hirschauer said at her campaign rally.

“I believe that common sense gun legislation is critical to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe,” Hirschauer said, “while allowing for responsible gun ownership.”

Hirschauer was an elementary school teacher in California before her husband’s work as a physicist brought him to Batavia’s Fermilab. The couple has three children in Batavia Public Schools.

“I will fight for continued investment in high-quality schooling from early childhood through high school,” Hirschauer said. “And I will strive to make higher education affordable for all.”

Hirschauer called health care coverage “a human right” and described herself as a fiscally responsible candidate who would work to lower property taxes.

Sounding similar themes on education and health care is Sparks, Hirschauer’s Democratic primary opponent.

Sparks has been a public defender with Kane County for nine years and was elected to the West Aurora School Board in 2017.

In an interview, Sparks said the state makes budgeting difficult for school districts.

“The budget process is frustrating and destabilizing when we don’t know what funding we are going to receive from the state,” Sparks said.

In his role as a public defender, Sparks said he consistently encounters situations where lack of health insurance is at the root of the problem.

“A lot of my clients’ behavior is due to a mental health issue,” Sparks said, “but they went off their medication because they couldn’t afford it.”

Meanwhile, North Aurora Village Trustee Laura Curtis is running for the Republican nomination for the 49th District seat. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 49th District includes portions of Aurora, North Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, West Chicago and South Elgin.

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Feeds,Kendall,Local,City: St. Charles,Region: Suburbs,Region: W Suburbs

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October 7, 2019 at 06:08PM

October 7, 2019 0

Illinois Lawmaker Discusses New Planned Parenthood Facility

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NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Illinois State Rep. Katie Stuart about a secret Planned Parenthood built in her district that will expand reproductive health services in the area.

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Feeds,Shows

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October 6, 2019 at 04:35PM

October 6, 2019 0

Here is what new Illinois law that prohibits asking about pay history means

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CHICAGO — Illinois companies can no longer ask job applicants or their previous employers about their pay history under a law that took effect Sept. 29. Supporters say the measure will help close the pay gap between women and men.

Sarah Labadie, associate director of policy for Women Employed, a nonprofit advocating for equal pay for women in the workforce, said the main goal of the law is to restructure how companies pay their workers so that pay discrepancies aren’t perpetuated.

Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, who co-sponsored the legislation signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, said she hopes the new law will even the playing field.

“Women tend to make less than their male counterparts. If (a company is) basing it off past wages, it causes them to continue to get paid less. Employers will no longer be able to make wage offers by using previous wage history,” Moeller said.

Here’s what to know about the measure:

What does the new law do?

Employers can’t ask job applicants how much they earned at their current or previous jobs. The law also prohibits previous employers and staffing agencies from disclosing any pay information. Companies can’t prevent workers discussing their pay and benefits with colleagues.

Does the law apply only to salaried workers?

Both salaried and hourly workers are covered by the law, which advocates refer to as the No Salary History law.

What kind of pay history is barred?

Companies cannot ask for any compensation history, including benefits offered by a current or former employer and bonuses received.

Is it illegal for an employer to ask about pay on a job application?

Companies cannot seek pay history through any means during the hiring process, including on job applications and during oral interviews.

What companies are barred from asking about pay?

All companies are required to follow the No Salary History law.

Are any organizations exempt?

Employers who have workers moving up within the company are not subject to the salary history ban. Government agencies are also exempt.

What if I disclose my salary to an employer?

Job applicants can tell an employer how much they were paid before, but employers can’t use that information to determine future pay under the new law.

What happens if an employer violates the law?

If an employer violates the law, a person can seek up to $10,000 in damages. If an applicant suspects he or she is being discriminated against, they should document the conversation. Job applicants should write down which interviewer asked the question about salary history, but they should not record an interview because it is illegal, Labadie said.

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Region: Peoria,City: Peoria,Business,Region: Central

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October 6, 2019 at 02:31PM