Dear Friends,

The governor has made his priorities clear: profits before people, corporate tax breaks before compassion and an anti-worker agenda before revenue reform.

This week, a majority of my Senate colleagues responded by reaffirming our priorities. We voted to override Gov. Rauner's irresponsible vetoes of budget measures needed to fund juvenile justice services, assistance for those with developmental disabilities, the state's ethics commission, care for wards of the state, public health initiatives, in-home aides for senior citizens and much more.

I was also honored to co-sponsor legislation to fund the state's most vital services and pay state employees during the stalemate. This emergency, one-month budget is now on its way to the governor's desk. It is the bare minimum needed to liberate those held hostages to the Rauner administration's refusal to compromise on his extreme agenda.

Unfortunately, the governor has already said he will veto even this stop-gap measure. Please continue calling (312-814-2121) and writing to Gov. Rauner, and I will continue working to keep services operational, make sure state employees are paid for their work on behalf of the people and negotiate a responsible and moral state budget.

In this edition of my newsletter, you will find more information about a very important program Gov. Rauner has already slashed: child care assistance for low-income working parents. I've also included resources and events that may be of interest to you - including a workshop I will co-host this Monday for anyone seeking to know more about securing an apprenticeship in a trade.

As always, please contact me at (773) 224-2830 or through my website with any questions, concerns, ideas or requests for assistance. It is an honor to represent you and work alongside you to improve our community, especially in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins
16th District – Illinois

Pathway to Apprenticeship

Are you in need of a job? Better yet, a career? I am pleased to co-host this free informational fair designed to help you on the pathway to an apprenticeship and a solid career practicing a trade.

Child care in crisis

Although he vetoed the budget the General Assembly sent him in May and continues to force a stalemate in an attempt to push through his anti-worker agenda, Gov. Rauner wasted no time in almost completely freezing new applications for the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income parents afford child care so they can work and/or attend school.

More than 80 percent of new applicants who would otherwise have been eligible for the program are now excluded because they earn too much to qualify under new income standards.

Families with household incomes amounting to half of the federal poverty level or greater can no longer receive help paying for child care unless they are headed by a teen parent or receive TANF, or unless the child in need of care has a qualifying disability. That means that a family of two (one parent, one child) must earn $664 or less per month to qualify for assistance, while the average cost of infant child care in Illinois is $1047 per month. The math is simple; without a friend or relative willing to provide child care at no cost or at a discount, many low-wage workers raising children will be forced out of the labor market. Meanwhile, families who were enrolled in Child Care Assistance prior to July 1, 2015, may stay in the program, but most will face higher co-payments.

Here, I discuss the governor's responsibility for the current child care crisis and my deep concerns about his plans for Illinois:

Kidney Action Day

Most people don't spend much time thinking about their kidneys. On August 26, pay attention to your kidneys for a change and have some family fun by coming to Daley Plaza for free screenings, food samples and entertainment.

Free parenting classes

Summer is the perfect time to meet other parents and learn skills that will help you become a better and more confident parent. These free classes are a good place to start.

Geek is chic in Chicago this summer

Help the youth in your life become interested in science, technology, engineering, math and the arts (and get in touch with the geek inside you, too) at the Geek Street festival on Wednesday, July 22. Enjoy gadgets, gizmos and games from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Daley Plaza.

Dear Friends,

This week, the Senate took action to shield Illinois' most vulnerable residents from the impact of Gov. Rauner's disastrous decision to veto most of the state budget the General Assembly sent to him last month.

The emergency measure, which I co-sponsored, would prevent interruptions in services to people with developmental disabilities, wards of the state, abused and neglected children, senior citizens who need in-home assistance, veterans, individuals receiving addiction treatment and parents who rely on WIC for help purchasing infant formula and food for their young children. The one-month stopgap budget would also pay prison guards, parole officers who monitor sex offenders, state troopers, disaster preparedness personnel and the National Guard. Finally, it would allow the state to continue reimbursing doctors, hospitals and clinics for providing Medicaid services, including adult dental care, that were covered under last year's budget.

This is not a long-term solution; it is a bare-bones budget intended to head off immediate and disastrous consequences to public safety and human life while the overall negotiations continue. Unless we give agencies the legal authority to spend state resources for essential purposes, the elderly could be left waiting for admission to a nursing facility because they can no longer care for themselves at home, parents of children with developmental disabilities could be forced to miss work to care for them, families who rely on nutritional assistance could go hungry and critical public safety employees could be asked to work without pay.

Yet Republicans in the House and Senate refused to vote even for this basic, stopgap measure, and the governor has said he will not sign it if sent to his desk. While the Senate passed Senate Bill 2040, the House fell short of the votes needed to approve an identical piece of legislation, House Bill 4190. Illinois residents will have to wait until next week for relief from the consequences of a sweeping state government shutdown.

I am optimistic that enough representatives will understand the desperate urgency of the current situation to pass this one-month budget, and I am encouraging my colleagues to finish that task as soon as possible. I am also urging the governor to change course and sign the stopgap budget while negotiations continue. Please call him at (312) 814-2121 or email him here to tell him not to penalize vulnerable people, who did not create the state's fiscal difficulties or contribute to the current standoff.

I continue working for a responsible budget that balances prudent spending with the revenue needed to fund important state functions, from education to health care to public safety. I am not alone, and I believe we will get the job done, especially with your advocacy and support. But as we wait for those efforts to bear fruit, the first principle of medicine applies to government as well: first do no harm. Our first duty is to protect those whom the governor seems determined to hold hostage to his inflexible demands. As always, please feel free to contact my office here or by calling (773) 224-2830 with any questions or concerns you may have or if I can assist you in any way.

Sincerely,

Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins
16th District – Illinois