SPRINGFIELD – In response to a recent report that revealed 41% of older Black Illinoisans and 46% of Latinos don’t have access to broadband internet, State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago) successfully championed a new law that will give minority groups a larger say in Illinois’ broadband policies.

“Broadband internet today is what electricity or the telephone was 100 years ago,” Collins said. “If you don’t have high-speed internet access, you can’t participate in so many parts of life: education, business, health care, and more.”

The new law, originally Senate Bill 919, adds four members to the Broadband Advisory Council. The new members must come from community-based organizations representing Black people, Latinos, Asian Americans or Pacific islanders, and ethnically diverse people.

The Broadband Advisory Council advises the Connect Illinois Program – Governor JB Pritzker’s statewide initiative to expand broadband across the entire state. Connect Illinois is overseeing a number of grant programs to help high speed internet reach every person in Illinois.

“Internet access is another area where our communities face long-standing inequities that worsen existing problems and barriers,” Collins said. “I hope that by bringing more minority voices to the table, we can truly overcome this problem.”

The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2022.

SPRINGFIELD – Someone who commits a serious crime, such as assault or harassment, motivated by someone’s immigration status – real or perceived – could soon be charged with a hate crime.

“There is no place for hate in our society,” said State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago), the measure’s sponsor. “This new law will help protect immigrants and children of immigrants from all across the world, but especially our Latino brothers and sisters.”

Though race and national origin are already protected under Illinois’ hate crime law, known or perceived immigration status is not. Over the past several years, people throughout the country have been targeted with physical violence due to their perceived immigration status, including a man in Milwaukee who had battery acid thrown at him and another man who was attacked with a cane on a Chicago Transit Authority bus.

Someone convicted of a hate crime is subject to a Class 4 felony for the first offense and a Class 2 felony for subsequent offenses. If someone commits a hate crime in or near a religious building, cemetery or mortuary, school or other educational facility, public park, or ethnic or religious community center, then they are subject to a Class 3 felony on the first offense.

“I hope this law helps prevent future acts of violence and intimidation,” Collins said. “This is a nation of immigrants, and everyone should feel safe in their homes and communities.”

The law, originally Senate Bill 1596, takes effect Jan. 1, 2022.

CHICAGO – The Auburn Park Station that State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago) has long fought for came a step closer to reality today with Metra announcing it has approved a $28.2 million construction contract.

“The people of the South Side deserve better access to public transportation,” said Collins, who secured $30 million in state funding for the project. “Our communities have long suffered from disinvestment and unequal access to basic amenities. I promised that I would manifest real change, and I intend to keep that promise by seeing this station open.”

The new station, which will be located at 79^th Street in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, will run on Metra’s Rock Island Line. The station will be fully accessible, include bicycle racks, an 84-space parking lot, and a vendor building with glass storefronts. It also will incorporate landscaped greenspace, a chemical-free snow melt system, and a living green wall along the existing retaining wall.

“I want to make sure the surrounding Black community remains engaged in this project,” Collins said. “We’ve been waiting more than a decade for this station, and members of the community need to be kept informed and given the opportunity to express ideas, opinions, and concerns.”

The new station will provide a direct rail link to downtown Chicago as well as the southwest suburbs, supporting economic development and creating construction jobs while it is built.

CHICAGO – Illinois schools will be required to develop and communicate their truancy policies to families on a yearly basis under legislation by State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) that was signed into law today.

“When it comes to chronic absences, we tend to just see the empty desk. The truth is that we need to see the student and the challenges they may face with transportation, family illness, mental health difficulties or disabilities,” said Collins. “This ensures that families are being informed of absence policies that are consistent and are applied consistently. I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing this into law.”

Chronic truancy — when a student misses more than 5% of the school year — has increased in Illinois since 2015, when about 9% of students were considered chronically truant. As many as 13.4% are chronically truant currently. Senate Bill 605 requires schools to develop a truancy and chronic absence policy each year and report it to families, including information on chronic truancy.

The legislation takes effect July 1, 2022.