I supported a bipartisan, balanced budget that boosts funding for MAP grants and scholarship programs to allow more Illinois youth to attend college. I support our colleges and universities, and will continue to work to make college more affordable for students.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, D-Olympia Fields, released the following statement regarding the end of the Illinois General Assembly’s regularly scheduled spring session:
“During my first legislative session as a state representative, my commitment has been to strengthen the middle class and fight to help Illinois recover from four years of destruction at the hands of former Governor Bruce Rauner. While our state faces a long road ahead filled with many difficult decisions, House Democrats have worked to build a stronger Illinois by building a stronger middle class throughout the spring.
“I fought to hold the line on middle-class taxes by supporting the Fair Tax, because families in our community bear too much of the current tax burden. The power to enact these structural reforms now sits in the hands of the voters who will have the opportunity to approve this amendment next year and provide 97% of Illinoisans with real tax relief.
“While extreme politicians in Washington continue to attack our health care, I stood up for the families in our community by supporting new protections for people with pre-existing conditions, passing measures capping skyrocketing insurance premiums and addressing the rising costs of prescription medication.
“I also supported legislation to expand access to career and vocational training. This measure will not only help by investing in our economy, but prepare people in our community for high wage jobs, revitalizing the American Dream for thousands.
“Despite this, there are many challenges that remain for myself and my colleagues in the months ahead, including but not limited to, enacting meaningful property tax relief for those who need it most. Regardless, I remain optimistic about our path forward because too much is at stake to let partisan politics get in the way of a stronger Illinois.”
The Summit:
Impact host an Annual Summit at the Tinley Park Convention Center the last Saturday in July. The event is from 12 Noon-3 pm and has 3 parts: College Panel, Engagement Speakers and College/Community Resource Exhibit. Local high school students and their parents attend for free but must register at www.impactccrn.com/student-registration.
To date the summit has served over 1500 local high school students and their parents. We expect this year to be the largest event yet. The venue seats a thousand people. Many parents are planning their summer vacations now. We would like to get the information to them as soon as possible.
The 5K District Initiative:
Each year Impact shares college readiness information and resources with junior level students in six Chicago area high schools – Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South are among the high schools served www.impactccrn.com/5k-district-initiative
Junior level students learn about the college selection, admission and financial aid process. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has partnered with Impact to share financial resources with students.
To date the 5K District Initiative has served over 10,000 Junior level students.
2018/2019 High Schools: Tinley Park, Thornwood, Hillcrest, Thornton Fractional South, Shepard and Morgan Park high schools
“THIS INITIATIVE AIMS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN ILLINOIS WHO DON’T UTILIZE BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT COULD OTHERWISE HELP THEM”
(Springfield, Ill) Legislation sponsored by State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin to help the unbanked and under-banked population in Illinois gain accessibility to traditional retail banking products, passed the House with bipartisan support and will now go to the Governor for further consideration.
“We have people who are not aware of the sound financial services and or resources banks in Illinois provide,” Meyers-Martin said. That lack of awareness causes people to be susceptible to scams or predatory loans, which only have long term consequences for them and their loved ones.”
Meyers-Martin’s Senate Bill 1332 is an initiative of the Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office to create the Illinois Bank on Initiative. This initiative aims to reduce the amount of people in Illinois who don’t utilize banks, credit unions or any other financial institutions that could otherwise help them. Many people in Illinois are not aware of various affordable financial services offered by the banking industry that can help them save money over their lifetime. Additionally, the bill creates a 13 member commission to advise the Comptroller on the implementation and promotion of the Illinois Bank On Initiative.
“This bill is now a step closer to helping residents make better financial decisions,” Meyers-Martin said. “When this bill gets to the Governor’s desk, I encourage him to sign it immediately so we can start putting countless Illinoisans on a path to fiscal stability.”
SPRINGFIELD, Ill –Legislation sponsored by state Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin, D-Olympia Fields, to assist the unbanked and underbanked population in Illinois to gain accessibility to traditional retail banking products, recently advanced out of the House State Government Administration Committee.
“Families without bank accounts and other basic financial services are continually forced to shell out money to pay extremely high fees and interest rates from predatory service providers,” Meyers-Martin said. “For thousands of Illinois families, this means a seemingly perpetual cycle of poor credit, lack of access to affordable loans and thousands of dollars taken out of their paycheck every year.”
Representative Meyers-Martin’s Senate Bill 1332 is an initiative of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office to create the Illinois Bank On Initiative. This initiative aims to reduce the amount of people in Illinois who don’t utilize banks, credit unions or any other financial institutions that could otherwise help them take advantage of the many equitable financial products that are available.
Many people in Illinois are not aware of various affordable financial services offered by the banking industry that can help them save money over their lifetime. Additionally, the bill also creates a 13 member commission to advise the Comptroller on the implementation and promotion of the Illinois Bank On Initiative.
“In today’s economy, families need the resources modern banking provides to survive and build a better life for their families,” Meyers-Martin said. “The Illinois Bank On Initiative is a proactive approach to connect people with affordable financial services so they can escape exorbitant fees and achieve the financial stability they need to build wealth for themselves and our communities.”
SPRINGFIELD, Ill –State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, D-Olympia Fields, issued the following statement after being sworn in as a member of the 101st Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday:
“Much of my life has been dedicated to public service and improving the lives of others. I am truly honored to enter this next chapter and be given the opportunity to serve as the representative for the 38th Illinois House District.”
“I expect the journey ahead of me and my colleagues will not be the easiest. There will be disagreements, negotiations and compromises. But these are challenges I have encountered before during my time as a village president and trustee. I am ready to be a fierce advocate for the values of our district, and my hope is that the recent unproductive partisanship that has set the state and its residents back becomes a thing of the past.”
“Our State can no longer afford to go backward while others move forward. We must face the issues plaguing our state head on. And some of the best opportunities forward for Illinois are to invest in our public education system and help spur meaningful economic development. These issues are directly linked, as creative young people who have opportunities to thrive in Illinois will become our next generation’s entrepreneurs.”
“In addition to education and economic issues, I intend to work with my colleagues to find worthwhile solutions that expand access to affordable health care for women, children and seniors as well as raise wages for middle class families. Among others, these are the issues I know to be priorities of my constituents, whose voices I look forward to making heard in Springfield.”
UIS is happy to welcome the Illinois House of Representatives for its inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, January 9, 2019.
Sponsor: University of Illinois Springfield
Location: Sangamon Auditorium
Date: Jan 9, 2019 12:00
Live webcast: uiswowza1.uis.edu
Guns, hemp, and stalking are among the themes of the more than 250 new Illinois laws signed by Governor Bruce Rauner that took effect on New Year’s Day.
We took a look at some of the biggest changes to come out of Springfield in the past year, and how they’ll affect life in the Prairie State in 2019.
Last February, a gunman opened fire on students and teachers at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 before being apprehended by police. The attack came just a few months after another gunman killed nearly 60 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas. As the shock waves reverberated throughout the country, Illinois state lawmakers filed a flurry of bills to address what many called an “epidemic of gun violence.”
While many didn’t have enough support to make it out of the statehouse, both Republicans and Democrats came together on a few changes that are now state law.
Among those is Senate Bill 3256, which became PA-100-0606. It puts a 72 Hour waiting period in place on all gun purchases in Illinois. Before, only handgun purchases had been subject to that long of a wait, commonly known as a “cooling off” period.
State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, a Democrat from Northbrook, was the bill’s House sponsor. He says heat-of-the-moment purchases can lead to gun violence. With the uptick in gun crimes committed with rifles like the AR-15, Carroll says a longer waiting period was needed to try and stop those crimes before they happen.
“That way people, if they’re gonna make a purchase, have time to think about potential catastrophes that could happen,” he explained. “Data shows us that actually, that kind of waiting period does cut down on those types of shootings.”
Another is aimed at getting guns out of the hands of dangerous people, whether they purchase them or not. State Rep. Kathleen Willis sponsored House Bill 2354, known as the new Lethal Order of Protection law, PA-100-0607. It allows police, family members, or friends of a violent person to ask a court to take away his or her guns for up to six months if they pose “an immediate and present danger“ to themselves or others.
The Addison Democrat says mental health commonly plays a central role in mass shootings.
“Somebody who shoots themselves or does mass shootings has some kind of mental health crisis going on…so this is something that allows people to be proactive,” she said.
Groups like the NRA and even some Republican state lawmakers were concerned the measure was a government overreach. Willis says she worked with them before the bill became law.
“It’s a temporary order, there is due process in it. We worked with them to make sure we had all the checks and balances in there so it would not be abused.”
Those “checks and balances” are in the form of sworn affidavits. Under the new law, anyone who wants one of these types of restraining orders has to first swear to a court that they’re telling the truth about a person, and would be punished if they lie.
Source: www.nprillinois.org
