Inside:
- Around the district
- Some new laws you should know about
- Fire station grants available
- Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Around the district
On Friday my day started out volunteering at Junior Achievement BizTown in Moline. Seventh grade students from AlWood, Cambridge and Colona participated. Karen Schultz and I volunteered at the Black Hawk College room. Students role played as business leaders, learning financing, marketing, leadership, voting and teamwork. A great student-led, volunteer-supported and awesome staff put the challenges together for the students.
Afterwards I attended an Amtrak Corridor meeting in Galesburg. I serve on this committee along with Mayors, Chamber and tourism members along the Amtrak corridor from Chicago to Quincy. Primarily representatives from Princeton to Quincy participate on a quarterly basis.
I left Galesburg to speak at the Cambridge FFA Wreaths Across America event focusing on veterans and farmers. The FFA put together a great program to include inviting members from the Orion VFW & American Legion to post the colors and demonstrate folding the flag. After the program FFA students traveled throughout Henry County placing a wreath on veteran/farmer graves.
It was an outstanding program I was honored to participate in.
Some new laws you should know about
The new year will see 293 new laws going into effect on January 1. Some have gotten a lot of attention, some have not. Here are a couple of bills which I supported that will become law with the arrival of the new year.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) will be able to establish or authorize a program to dispense life-saving fentanyl testing strips. Local health departments and hospitals will be eligible to receive the test strips and distribute them. These tools can save lives by preventing unwitting exposure to this dangerous substance. The program will also allow DHS to offer training in the use of the testing strips.
Access to day care throughout the state will be improved by a new law which requires DCFS, or any other state agency that has day care licensing responsibilities to host licensing orientation programs twice a year in every district of the state. These events will help local residents who are interested in becoming day care providers learn about the process of getting licensed, and will make it easier to establish a day care in our communities.
Find out more about Illinois’ new laws in 2025 here.
Fire station grants available
The State Fire Marshal’s office is accepting applications for the Fire Station Construction and Rehabilitation Grant program.
This program provides up to $350,000 for the construction or rehabilitation of fire stations, with a total amount of $5 million available for departments across the state. Departments must have their application postmarked or submitted electronically by February 28.
To find out more, or to apply, please click here.
Have a wonderful Christmas season!
I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas season and a very happy new year. I will be back with more news from the Capitol in January. If I my office can be of assistance to you with state government in the new year, please feel free to contact me.
More news
See the final 10 choices for a new Illinois State Flag
Veterans honored at Rock Island National Cemetery with wreaths
Changing landscape of retail hardware
Meet Kristi Mindrup, the new and first female president of Western Illinois University