Inside:
- Legislation proposed to fix the SAFE-T Act
- Unemployment rate jumped up in December
- Support for Illinois nursing education
- Catholic Schools Week
Legislation proposed to fix the SAFE-T Act
With the start of the new spring session of the House of Representatives, legislation has been filed to fix the many flaws in the SAFE-T Act, the controversial 2021 criminal justice overhaul which abolished cash bail and which critics contend makes the state less safe.
The law has allowed dangerous repeat offenders to remain on the streets, able to commit more crimes while awaiting trial on an earlier offense. House Republicans have introduced nearly three dozen bills to fix this deeply-flawed law. We want to see a justice system that prioritizes safety, rather than putting more people at greater risk.
We need accountability for offenders and renewed dedication to keeping the public safe. We recently heard some talk from the state’s leaders about being willing to accept some reforms to the SAFE-T Act. These House Republican proposals would be a good place to start.
Unemployment rate jumped up in December
Unemployment in Illinois went up in December, rising from 4.4% to 4.6% according to figures recently released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The December numbers showed movement away from manufacturing and construction, and also away from brick-and-mortar retail. Jobs instead moved toward public sector-oriented services like health care and government. The health care sector of Illinois’ economy added 4000 jobs in December, and government employment went up by 2800. Retail sales lost 3400 jobs, manufacturing went down by 2800 jobs and there were 700 jobs lost in construction.
The report found that the state was down 1700 non-farm jobs compared to the same time last year. IDES reports that there are 301,800 unemployed persons in Illinois. According to the agency, “the unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment.”
Support for Illinois nursing education
Last week I filed several bills to support nursing education in Illinois.
House Bill 4633 amends the Nursing Education Scholarship Law to make additional nursing education scholarships available from the Department of Public Health, beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.
House Bill 4632 appropriates $500,000 to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to fund the Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program, a program intended to pay eligible loans as an incentive to nurse educators to maintain their teaching careers within the state of Illinois.
House Bill 4635 appropriates $1 million to the Department of Public Health to fund nursing education scholarships.
These appropriation bills can be enacted separately, but they can also be included in the overall state budget bill which we will see at the end of May.
Catholic Schools Week
I had a fun time talking and listening to Costa Catholic Academy students while celebrating Catholic Schools Week.
I talked to the students about my military and State Representative experiences. The 8th grade students role-played US Presidents. After pushing the simulated red buttons, the students shared a two-minute historical presentation about their selected President. All the students had an opportunity to hear about a President.
Thank you, Mrs. Purl, teachers and students, for such a memorable experience.
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