Inside:
- Public safety continues to be a concern in Illinois
- State Universities warn legislators about deferred maintenance
- Autism awareness event in Galesburg
- FREE Veterans and Senior Fair in Galesburg April 29
Public safety continues to be a concern in Illinois
A series of new incidents over the past couple of weeks have kept the issue of public safety in the spotlight in Illinois.
The Mayor of Chicago recently fired his deputy mayor for public safety, who then said that the mayor’s office had shown “hostility” toward law enforcement. Around that same time, an 18-year-old college student in Chicago was murdered, and an illegal immigrant was taken into custody and charged with the crime. As spring break got started, Chicago saw a chaotic teen takeover of part of downtown, which led to fights and open taunting of law enforcement.
At the heart of much of this problem is a series of failed policies like the Illinois Way Forward Act and the SAFE-T Act which make the state less safe and cause more chaos in our communities.
House Republicans have filed more than 40 bills to fix the deeply flawed SAFE-T Act, improve public safety and restore support for law enforcement. Unfortunately, most of those proposals were not allowed to even be heard in the Illinois House before the committee hearing deadline last month.
Lives are at stake. We need to get serious about protecting public safety in Illinois.
State universities warn legislators about deferred maintenance
Representatives of several of Illinois’ state universities testified before a Senate committee last week about the negative effects of delays in state funding for maintenance. The universities argue that deferring maintenance because of delayed funding is not only causing waste of taxpayer money but also creating unnecessary costs in the future.
The President of Northern Illinois University testified that while the school was allocated almost $53 million in capital renewal funds, it has still not received $34 million, which makes it difficult to maintain aging infrastructure. In total, the Illinois Board of Higher Education projects a statewide maintenance backlog of $10.8 billion across the state’s system of universities and community colleges.
One specific project at NIU which was brought up during the hearing had to do with a plan to tear down an old dorm building and replace it with a Health Technology Center. A private donor pledged a $40 million donation for the project, but it cannot proceed until the state’s Capital Development Board (CDB) acts. However, the university has been awaiting action by CDB for two years, without receiving an explanation for the delay.
Legislation has been filed in the House this spring to review how universities use the funds they are appropriated by the General Assembly, and to set in motion a 10-year plan for restructuring the system of funding higher education. The bill was not called for hearing before the deadline passed.
Autism awareness event in Galesburg
On April 23rd we will be hosting the 4th annual Autism Awareness Event at the Galesburg Public Library.
There will be people on hand to help answer your questions and provide information about autism. I am very honored and proud to bring this advocacy and awareness together.
The event is on Thursday April 23 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Galesburg Public Library, 264 W. Main Street. There will be community resources and information, as well as food, drinks and activities.
FREE Veterans and Senior Fair in Galesburg April 29
Our Veteran and Senior Fair is coming up on Wednesday April 29 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Vault, 185 S. Kellogg Street, Galesburg. The Carriage House will provide a free continental breakfast.
The Illinois Lions Club Hearing and Screening Bus will be available to provide services.
Loren’s Barbershop and BZ’s Chopshop will offer free haircuts to veterans.
We will be collecting donated canned food items to help support the newly established Knox County Veterans Assistance Commission Pantry.
Please mark your calendar. I hope to see you there!
The event is free and open to the public.
More news
Gov. Pritzker faces criticism over property tax blame game
Recognizing Illinoisans serving overseas at Easter
Illinois State Police plan memorial signs for fallen troopers
Quad Cities product among eight finalists for Coolest Thing Made in Illinois
Which states have higher income tax rates than Illinois? Turns out, not many