SPRINGFIELD – Today, the Illinois Senate approved a resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. If three-fifths of House members agree, Illinois will become the 36th state to ratify the ERA, and only two additional states will need to sign on in order to reach the three-fourths threshold for constitutional amendments.

“Generations of women have struggled simply to establish as one of our nation’s core values that discrimination based on gender is wrong, yet this issue is as timely and urgent as ever,” said State Senator Heather Steans (D - Chicago), sponsor of the resolution. “From equal pay to equal health care access to fair treatment on college campuses, women’s rights are at risk as long as they are not protected in the Constitution.”

The Equal Rights Amendment reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Congress first sent the amendment to the states for ratification in 1972.

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Sponsor Steans hopes to help small businesses get started

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) secured Senate passage today of legislation that will reduce Illinois’ filing fee for establishing a limited liability company to $39 – the lowest in the nation. The current fee in Illinois is $500.

“Small businesses are powerful engines of economic growth in our state, employing 48 percent of the private-sector workforce,” Steans said. “Anything we can do to make it easier and less expensive to start a new business is a boon to entrepreneurs, job seekers and the entire economy.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) issued the following statement after hearing the governor’s budget proposals:

"I believe strongly that we must not balance our budget on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable — children with special needs, the physically and mentally disabled and seniors needing in-home care. So I support Governor Quinn’s plan to make the income tax increase permanent.

I also support his call for property tax relief, which will help middle-class families and seniors on fixed incomes. We must continue to reduce spending, starting with cutting our state’s excessive layers of government. And we must pay off all backlogged bills and provide stability and predictability. But we cannot abandon our people who need help and have nowhere else to turn."

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th), chairperson of the Senate Appropriations I Committee, issued the following statement after this morning’s budget hearing:

"One after another, state agency directors came to the microphone this morning and testified to the unacceptable reductions they will have to make in the services they provide if legislators do not summon the political courage to stop the scheduled income tax roll-back.

The likely consequences include eliminating child care subsidies for 23,000 children, in-home help for 12,000 senior citizens, mental health services for 40,000 individuals, MAP scholarships for 30,000 college students, shelter and assistance for 11,000 victims of domestic abuse and an estimated 13,000 teaching positions in local school districts dependent on state funding."