SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) issued the following statement on today’s passage of a compromise budget that funds human services and state government operations through January and K-12 schools for the full fiscal year:

Today’s vote allows schools to open on time, relieves uncertainty about their ability to stay open this year and staves off disaster for our remaining social services providers and the vulnerable populations they serve. It is – unequivocally – progress. But it is also a step that should have been taken more than a year ago and one that will not fully or immediately revive the many organizations that have already cut staff and/or closed their doors.

I don’t intend to let the good news of a short-term budget compromise become an excuse for complacency. Instead, this legislation is a model for what can be accomplished when partisan barricades are abandoned and trust is built on a foundation of shared priorities. The rank-and-file working group process eventually bore fruit through a hard-won trust that launched a productive conversation with and among leadership.

I look forward to a continued conversation about responsible budgeting and the revenue and reforms needed to sustain it. While pressure can incite action, it can also take a tremendous human toll on individuals and families who are in no way to blame for the state’s fiscal crisis. That’s the wrong way to govern, but we’ve seen it happen time and again in the past year and a half, and it will continue unless we not only budget appropriately for the future but repair the damage inflicted during the impasse.

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) issued the following statement after chairing a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this morning on the urgent need to resolve a nearly $300 million funding shortfall in the Child Care Assistance Program:

Losing access to child care is not just a budget crisis; it's an urgent human and economic crisis. Failure to fill the funding gap will force many parents to quit their jobs or put their education on hold, increase reliance on other forms of government assistance and keep at-risk children out of high-quality early learning programs.

There are funds we can move to the Child Care Assistance Program immediately so providers that serve mostly low-income families won't be forced to close their doors due to delayed state payments. I was disappointed that today, top Rauner budget advisers testified they want the General Assembly to give the administration unprecedented emergency budgetary authority before they take action on child care assistance.

I'm participating in the ongoing negotiations in good faith, but I also think the Rauner administration owes the public an explanation of how it intends to keep low-income parents on the job. The possibility of passing narrowly tailored legislation to save CCAP while we have the broader budget conversation is not off the table, and it's one I'll continue to pursue. I certainly hope the Rauner administration does not intend to hold child care assistance hostage in the service of its overall agenda.

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On Friday, November 14, Senator Heather Steans is hosting a free glucose screening event as part of World Diabetes Awareness Day.

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Contact Senator Steans' District Office at 773.769.1717.

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7) hailed today’s signing of legislation she sponsored requiring school districts to adopt robust anti-bullying policies that protect and empower victims and address bullying behavior. Since 2007, public school districts and non-sectarian private schools have been required to prohibit bullying. Steans and House sponsor Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago 14) introduced their plan in order to nudge schools with boilerplate or poorly enforced policies to have community-wide conversations resulting in effective procedures for combating bullying.

“Every child deserves to be safe at school,” Steans said. “Bullying behavior harms both the victim and the bully, and every school should be taking steps to stop the cycle and promote the wellbeing of its students. Most schools already do this every day; this legislation makes sure we’re all moving in the same direction.”

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