SPRINGFIELD —The Council of State of Governments Midwest Leadership Conference, which includes lawmakers of 11 Midwestern states and four Canadian provinces, swore in State Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr. as chair during the weekend.

“Serving in this role is a tremendous honor as it allows me to represent Illinois while working with and on behalf of my legislative colleagues from across the Midwest and Canada,” said Sims, a Democrat from Chicago.

“This honor would not be possible without the support of the people of Illinois’ 17th District. Each day, I am inspired by them to do more to better serve my constituents and people throughout the state.”

Sims will succeed Indiana State Sen. Ed Charbonneau.

The Midwest Leadership Conference brings together the region’s policymakers to advance efforts that improve state government.

“I take pride in working with CSG. It challenges legislators to move past today’s partisan politics to produce policy outcomes that are in the best interest of the people we represent,” Sims said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to find common ground and advance initiatives to help the people of communities throughout the Midwest and in Canada.”

Sims will host the 74th annual meeting July 21-24, 2019, in downtown Chicago.

This week marks Illinois’ bicentennial. To celebrate, I chose to highlight the Pullman Porters. They formed the first black union to successfully make a deal with a major corporation.

The Pullman Porters helped lay the foundation for the Civil Rights movement and the labor movement. I am incredibly proud to be from and represent the Pullman community that carries on their legacy through the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum.

SPRINGFIELD—State Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement on joining governor-elect J.B. Pritzker’s budget and innovation transition committee:

“I look forward to helping to set priorities that will help J.B. and Juliana and the entire new administration to be successful by putting our state on a path to budgetary reform.

“The last governor caused a two-year budget impasse that led to the loss of jobs, services and the overall trust of Illinoisans. To date we have a backlog of nearly $7 billion. It is vital that we work together to pass balanced budgets and lower the state’s deficit. It is up to us to move this state forward and provide financial stability to the people of Illinois.”

Senator Sims serves the 17^th Senate District and sits on the Senate Appropriations I and Senate Appropriations II committees. Prior to his election to the Senate, he was the budget director for Illinois Senate Democrats under the leadership of retired Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr.

SPRINGFIELD—The Senate voted today to override the governor’s veto of legislation that will help students develop the people skills employers are looking for in an effort to better prepare them for the workforce.

State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) sponsored House Bill 4657, which allows students to learn about emotional intelligence in schools and creates the Emotional Intelligence Task Force to help schools develop and implement the necessary curriculum guidelines.

“It’s crucial that we prepare our young people to be contributing members of society,” Sims said. “In addition to focusing on providing our students a strong foundation in the core subject areas, it is vitally important that we focus on the critical people skills our kids will need to excel in the workplace.  With so many of our kids spending a great deal of time on their phones, computers and other electronic devices rather than interacting face-to-face, we are missing out on developing the beneficial skills we learn from human interaction.”

The task force will develop age-appropriate emotional intelligence curriculum for elementary and high schools, including how to recognize, direct and positively express emotions.

House Bill 4657 takes effect immediately.