SPRINGFIELD—State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the state’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget:

“I’m pleased the Senate was able to pass a full-year, balanced, bipartisan budget which makes significant investments in areas needed to improve the quality of life for all citizens of the state of Illinois, particularly those of the 17^th District.

“This budget makes significant investments in improving the quality of our schools and institutions of higher education, like Chicago State University. The budget also seeks to keep students in Illinois as they seek to obtain a quality higher education, while simultaneously focusing on protecting our most vulnerable populations and addressing the issue of gun violence in the 17^th District and across the state.

“Gun violence impacts communities across Illinois, raising legitimate public safety concerns among my constituents.

“As one of the budgeteers, I kept public safety concerns and the alternative strategies needed to prevent the root causes of violence foremost in my mind as we negotiated this year’s budget. This budget plan restores funding for youth employment programs, after school programming and youth programs, including Teen REACH.

“Jobs and afterschool programs go hand in hand with violence prevention. Providing our young people with constructive activities and employment is crucial to keeping them focused on their futures, off the streets and most of all, alive.

“I’m glad my colleagues and I were able to work together in a bipartisan manner to craft a balanced spending plan that prioritizes the success of our young people in at-risk communities, invests in education and improves the quality of life for citizens across our state. 

“I look forward to the budget passing the Illinois House of Representatives and being signed into law by the Governor to further put Illinois on the road to fiscal stability and make a difference in the lives of the people of the 17^th District and across the state of Illinois.”

SPRINGFIELD—Under a new proposal that passed the Senate today, mothers may be excused from jury duty if they’re currently breastfeeding.

State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. is the chief Senate sponsor of House Bill 5745, which allows nursing mothers to be exempt from jury duty upon request.

“It’s important that we respect and acknowledge many mothers’ need to breastfeed their babies,” said Sims. “This plan prioritizes their responsibilities as parents because their children come first before anything else.”

This legislation is designed to create parity between the Jury Commission Act and the Jury Act, which already allow nursing mothers to be excused from jury duty.

Currently, the JCA authorizes the exemption for counties with populations that are between 75,000 and 3 million. HB 5745 would excuse all nursing mothers in Illinois regardless of county population size.

Sims is also sponsoring a similar plan, Senate Bill 3503, which requires circuit courts in Illinois to provide a lactation room.

“We would hope that if these courthouses don’t already have lactations rooms, they will in the near future,” said Sims. “In instances where they don’t, or mothers don’t feel comfortable, they should be exempt from jury duty.”

HB5745 is now headed to the governor’s desk.

SPRINGFIELD — Arguing that important social skills can sometimes be lost in the rush to prepare students for future disciplines, State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. passed legislation through the Senate today aimed at helping students learn the people skills that are often crucial to being successful in the workforce.

“It’s important that we give our young people all the tools they need to be contributing members of society,” said Sims (D-Chicago). “There’s never been a greater need for people skills with many of our kids spending so much of their time on their phones and computers rather than interacting face-to-face.”

Sims is the Senate sponsor of House Bill 4657, which allows schools to teach lessons on emotional intelligence and creates the Emotional Intelligence Education Task Force to develop curriculum guidelines.

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

“Just as we teach our students important subjects like history and math, we must help them have a better understanding of their interactions in the world. This basic skill is crucial to advancing in any career,” said Sims.

The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk.

CHICAGO—State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement on the governor’s amendatory veto (AV) of House Bill 1468, which prevents the delivery of assault weapons until 72 hours after application for purchase:

“It’s clear that the governor’s rewrite of HB 1468 is a partisan ploy to kill this legislation.

This plan originally focused on a 72-hour wait period for the delivery of assault weapons. His change to extend this to all weapons is something that we could discuss as a legislative body, but to combine multiple bills and throw in death penalty policy, isn’t.

Gov. Rauner’s had HB 1468 on his desk since March 15. He decided to make changes just one day before his deadline to take action to limit the amount of time the General Assembly has to consider it. He essentially wants the plan to die.

During the governor’s State of the State address he said he wanted ‘bipartisan dedication to restore public trust,’ yet he plays these political games with legislation that’s meant to prevent gun violence and mass shootings.

We have little more than two weeks left in session. It’s time to work together to do what’s best to protect working families throughout our state, not play partisan politics.”