Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

I hope this finds you well. I want to give you the status of important issues facing Senate District 43.

Jobs

The 43rd District is poised to add jobs to support correctional programs which increase investment in Will County and will lead to safer communities.

The Illinois Department of Corrections expects to increase staffing at the Joliet Treatment Center (formerly Illinois Youth Center-Joliet) on McDonough Street. Currently about 20 offenders are there for treatment of mental illness. The facility has been repurposed to handle as many as 450.

In addition, Corrections is looking for a site in Will County to build a $150 million, 200-bed hospital. This will put local building trades members to work and, upon completion, employ scores of health care and support personnel.

College

Twenty years ago, Illinois higher education was ranked near the top nationally. But, 736 days without a state budget hurt our students, schools and economy.

The budget impasse ended when Democrats and Republicans joined together to override the Governor's veto. In that same spirit, 11 colleagues and I from both parties and both chambers have formed a higher education working group. We're examining what needs to be done to make Illinois higher education again top-notch and affordable.

DCFS

Our Illinois Department of Children & Family Services faces severe challenges.

Nine-month-old Cherish Freeman died Christmas Eve of violent injuries inflicted in a Joliet motel room. Only 15 months earlier, Cherish's mother had voluntarily put her children into DCFS' Safe Families program for three months. Last April, seventeen-month-old Semaj Crosby was killed while her mother was receiving Intact Family Services through DCFS.

Community organizations and elected officials continue to press DCFS for answers about its Intact Family Services program and Semaj Crosby's death. We now are asking DCFS tough questions about its Safe Families program and Cherish Freeman's death.

Trucks

WJOL program director and Channahon Village Trustee Scott Slocum will host a town hall meeting at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 11 at the University of St. Francis in Joliet on the hazards created by the enormous number of trucks serving our area's intermodal facilities, distribution centers and warehouses.

Manufacturers, shippers and warehousers must be making good money routing global trade through our area, or else they wouldn't be here. However, we who live here are paying a steep price in highway safety and maintenance. Let's hope the Jan. 11 town hall meeting leads to a local, state and national initiative to solve this problem.

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The 2018 session of the Illinois Senate begins January 30. We are scheduled to meet on 52 days before adjournment May 31. You can check the status of legislation, see committee schedules and more at www.ilga.gov.

Please contact me by email through www.senatorpatmcguire.com or by phone or mail at my Crest Hill and Springfield offices to express your opinion, schedule a visit, or request help.

Sincerely,
Pat McGuire
Pat McGuire, State Senator
District 43

SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Pat McGuire (D-Joliet) released the following statement following the override of Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of legislation that would provide equity in the way the state funds education:

“Today’s override renews a commitment to providing a quality education for all children in Illinois. Some of our neediest school districts would finally receive the resources they need to properly educate the students they serve. I urge my colleagues in the House to support this measure and fix our inequitable formula.”

SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Pat McGuire released the following statement after he was chosen along with 39 other community leaders throughout the state to participate in the Edgar Fellows Program, a five-day executive leadership program:

“There is no better time in our state’s history to learn from leaders like Governor Edgar about statesmanship and our responsibility as legislators, community and business leaders to keep our state moving forward. I am humbled by this opportunity and excited to meet new people while engaging in discussions that will help me better serve my constituents.”

For more information on the program: https://igpa.uillinois.edu/page/edgar-fellows-program