Childcare and early intervention programs now more accessible to families

Legislation championed by Sen. Pat McGuire (D-Crest Hill) to support children whose families are involved with the Department of Children & Family Services was signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner Aug. 14.

McGuire is the chief sponsor of HB 4885, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation makes DCFS-involved children under five years of age eligible for the state Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and makes children under three years of age eligible for the state Early Intervention (EI) program.

“Quality childcare now is assured for children from troubled families,” McGuire said. “In addition, access to the EI program means those infants and toddlers now will have any developmental delays identified and treated.”

This measure is one of several actions taken by the Illinois General Assembly and DCFS to improve protection of children following the April 2017 death of Semaj Crosby in unincorporated Joliet Township. Improvements have been made at the Joliet DCFS office in staffing and coordination with local human service providers, and the legislature voted to fund a special unit within DCFS to address high-risk households.

Months of bipartisan cooperation and input from the state’s public universities came to fruition this morning as legislation enacting a plan put forth by the Higher Education Working Group became law.

State Senator Pat McGuire, D-Crest Hill, is Chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee and led the bipartisan, bicameral working group as it assessed the damage of the budget impasse and a decades-long trend of declining enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities. McGuire applauded the legislation that passed today, which included measures allowing students to extend their Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants to four years and giving students more options to transfer credits in order to obtain associate’s degrees.

“I commend my colleagues on the Higher Education Working Group, who joined me in acting without partisan rancor and coming to compromises that will bring stability, certainty, and accessibility to the students who can most benefit from a strong public community college and university system,” McGuire said.

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Recently some residents of Woodridge received an extremely offensive white supremacist/anti-Semitic leaflet.  Unfortunately, other neighboring Chicago-area communities have experienced similar incidents in recent weeks. In response, Senator Pat McGuire, Senator John F. Curran, Representative John Connor and Representative David S. Olsen, the Illinois General Assembly members representing the Village of Woodridge, issued the following joint statement:

“We join Mayor Gina Cunningham in denouncing the recent distribution of racist and anti-Semitic leaflets in the Village of Woodridge. We reject the hateful messages of intolerance shown within these leaflets. The racism, bigotry and prejudice displayed in these pamphlets have no place in our society and will not be tolerated. We will remain a compassionate, diverse and caring community which supports and respects one another as diverse and unique individuals. The unity and compassion shown by residents in Woodridge and across our districts is what defines our community.”

Currently, the Woodridge Police Department is investigating this incident. Anyone with information that would be helpful to this investigation should contact the Police Department at (630) 960-8998.

The Joliet Herald-News - July 1, 2018 | Original article

By Alex Ortiz

Hundreds gathered and marched Saturday in Joliet to protest the separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The demonstration happened the same day as several others across the country under the banner of “Families Belong Together.” In Joliet, demonstrators met in the Chicago Street Plaza, across from the Rialto Square Theatre, where several speakers took the stage to speak out.

The speakers, many of whom were local elected officials, shared stories reported about children being held in detention facilities around the country. Alicia Morales, a trustee on the Joliet Junior College board, shared one account from a public defender in McAllen, Texas, which described the methods authorities used to separate the families. The parents were told their children would only be taken for a short time for a bath, and it wasn’t until hours later that they realized what happened.

Speakers such as state Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Crest Hill, also called for Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

“We’re here today to call on the president of the United States and every member of the United States Congress to begin working together immediately to adopt an immigration policy that promotes opportunity, safety, fairness and fulfills our pledge that our land is a land of justice and liberty for all,” McGuire said.

Read the entire story at The Joliet Herald-News here.