Dear Stephanie,

I'm thrilled to share some exciting updates from our district office this week. It's been a whirlwind of meaningful engagements and impactful discussions that highlight the true spirit of community.

One of the highlights was my meeting with the esteemed Irish Consul General, Kevin Byrne, during his visit to our district. The opportunity to engage in fruitful conversations and strengthen international relations was both an honor and a pleasure.

Moreover, I am beginning to work on the states pension issues, I called a Subject Matter Hearing for the Personnel & Pensions Committee last week. Together with experts and stakeholders, we delved into crucial discussions about finding viable solutions to Illinois' pension situation—a matter close to the hearts of many of our fellow Illinoisans. There will be more meetings to come.

And that's not all! Saturday we hosted our annual Shred and Recycle event at our district office. We had over 200 cars come through and we filled the shred truck, collected a lot of electronics and kept a record number of prescriptions out of our drinking water and safely disposed of.

Thank you to everyone who came out and made our annual Shred and Recycle day a huge success.

Finally I went to the Aurora Public Library and met some wonderful youth authors. I am always impressed by the creativity of our kids.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

All my best,

P.S. Please reach out to our office if you need assistance at (630) 585-1308 or send me an email.

Aurora Area Regional Summit

Friday, July 28th | 1:00 – 4:00 PM

RSVP HERE

Military & Veterans Night Out at Blackberry Farm

Friday, July 28th | 5:00 – 8:00 PM

RSVP HERE

3rd Annual Roosevelt-Aurora Post 84 of the American Legion Golf Outing

Join me and my fellow Veterans for the 3rd Annual Post 84 Golf Outing. It is a fun event and all the proceeds go to help area Veterans and Post 84.

American Association of State Troopers Conducting Best Looking Cruiser Contest

The American Association of State Troopers is currently running their 10th annual "Best Looking Cruiser" contest. State Police and Highway Patrol Departments from across the country have submissions, including a strong submission by the Illinois State Police. Go vote for Illinois and take a look at some fine cruisers!

July is Military Consumer Month. Part of being a responsible consumer, is being a safe one. Scammers may try to steal your personal information through various scams, such as phishing. Phishing scams involve a scammer using email or text messages to obtain valuable data.

Here's some tips from Military Consumer on how to protect yourself from scammers:

• Don't give your info to anyone who contacts you out of the blue
• Don't click on any links
• Update your security software

Help protect your community and report scams to the Federal Trade Commission.

Governor Pritzker signs HB 2238 to strengthen care for strokes in Illinois.

HB 2238 states that the Illinois Department of Public Health can create a fourth level of certification for hospitals that provide stroke care, allowing for better, stronger, and more effective care for Illinoisans.

"This legislation will encourage our world class hospitals to upgrade the care they provide for stroke victims with the goal of saving as many lives as possible," said Governor Pritzker.

Read more about this life saving act from the Illinois Department of Public Health and click here to find a stroke center near you.

Interested in working in the tech industry in Illinois? The Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) is hosting a virtual job fair on Tuesday, July 25th from 1-2pm. The event will provide an opportunity to connect with DoIT's HR team, as well as learn about various open positions and the work culture, benefits, and opportunities.

If you plan on attending, please register and visit doit.illinois.gov for more information on DoIT initiatives and careers.

Illinois Supreme Court Upholds SAFE-T Act

On Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the bail reform provision of the Pretrial Fairness Act is constitutional.

The Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act was signed in 2021 by Governor Pritzker. The criminal justice reform bill includes many elements, such as an officer body camera requirement, a ban on police chokeholds, and the elimination of cash bail. The latter aspect of the bill was challenged in Illinois Courts and brought all the way to the Supreme Court where the provision was upheld. You can read the court's opinion here.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has launched the third round of funding for the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, making $10 million available for eligible community-based organizations.

The program aims to provide training opportunities, increase diversity, and expand the talent pipeline in the construction industry and building trades. The funding will be awarded through a competitive process, and the focus is on geographic areas without pre-apprenticeship programs and underrepresented groups, including Asian Americans, Veterans, and women. The program will fund around 45 programs, benefiting over 1,800 residents. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, community colleges, technical schools, and school districts. The deadline for applications is August 30, 2023. The Illinois Works Jobs Program Act, established in 2019, promotes diversity and inclusion and aims to fill new job opportunities created by the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan.

MORE INFORMATION

Watch the most recent Coffee Chat on Facebook!

Or, subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts 🎧!

I continue to host Monday Morning Coffee live via Facebook at 9:00am-10:00am where you can post your comments and questions.

I realize not everyone has Facebook. The good news is that you can still participate. If you would like to join us on Monday mornings, you can join in via ZOOM! Once connected via ZOOM, you'll be able to interact just as if you were on Facebook. Don't worry you will not be on live - your video feed and mic will be muted.

The ZOOM link will be emailed to everyone separately for Monday morning participation.

If you would like to join us, please email Michelle@ILDistrict84.com or call the

office at 630.585.1308.