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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has named April "National STD Awareness Month" in an effort to promote awareness about STDs throughout the United States. STDs come in many forms and some do not show symptoms that alarm the carrier to seek treatment. While STDs are not an easy topic of discussion, it is important to talk to our sexual partners about protection to avoid the continual spread of these diseases.
According to recent studies conducted by the CDC, in 2009 more than one million people sought treatment for Chlamydia and over 300,000 sought treatment for Gonorrhea. What is even more disconcerting is the percentage of African-American, Hispanic and other minority communities that are the primary carriers of these two diseases. A lack of safe sex education and access to condoms and other protection has lead to this disproportionate percentage.
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On April 16th, the Senate’s Redistricting Committee will be traveling to Peoria and Kankakee to receive input from the public on what congressional and state legislative maps should look like.
Citizens seeking to testify should send an email to For more information please visit the Illinois Redistricting Committee website.
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For Immediate Release April 11, 2011 Hunter passes Resolution creating Great Migration recognition council Springfield, IL – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) unanimously passed a Resolution through the Senate today creating the Illinois Great Migration Centennial Commission.
The Great Migration was a historical movement of the African-American community during which over 500,000 African-Americans relocated from the South to Chicago and other Northern cities. Prior to the diaspora, African-Americans only made up two percent of Chicago’s population. That number grew to 33 percent by the end. During The Great Migration, the largest migration in American history, almost seven million African-Americans relocated to Northern cities between 1916 and 1970. Senate Joint Resolution 3 creates the Commission to commemorate the centennial of the movement starting in January 2016. The Commission will bring together legislators, historians, authors and celebrities to develop a curriculum and a year-long event calendar to promote awareness of the importance of The Great Migration. "The African-American population has grown because our ancestors made the brave move from the South into Northern communities," Hunter said. "In our not too distant past, our ancestors were facing prejudice both socially and economically. Our parents and grandparents uprooted their families to seek opportunities, jobs, and relief from injustice in the South so that we could have a better life. This Commission will help to honor one of the most important eras in our history." Many elements factored into The Great Migration including job recruitment from growing industries in the North, the right to vote and an escape from "Jim Crow Laws." The Resolution now moves to the House for further consideration.
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Illinois State Senate
Mattie Hunter State Senator ∙ Op-Ed: Response to Center for Tax and Budget Accountability budget analysis March 29, 2011 One year after the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA), families and individuals across the country are feeling the benefits. Yet, in Illinois, health and human service providers are still facing continual cuts and, in turn, their patients are not receiving the quality health care promised to them by the State. As the Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, I recently called a subject matter hearing regarding proposed cuts to the State’s human services budget in the current fiscal year. Service providers from around the state testified on the negative effect of proposed cuts to vital programs that affect people from all walks of life. The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA), recently released an analysis of Governor Quinn’s proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget. According to CTBA, the four "core" state services- education, health care, human services, and public safety- still receive prioritized funding. Even with prioritized funding, human services- made up by the Department of Aging, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Family and Child Services- is the only of these areas of Quinn’s proposed budget facing major ostensible cuts in funding adding up to $211 million less than last year while the others increased. After inflation, all four prioritized areas are significantly underfunded compared to their rate in 2000. 
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