Hunter: This legislation will keep young mothers in school

Many mothers often worry about finding a safe place to nurse or breastfeed. Thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Mattie Hunter (D- Chicago), public and charter schools will now be authorized to provide reasonable breastfeeding accommodations to students.

“Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants, “said Hunter. “It’s important that we provide our youth, especially, with a private, clean and safe place to produce milk for their young. This bill will also keep many of our young mothers in school who often times miss out because of the restrictions of the campus environment.”

House Bill 2369 requires public and charter schools to provide reasonable breastfeeding accommodations to pupils. Furthermore, a school campus shall provide reasonable accommodations for a lactating student to provide breast milk, breastfeed an infant child or address other needs related to breastfeeding.

Reasonable accommodations can be defined as:
•    Access to a private and secure room other than a restroom to express breast milk or breastfeed an infant child;
•    Access a power source for a breast pump or any other equipment used to express breast milk; and
•    Access to a place to store expressed breast milk safely.

The legislation was signed into law and takes effect Jan. 1, 2018.

Governor prolongs much needed stability for schools and students

In response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto to the widely supported school funding reform measure, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D- Chicago) released the following statement:

“Sadly, the governor continues to use our children as pawns to advance his political agenda. Governing the state of Illinois is not like playing a game of chess. The governor touts saving the children of this state by putting families first but does the complete opposite with his inexplicable inaction on much needed reforms.

By refusing to work in good faith and compromise, the governor and his allies in the General Assembly have spent more time pitting communities against one another. It has taken us 20 years to get to this point on school funding reform and we can only solve this issue together in a bipartisan fashion.

This is not about a win for Chicago, nor is it about a loss for Southern Illinois. This is about providing adequate dollars for all schools and future generations. The longer it takes to realize this the longer our students will suffer under a broken system.

So, let’s not fight about this, instead, let’s make fundamental changes. Wholeheartedly, I would like to believe the governor has our children and schools in his best interest. Unfortunately, today’s veto proves otherwise. We need to save our schools and our students.”

Senator Hunter happy to share good news out of DCFS

Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) expressed her congratulations to all the recent high school graduates who are able to attend college thanks to scholarships from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

“This is a great example of the state doing something positive for young men and women’s lives,” said Hunter. “They’ve been through so much and still managed to excel through the many obstacles they’ve faced. I appreciate the state’s efforts in encouraging young people to take the next step.”

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services awarded 53 students a four-year scholarship to any public university. Out of the nearly 250 applicants, the winners were selected based on academic achievement, community involvement and an essay.

Read more …

Senator Hunter: This is a solution that gives us certainty and stability

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D- Chicago) issued the following statement after today’s budget legislation votes:

We’ve been working to reach a bipartisan budget agreement for months. The plan we passed today is a solution that gives us certainty and stability.

The budget package will fully fund the next fiscal year which includes funds to education, MAP grants, breast and cervical cancer screening, addiction treatment and funding for programs like Teen Reach. All of these programs are essential and work to restore and improve the quality of life for our constituents.         

The state of Illinois has been longing for fiscal certainty for almost two years. Because of this, many statewide businesses operated on hope. I’m glad, on this day, we were
able to provide them with more. We were able to come together despite our political differences to change the status quo.
            
It is my hope that the Governor will join us in signing the budget plan. The people of this state have suffered long enough. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer because the time is now.