SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) issued the following statement in response to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s State of the State address:

“I am pleased that the governor’s plan has not cut Medicaid and other health service areas, while even increasing spending on some human services. After the hard year we’ve endured, it is vital that our health care and human services are properly funded. January was the deadliest month in the entire pandemic, with disproportionate deaths in Black communities.

“One reason Black people are more susceptible to COVID-19 is because many of our communities lack access to quality, affordable care. Communities still need proper transportation and better care that the working class and underprivileged can afford.

“The quality of health care you receive should not be determined by your race, income or region. Quality, affordable health care should be recognized as a right for all. We need to continue to rethink and reshape the leadership of our state’s health care, leading with diversity, inclusion, and justice at the center.”