Illinois seniors will benefit from a new task force aimed to end disparities based on race, geography and native language. Chicago Democrats, State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins and Mattie Hunter, successfully pushed the task force plan through the Senate without opposition today.

“Regardless of geography, native language or race, every senior should receive the same level of care,” said Hunter, Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee. “The legislation passed six-to-one in Human Services and I’m glad to see my colleagues voted for it unanimously in the full Senate.”

State Senator Mattie Hunter’s (D-Chicago) hard work in the Senate was acknowledged by Governor Pat Quinn during his State of the State address today.

Gov. Quinn spoke about the great progress the state has made this past year.  He highlighted the achievements of Majority Caucus Whip Mattie Hunter by noting that her efforts to establish a new revolving loan fund has led to an increase in minority state contracts.

Illinois has increased state contracts to minority and women-owned businesses by nearly 60 percent since the governor took office.

Dear Constituent:

Thank you for contacting my office and expressing your concern about my recent vote for pension reform.

This was one of the toughest decisions I have made this year, if not in my career. Please know that I took the time to think through this decision, weighed all options and finally decided to vote for pension reform for the following reasons:

• Funding for health care, mental health, public housing, child care and the homeless are targeted when the state cannot balance the budget. As the Chair of the Illinois Senate Human Services Committee, I could no longer, in good conscience, watch social and human services suffer cuts in the name of balancing the budget.

• I have stood by teachers, state employees and unions from the time I entered office. I have voted in favor of most measures aimed toward helping those affected by pension reform.

• This problem has been decades in the making and is the result of the state not putting enough money into the pension systems. I opposed previous plans because they took too much away from workers and retirees to make up for the state’s inaction. The plan I supported includes nearly $30 billion in added state funding for worker pensions. I supported this compromise because it puts the burden on the state, where it belongs.

• Unions representing public employees have already threatened legal action if the governor signs this bill. If that happens, the Supreme Court ultimately will decide whether the bill is constitutional. We can revisit SB 2404 if it is struck down, which I believe is much fairer and passes constitutional muster.

I understand your frustration with the system, with my vote and with the situation that Illinois is facing. We would have faced a $2.4 billion shortfall in the next budget if we didn’t act on the pension changes. My vote was to stop the bleeding.

Thank you for being engaged in this issue.

Sincerely,