SPRINGFIELD – Speaking at an SEIU Healthcare Home Care Lobby Day rally, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago, 3^rd) once again stressed the importance of giving a raise to care workers who provide in-home services for seniors in Illinois.

“Right now, home care agencies are struggling to recruit and retain caregivers in every corner of the state,” Hunter said. “Why? Because the average Illinois home care worker’s hourly wage is only $11.08.”

Hunter is the chief co-sponsor of Senate Bill 2019, which would provide agencies a rate increase to ensure that every home care aide working through the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Programs earns at least $13 per hour by July 1, 2019.

For years, funding for programs under the Community Care Program have gone unchanged, which leaves care providers unable to raise workers’ wages and has left Illinois unprepared to deal with workforce shortages. Projections also show that the population of Illinoisans over the age of 65 will grow by one-third by 2025, ballooning to 2.5 million people. Currently, the state needs 19,500 more workers to meet demand, but will also need another 12,000 workers annually to account for high turnover rates as caregivers are pushed out of the industry in search of better-paying jobs.  

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) joined her colleagues in voting to allow the General Assembly to end the unfair flat income tax rate:

“Today, I chose to stand up for the hardworking men and women in our state who have struggled to put food on the table for their families and get ahead under an unfair tax system that places the same burden on a restaurant server that it does on billionaire investment bankers.

“Reforming our tax code so that the wealthy pay their fair share while easing the burden on 97 percent of all Illinoisans is the right thing to do. It will not only allow us to invest in our schools and social services and boost our local economies throughout the state, but it will help put Illinois on a responsible path to fiscal stability.”

If the amendment passes both the Senate and the House with a three-fifths supermajority vote, it will be placed as a question on the November 2020 ballot. The Constitution will be amended if 60 percent of those voting on the question approve it, or a simple majority of all voters in the election.

Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 1 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago, 3^rd) voted to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.

“It’s past time for Illinois to do what it can to protect our youth from a lifetime of nicotine addiction, from a lifetime struggling with chronic disease, and from a lifetime cut short because of tobacco,” Hunter said. “Tobacco 21 in Illinois is sound policy and common sense, saves lives and dollars and is overwhelmingly supported by Illinoisans.”

Hunter is a chief co-sponsor of House Bill 345, which would prohibit the purchase of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products and electronic cigarettes by individuals under the age of 21.