Senator Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat, will join fellow State Senators Emil Jones, III, and Napoleon Harris and Representative Ken Dunkin for a holiday senior luncheon. They are partnering with the Institute of Positive Living to honor Red Hatters, retired nurses and teachers on Friday December 13th at the Chicago Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The event will include Chicagoan Vanessa Holmes performing A Tribute to the Motown Greats. Guests can dance to the sounds of Martha & the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Stevie Wonder. Mom’s MAYBE, Mr. Taps and line dancers will round out the entertainment.

Lack of trauma centers means lives are being lost, say concerned lawmakers and officials

Someone shot or otherwise seriously injured on Chicago’s violence-plagued South Side waits nearly 50 percent longer to get to a trauma center than anywhere else in the city, a delay that medical experts say costs lives and that local community leaders and a leading area lawmaker say is simply unacceptable.

The situation came under the spotlight earlier this week when Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat, convened the first-of-its kind hearing looking into the lack of trauma centers across a wide swath of the city’s South Side.

These neighborhoods have been dubbed “trauma center deserts” because of the scarcity of high-level emergency care for adults. The real-world implications are that victims of violence have to be transported greater distances in situations where every second can be precious.

New loan program should open doors for greater diversity in state projects

Efforts to increase minority contractor participation in state projects took a step forward this week when the Illinois Senate approved the financing for a new loan program crucial to the diversity push.

“The people who build state roads and buildings should be as diverse as the people using them,” said State Senator Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat and the driving force behind the program.

State Senator Mattie Hunter joined representatives from the Illinois Lottery, family of Carolyn Adams and Department of Public Health Director LaMar Hasbrouck for the launching of the 10th edition of the "Ticket for a Cure," a lottery game that raises money for breast cancer research, promoting education and awareness. The event took place at the Loyola Medical Center in the Cardinal Bernardine Cancer Center in Maywood.

In 2011, Hunter sponsored legislation that allowed the Ticket for the Cure to be renamed in honor of former Illinois Lottery Superintendant Carolyn Adams, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 44. This year's ticket is the first edition since the ticket was renamed.