In This Issue:
End of 102nd Session Highlights
Assault Weapons Ban Letter from Legislators
Citizen Advisory Panels
Coffee & Conversation
Museum Pass
Dear Friends, Happy new year to you and your loved ones! The first few weeks of 2023 have been busy in the Illinois General Assembly, with the 102nd Session winding down and the 103rd Session starting up. The last days of the prior session brought a few notable pieces of legislation, including an assault weapons ban, protecting reproductive rights, and supporting the transition to clean energy. I’ve included highlights below. The new session brings a few small changes in our 41st district map, and I want to welcome new constituents and reintroduce the office to current neighbors and friends. Hearing your voice and understanding your vision for how to continue improving our community remains one of my main priorities. My office and I host monthly coffees, deep-dive citizen advisory panels, and other events throughout the year to make sure you have many opportunities to share your thoughts. While I might not vote as you wish on every bill, what I can do is bring your voice to the negotiating table to make legislation better for you and your families. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve and represent you in Springfield. I’m excited for what the next two years will bring and look forward to working together to move us all forward. Sincerely, Janet
End of 102nd Session Highlights My colleagues and I passed a number of pieces of legislation in the last week of the 102nd General Assembly. Thank you to the many constituents in the district who called and wrote to us expressing your thoughts on these bills, especially for those who took the added time to provide feedback on ways we could change the bills to make them better. I brought that input to our House Democratic caucus meetings and working groups, and we made substantial changes as a result of your engagement. Below are some of the most notable bills passed:
Assault Weapons Ban, HB5471. Immediately bans the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches, which convert legal handguns into assault weapons. Requires existing owners of affected firearms to register their ownership. The Illinois State Police’s Frequently Asked Question page is a helpful resource for those with questions about exemptions and implementation of this law.
Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care, HB4664. Addresses a number of issues, such as shielding health care patients and providers who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care from legal action from other states, applying Illinois law to cases involving reproductive issues.
Paid Leave, SB208. Requires that workers in Illinois can earn up to five paid leave days a year. We worked closely with workers groups and Illinois’ top business groups, such as Illinois Retail Merchants and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, to pass this legislation, which especially assists lower wage earners.
Deal Closing Fund, SB2951. Creates a $400 million closing fund to incentivize electric vehicle and other manufacturing companies to locate in Illinois, similar to incentives available in Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.
Clean Energy Protection, HB4412. Takes various actions to support the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), including preventing counties from preemptively banning local wind and solar projects.
Assault Weapons Ban Letter from Legislators Based on the emails you’ve written to me and the thousands of conversations I’ve had with you on the phone and at your doors, I know that passing strong gun violence prevention legislation is a top priority for our district. I was proud to sponsor, vote for, and help pass legislation banning the sale of assault weapons while also respecting the needs of law enforcement and law-abiding firearm owners. Like many of you, it was with dismay and anger that I read the DuPage County Sheriff’s announcement that he would not be enforcing a duly passed law. His statement was incredibly irresponsible on multiple levels. I joined 15 other legislators who represent the vast majority of DuPage County in an open letter to our constituents. We want you to know that we are using the full weight of our offices to fill the void left when the sheriff abandoned his duty to protect our community. See below for our letter, which includes more details in response to the concerns that have been raised by residents and constituents.
Citizen Advisory Panels For those who want to go deep into specific areas of legislation and district activities, we hold Citizens Advisory Panels twice a year. This is an opportunity for you to get updates and share your thoughts on what our community needs in a particular area of interest. Each of the panels are listed on the Events Page of our website, and we welcome you to join us and share your voice.
Women's Issues – January 19, 6:00-7:00 PM
Environment - January 19, 7:00-8:00 PM
Diversity & Inclusion - January 26, 6:00-7:00 PM
Senior's Issues – January 26, 7:00-8:00 PM
Business & Economy - January 31, 6:00-7:00 PM
Healthcare - January 31, 7:00-8:00 PM
Education – February 7, 7:00-8:00 PM
Below, a snapshot of a past Citizen Advisory Panel meeting, in warmer months.
Coffee & Conversation
For a broader overview of Springfield and 41st District activities, please join us at one of our monthly coffee and conversations. These generally occur on the last Saturday of the month, and we gather with constituents from across Naperville, Warrenville and Bolingbrook for informal catching-up and conversation.
What: Coffee & Conversation with me and your neighbors
When: Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 am
Where: District 41 Office, 475 River Bend Rd., Suite 500, Naperville
Museum Pass
Many in our community have already been able to use our district’s Museum Pass, and we’re happy to be able to continue offering it in the new session. More than a dozen Chicagoland museums and parks offer complimentary visits for you and up to three additional visitors with the pass.
The pass is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and must be picked-up and returned to our district office. Once we have your request, we will contact you to arrange a time to pick up the pass and accompanying authorization of use letter.
Below is the current list of institutions that participate in this program:
Adler Planetarium
The Art Institute of Chicago
Brookfield Zoo/CZS
Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago Botanic Garden
Chicago Children’s Museum
Chicago History Museum
DuSable Museum of African American History
The Field Museum
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Lincoln Park Zoo
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Science and Industry
National Museum of Mexican Art
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
John G. Shedd Aquarium
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