In a marathon close to the 101st Illinois General Assembly last week, lawmakers considered four comprehensive bills to address equity and systemic racism in education, economic opportunity, health care and criminal justice. Work on the health care legislation continues while the three other bills were sent to the Governor. I want to give you an easy-to-digest overview of what I believe are the key points of these monumental, long-overdue reforms:
 

 Education Equity 

• helps ensure struggling young children get the resources they need to be ready for school and prepares all children for post-secondary education
• identifies more equitable ways to fund higher education
• expands and reprioritizes efforts to increase minority teachers

 Economic Equity 

• increases goals for minorities, women and people with disabilities to access state contracts 
• protects consumers from predatory loans by capping interest rates
• evaluates discrimination in the state’s beauty supply industry

 Health Care Equity 

• evaluates the effectiveness of Illinois' managed care program
• grants a two-month stay on hospital closures
• creates a task force to undertake a review of health and human service programs with the goal of improving access and outcomes for all Illinois residents

 Criminal Justice Equity 

• increases police accountability, transparency and training
• promotes the use of co-responder models in a mental health crisis response
• ends cash bail

Regarding the end of cash bail, I believe additional discussions were needed reach a potential agreement with the Illinois State's Attorneys Association to improve the policy and help mitigate misinformation and scare tactics used by opponents.

Sincerely, 

Steve Stadelman | District 34