New Year, New Legislative Session 📜

Happy new year! I hope you all had a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season.

Last week was the first day of the 2022 session in Springfield. And I'm very excited to get back to the work of legislating. I've got a big agenda for the year: more federal resources for housing; new legislation on insulin costs; protections for homeless students; rights for victims of gender-based violence; and much more. I'll be letting you know about these agenda items in detail as the year unfolds.

But first: omicron. We've shortened the session already due to COVID-19. I expect that we'll cancel a number of session days as cases continue to surge. And we'll continue holding committees remotely as we've been doing throughout the pandemic.

In short, we're going to do as much of the people's work as we can while protecting the safety of ourselves, our colleagues and our staff.

If you have any questions about what's happening in Springfield, or suggestions of policy areas for me to focus on this year, please don't hesitate to send me a note. I always appreciate hearing your feedback.

Help Shape my Legislative Agenda

OPEN ENROLLMENT CLOSING

Do you need health coverage for the 2022 plan year?

Whether you are looking for health coverage for the first time or planning to update your current plan, www.GetCoveredIllinois.gov can guide you to find the right coverage. Get Covered Illinois (GCI) can help you navigate healthcare coverage with free enrollment help and quality coverage. It’s also the place to find out if you qualify for financial help to lower the cost of your coverage.

GRANTS FOR HOMEOWNER UNIT EXPANSION

A new city program is providing grants for eligible residents to work with architects, general contractors and other construction services specialists to help you bring your existing additional units up to code OR create new, rentable spaces from their attics, basements, or garages.

Click here to learn more about this exciting new program and check your eligibility.