SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE
A new school year will be upon us soon, and my office is collecting essential school supplies that will be donated to Pekin Community High School and distributed to teachers and students. If you would like to donate supplies, please drop them off on Tuesday, July 28, from 8-11 a.m. at Coffee Connection (404 Court St., Pekin).
All supplies will be accepted, and examples include pencils, pens, notebooks, three-ring binders, index cards, highlighters, calculators, disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizers. All those who donate will receive a free cup of coffee or food item!
I will be in attendance from 8-9 a.m. to meet and talk with anyone who has questions or input on state issues. Thank you in advance for your generosity and for assisting our local teachers and students!
BLESSING BOX DONATIONS IN STARK COUNTY
Blessing Boxes are small community pantries built around the premise of – Take What You Need, Leave What You Can. They are stocked with nonperishable food and personal care items, and they promote strong communities while increasing access to essential items in rural communities.
Our summer intern, Sadie, has worked to create three Blessing Boxes in Stark County, and the Stark County FFA will help maintain and restock them throughout the year to ensure they remain lasting community resources. To kick off this initiative, my District Office is inviting the communities in Stark County to donate nonperishable food, toiletries, baby food, feminine hygiene products, and other everyday essentials during our Blessed Box Donation Day.
This event will take place on Tuesday, August 4! Blessing Boxes will be set up in Wyoming, Toulon, and Bradford. My District Office staff and I will be there in the morning to greet everyone who stops by to donate, with free cups of coffee available while supplies last. We will be present at the following times, but community members are invited to drop off items anytime these locations are open to the public. Our schedule on August 4 is:
8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Wyoming at City Hall
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. – Toulon at the Park Pavilion
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Bradford (Location TBD)
I will be present at Wyoming and Toulon, and my staff will handle collections at Bradford. Thank you to these three municipalities for participating, including local contacts Jim Chadwick, Jim Mercer, and Larry Hollis. Thank you to my interns and staff for helping coordinate all of this as well. And an incredible thank you to the Stark County FFA for their commitment to sustaining these community pantries to benefit everyone in our communities! Please consider coming out in the morning on August 4 as we kick off this wonderful initiative!
SNAP PAYMENT ERRORS
New data shows that Illinois’ SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Payment Error Rate has gotten even worse, climbing to 14.67 percent from 11.56 percent in just one year. Thanks to this unacceptable mismanagement of federal funds by the Governor and the Democrats in charge of our state policies, Illinois taxpayers are staring at extra costs of up to $550 million annually to cover these administrative errors!
Illinois has the sixth-highest SNAP payment error rate in the nation (when including Washington D.C.), and our error rate is much higher than our neighboring Midwestern states. This outrageous waste of resources paints another picture of the incompetence and fiscally irresponsible policies we have had to endure under the Pritzker administration. The impacts to future state budgets will be staggering, and more tax increases are likely to come to cover up these types of unacceptable mistakes.
Learn more here: Illinois Can’t Afford to Get SNAP Wrong – The Daily Line
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BILL
A bill currently going through Congress would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, meaning no more changing of clocks in the fall and spring. I support this bill for several reasons, including longer daylight hours in the winter evenings being very important for mental health, and specifically for children, their ability to get Vitamin D. Also, during time changes, we see a spike in heart attacks and strokes, especially when we spring forward.
The bill is now in the Senate after being passed in the House of Representatives. See my interview on 25 News here.
ETHICS AND CORRUPTION
Speaker Welch claims his office took appropriate action regarding disgraced former Rep. Harry Benton’s conduct, yet reports of Benton’s appalling behavior persisted for years before any meaningful action was taken. The lack of transparency is deeply concerning, and Illinois residents deserve the full truth.
Here is my statement: “The Tribune’s report raises serious concerns and questions about how misconduct complaints are being handled by Speaker Welch’s office. Sexual harassment cannot be tolerated anywhere, including in the General Assembly. These serious allegations first surfaced over three years ago, and there should be zero tolerance for attempts to cover up or sweep them under the rug. House Democrats continue to face a growing list of ethics scandals, and this culture of corruption must end. All Illinoisans deserve a House that prioritizes accountability, transparency, and protecting victims, not protecting politicians.”