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$$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
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Para español haga clic aquí Dear Neighbors, I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer, and hope that you and your loved ones had a happy Fourth of July! I am glad to be fully back in the 85th District now. Since being back in district, I’ve been meeting with organizations and constituents, while attending the many great summer events happening throughout the district. If you would like to have a meeting, visit an organization in the district or host a house meeting with neighbors please contact my office. My team and I are excited to let everyone know we will be hosting two Back to School Fairs in the 85th District this summer. We’ve had 2 successful years of hosting 1 fair each summer, and wanted to expand on the success to provide more students with access to school supplies. Keep reading below to learn more details for each fair. I wanted to discuss the closure of the Will County Coal Ash Ponds. I have been meeting with local environmental groups, attending listening sessions, and hearing from constituents to better understand the concerns of everyone. There are clear environmental concerns with the current proposal of capping in place, and I am urging NRG to properly clean up the coal ash. I will continue to work with the IEPA and monitor this situation. Sincerely,
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OUT AND ABOUTIf you would like to invite me to an event, meeting, or tour of your facility, please reach out to my office at info@repdagmara.org.
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I joined Fountaindale Library at their Ice Cream Social to give out free ice cream with Senator Cappel! I had a great time talking to constituents while seeing everyone enjoy all the wonderful things Fountaindale Library has to offer. |
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My staff and I had a resource table at the Lockport Township Senior Expo, where we connected with constituents about issues that are important to them. We also gave them important information from the state on the many resources on aging. |
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I attended a mix and mingle at Isle a la Cache with the Nature Foundation of Will County where we discussed the importance of pollinators and protecting nature! Isle a la Cache is right here in the 85th District, and I would encourage everyone to attend and take advantage of their trails, exhibitions, and other activities. |
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I toured the VNA Clinic in East Aurora High School to learn more about the school based clinics and how we can best implement them at schools in the 85th District. |
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I hosted a Mobile DMV to bring the Secretary of State services to the community. The SOS employees were able to serve 50+ people, who got real ID’s, updated their addresses, got new stickers, and more! |
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I joined Lockport Township Park District for their Pickleball Court Grand Opening! The court is now open for residents to use. The Park District even offers lessons and drills weekly. Visit lockportpark.org for more information. |
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I met with the 50K Coalition to discuss SB2288, which requires major course credits earned at IL Community Colleges transfer as equal credit at all IL public colleges and universities. We also discussed other education based legislation from this session! |
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I joined the West Suburban Illinois Educators for a legislative briefing. We discussed pensions, the teacher shortage, and much more! It was great to meet with retired teachers from the area, including some from the 85th District. |
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Senator Cappel provided an excellent opportunity for legislators to connect with local Superintendents at her office! We talked about different ways the general assembly can assist with the staff shortages, the new full day kindergarten legislation, and the intricacies of evidence based funding. |
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The Village of Bolingbrook hosted their Annual Village Picnic, with free food, a petting zoo, and many other activities for the community to participate in! My staff attended with resources for the community and a fun game of bozo buckets for the kids. |
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My team had a resource table at the Bolingbrook and Lockport Township Park District’s Juneteenth events. They had a great time talking to constituents and handing out information about what my office can assist with. |
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I partnered with the Bolingbrook and Romeoville Chambers to host a GATA Workshop for small businesses and nonprofits. Attendees heard from representatives from the IL Small Business Development Center, who walked them through doing business with the government and applying for grants. |
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I was glad to visit Pediatric Health Associates and meet Dr. Jihad Shoshara and Dr. Sofia Shakir to talk about their service to the community. Their practice has been serving our community for years and they believe that the health of their patients is best served not just through high quality medical care, but also through advocacy for children's health at all levels of society. |
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I attended the DuPage Township meeting to give a legislative recap of the session. I talked specifically about legislation impacting townships and funding coming to the area in the FY24 fiscal year! |
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Midwest Generation hosted a public listening session, which I attended and spoke at to raise environmental and logistical concerns with regards to their proposed plan for the coal ash ponds. The Will County Station CCR Public Meetings Summary is available here. I also attended the Illinois Pollution Control Board meeting to give testimony regarding the coal ash ponds. You can read my testimony here. |
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I joined the Latino Policy Forum for a virtual meeting to discuss the legislative session. We talked about different legislation that specifically affects the Latino community and the important items that made it into the budget. |
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The Village of Romeoville hosted the quarterly Will County Transportation Meeting. I attended to listen to what local municipalities are working on and hear any issues or concerns they may have in their projects. |
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Jasmine and Briana joined Northern Illinois Food Bank in packing food for the many pantries that the Food Bank supplies food to. They also met with Corey, the Northern IL Food Bank Advocacy Specialist, who discussed the increase in people served, the new Farm to Food Bank legislation, and more! |
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The Joliet Chamber of Commerce hosted an end of session panel for chamber members to hear from general assembly members about legislation passed during spring session. We discussed the budget, new education funding, I55 expansion, and more! |
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I presented an end of session update to members of The Joliet- Local Advisory Committee for the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. We discussed the many ways Illinois is working to reduce gun violence. |
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I gave a legislative update at Moraine Valley College to community college nursing program deans and directors on state legislation affecting higher education. A big shout out to my constituent Dean Debi Savage for the invitation to provide the update. |
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I joined Senator Cappel, Leader Manley, and Rep. Benton for a Police Chief roundtable. We discussed the difficulty they’re having in getting equipment, the staff shortages they’re facing, and much more! Thank you to Senator Cappel for organizing this valuable discussion. |
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I attended the Welcoming Center Symposium to meet with community organizations and learn about data used to inform the needs for Welcoming Centers in IL. I am committed to bringing at least one Welcoming Center to our community. To learn about Welcoming Centers please click here |
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I was invited by Health News Illinois to be part of their panel on "The future of immigrant healthcare in Illinois" as chair of the Medicaid & Managed Care Subcommittee. I talked about the importance of preventative healthcare and how we can build healthy and thriving communities. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS & RESOURCES
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Renew Your Medicaid!Got Medicaid? Get ready to renew! Manage your case at abe.illinois.gov. Illinois is checking to see if you are still eligible for Medicaid. Here's what you need to do now: Click Manage My Case at abe.illinois.gov to: Watch your mail and complete your renewal right away. If you are no longer eligible for Medicaid, connect to coverage at work or through the official Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace for Illinois, GetCoveredIllinois.gov.
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211 Help LineI encourage people to take advantage of the 211 line and website. 211 is powered by real people — trained specialists who work to identify and address the root causes of a client’s problem. That means from the first hello, someone in crisis is reaching a real person who can provide a connection to help. Get help with food, clothing, shelter, housing, rent/utility assistance, counseling, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, transportation, support groups, senior services, aging parents, child care, employment, legal assistance, and health care.Text 898211 for help. Food PantriesWill County HeroesWill County is investing $10 million of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to ignite the next generation of heroes in nursing and teaching. The Will County Heroes Nursing & Teaching Scholarship, which formally launched today, encourages students to pursue degrees in these high-demand professions and incentivizes them to work in Will County after graduation. Eligible students can receive $2,500 per semester to support their pursuit of a nursing or teaching degree. Students can apply for the scholarship grant through the participating Will County higher education partners: Governors State University, Joliet Junior College, Lewis University, and University of St. Francis. Learn more about the program at www.willcountyillinois.org/heroes.
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