October Newsletter: Halloween Events, Licensing Updates, and More!

Dear Neighbors,

Fall is in full swing, and with it comes so many great community events! From trunk or treats to fall craft fairs, the 85th District has plenty to do to get into the fall spirit. Be sure to check out Johansen Farms, right here in Bolingbrook! They are open daily with a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, corn maze, and much more! Visit their website to learn more about all they have to offer this season.

As we enjoy this time of year, it’s also a busy season for our work in Springfield. The Illinois General Assembly will soon be entering the legislative veto session. This is a critical time when legislators review and vote on bills that were vetoed by the Governor earlier in the year. The veto session provides an opportunity to either uphold the Governor’s vetoes or override them, depending on the support of the majority. It’s an essential part of the legislative process that ensures further debate and revision on policies that affect all of us.

As your representative, I’ll be actively involved in this process, making sure that your voice is heard in decisions that impact our district and our state.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you'd like to share your thoughts about any of the upcoming issues being discussed, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at 815-372-0085 or info@repdagmara.org.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful and cozy fall season!

Warm Wishes,

NEW GRANTS ANNOUNCED

Illinois Grocery Initiative - New Stores in Food Deserts

Program Details: The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the “Department” or “DCEO”) is issuing this Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) to improve access to fresh food within food deserts by providing incentives to establish grocery stores.

Eligible Applicants: Eligibility for this program will be constrained by geographic location, characteristics of prospective store ownership, and the intended offerings of the store.

Units of local government
Independent grocers or cooperatives with fewer than 500 employees and no more than four grocery locations. This includes for-profit and nonprofit entities.

Application Deadline: December 2, 2024 at 5:00pm

Panera Bread Foundation

Program Details: Open nationwide to nonprofits 501(c)3, to areas were Panera is located. “awards non-profit organizations who provide access to education, opportunity, and mentorship to at-risk, underserved, or historically underrepresented children and youth.

Eligible Applicants: Organizations that qualify are 501(c)(3) non-profits, serving ages 10-18, that are planning to start a new program or expand an existing program focused on college readiness, skills building, workforce or leadership development, or mentoring.

Application Deadline: October 27, 2024 at 10:00pm

EmpowerHer Grants from Boundless Futures Foundation

Program Details: Female entrepreneurs 22 years of age and older with businesses registered and operating in the United States. An applicant’s business must 1) make a clear social impact, 2) be a registered for-profit entity, 3) be earning revenue, and 4) not be more than 3 years old.” “Businesses that are eligible for an EmpowHer Grant address one of the following social issues* through their product or business model: Poverty & Hunger, Sustainability & the Environment or Strong communities.

Eligible Applicants: For profit, women owned businesses

Application Deadline: November 1, 2024 at 11:00pm

OUT AND ABOUT

If 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.

My team attended the Pathfest celebration in Bolingbrook! It was a great day filled with family friendly activities, a petting zoo, and community organizations!

I had the honor of speaking to the 2025 Class of the Colibri Fellows! This one-of-a-kind professional fellowship trains future non-attorney legal representatives to help build capacity at community based legal aid organizations across Illinois.

My office co-hosted an IDFPR On the Go event with Leader Natalie Manley and Senator Meg Loughran Cappel. Constituents were able to receive real time support in obtaining their professional licenses. 29 of 36 attendees were able to get their license at the event.

We joined the Village of Romeoville at their shred event, where we helped over 100 people safely dispose of their documents. Stay tuned to find out when our next shred days will be!

I attended the We Are One Illinois Town Hall, where we heard from tier 2 pension members, and the impact it has on their lives.

I sat on a panel at the Great Cities Institute Latino Research Summit, where I spoke about the partnership between the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and the Great Cities Institute. It’s so important that we continue to work with organizations gathering valuable data to help shape legislative priorities.

Briana attended the DCEO Roadshow in Joliet to learn about all the great work DCEO has done in our region. DCEO discussed their plans for the next 5 years, and how important investing not only in new businesses, but our current businesses.

I spoke at the opening plenary of the Raices Public Policy Conference, where we set the stage for how important it is to get involved, share your experiences, and help shape public policy.

The Annual Romeoville Hispanic Heritage Celebration had a great turn out! The performances were incredible and the Romeoville team did a great job as always putting the event together!

I was so honored to hand out certificates to newly naturalized citizens at Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project’s Day of the Immigrant event in Bolingbrook! There were 135 new citizens honored at this beautiful event.

Briana attended a CEJA Anniversary celebration at the Magid Safety building in Romeoville. They talked about the importance of CEJA investments in our communities, and got to see the solar panels on the roof!

I attended the last session of the Erikson Institute where we continued to discuss education policy and solutions. I had such a great time with this fellowship, and learned a lot about education!

My team attended the White Oak Library District’s Fall Fest! Despite the rainy weather, it was a great event for families to learn more about the library, local organizations, and play games! There was even a petting zoo outside.

UPCOMING EVENTS & RESOURCES

Come see my team at some great Halloween events throughout the month!

Bolingbrook

Halloween at the Promenade
- October 12th, 4-7pm at the Bolingbrook Promenade
Promenade Costume Pet Parade
- October 13, 1-2pm at the Bolingbrook Promenade
- Register your pet here
Bolingbrook Park District Freaky Fun Friday Trunk or Treat
- October 18, 5:30-7:30pm at Pelican Harbor
Sign up for the Bolingbrook Halloween Decorated House Guide

Romeoville

Village of Romeoville Halloween Fest Trunk or Treat
- October 18, 4:30-8pm at Village Hall
White Oak Library, Romeoville Branch Trunk or Treat
- October 24, 4:30-7:30pm at the White Oak Romeoville Branch

Lockport

Lockport Township Trunk or Treat
- October 17, 5:30-7:30pm at the Lockport Township Government Building

Will County Center for Economic Development is expanding their internship program! They are looking for businesses to sign up and help students gain valuable career experience. Learn more information here or attend one of their informational breakfasts!

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:

Verify your mailing address under "contact us."
Find your due date (also called redetermination date) in your "benefit details".

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.

211 Help Line

I 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 Pantries

Bolingbrook
- Bolingbrook SDA Church Food Pantry- 301 E. Boughton Rd. Bolingbrook
- First Baptist Church Bolingbrook- 314 E. Briarcliff Rd. Bolingbrook
- The Compass Church Bolingbrook- 151 E. Briarcliff Rd. Bolingbrook
- 4 K.I.D.S Sake- 192 Lily Cache Ave. Bolingbrook

Woodridge
- West Suburban Food Pantry- 6809 Hobson Valley. Dr Ste 118 Woodridge

Romeoville
- Love Fellowship Baptist Church- 730 N. Independence Blvd. Romeoville
- DuPage Township Food Pantry- 719 Parkwood Ave. Romeoville
  - Must live in DuPage Township
- Romeoville Community Pantry- 2 Belmont Dr. Romeoville
- St. Andrew the Apostle We Care Pantry- 219 Arlington Dr. Romeoville
Lockport
- First Baptist Church Food Pantry- 800 Thornton St. Lockport
- Lockport FISH Food Pantry- 1463 Farrell Rd. Lockport
- Fairmont Food Pantry- 525 Barry Ave. Lockport
- Shiloh Baptist Church Food Pantry- 18101 W. Oak Ave. Lockport
Will County Micro Pantries
- Micro Pantries are designed to allow anonymous food pick-up for those in need, and a drop-off point for those who wish to help. Micro pantries are accessible 24 hours a day.

LIHEAP

LIHEAP helps eligible households with low income pay for home energy services. This includes assistance with heating gas, propane and electricity. More information on services available in your region can be found by visiting your Local Administering Agency (referred to as a local agency) page.

Deadline: The LIHEAP application period is October 2, 2023 to August 15, 2024, or until funding is exhausted.

Last day to apply online with the Request for Services form is July 5, 2024. After this date you can still apply through your local administering agency through August 15, 2024, or until funding is exhausted. Go to Find my Local Agency to locate your LIHEAP Local Administering Agency.

Beware of Student Loan Scams!

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Division of Banking and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a warning for a new scam that seeks to take advantage of student loan uncertainty. Scammers contact student loan borrowers and make false promises that they can guarantee lower monthly payments or loan forgiveness, often demanding upfront fees to do so and promising immediate results.

Borrowers typically can request these services for free from the U.S. Department of Education or their student loan servicer. Scammers utilizing this scheme are known to have contacted targets by phone, text, email, and regular mail, and may falsely claim to have ties to government agencies (including the Department of Education). While a few companies may offer legitimate student debt relief services, many make false promises to student loan borrowers and fail to deliver on the services they’re paid for.

Consumers can identify this scam by being on alert for these red flags:

• Promises of immediate loan forgiveness or cancellation. Student loan debt relief companies cannot forgive student loans. Any changes to federal student loan repayment plans will be made through one of the government’s official loan servicers (learn more about federal student loan repayment programs for free from the U.S. Department of Education). Private student loan borrowers should also contact their student loan servicers for accurate information.

• Requests to sign a power of attorney form. Legitimate student loan assistance programs will not typically require you to sign an agreement giving them legal permission to act on your behalf.

• High-pressure sales tactics attempting to force you into acting immediately by creating a false sense of urgency. Phrases used may include:

o “Savings Plans Available for a limited time only!”

o “Results Guaranteed!”

o “Call Now!”

o “Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!”

• For federal student loans, requests for your Federal Student Aid username and account in exchange for help with your student loans. Borrowers should never share their login credentials.

• Statements claiming relationships with government agencies, including the Department of Education. Again, borrowers should contact their student loan servicers for accurate information. Borrowers contacted by these scam companies should not engage with them, but should reach out to their student loan servicers or the U.S. Department of Education if they need help.