Huge Turnout for Barks & Brews 2025
Perfect weather and adorable pups created the backdrop on Thursday for another successful Barks & Brews event! This has truly become a District 32 favorite and I appreciate everyone who came out to enjoy the conversation, the tasty sips, and the dogs available for adoption.
Up next on my outreach calendar is another Conversations Untapped event in Lake Villa. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming events:
- August 28: Conversations Untapped, Harbor Brewing Company, 136 Cedar Avenue, Lake Villa, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
- September 9: IPASS on Demand, Fox Lake Library, 255 E. Grand Avenue, Fox Lake, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- September 17: IPASS on Demand, Lake Villa District Library, 140 N. Munn Road, Lindenhurst, 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM
- September 23: Constituent Services Event with Senator Wilcox and Cary Mayor Mark Kownick, Cary Municipal Center, 755 Georgetown Drive, Cary, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- September 30: Medicare 101, Harrison School (Use Entrance #1), 6809 McCullom Lake Rd, Wonder Lake, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- October 14: Senior Resource Fair, Grand Oaks Recreation Center, 1401 IL-176, Crystal Lake, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
New events are added regularly, so please visit the Events page of my website regularly to be kept up to date about events taking place near you.
CMAP Grants Awarded in District 32
Thirty communities across northeastern Illinois, including four in the 32nd District, are getting a boost to invest in local plans for safer streets, stronger infrastructure, and more inclusive growth.
With help from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) through its annual technical assistance program, municipalities will advance projects that support Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, bicycle and pedestrian safety, capital improvements, transportation safety, and other local priorities. CMAP’s support helps communities build capacity, plan strategically, and access funding to turn ideas into action.
Selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 80 applications submitted by 72 communities, this year’s projects represent a wide range of community sizes, goals, and planning needs. Click here to read more about the specific projects that received funding this year.
Two Former Obama Cabinet Members Form Coalition for Fair Maps
Two former Obama Cabinet members, Bill Daley (former Obama Chief of Staff) and Ray LaHood (former Obama Transportation Secretary) are leading a new push to end gerrymandering in Illinois through a group called “Fair Maps Illinois”. At a recent news conference, they announced plans to place a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to create an independent redistricting commission.
The proposed commission would be barred from using political or voting data and would focus on compact, community-based districts while protecting minority representation. It would apply only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones.
Illinois has faced criticism for its heavily gerrymandered maps, which earned a failing grade on Princeton University’s 2021 redistricting report. A similar reform effort was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2016, and another legal challenge failed earlier this year.
I have always been a supporter of fair maps, and have co-sponsored legislation that would take map-drawing out of the hands of politicians. These include SJRCA 04 from the 101st General Assembly and SJRCA 13 from the 102nd General Assembly.
To put the amendment on the 2026 ballot, the group will need to collect at least 320,000 valid signatures.
Pritzker Signs HB 460, Expanding College Aid to Non-Citizens
This year, majority party legislators passed House Bill 460 into law, expanding access to taxpayer-funded scholarships, grants, and other student financial aid to illegal immigrants who are ineligible for federal aid. Despite significant pushback, the bill was recently signed into law.
The new law directs limited financial resources away from Illinois families and funnels them to individuals who are not in the country legally. Every dollar given to a non-citizen under HB 460 comes at the expense of a citizen Illinois student who is desperate for college financial aid. With Illinois families already burdened by some of the highest taxes in the nation, they will now be forced to subsidize college aid for individuals who are not citizens.
Federal law specifically withholds student aid from non-citizens. HB 460 sidesteps those protections, using taxpayers to cover the costs instead. I voted against this measure when it was brought before the Senate because I believe that since college financial aid is hard to come by, it should be reserved for Illinois citizens.