Sandy Baksys of Springfield hadn’t seen her elderly father since December of 2016 when she took the matter to Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (R-Leland Grove) for help.

Baksys says she was being prevented from seeing her father by his caretaker, another family member who refuses to allow her to visit. 

Reps. Bourne, McCombie, Hammond, Bryant and Winger
wear black to show solidarity and their commitment to ending
sexual harassment and discrimination. 

Yesterday for the State of the State address members of the Illinois General Assembly wore black to show their solidarity and renew their commitment to ending sexual harassment and discrimination.

Reps. Barb Wheeler and Christine Winger rose on the House Floor to speak about the alarming testimony they heard as part of the Sexual Harassment Task Force and urged support of HR 783 to launch an investigation into harassment allegations.

Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez shared the experiences of the first women Illinois legislator,  Rep. Lottie Holman O'Neil and spoke eloquently about creating an environment where "it is not riskier for women to speak-up than to remain silent."

Finally, Governor Rauner signed Executive Order 2018-02 strengthening state policies to ensure all government employees under his jurisdiction have reliable and responsive outlets for reporting acts of sexual misconduct. Among other things, the order creates a chief compliance office and requires the review of harassment allegations within 10 days or less. Read the entire Executive Order

House Republicans members will continue to take action against perpetrators of harassment and work to improve protections for women in the workplace.

Gov. Bruce Rauner is moving ahead with plans to make the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a separate state agency.

Rauner will issue an executive order Friday making the ALPLM a standalone facility, an idea first floated three years ago by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

Rauner's order will also place the remaining functions of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency under the Department of Natural Resources.

Rep. Jimenez with Computer Banc Executive
Director David Fowler

Computer Banc is teaming up with State Representative Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, other area lawmakers, and state officials and agencies to help improve children’s access to digital literacy tools. The pilot program aims to repurpose surplus government computers to provide children low cost learning tools for education readiness both at school and at home. Rep. Jimenez (R-Leland Grove) said she is excited to work with Computer Banc on its idea to get more computers to schools at a low cost and help children access vital technology.
Read the rest of the story.

State of the State Address
Governor Rauner optimistic about the State of the State. In his third annual State of the State Address, Governor Bruce Rauner indicated that he is optimistic about the future of Illinois and used the opportunity to talk about Illinois’ accomplishments, as well as the work that still lies ahead.

The Governor recognizes the state’s challenges, but with great challenges comes great opportunity. He is optimistic these challenges can be solved by working together to improve the future of Illinois. He discussed the administration’s accomplishments including ethics reform, record education funding, job creation and making government more efficient. While much work lies ahead, we build on the bipartisan agreement that change to the system needs to occur with passing a truly balanced budget.

Budget – FY17
Leaders meetings do not generate budget agreement. With the “stopgap” six-month budget for the first half of FY17 scheduled to expire on December 31, pressure is being placed on key Illinois officials to develop a budget agreement. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, Governor Bruce Rauner, and other leaders were meeting almost daily in Chicago. Key issues include cash flow for State spending areas covered in the “stopgap” budget. Renewed appropriations are required if these areas are to get funding in January 2017 and following months. However, no agreement has yet been reached.

Budget – FY16/FY17
Second straight year without a State budget. As the end of fiscal year 2016 (FY16) approached, House Republicans filed a budget bill, HB 6585, to cover both FY16 “stopgap” expenditures and some urgently-needed FY17 expenditure areas. It would have appropriated badly-needed money to a wide variety of essential and job-creating state agencies and educational institutions, such as state universities and prisons. The appropriations contained in this bill were fully paid for from existing revenues. HB 6585 was filed by House Republican leader Jim Durkin on Tuesday, May 31.

After months of work and discussions to make sure the State Museum opens its doors, State Representative Sara Wojcicki Jimenez today applauded the announcement by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) that they plan to reopen the Illinois State Museum on July 2nd.

“This museum is a very important part of the Springfield community and the Illinois community as a whole. Its home to exhibits that allow us to learn about and connect with our state’s history. Today’s announcement is very good news for future generations who will continue to be able to explore their Illinois heritage at the Illinois State Museum,” said Representative Jimenez.  “This session I’ve filed legislation and have done my best to work with all parties to make sure that this became a reality.” Read more.

Governor Bruce Rauner joined Acting Director of Agriculture Raymond Poe and other local elected officials to discuss his support for the Fairgrounds Foundation bill (HB 4990/SB 2903). The bill – that has bipartisan support – creates a foundation that allows private donors to support and maintain the fairgrounds in Springfield and DuQuoin.

“The Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs are vitally important to our agriculture community and the local economies of both cities,” Governor Rauner said. “By creating a private foundation, companies and citizens will be able to donate directly to the fair to help maintain the grounds without any additional burden on the state.”

The Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross are establishing Multi-Agency Resource Centers in those parts of the state hardest hit by the recent flooding. Those centers will be opening their doors in the coming days.

In the meantime, assistance in dealing with insurance claims for damaged property is available from the Department of Insurance by calling their Consumer Assistance Hotline at 1-866-445-5364 or clicking here. Read more.

State Representative Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (R-Springfield) formally took the oath of office Wednesday as the new representative of the 99th District in the Illinois House.

“This is such an exciting opportunity to work for the people of Sangamon County,” Jimenez said. “I am looking forward to getting started.”

The oath was administered by Judge Carol Pope in the Illinois House chamber with Jimenez’s family, friends and new colleagues in attendance. Jimenez moved to Springfield when she was 5 years old. She attended Cathedral Grade School and is a graduate of Ursuline Academy, SIU Edwardsville and the University of Illinois at Springfield.

FY16 Budget
Leaders’ budget meeting with Governor moved to December 1. The face-to-face meeting is scheduled to bring together Governor Bruce Rauner and the leaders of the four General Assembly legislative caucuses, including House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. Originally scheduled to be held on Wednesday, November 18, the meeting has been reset for Tuesday, December 1. The new time will allow preparations to continue over the Thanksgiving holiday.