OAKBROOK TERRACE – State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) is announcing that school districts in the 24th District will receive an estimated total of $30,551,639 in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you, teachers, administrators, students and parents for your sacrifices over the last year to maintain a safe, beneficial learning environment,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Your efforts have saved lives, and it is a relief to see these investments in our local school districts to help our education system recover.” 

The funding comes as part of the most recent federal COVID-19 relief packages. Schools, students and parents have overcome challenges that no one could have imagined before the pandemic began, including remote and hybrid learning, digital connection issues, new processes for receiving state and federal aid that normally flow through schools, and more.

Local school districts are set to receive the following amounts:

• Western Springs School District 101 -  $1,186,905

• Glen Ellyn School District 41 -  $3,595,263

• Lombard School District 44 -  $3,560,759

• Butler School District 53 -  $219,993

• Maercker School District 60 -  $1,779,838

• Hinsdale Township High School District 86 -  $2,921,792

• Glenbard Township High School District 87 -  $9,065,618

• Community Consolidated School District 89 -  $1,741,161

• Westmont Community Unit School District 201 -  $1,702,453

• Lisle Community Unit School District 202 -  $1,675,038

• Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 -  $3,102,819

The majority of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan, which gives local schools a great deal of flexibility in how they can use the money over the next 3 ½ years. At least 20% of the funding must be used to address learning loss, but beyond that, school districts can use the money to address many different issues and costs. For example, it can be used to better equip schools for safe learning, to prevent layoffs, to address students’ social and emotional needs, to fund summer programs, or to ensure all students have access to reliable Wi-Fi and technology.

The State Board of Education, in collaboration with other state agencies that address education, has produced a guide for local school districts to help them decide how to best use their resources. While the guide and other state-sponsored services are completely voluntary, the state aims to support local districts during this difficult time.

“An end may be in sight; however, our work to eradicate the pandemic is not over yet,” Glowiak Hilton said. “I encourage residents to continue wearing masks and social distancing. We are strongest when we work together to keep our neighbors and communities safe.”

In total, Illinois received nearly $7 billion to support local school districts.

OAKBROOK TERRACE – As the state’s vaccination plan progresses, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) is partnering with the DuPage County Health Department to host a virtual conversation to ensure residents are receiving accurate, up-to-date information about the rollout of the vaccine.

“As we work toward providing a vaccine to all eligible residents, communication between officials and the public is a top priority,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Hearing information straight from experts with the DuPage County Health Department will give residents facts they can rely on as we implement our region’s vaccination plan safely and efficiently.”

The meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, March 29 starting at 6 p.m.

DuPage County Health Department Executive Director Karen Ayala and DuPage County Board member Julie Renehan will lead the discussion and answer pre-submitted questions from audience members.

Residents can register here to receive a link to join the meeting and submit questions. The meeting will also be streamed live on Glowiak Hilton’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/senatorsuzy.

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure students experiencing homelessness are aware of available resources, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) advanced an initiative to require higher education institutions to designate one employee to serve as a housing insecurity liaison.

“Our state’s higher education system has a responsibility to fight our youth homelessness crisis and provide students with safe places to live,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Just one trusted employee could prevent homeless students from falling through the cracks by connecting them with aid.”

A study by the University of Chicago found that 4.2 million youth and young adults experienced homelessness during a 12-month period, and that nearly 29% of all young adults who experienced homelessness were enrolled in college or another educational program at the time.

Glowiak Hilton’s legislation requires each institution to appoint a Housing and Opportunities Useful for Students' Excellence (H.O.U.S.E.) liaison. Their responsibilities would include identifying appropriate services, understanding aid eligibility, tracking graduation and retention rates, reporting the number of students using homelessness resources, and developing a plan to provide access to on-campus housing between academic breaks to homeless students enrolled at the institution.

Under the legislation, higher education institutions would also be required to provide information about available services and assistance regarding homelessness in financial aid and admission packets, as well as on the institution's website.

“Stable housing is the basis for academic and social opportunities,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Creating this position is an important step on a long-term path toward eliminating homelessness among our children once and for all.”

Senate Bill 190 passed the Senate Higher Education Committee Tuesday and moves for further consideration before the full Senate.

SPRINGFIELD – More survivors of violent crime would be able to keep their home addresses private as participants in the Illinois Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) under an initiative from State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) that advanced Thursday to expand protections for survivors of human trafficking.

“Survivors of violent crime undergo tremendous emotional and mental trauma,” Glowiak Hilton said. “By adding human trafficking to the list of crimes protected by the ACP, we’re offering survivors some peace of mind that their sensitive personal information is safe.”

Glowiak Hilton’s measure strengthens the ACP by allowing survivors of human trafficking to participate and keep their addresses private. The legislation also clarifies the process for ACP participants to register to vote.

Originally, the ACP was established to protect the locations of domestic violence survivors. Last year, Glowiak Hilton passed a law expanding protections for survivors of sexual assault and stalking, and she has now advanced Senate Bill 593 to allow human trafficking survivors to opt in as well.

Currently, the ACP provides survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and their household members with a substitute address to use in place of their actual home, school and work addresses in public records. This helps survivors prevent their former abusers from being able to locate them.

For example, the ACP substitute address can be used by participants when creating or updating public records, such as driver’s license or state-issued identification card.

Senate Bill 593 passed the Senate Human Rights Committee and now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.