Castro helps secure more than $160 million to support new arrivals in Chicago

• Budget
• Immigration
• Asylum

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro, along with members of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus, helped secure more than $160 million to continue providing services and aid to newly arrived asylum-seekers on Tuesday.

“This funding reiterates that Illinois is a welcoming state that treats people with the respect and humanity they deserve,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “This is about fulfilling our duties to welcome those who come here seeking a better life.”

Since August 2022, governors from Texas and Florida have chartered buses to transport immigrants and asylum seekers to Chicago as part of an aggressive border policy. To date, more than 4,000 individuals have arrived in the Chicagoland area, often with little to no resources. Buses continue to arrive nearly every day.

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Castro votes to expand reproductive health protections to providers and people seeking care in Illinois

• Reproductive Health

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro voted Tuesday to guarantee that Illinoisans, health care providers and patients from other states will not be punished for seeking or providing reproductive health care services in Illinois.

“House Bill 4664 makes clear that everyone deserves access to safe and legal reproductive health services and the affirming care these spaces provide,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “While Illinois is one of the few states that has continued to uphold the right to choose, this additional action was critical to ensure that family planning and abortion care providers can continue to operate safely and without fear of punishment from the increasingly regressive policies of surrounding states.”

House Bill 4664 protects the Illinois licenses of health care providers who are penalized for providing reproductive services that are outlawed in another state. It also shields people in Illinois from punishment related to reproductive health care services that are legal in Illinois and prevents insurers from charging higher out-of-pocket costs when patients have to seek out-of-network care due to an in-network provider’s objections.

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Castro-supported legislation to bolster Rental Housing Support Program heads to governor’s desk

• Housing
• Rental Housing Support Program
• Affordable Housing

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure families with limited economic resources have access to affordable, permanent housing, State Senator Cristina Castro is co-sponsoring legislation to provide increased funding for the Rental Housing Support Program.

“Housing instability is a main driver of homelessness, incarceration, health disparities and more,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “Prioritizing the equitable distribution of funds in this program will assist families with limited income in finding affordable homes.”

Since 2005, the Rental Housing Support Program has provided rental assistance to households by subsidizing rental apartments and homes so that low-income families only have to pay 30% of their rent while living in a partnered home or complex. The program is designed to subsidize landlords so they can charge affordable rent for low-income tenants. This legislation will provide more funding to further support the Rental Housing Support Program.

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Castro celebrates $40 million investment in communities undergoing energy transitions

• CEJA
• Clean Energy Jobs Act
• Grants

ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro celebrated the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity’s announcement Friday of an all-new, $40 million annual grant program under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that will provide funding to communities undergoing a significant energy transition.

“Passing CEJA was a massive undertaking and the opening of the Energy Transition Community Grant Program is just the beginning,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “CEJA isn't just about lowering emissions, it is also about economic development, workforce training and building a better future for all Illinois communities.”

Under CEJA, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will invest $40 million per year for the Energy Transition Community Grant Program that will help communities transitioning away from coal mines and fossil fuel plants and prepare the state’s workforce for the jobs of the future.

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