Castro: TRUST Act fosters safe communities

• TRUST ACT
• Public Safety

CHICAGO- State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) is excited to announce the TRUST Act was signed into law today.

“We should be fostering safe communities where a person’s fear of hostility, or having their families torn apart, does not get in the way of public safety, Castro said. “The TRUST Act gives us the tools to put Illinois on the right track, keep families together and build stronger communities."

Senate Bill 31, also known as the TRUST Act, limits local police interaction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, and rebuilds trust between police and immigrant communities.

“Police should focus keeping our neighborhoods safe, not enforcing immigration laws,” Castro said. “A person in the shadows often will not come forward to report crimes against themselves or others because they fear their immigration status may be exposed. When someone’s fear gets in the way of cooperation, our communities become less safe.”

The TRUST Act prohibits law enforcement agencies from engaging in immigration enforcement unless a warrant issued by a judge is presented, bans detaining a person based on their immigration status and forbids the use of any state or local resources to help create a federal registry based on race, national origin, religion or other protected classes.

Senate Bill 31 passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support.  This new law goes into effect immediately.

Castro's bipartisan measure to encourage voter participation signed into law today

• civic
• automatic voter registration

ELGIN- To encourage voter participation in Illinois, Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) is excited to announce her bipartisan legislation was signed into law today.

“The right to vote is a foundation of our democratic process. This new bipartisan law will encourage more civic engagement and allow more voices to be heard in the legislative process."

The measure, Senate Bill 1933, passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support. The new law will go into effect immediately to allow automatic voter registration to be implemented by July 1, 2018.

Castro’s measure to encourage veteran, minority and female owned businesses to relocate to Illinois signed into law

• Economic Development
• EDGE
• Veterans
• Business

ELGIN- The Illinois General Assembly will soon have a new tool to help encourage female, veteran and minority businesses to relocate to Illinois, thanks to Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin).

Castro’s measure, Senate Bill 1567, which requires each EDGE credit claimant to submit to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity an annual report containing supplier diversity information, was signed into law today.

“It’s important for legislators to form a complete picture before implementing policies to tackle business development and diversity,” Castro said. “This small step will give us a better look at our state’s strength and weaknesses in attracting veterans, minority and female business owners to encourage economic diversity.”

The EDGE program provides special tax incentives to encourage companies to locate or expand its operations in Illinois when there is active consideration of a competing location in another state.

“I’m here to represent the people of our communities,” Castro said.  “It’s my duty to ensure we take all necessary steps to grow our economy and create new jobs for local residents.  This new law will help accomplish that.”

The program allows companies to reduce the costs of doing business in Illinois when compared with similar costs in other states where operations could have been located.

Senate Bill 1567 passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support. The new law goes into effect immediately.

Castro: “Illinois’ heroes should not be burdened with unnecessary fees while serving our country”

• military

ELGIN- Active duty military members will now be able to cancel internet and television services with greater ease, thanks to Elgin Democratic State Senator Cristina Castro.

“Illinois’ heroes should not be burdened with unnecessary fees while serving our country,” Castro said. “They have answered the call for duty and it’s our job to make their relocation easier.”

House Bill 2449 was signed into law today.

This measure allows any service member who receives orders to relocate for a period of service of at least 90 days to terminate or suspend contracts for internet services, television and cable services, athletic club or gym memberships and satellite radio services.

“This one small update will eliminate unnecessary hurdles for our active duty military,” Castro said.

The termination or suspension can be completed by delivering a written or electronic notice to the service provider and delivering a copy of the official military orders to the service provider that calls him or her to military service.

House Bill 2449 passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support.