Castro fighting to improve health care for new mothers

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) is leading the fight to ensure that mothers across Illinois are taken care during their pregnancy and after.

Castro is sponsoring a measure that will create the Improving Healthcare for Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals Act, which will outline a series of provisions to help combat the state’s maternal morbidity and mortality rate.

“We live in a time where women should not be dying from preventable causes after giving birth,” Castro said. “We need to ensure that we are monitoring new mothers for more than just a couple days or even weeks postpartum.”  

The Illinois Department of Public Health released a report in October 2018 after reviewing maternal deaths in the state and found that 72 percent of pregnancy-related deaths and 93 percent of violent pregnant-associated deaths were deemed preventable.

“Just because the pregnancy goes smoothly doesn’t mean the mother won’t have complications afterward,” Castro said. “We are careful to examine newborns and their progress after birth, so why shouldn’t we do the same for mothers?”

Senate Bill 1909 passed the Illinois State Senate with unanimous bipartisan support and will move to the House for consideration.

Castro protects Illinois consumers from rebate fraud

SPRINGFIELD– Illinois consumers will hopefully have an added protection thanks to Elgin Democrat State Senator Cristina Castro.

Under Castro’s legislation, consumers would be protected from misleading practices, especially seniors and working families. The measure would make it an unlawful practice to offer consumers a rebate card that charges dormancy fees or other post-issuance fee.

“If a consumer is owed money from a rebate, they shouldn’t be hindered by dormancy fees,” said Castro. “It is unfair to the consumer. Consumers shouldn’t be at risk of being charged for getting a rebate. That is their money.”

This measure was an initiative from the Illinois State Treasurer to prevent banks from taking unclaimed property on rebate cards. The State Treasurer and the Attorney General have worked together to protect Illinois consumers who have money owed to them from rebates.  

Senate Bill 222 passed the Illinois State Senate and will now move to the House for consideration.

Castro honors fallen hero with bridge dedication

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) passed a measure through the Illinois Senate today honoring Sergeant Marcos Leonardo Gudino, who served the Illinois Army National Guard.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 will dedicate the US 20 bridge under Illinois Route 31 to him by renaming it the Sergeant Marcos Leonardo Gudino Memorial Bridge.

“It is an honor to be able to pay tribute to Marcos in this way,” Castro said. “He was a young man that had already accomplished so much and was meant to accomplish more. Today is a day where we remember Marcos Leonardo Gudino. I hope by dedicating this portion of the highway to him, it will serve as a reminder of what a great and courageous man he was.”

Sergeant Leonardo Gudino enlisted in August 2010 and served the Illinois Army National Guard as a medic. He planned on working for the Village of Streamwood after being offered a police officer position.

Sergeant Leonardo Gudino passed away from injuries he sustained when his military ambulance crashed while returning home from a weekend training.

Castro opposes citizenship question on 2020 U.S. Census

ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) released the following statement after Illinois joined a coalition of other states and municipalities challenging the federal government’s attempt to add a question about a respondent’s citizenship status to the 2020 Census.

“The Census should not be used to push a political agenda,” Castro said. “It was created to find the most accurate data on all persons, not just citizens, and if this citizenship question is added, it will cause people to shy away from participating. We cannot allow this political intrusion to skew the accuracy of findings that we use as a guide for the next decade of public policy.”