State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget on Sunday:

“Setting our state and communities up for success begins with ensuring access to a high-quality education. As a community college graduate, I am encouraged that the expansion of financial assistance will allow even more community college and university students to achieve their higher education goals without taking on debt. Further, investing in local after-school programs provided by the Elgin and Dundee Boys & Girls Clubs will give our youth safe and supportive environments and expanded learning opportunities.

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State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) supported a comprehensive plan to regulate hemp and delta-8 products in Illinois, releasing the following statement in response to the legislation passing the Senate:

“This is a major step forward in making sure Illinois remains at the forefront of the cannabis and hemp industries. By incorporating the sale of products containing delta-8 — a derivative of THC which is also psychoactive — into the existing cannabis dispensary framework, we’re providing a way for honest businesses to continue operating while ensuring these products stay out of the hands of kids who may not realize their potential effects.

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A longtime advocate for extending state procurement opportunities to minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities, State Senator Cristina Castro is leading a measure to improve diversity, clear up bureaucratic issues and modernize the state’s contracting process.

“Companies with roots in our communities should not face challenges to doing business with the state – especially as we undertake historic infrastructure projects across Illinois,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “These changes will help build capacity and facilitate a streamlined commerce process in our state.”

To eliminate long-standing obstacles and increase diversity in state contracting, the package includes provisions to modernize the procurement process, improve transparency, encourage responsible competition and safeguard taxpayer dollars in infrastructure projects.

After the Illinois Senate passed historic health insurance reform and maternal health legislation, State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) issued the following statement:

“The people of the 22^nd Senate District didn’t send me here to be a rubber stamp for the insurance industry; they sent me here because we shared a vision for working families – one that includes the fundamental right to access health care.

“Today, we’re standing up and finally putting an end to the profit-driven practices that serve as roadblocks between patients and their doctors. In the worst cases, inequities faced by Black and Brown mothers lead to preventable deaths – with poor coordination of postpartum care being a factor in a majority of cases. Bringing equity to maternal health care coverage and bolstering the safety net protecting working families is a testament to what is possible in this country when we put people over profit.