State Senator Cristina Castro announced five school districts across Cook and Kane counties will receive over $26 million in additional funding to help address the financial challenges of recent years.

“One of the top issues I hear about from suburban families is property taxes,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “That’s why it’s so critical the state keeps good on our promise to continue investing in fully funding our public schools. It’s one of the best ways we can ensure student success without unfairly burdening our local governments and taxpayers.”

The funding comes from the 2017 Illinois Senate Democrat-backed evidence-based funding formula — an overhaul of the way the state funds K-12 education. The law made school funding more equitable by calculating the needs of individual school districts and basing its state revenue on those needs. The formula takes into account a district’s total enrollment, poverty rate and number of special education students or English language learners, among other factors.

SPRINGFIELD — Easier and more efficient ways for Illinois businesses and diverse contractors to do business with the state are coming soon, thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Cristina Castro.

“Navigating the procurement process can be a daunting task for small firms. These are the businesses we should be lifting up – not making their jobs more difficult,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “Improving efficiency in government contracting not only helps minority-owned businesses get their foot in the door, but also promotes competition and allows state dollars to go further in supporting these projects.”

To eliminate long-standing obstacles and increase diversity in state contracting, the law – previously House Bill 5511 – takes steps to modernize the procurement process, improve transparency, encourage responsible competition and safeguard taxpayer dollars in infrastructure projects.

Substance use disorder is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Illinois, driving longtime maternal health leader State Senator Cristina Castro to pass a law to proactively address substance use disorders during pregnancy to protect both maternal and infant health.

“Setting up more intervention points along the way for women to seek treatment will help minimize harms and ultimately help get newborns and their mothers the care they need,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “By putting infant and maternal health first, with a strong focus on comprehensive support for the whole family, we can create stronger, healthier communities throughout our state.”

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the leading cause of pregnancy-related death is substance use disorder, which comprised 32% of pregnancy-related deaths from 2018 to 2020. To address this, the Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee recommended the state implement family recovery plans for pregnant and postpartum patients with substance use disorders.

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State Senator Cristina Castro led a new law strengthening Illinois’ anti-retaliation protections for workers who raise the alarm about issues like fraud, intimidation and workplace safety.

“Employees should be empowered to stand up and speak out about fraud, abuse, criminality and exploitation in the workplace – not intimidated into silence,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “I’ve fought tooth and nail against unethical practices like wage theft, and expanding protections from retaliation is one more important step in safeguarding the rights of all workers in our state.”

House Bill 5561 enhances workplace whistleblower protections by expanding what is considered protected activity, granting broader remedies to affected employees, and giving the Illinois Attorney General the ability to act on behalf of workers whose employers have retaliated against them for disclosing a dangerous or unlawful practice, including public health threats. The law broadens the definition of retaliation to include blacklisting an employee from future opportunities.