State Rep. Delia Ramirez
April 15, 2021
"My heart is broken for Adam Toledo and his family. The video released today reveals what most in the community already knew: the Chicago Police Department murdered a terrified child as he attempted to comply with their orders. Please take care of yourselves, and do not watch it if you can avoid it.
You don’t need to watch this video to conclude that our 'justice system' is incredibly cruel and failing to keep our communities safe. Our system failed Adam, just as it has failed countless of black and brown young men before him. We should not be ok with this. We can do, and must do, better.
We can create public safety systems that are not based on criminalization and punishment, and instead prioritize public health and healing. We can disinvest from systems that further traumatize black and brown children, and instead invest in making sure every child in our communities has their social, emotional, and material needs met."
- State Rep. Delia Ramirez
April 16, 2021 - SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
Chicago residents and parents of Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) students will be able to vote for their representatives on the public school board under legislation sponsored by State Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, which passed through the Illinois House of Representatives yesterday.
“HB 2908 creates an elected and representative school board for CPS, putting the district in line with every other public school district in the state which gets to elect school board members. Chicago parents deserve to have a say in who represents them and their children’s interests, on the city’s school board,” Ramirez said.
“School boards are a critical part of our education system and should be transparent and open to public input. For too long, CPS parents have not had a voice in the process as mayoral-appointed school boards unilaterally closed schools, increased classroom sizes, and eliminated vital related services that destabilized communities. Educators and parents have been working towards this policy parity for years now. The data shows that the overwhelming majority of our families favor an elected school board and the democratic thing to do is make that happen.”
The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate for further deliberation between legislators and local stakeholders. Rep. Ramirez urges swift passage so that the families and children served by CPS can finally have a fair say in how their schools are run.
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- State Rep. Delia Ramirez
March 19, 2021 - SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
Leader Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, recently passed House Bill 2877 in the Illinois House, legislation that provides emergency housing relief and eviction protections to thousands of Illinoisans.
“COVID-19 is a far-reaching crisis that beyond health devastation, has left many without the ability to pay their bills, putting families in jeopardy of losing their homes,” said Ramirez. “Now, more than ever, it is time to forge a proactive path forward by ensuring families throughout the state are able to stay in their homes, so that they can recover.”
Ramirez’s HB2877 creates guidelines for administering over $1 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance that Illinois will receive through the December stimulus and the American Rescue Plan. These guidelines will ensure that financial aid gets out efficiently and effectively to renters who have been financially devastated by the loss of employment and income. The bill creates automatic sealing of evictions during the pandemic to make sure no family is harmed by an eviction record solely because they experienced economic hardship. Finally, the bill includes protections for homeowners by putting a stay on foreclosures through May, and a pause on judicial sales of possession until July.
“We have the chance here and frankly, the duty, to legislate a proactive housing response to a pandemic which continues to ravage the health and financial security of our communities,” Ramirez added. “I will continue to fight for increased housing resources to repair the damage this moment has caused working families across our state. This bill is an important first step on the road to economic recovery.”
House Chief Cosponsor State Representative Lindsey LaPointe said, “Now, with the federal stimulus package finally sending the help that we desperately need, we have an opportunity to have a real positive impact on the people we serve. As we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, the last thing we want to do is allow housing instability. This bill will help thousands of people keep a roof over their heads as we move into this next – and hopefully last – phase of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
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