SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16^th) has introduced legislation that will allow Illinoisans to continue to play the Quality of Life scratch-off lottery game after the end of 2012. The “Red Ribbon Cash” game has raised over $2.4 million for prevention education and treatment. If Senate Bill 2971 becomes law, it will continue to fund the fight against HIV/AIDS for five additional years.

“Four years after the legislature voted to fund organizations on the front lines of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the number of new infections has decreased nationwide, but this devastating disease is still ravaging vulnerable communities, particularly minority women,” Sen. Collins said. “The proceeds from the Quality of Life scratch-off game are helping non-profits save and prolong lives in the populations with the highest risk and we should allow these groups to continue their vital work.”

In Illinois, 53.4 percent of new AIDS diagnoses in 2009 were among African-American residents, although only 14.5 percent of Illinois’ total population is black. More than four times as many African-American women are living with HIV in Illinois as white women, and three out of four women in Illinois diagnosed with HIV in 2009 were black.

Read more: Senator Jacqueline Collins Introduces Extension of Lottery Game to Fund Fight Against HIV/AIDS (VIDEO)

What war is the president of the University of Illinois fighting? He makes twice as much as the President of the United States and that is unacceptable

- Sen. Sandoval

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Illinois State Senator Martin A. Sandoval is continuing his fight to make higher education tuition affordable and accessible to everyone in Illinois.

In a recent interview with ABC 7 in Chicago, Sandoval pondered, “What war is the president of the University of Illinois fighting? He makes twice as much as the President of the United States and that is unacceptable.”

The actions of the University act as case-study of unapologetic vanity. The administration has demonstrated a startling sense of grandiosity in the face of struggling Illinois students dealing with skyrocketing tuition rates.

Read more: Sandoval fights to make public universities more accessible and affordable

Senator Annazette Collins is the latest member of General Assembly to speak out on proposed Chicago Public School closures. 

Crane High School, located in Sen. Collins' district, was slated for closure by CPS in November.   

“We know that our schools are in trouble,” said Sen. Collins. “But I’m fighting to save Crane. The community doesn’t want this. It’s a traditional high school, for one, in a historic building. We should keep Crane a neighborhood school. If we change the curriculum and put resources into the programs we already have, we can attract more kids to Crane and keep that great history alive.” 

Read more: Collins joins fight against CPS closures

State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) has introduced legislation that will increase funding for rape crisis centers and other sexual assault organizations. Under Senate Bill 3348, a fee would be collected from adult entertainment facilities that would go directly towards funding centers that take care of rape victims and victims of other sexual assaults.

Click here to read more about this legislation that was featured today in the Quad-City Times.

With recent reports highlighting the ballooning cost of Illinois’ pension systems and Medicaid program, State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) appeared on ‘Chicago Tonight’ to discuss the fiscal challenges facing the General Assembly in the upcoming legislative session.  Steans, along with Senator Matt Murphy and Representative’s Lou Lang and Jim Durkin, discussed recently passed pension reforms as well as proposed reforms that raise the retirement age for current workers and shift public employees retirement accounts to a 401(k) style retirement system. 

Steans also addressed the increasing cost of the Medicaid program, a safety-net health insurance program for children, the elderly and the poor.  Enrollment in the Medicaid program has almost doubled in the last ten years while health care costs industry wide have seen dramatic increases. 

Click here to watch the entire ‘Chicago Tonight’ segment. 

Legislation that could affect thousands of students in the lowest performing elementary schools in the City of Chicago passed the Illinois Senate this week.  The measure, sponsored by Senator James Meeks (D-Chicago), would offer private-school vouchers to children in Chicago’s 49 lowest performing schools – 10 percent of the schools in the city.

Senate Bill 2494 could serve as a tentative model for future development in Illinois’ educational system.  If passed, the pilot program would begin in the 2011-2012.  In 2014, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) would evaluate the program and report their findings to the General Assembly. Families would be able to apply for vouchers from ISBE.

Read more: School Vouchers Legislation Passes Senate Chamber