SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) released the following response to the Senate’s passage of a balanced budget:

“Tonight, the Senate passed a bipartisan balanced budget that protects funding for critical human services like after-school and youth employment programs, invests an additional $400 million into Illinois K-12 schools and early childhood education and increases funding for higher education by 2 percent.

“We were able to do this without enacting Gov. Rauner’s destructive proposals to shift costs to local governments, gut support services for those in need and take away health care for retirees.

“Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable residents, this budget was balanced responsibly through $600 million in cuts to state administrative costs and reasonable savings to the state pension systems.”

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SPRINGFIELD – A measure from Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) that would allow school districts to use recruiting firms to help find substitute teachers advanced out of the Senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 is one of many districts that has struggled to find substitute teachers.

“Schools across the state, and right here in Waukegan, are struggling to find enough substitute teachers,” Link said. “By giving school districts the ability to contract with a recruiting firm to help find substitute teachers, we will ease the burden on administrators and give schools one more option to address the shortage.”

House Bill 4742 passed both chambers with strong bipartisan support and now goes to the governor’s desk for approval.

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Last week, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt (pictured below), Coach Porter Moser, and members of Loyola's men's basketball team were honored at the Capitol for their great March Madness run.

Last week, I met with some constituents who were in Springfield to advocate for legislation raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21. It's so great seeing young people getting involved and making their voices heard!