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State Sens. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, and Christine Pacione-Zayas,
D-Chicago, discussed Senate bills 1796, 2402 and 2053 last week in
Springfield.
The measures all are geared toward addressing issues around child
care in Illinois.
"We are going to focus on the issue of access, and we are going to
focus on the issue of supporting our workers," Pacione-Zayas said.
"You can not have a child care industry without a workforce."
SB2053 addresses the workforce by setting an hourly wage floor and
salaried equivalent for workers in state-funded early childhood
programs.
Villivalam has a measure that aims to make child care services more
accessible for lower income families.
"We can not have a strong childcare system in Illinois without our
childcare providers," Villivalam said. "We all know that childcare
is a fundamental right, and we know that childcare is the backbone
of our state."
SB2402 provides that beginning July 1, 2023, a family eligible for
child care services whose income is at or below 140% of the most
recent United States Department of Health and Human Services Federal
Poverty Guidelines for the applicable family size shall pay a $1
monthly fee as co-payment for child care services, according to the
bill's language. A family of four making $40,000 is considered in
poverty, according to the guidelines.
Villivalam said the state has the tax resources to fix these
problems.
"We need to acknowledge two pieces. One is we have the money to fund
the child care system that parents and providers deserve. We just
have to prioritize and make it happen," Villivalam said. "We also
have to talk about the workforce."
Pacione-Zayas said she looks forward to bringing these measures into
law.
"Families need accessible, affordable child care to support their
loved ones, and I am excited that our proposed legislation will work
to make this a reality," she said.
All three measures currently sit with the Senate Assignments
Committee.
Andrew Hensel reports on issues in Chicago and
Statewide. He has been with The Center Square News since April of
2021 and was previously with The Joliet Slammers.
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