This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision that represents a historic leap forward, based on values written into our Constitution almost 150 years ago. Relying on the Fourteenth Amendment’s declaration that all are entitled to the equal protection of the law, a majority of justices agreed that all states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who apply for them.

I remain proud that Illinois has been a leader in the quest for justice for LGBTQ people. Our state was among the first to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, give same-sex couples the option of a civil union and finally, in 2013, call these committed, state-sanctioned relationships between loving same-sex couples what they are: marriages.

Now, couples who wish to marry, regardless of gender, can enjoy in any state in America the rights we’ve affirmed here in Illinois. This victory will be long remembered in the history of America’s uneven but unstoppable progress toward living up to its foundational principles and, as Justice Kennedy put it, allowing all “persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.”

My task as a legislator and our task as concerned citizens is now to make the Court’s decision and our existing laws reality on the ground, resisting the discrimination that still faces LGBTQ people, regardless of marital status. Our task is to continue working to make our schools, streets and homes safe for young people seeking to discover who they are. And our task is to keep taking up the cause of justice for all who don’t experience the equal protection of our laws in their daily lives.

I’m profoundly grateful to all of the advocates who brought us to this moment, and it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to work among the many people who tirelessly bend the arc of the universe toward justice.

This was the scene on the Senate floor when we first voted for marriage equality in Illinois on Valentine's Day 2013. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2015

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) secured Senate passage today of legislation that eliminates the $1.6 billion shortfall in the state's budget for the current fiscal year and ends a child care funding emergency that has left tens of thousands of working parents short on options.

"Without taking on additional debt, this bipartisan solution patches the holes in this year's budget and relieves a significant source of stress on low-income working families," Steans said. "Now we can move forward into a productive conversation about the feasibility and human impact of the cuts the governor has requested in next year's budget."

House Bills 317 and 318 move $1.3 billion in surplus money from dozens of special-purpose state funds to fill critical shortfalls in funding for the Child Care Assistance Program, mental health care, developmental disabilities services, courts and prison guards. The $266 million influx will cover all anticipated costs of the child care subsidy program, which helps parents who are working or attending school, and prevent further closures of child care centers due to delays in state payments. The legislation also includes a 2.25 percent cut to most areas of spending, although nearly $100 million will be set aside to cushion the impact of the reductions on the neediest school districts.

"We knew this year's budget wasn't complete, because we didn't have the votes to put in place the policies necessary to address the state's chronic structural deficit," Steans said. "Today's solution isn't ideal, but it staves off crisis and allows us to focus on next year's budget and what we need to do to meet needs in a fiscally sustainable way."

The House approved the two measures on Tuesday; they will now go to the governor's desk.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2015

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago 7th) presided over a Senate committee that took the first step today toward solving the crisis caused when a program that assists working parents with the high cost of child care ran out of money earlier this year.

"Reliable, affordable child care is absolutely essential for parents who are doing their best to participate in our economy and improve their families' prospects," Steans said. "Our solution to the shortfall involves no borrowing and no new revenues, and it is imperative that we move forward immediately to resolve this short-term crisis, which has already shut down child care centers and left working parents without options."

The plan, Senate Bill 274, allows the governor to move $579 million in excess money sitting unused in various state funds to fill gaps in essential areas of spending, including the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income parents who are working or attending school afford care for their young children. The $300 million shortfall in CCAP funding threatens to leave 100,000 families without access to affordable child care. The measure will also provide overtime owed to prison guards and services for people with developmental disabilities. Today, the Senate Appropriations I Committee approved the legislation.

"The governor has sought broad budgetary powers, and we have continued engaging in a dialogue with the governor's office while focusing on giving him the authority needed to keep working parents on the job," said Steans, who chairs one of the Senate's two budget committees. "It's been almost a month since parents who rely on this program came to us with their stories, asking us to support them as they build better lives for their families, and we owe them a solution."

SB 274 now advances to a vote of the full Senate.

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