Dear Neighbor,

Greetings 7th District residents! I wanted to give you some quick updates. The last couple weeks have been a busy mix of community and legislative meetings.

First, I’m happy that my youth mental health bill Senate Bill 4028, which was signed into law, is well on the road to implementation. I met with staff from the State Board of Education and the Student Mental Health Partnership housed at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital to ensure the goals around the new advisory council mandated by my legislation are being met. The student mental health council will be made up of youth from across Illinois who have direct lived experiences with mental health. The council will include queer youth, youth of color, and leaders from diverse backgrounds working in mental health. As a recap, this bill idea came directly from young high-school aged people in our district who are participating in my people’s legislative councils, where constituents help shape public policy and legislation that I introduce and pass. I am so proud of the progress we are making together.

I also met with staff from the Illinois Department of Transportation to push for safety improvements to roadways within our district that are under state jurisdiction, including Peterson Avenue. I am pushing the department to review crash and traffic fatality data along these roads with the goal of focusing on the most dangerous points and intersections that the department then can improve for cyclists, pedestrians, and those who are disabled. We will be meeting again before the end of the month to review IDOT’s findings. I also requested and set up a meeting with Active Transportation Alliance, an advocacy coalition working to make biking, walking, and public transit safer and more equitable. We brainstormed potential ideas for the upcoming legislative session, and will meet again before we reconvene the spring session to discuss potential bill ideas to make our state much safer and accessible for those on bike, foot, and public transit.

I also participated in a panel with other state legislators where we discussed how grassroots ideas become policy ideas that become bills that pass the legislature. I enjoyed sharing concrete examples where grassroots organizations have coalesced around ideas in the areas of health care and housing insecurity to get laws passed. The panel was organized by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.

My staff and I also went over to Swedish Covenant Hospital to visit the Welcoming Center, which is run by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and seeks to increase access to mental health and substance abuse treatment for community members, which is a major need for the region and a high priority for me. The Welcoming Center staff walked us through some of the challenges of running their programs ranging from funding issues to the need for modernized data and record keeping. I will be proactively reaching out to many of our mental health providers and staff in our district in the months ahead so that I can effectively fight for resources and legislation to bring better mental health services and substance abuse treatment to our constituents who need it and their families.

On another topic, I have met with a handful of constituents advocating for the human rights of those who are incarcerated and their families. I met with Restore Justice staff including several returning citizens who are on staff and actively advocating for smart legislation. I also met with advocates from Chicago Votes, and separately with Rev. Jason Lydon, who serves at Second Unitarian Church. In these meetings we talked about the need for medical care for those who are incarcerated; we also discussed SB828, legislation I have sponsored that would restore the right to vote to roughly 30,000 people currently incarcerated in Illinois; and we discussed a bill I passed, HB5525, that recommends the state make a number of systemic improvements to policy and programs serving incarcerated parents. This is a priority area and I will continue to focus on building support for legislation that respects the human rights of those who are incarcerated.

Lastly, I joined the Not That Late Show at Newport Theater to discuss my first 18 months in office. I always enjoy supporting the arts, theater, music, and comedy and was honored to bring updates from my office to a community that is well-represented across our district. And finally I appeared in a documentary that debuted this month that chronicles the lives, activism, and relationship of two LGBTQ+ community leaders and husbands, Art Johnston and Pepe Pena, owners of Sidetrack Video Bar in Lakeview and longtime organizers with Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community. I was honored to be featured in the documentary where I talked about the long history of queer activism in Chicago, and what I see as my role in that history as Illinois first openly gay state Senator. It’s always a joy to step back and reflect, and I was honored and humbled to participate in this terrific documentary that debuted last month in the Chicago International Film Festival.

As always, my office is available at 773-769-1717 if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Mike Simmons

State Senator | 7th District

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As the first openly gay person to serve in the Illinois Senate, I was very proud to share my own story and thoughts on #NationalComingOutDay. LGBTQ+ communities are being targeted all around the country. It’s very important that the LGBTQ+ community and those who are on a coming out journey spend time to reflect on their experiences and for all of us to support those who are coming out. I hope you enjoy this short podcast recording! Click here to listen!  

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you and your loved ones are staying well as the seasons change. Included in this newsletter are a few resources that can potentially benefit public school educators, and other 7th District households. See further down under "Community Resources" for details related to public service loan forgiveness, ways you can help migrants coming to Chicago, energy assistance for low-income households, and other programs.

General Updates from Senator Mike Simmons

The last few weeks have been productive. At the request of several constituents, yesterday I visited Ella Flagg Young Apartments, a senior low income housing building in uptown. Residents have struggled to get timely repairs and upkeep to their units, and I went with my staff to hear out the residents and find ways to help them. Everyone in our community deserves access to clean, safe housing as a basic human right. I will continue working with residents here and in other buildings across our district to find ways to help them access the housing that they deserve through legislation where appropriate and in other more direct ways.

Last week I had the opportunity to complete a #HireTransNow training with the Chicago Therapy Collective, an Andersonville-based nonprofit that promotes personal, community and citywide accountability to alleviate LGBTQ+ health disparities. The #HireTransNow training is intended to provide concrete ways for recruiting and hiring diverse and talented transgender, gender nonconforming, gender expansive and nonbinary individuals. We will be improving our staff recruitment process to ensure an even more queer and trans-inclusive process in the 7th Senate District office.

Recently, I have met with quite a few constituents and advocacy groups recently that are reaching out with a range of ideas related to advancing gun legislation, shoring up protections for survivors of gun violence, and the need for a better systemic response for those living with chronic pain. I will once again be centering the needs of the community in my legislative work for the upcoming session. If you have any policy ideas, please contact my office.

I also want to share with you some of this month's neighborhood activities I participated in. I joined Andersonville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Austin for lunch to discuss ways we can support our small businesses. As the son of a longtime 7th District small business owner, I want to continue to proactively find ways we can ensure success for our manifold local small businesses across the district.

On another high note, I had the pleasure of serving as the keynote speaker for the Opening Day Ceremony for the incoming class of City Year Chicago AmeriCorps members. I addressed the newly inducted corps of roughly 100 young adults both from our district and from around Chicago and spoke about my own journey into public service. I encouraged them to stay close to their communities, to own their heritage and story, and to try to learn from the Chicago communities and families they'll be serving in the year ahead. As they embark on a year of service, I wanted these young people to feel motivated to make a difference in the lives of their students and also to embrace the impact a year of service will have on their own personal and professional journeys.

I also participated in the annual Bike the Drive event, where thousands of cyclists of all ages did the 30 -plus mile trek by bike on the DuSable Lake Shore Drive roadway from Bryn Mawr in our district to 57th Street and back! Events like this help us reimagine a city where there are more safe avenues and boulevards for bikes and pedestrians, and my partner and I were thrilled to support the cycling community and participate in the ride! I keep experiences like this and the joy I and so many in our district derive from cycling in mind as I continue to advocate for and work with the Illinois Department of Transportation and city officials towards the urgent goal of safer, dedicated, and protected public ways for cyclists.

I frequently visit every corner of our district and the past two weeks have been no different. I had a chance to attend events in Rogers Park, Edgewater, Ravenswood, Uptown and Lincoln Square recently with stop-bys at the Von Steuben Day Parade in North Center and Lincoln Square, the Lakewood-Balmoral Yard Sale in Edgewater, the Friends of Ravenswood Elementary School block party, the Madonna Mission 10th anniversary block party in Rogers Park and the American Blues Theater open house in West Ridge.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 773-769-1717 if we can help you with anything.

Read on for legislative community updates.

Sincerely,

Mike Simmons

State Senator | 7th District

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CHICAGO – Thanks to the advocacy of Senator Mike Simmons and the Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery (RISE) program, the Rogers Park Business Alliance will see $99,000 in grant funding to finance economic recovery efforts sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RISE program reimburses the costs local governments and economic development organizations incur while expanding local economic recovery efforts. These costs include salaries, research, outreach, and expenses related to administering recovery efforts.

“The efforts of Rogers Park Business Alliance to soften the economic impacts of the pandemic are a key part of the overall work being led by the community and small business owners to ensure existing businesses succeed, and new businesses are positioned for success,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “As the son of a long-time Rogers Park salon owner, I know firsthand how beautifully diverse Rogers Park businesses are and what they do for the block and larger community. I know this economic recovery grant will help ensure those businesses can thrive and hold on during this tough economic climate and do so in a way that preserves the character of these commercial corridors without gentrification and displacement.”

RISE empowers local governments to create meaningful plans with a focus on specific initiatives and investments that support recovery from the pandemic. The grants funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will help improve the quality of life for community members by taking a comprehensive approach to economic development through supporting the local workforce, improving affordable housing options and more.

“We are grateful for the grant in the amount of $99K which will allow RPBA and the City of Evanston to work together to facilitate a highly inclusive planning process,” said Sandi Price, Executive Director of Rogers Park Business Alliance. “The outcome of the plan will showcase an equitable shared vision that will chart a future course and assure the long-term resiliency of the Howard Street commercial corridor and communities on both sides of Howard Street.”

“Rogers Park is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago, and Howard Street exemplifies that from Lake Michigan to Western Avenue in its storefronts,” said Simmons. “It will take intentionality in economic planning to ensure economic recovery efforts are done for existing businesses on the Howard Street corridor, many of whom are Black, African, Latinx, and Caribbean-owned.”

For more information about the RISE program or its allocation to Rogers Park Business Alliance, please visit the DCEO website.

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