SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) issued the following statement in response to the governor’s budget address today:

“It’s clear that the governor has made an earnest effort to hold the line for working people by closing corporate tax loopholes and increasing funding to programs that help ensure people can remain in their homes. This proposal gets us off on the right foot, but it’s just the beginning of the budget-making process in Illinois. That process must not lose sight of the needs of our families, our sick, our vulnerable, and our friends and neighbors who are stepping up to do everything they can to help during this pandemic.”

Obama Foundation director will be first openly LGBTQIA+ Black Senator in Springfield

CHICAGO — Mike Simmons became the first openly gay member of the Illinois Senate, and the first person of color to serve as state Senator from Illinois’ 7th District after being sworn in earlier this week.

“This breaks down a ceiling that is important for the most diverse state Senate district in Illinois,” Simmons said. “And as our new state Senator, I will work tirelessly to amplify the voices and urgent needs of the most vulnerable residents of my district: Our immigrants, those struggling with access to housing, seniors, people in between jobs, single mothers, returning citizens, LGBTQIA+ people, young people, and so many others who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.”

Simmons, the son of a Black American mother and Ethiopian-American immigrant father and the first Ethiopian-American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly, succeeds former state Senator Heather Steans. Simmons said his appointment is an historic event for Illinois and the 7th Senate District, which will, for the first time, be represented by a person of color. Simmons serves as director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation.

Simmons was sworn in Saturday at Andersonville’s Swedish American Museum. The 7th Illinois Senate District includes parts of Chicago’s Lincoln Square, Uptown, Andersonville, Edgewater, Arcadia Terrace, West Ridge and Rogers Park neighborhoods.