SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Javier Cervantes is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit all drivers from using an electronic communications device while operating a motor vehicle in Illinois, including any video conferencing or social media applications.

“Ensuring our roadways are safe is a basic necessity we should provide Illinois drivers,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “No one should be taking conference and video calls while driving. This is commonsense legislation that will make Illinois roadways safer for all.”

House Bill 2431 would make it illegal to use any electronic communications devices while operating a motor vehicle, including the use of cell phones and tablets for streaming videos and participating in video conferences on platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebEx. Additionally, the bill prohibits any social media applications like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter from being used while operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway.

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SPRINGFIELD – To allow residents working in Illinois to know for certain that their employment is safe, State Senator Javier Cervantes is working to pass legislation that will protect immigrant employees who are working legally within the United States.

“Currently, employers can use the E-Verify system to target and discriminate against immigrant employees, creating undue stress on their employment,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “When someone goes to work, they shouldn’t have to worry about their employer reporting them unknowingly and should be given some reasonable transparency to this process.”

Currently, federal immigration law requires employers to verify that their employees are lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Immigrants who are employed have the possibility of receiving a “no match” letter from the Social Security Administration for a variety of reasons such as name changes, work authorizations, employment visas and other bureaucratic errors. Usually, employers terminate employees who receive a “no match” letter even though these employees could be legally working in the United States.

To rectify this issue, Senate Bill 1515 allows employees who receive a “no match” letter from any federal or state agency to take 30 days of unpaid leave in order to fix and correct any discrepancies with the agency’s records. The new measure will also prohibit employers from terminating employees simply because they received a letter; however, if the errors are not corrected, the employer may terminate the employee.

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CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that local park and recreation projects across Illinois are receiving funding, and State Senator Javier Cervantes is excited to share that the Village of Brookfield will receive $600,000 in Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grants.

“Equipping our parks departments with the funds needed to revitalize ensures quality outdoor green spaces for residents,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “I look forward to seeing how these funds will assist the Village of Brookfield in improving our parks.”

The announcement includes the largest round of Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grants in the 36-year history of the program. In addition, for the first time in the history of the program, funding will cover 100% of eligible projects located in economically distressed communities, resulting in 22 underserved locations receiving OSLAD grants.

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SPRINGFIELD – Continuing to support our growing workforce in Illinois, State Senator Javier Loera Cervantes is building support for new legislation creating the Graduate and Retain Our Workforce Illinois Program that will assist students in STEM fields here in Illinois.

“How we support our students affects how the workforce of the future will find good paying jobs. Illinois is here to support students through their educational journey and ensure they reach their destination,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “These growing tech fields are in dire need of employees and we are creating a pipeline for students to grow their life here in Illinois.”

The new legislation, Senate Bill 1453, will create the Graduate and Retain Our Workforce Illinois Program, otherwise known as the GROW Illinois Program, is intended to allow public institutions of higher education to award forgivable loans to individuals with qualifying degrees and jobs that are in high demand.

The GROW Illinois Program focuses on a list of majors that would be considered qualifying for the incentive loans including computer and information sciences, information systems security, management information systems, and other similar majors that will be determined acceptable by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

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