Issues

Jen received an A+ from the Gun Violence Prevention Action Committee for her work on several bills designed to make our families safer, including Fix the FOID and Block Illegal Gun Ownership (BIO). Jen fought to prevent gun violence by requiring all firearm sales in Illinois include background checks and successfully banned untraceable “ghost guns.”

Now, Jen is fighting to ban assault rifles and extended magazines because weapons of war have no place in our community

Jen worked hard to pass a balanced 2022 budget that is putting Illinois’ fiscal situation back on track.  For the first time in decades, Illinois’ credit rating and/or outlook improved with all three rating agencies. Illinois is paying its bills on a normal thirty-day cycle, and even paid back federal relief money early to save taxpayers millions in interest payments.

Jen understands that fiscal discipline and smart choices are the key to moving our state forward.

Jen was proud to support the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, which puts Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2045 and holds utility companies accountable with rigorous new ethics standards and a new ethics oversight division to audit and enforce utility ethics compliance.

Jen will continue to fight for education funding in Springfield to improve local schools and alleviate upward pressure on property taxes. Jen worked to include $7.6 billion for evidence-based funding for K-12 education and $1.2 billion for state university operations in the 2022 budget.

Jen authored and sponsored the TEAACH Act, which ensures that Asian American history is included in K-12 education, to create a more comprehensive understanding of American history and the place that Asian Americans have held in that history.

Mental health and substance use issues are problems in every community. Jen is approaching this problem from several directions, including empowering family members and holding health insurance companies accountable for unlawful discrimination and denial of care.

Mental health deserves the same attention and respect as physical health, but unfortunately many people feel stigmatized by seeking care. Jen is working with community advocates and stakeholders to de-stigmatize mental healthcare and encourage people to seek the help they need.

As a former immigration attorney, Jen is sensitive to the struggles that immigrants face. Much of her legal work focused on helping unaccompanied children caught up in the immigration system. As your representative, Jen has continued that work, recently passing legislation to allow neglected, abused, and abandoned immigrant youth to apply for a special visa and remain in Illinois.

As Chair of the House Judiciary – Civil Committee, Jen is working hard to protect the rights of all Illinoisans. Jen passed legislation to crack down on illegal discrimination in healthcare access, provide protections for abused & neglected children, and expanded the Illinois Human Rights Act to protect the families of people with disabilities.

Jen is focused on helping our economy, our communities, and our families recover and thrive. She helped pass a balanced budget that led to Illinois’ credit rating being upgraded by all three rating agencies – Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P.

Jen has passed several pieces of legislation designed to bring new businesses and jobs to Illinois. These include extending the EDGE tax credit program for 5 years and allowing start-up businesses to qualify for the first time.

Additionally, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) passed last year includes many provisions to make Illinois a leader in clean energy – and clean energy jobs. CEJA includes workforce development programs to assist individuals to enter the clean energy workforce. The General Assembly passed the Reimagining Energy Vehicles Act (REV) that provides incentives for manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (EVs), EV component parts and EV power supplies to start up business in Illinois. EV manufacturer Rivian now supports close to 6,000 jobs at their manufacturing plant in Bloomington after having fewer than 1,500 employees at their plant at the start of 2021.