Welcome to Senator Mike Simmons Legislative Website

Sen. Simmons Passes 10 Bills, Tax Relief for Working Households

Dear Neighbor,

We’ve wrapped up the spring legislative session! We passed a historic budget that includes a provision to expand the earned income tax credit, which I personally fought hard for. Alongside the budget, I was able to secure the passage of 10 pieces of legislation covering a range of issue areas including youth mental health. I also helped drive the passage of several bills as a chief cosponsor including groundbreaking gun safety legislation and a Medicaid expansion. The Senate finished its final session going late into the night and adjourning at 3 am!

 

Here are some highlights from the budget:

$1.83 Billion in Tax Relief for Working Families

• Permanently expands the earned-income tax credit for those currently eligible– putting an additional $105 million per year back into the pockets of low-income households
• Expands eligibility for the earned-income tax credit to adults 18-24 years old, ITIN filers, and seniors 65 and older
• Provides direct checks to working families: $50 per individual and $100 per child, up to three children per family
• Helps teachers buy supplies for their classroom through a tax credit up to $500
• Back to school tax relief on school clothes and materials for families and teachers – saving consumers $50 million
• Suspends the tax on groceries for one year – saving consumers $400 million
• Freezes the motor fuel tax for six months – saving consumers $70 million
• Doubles the property tax rebate – up to $300 per household

We also secured a wage increase for 60,000 homecare workers who often care for seniors. My bill SB4030 bill details (homecare wage increase) originally called for a $1.56 increase and was partially included in the final budget providing a 70 cent per hour pay increase.

Supporting Arts, Theater and Music Venues, Restaurants, Breweries, and Small Businesses – All Key Wins for Our District

The budget includes $50 million for arts and cultural organizations and $50 million for restaurants, bars, and breweries. License fees for bars and restaurants are also being suspended.

It also includes $16 million for community navigators for small business technical assistance, and funding for low-interest loan programs for business expansion. Additional funding includes $20 million for business attraction and retention and $50 million for the Employer Training Investment Program.

 

Paying Down Debt and Fulfilling Pension Promises

The budget meets the state’s full pension commitment while adding $200 million to pay down debt, bringing total extra pension payments to $500 million and saving taxpayers more than $1.8 billion. A $1 billion Rainy Day Fund is also included for emergency stability.

 

Investing in Education

The FY23 budget invests nearly $600 million in early childhood education and an additional $350 million for K-12 evidence-based funding.

College financial aid includes $122 million for MAP grants: MAP grant program details .

Prioritizing Mental Health

The budget allocates $5 million for crisis response services through the 988 hotline and increases addiction treatment funding by $50 million.

 

Legislative Updates

I am proud to share that I have ten bills heading to the governor’s desk for signing:

• HB 4369 bill status: Lead inspection enforcement improvements
• SB 4028 bill status: Student mental health education and council
• HB 4430 bill status: Access to HIV prevention medication
• SB 702 bill status: Senior Residents Council creation
• SB 3865 bill status: Removal of outdated terminology from statutes
• SB 3136 bill status: Medicaid continuity for housing insecure individuals
• HB 4589 bill status: Men’s Health Division creation
• HB 5016 bill status: Remote learning for incarcerated youth
• HB 5201 bill status: Agricultural Equity Commission
• HB 5525 bill status: Commission on Children of Incarcerated Parents

Additionally, I helped secure passage of HB 4383 ghost guns legislation details .

Join us Saturday, April 30th for our Northside Resource Day Event at Swift Elementary. The Secretary of State’s Office will provide ID and driver services.

View required documents and service details for Northside Resource Day

7th District candid photo taken at Bowmanville garden near Rosehill Cemetery.

Apply for Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund: Homeowner mortgage and tax relief application portal

Cook County gun violence prevention grant program: Cook County ARPA grant application information

Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program: Apply for Illinois Works training program

Please contact my office at 773-769-1717 for constituent services or support.

Sincerely,

Mike Simmons

State Senator | 7th District

Simmons: Earned income credit expansion and mental health funding is a huge win for the people

SPRINGFIELD– State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) is pleased to see a budget that will provide permanent tax relief to low-income households and increase mental health funding.

“A permanent expansion of the earned income tax credit is long overdue and will be felt by low-income households. I am proud to have cosponsored, rallied for and pushed for this policy change in the budget that has just passed. We did the right thing for households who have struggled since long before the pandemic with this expansion.”

“I am also pleased to see a cash infusion of $39.4 million for mental health. This will provide a necessary boost to support mental health professionals who have been overstretched by a pandemic that has revealed and deepened a mental health crisis in this state.”

“Overall, we should celebrate several components to this year’s budget that I am personally happy to see come to fruition. I look forward to working with my colleagues to quickly get these funds out the door to support the excellent and worthwhile components in the FY23 budget that touch on public safety and violence prevention, health and hospitals, relief for restaurants and small businesses, higher education, human services, and infrastructure.”

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Simmons applauds measure to ban ghost guns

SPRINGFIELD – As violence with untraceable guns is on the rise, State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) was proud to strongly support a measure to ban the sale and distribution of ghost guns.

“Gun violence often involves firearms that are untraceable because they lack serial numbers. So-called “ghost guns” have fueled an epidemic of shootings, and we took an important step tonight in outlawing these types of guns.”

With the alarming rise of gun violence in a number of Illinois communities, untraceable firearms have become a pressing public safety concern. Ghost guns are firearms that lack serial identification, and they are growing in popularity because of their ease of accessibility. Not only can they be ordered online, but they can also be purchased absent a background check or a FOID card, which is required to carry either a firearm or ammunition in Illinois.

House Bill 4383, an initiative introduced by Senator Jacqueline Collins and chief-cosponsored by Senator Mike Simmons, would require all firearms – including 3D printed guns – to be serialized, effectively prohibiting the sale and distribution of these weapons. Unserialized guns prevent law enforcement from thoroughly conducting their criminal investigations, which hinders their efforts to address the gun violence in our state. Illinois law enforcement has seen a 400% increase in these types of weapons in just the last five years.

“With the popularization of 3D printing, we are taking a proactive step to get these weapons off the streets,” Simmons said. “I am pleased that we built a strong coalition of community activists and law enforcement to pass this common-sense gun safety measure.”

House Bill 4383 passed the Senate and awaits further consideration.

Simmons Medicaid redetermination measure passes as part of larger Omnibus package

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure continuous access to healthcare for very low-income people and those who are housing insecure, State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) was proud to introduce a measure to create an automatic renewal process and ensure 12 continuous months of coverage for Medicaid recipients.

“Adults whose monthly income fluctuates or who lack stable housing can lose Medicaid coverage and end up falling through the cracks if they need to see a doctor or access care,” Simmons said. “My legislation, SB3136, eliminates the interim income-change reporting requirement for adult Medicaid enrollees and guarantees at least a year of consistent coverage for Medicaid recipients.” Simmons' measure was included in the Medicaid omnibus, HB4343, which cleared the Senate today.

According to the Heartland Alliance, up to 30% of people eligible for Medicaid lose coverage at renewal with Black families being disproportionately affected. Simmons’ measure will remove unnecessary administrative hurdles Medicaid recipients face.

Under current law, individuals receiving Medicaid benefits must report changes in income during the 12 months following their approval or last redetermination. House Bill 4343 would remove this reporting requirement during that time, allowing for continuity of coverage for those who may be in between jobs, those who work several part-time jobs, or those whose work hours and income simply are not consistent each month. The legislation would also automatically re-enroll individuals with zero income.

The legislation also requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to provide information on how to request a hardship waiver in Spanish and a number of other languages.

“I have constituents who are houseless with no income at all, and I think it is especially important to re-enroll those with zero income automatically and annually so they are not turned away at a clinic. This ensures their care is not disrupted and they can maintain a consistent relationship with a primary care doctor who can help them meet their other healthcare needs. We are correcting a systemic gap in access to healthcare with this legislation today.”

House Bill 4343 passed the Senate.