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.

SPRINGFIELD – Responding to Gov. JB Pritzkers budget address today, State Senator Javier Loera Cervantes (D-Chicago) released the following statement:

“I am pleased to hear Gov. Pritzker’s proposed budget includes funding, opportunities and services going to our communities in their time of need.

“Focusing on child care for our working families not only helps provide for the children missing this vital service, but also provides meaningful relief for our residents looking to get back to work and provide for their families.

“I am excited that Illinois is investing $130 million in additional dollars to begin funding for child care workforce compensation contracts that will stabilize the operations of service providers.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Javier Cervantes is happy to announce that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants to 48 communities in need of lead service line replacements, including a $40,000 grant for the Village of Lyons and $40,000 for the Village of Stickney.

“We need to prioritize clean drinking water being available to all communities,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “These funds will be utilized to identify and create a plan to repair lead service lines within our area.”

The Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act requires owners and operators of community water supplies in Illinois to submit a complete water service line material inventory for the Illinois EPA’s approval no later than April 15, 2024. The complete inventory must report the composition of all service lines within the CWS’s distribution system.

CHICAGO – State Senator Javier Loera Cervantes was sworn in as the newly-elected State Senator for the 1^st District Wednesday.

“It is my honor to serve the people of the 1^st District. I look forward to assisting and representing our community in Springfield,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “Through the many challenges we have faced in years past, I am devoted to serving the local communities and ensuring their legislative voices are heard as we tackle and face the challenges ahead.”

Cervantes comes with a passion for community organizing and the arts. He has deep roots in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, where he developed his intrinsic characteristics of hard work and sacrifice due to his challenging childhood. Cervantes’s passion and dedication, specifically to helping his community, was a natural progression to his career path at Service Employees International (SEIU Health Care Illinois and Indiana), dedicating 12 years as a Union Representative.