Speaker Welch Hears from Illinois Valley Residents as Part of Statewide Listening Tour
NORTH UTICA, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch joined first-term Rep. Amy ‘Murri’ Briel for a town hall meeting in her Illinois River Valley community this week, giving residents the opportunity to share their thoughts on the cost of living, energy, and the effects of Washington’s service cuts and high tariffs. The town hall meeting was one of the first stops in a tour visiting colleagues’ districts and hearing from people across the state ahead of the fall legislative session.
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Welch Calls Out Trump Administration Efforts to Cut Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers
WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch is calling out the Trump administration’s latest effort to undermine senior care and workers’ rights, joining state labor leaders who have filed formal opposition to a new proposal in Washington to slash wages for home-healthcare workers.
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Welch, Black Men United Applaud Partnership at Opening of Affordable, Energy-Efficient Housing in Maywood
MAYWOOD, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch joined Black Men United to celebrate the opening of two dozen fully renovated affordable housing units in Maywood Wednesday, supported by state dollars secured in Welch’s fiscally and socially responsible state budgets.
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Welch-Backed Law Ends Fines for Students, Aims to Reduce System Involvement for Youth
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A new law passed by Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats will end the practice of ticketing and fining students for basic school disciplinary matters, bringing crucial reform to a system that unnecessarily exposed young people to system involvement and disparately impacted students of color.
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Welch-Backed Law Brings Together Justice Reformers, Law Enforcement to Improve Police Hiring Standards
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Law enforcement agencies will be better equipped to vet potential officers and make independent, merit-based employment decisions under a new law backed by Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats, improving police hiring practices following the recent killing of an innocent woman in the Springfield area by an officer with a serious record of misconduct.
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Welch Helps Families Save on Back-to-School Essentials at 13th Annual Health Fair
WESTCHESTER, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch helped local families prepare for a new school year and save money at his 13th Annual Back-to-School Health Fair, distributing free backpacks loaded with supplies, connecting students with health screenings, and providing a day of family fun.
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Welch Celebrates Former Secretary of State Jesse White, Naming State Office in his Honor
CHICAGO – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch honored the extraordinary service of former Secretary of State Jesse White, joining state Rep. Harry Benton, Gov. JB Pritzker, and other state leaders to officially rename the building at 115 S. LaSalle Street in Chicago as the Jesse White State of Illinois Building.
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Welch Discusses Connection Between Faith and Compassionate Policy with Progressive Baptist Leaders
CHICAGO – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch welcomed religious leaders from across the country to Illinois this week, speaking with attendees of the Progressive National Baptist Convention about the important role faith communities play in advocating for healthcare, human rights, and economic empowerment.
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Welch, House Democrats Expand Access to Higher Education with New College Direct Admissions Program
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Local students will have greater opportunity to earn a college degree under a new law backed by Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats, creating a new direct admissions program to help qualified young people earn automatic entry into state schools.
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Welch, House Democrats Strengthen Illinois’ Equal Pay Law Against Trump Assault
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats are continuing efforts to protect reproductive freedom in Illinois as the state marks three years since the United States Supreme Court stripped the right to choose from tens of millions of women across the country. Working ahead to stop the Trump Administration’s latest assault on women’s health and safety, Welch and his colleagues delivered new protections ensuring doctors and patients can still access potentially lifesaving reproductive health medications—regardless of what extremists in Washington do.
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Welch, House Democrats Deliver New Protections to Pre-Empt Trump Assault on Reproductive Rights
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats are continuing efforts to protect reproductive freedom in Illinois as the state marks three years since the United States Supreme Court stripped the right to choose from tens of millions of women across the country. Working ahead to stop the Trump Administration’s latest assault on women’s health and safety, Welch and his colleagues delivered new protections ensuring doctors and patients can still access potentially lifesaving reproductive health medications—regardless of what extremists in Washington do.
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Welch Celebrates Advancement of Freedom, Reflects on Work Still Ahead at Juneteenth Events
WESTCHESTER, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch welcomed community members for his annual Juneteenth Festival at Memorial Park in Hillside Thursday. Welch also joined celebrations throughout the suburbs, urging attendees in River Forest, Westchester, and DuPage County to celebrate freedom and reflect on the work still ahead.
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Welch, House Democrats Pass Bill Cracking Down on Big Pharma Middlemen, Lowering Prescription Prices
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats are continuing their efforts to expand access to affordable healthcare by advancing new reforms to crack down on the big pharma middlemen who drive up the cost of prescription drugs and hold them accountable for putting executive bonuses ahead of patient care.
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Welch Secures Funding for Transformational Proviso West Sports Complex in State Budget Focused on Working Families
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and Proviso West High School are making plans for a modern sports complex on the school’s Hillside campus a reality. The $40 million investment made possible through Welch’s new state budget will create a dynamic space for student athletics and community events—uplifting the entire region and promoting local economic development.
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Welch, House Democrats Deliver Safe Gun Storage Bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats are working to keep guns out of the wrong hands, protect children from accidental shootings, and track lost and stolen firearms by passing a new ‘safe storage’ bill.
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Welch Delivers Millions in State Funding for Maywood, Berkeley Prairie Path Improvements
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch is bringing $4.6 million in new state dollars home to improve lighting and safety along the Prairie Path in Maywood and Berkeley.
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Welch, House Democrats Rally in Response to Trump Official’s Hateful Rhetoric During Illinois Visit
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats forcefully challenged Trump Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a demonstration countering the hateful rhetoric Noem brought to Illinois during a stop on her tour promoting Trump’s bigoted and unconstitutional agenda.
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Welch, House Democrats Advance Bill Addressing Biases in Maternal Healthcare
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and House Democrats are continuing their efforts to improve outcomes for new mothers and babies with legislation expanding implicit bias training for doctors, doulas and other maternal healthcare providers.
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Welch, Secretary of State Announce Funding to Help School Libraries Purchase New Learning Materials
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – New state funds will help local school libraries purchase the most up-to-date books, periodicals, digital and audio books, and equipment thanks to the work of House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
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Welch, Pritzker Announce Funding to Expand Local Job Training Opportunities
MELROSE PARK, Ill. – More than $20 million in new state funding will expand pathways to career training for thousands of young people in the west suburbs and across Illinois thanks to the work of House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and Governor JB Pritzker.
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