House Bill 5097 recognizes the profound impact of hair care on self-expression, identity formation and cultural heritage, writes state Rep. Kim Du Buclet, D-Chicago.
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House Bill 5097, the Haircare Plan for Youth in Foster Care Act, represents a significant milestone in ensuring that Black children in foster care maintain a strong connection to their cultural identity through their hair. This legislation recognizes the profound impact of hair care on self-expression, identity formation and cultural heritage. I am excited that it passed the Illinois House unanimously and is headed to the Senate for consideration.
One key motivation for this bill is the recognition of the disproportionate representation of Black youth in the foster care system. Many of these youth face challenges because their hair care needs are not being adequately met, which can impact their sense of self-worth and cultural belonging.
By requiring the development of personalized hair care plans for each youth in foster care, HB 5097 emphasizes the importance of collaborative decision-making involving the youth, their parents and caseworkers.
This approach ensures the unique hair care preferences and cultural practices of each child are respected and supported. The legislation seeks support from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for caregiver training on culturally competent hair care practices. This training is crucial so that caregivers have the knowledge and skills to meet the diverse hair care needs of foster youth.
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HB 5097 also establishes guidelines for implementing and funding these plans, ensuring they are effectively carried out and integrated into the overall care framework for youth in foster care.
I am grateful for the collaborative efforts of stakeholders, such as the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and Loyola University Chicago’s Legislation and Policy Clinic in shaping this legislation. Their insights and advocacy have helped me to highlight the importance of hair care in fostering a sense of cultural sensitivity, identity affirmation and overall well-being among youth in foster care.
Overall, HB 5097 represents a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to addressing the complex intersection of hair care, cultural identity and foster care, with the ultimate goal of promoting positive outcomes for youth in care. This is a step in the right direction for our youth.
State Rep. Kim Du Buclet, D-Chicago
Not entranced by J.D. Vance
Ah, yes, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio blocking April Perry from the U.S. attorney post ... I'm sorry I wasted a couple of hours watching the movie "Hillbilly Elegy" based on his book of the same name. I'm certainly glad I didn't waste any more time than that by reading the book.
Rocco P. Lotesto, Edgewater
Women released from prison deserve a fresh start
As April marks Second Chance Month, it's imperative to shed light on the often-overlooked demographic of women in reentry. While much attention is rightly given to the broader issues of criminal justice reform, the unique challenges faced by women transitioning from incarceration back into society deserve our focused consideration.
Women in reentry face myriad obstacles, from limited access to housing and employment opportunities to the pervasive stigma attached to their past convictions. They are often the primary caregivers for their families, making their successful reintegration into society not only vital for their own well-being but for the stability of their families.
Supporting women in reentry isn't just a matter of compassion; it's a strategic investment in our communities. Research consistently shows that when women are given resources and support to rebuild their lives, they are less likely to re-offend. This leads to safer communities and lower recidivism.
Women Initiating New Directions (WIND) offers programs and services to women in the Chicago area who have been or are currently impacted by the criminal justice system. WIND supports women to design a thriving life journey using newly learned tools and strategies for success.
This Second Chance Month, let's reaffirm our commitment to supporting all individuals who are striving to rebuild their lives after incarceration, with a particular focus on the needs of women in reentry. It's not just about giving second chances; it's about recognizing the inherent dignity and potential of every individual, regardless of their past.
Nicole O’Connell, executive director, Women Initiating New Directions
Family and friends gathered in Illinois and Iowa to remember workers who lost their lives on the job.
Internationally recognized on April 28, Workers' Memorial Day is in observance of when a federal law took effect to keep workers safe in the workplace. Our Quad Cities News Illinois Capitol Bureau correspondent Theodora Koulouvaris takes us to some of those observances.
For more information, click here.
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By ANDREW ADAMS
& HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign.
The State Board of Elections on Monday convened a hearing on the matter, launched in a complaint by a top official with the state’s Democratic party in the waning days of the 2022 campaign cycle. The complaint alleges Proft’s independent expenditure committee – the “People Who Play By The Rules PAC” – coordinated with Bailey, violating both state and federal law.
If the board finds that the two organizations did illegally coordinate, Proft’s organization and Bailey’s campaign could be on the hook for millions of dollars in fines.
During Monday’s hearing, David Fox, an attorney for Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Ben Hardin, who lodged the complaint, painted a picture of illegal campaign coordination via a secret meeting, use of campaign footage in advertisements and Bailey’s appearances on Proft’s AM radio show.
Conservative political operative Dan Proft testifies in a hearing Monday focused on allegations that he illegally coordinated campaign expenses with Darren Bailey’s 2022 run for governor. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
“Mr. Bailey directly told Mr. Proft what message he wanted to get out. And Mr. Proft’s PAC then released multiple ads on that message,” Fox said. “A straightforward request and response. It happened in public but that makes no difference.”
Proft, who still co-hosts his “Chicago’s Morning Answer” morning drive-time radio show despite his relocation to Naples, Florida, made the trip back to Chicago for the hearing. During Monday morning’s show, Proft confirmed to co-host Amy Jacobson that the hearing happened to fall on his birthday, and that he’d be celebrating “in Illinois State Board of Elections prison.”
“I don’t care. You know, you just have to deal with this specious lawfare from fraudsters like Mark Elias representing fraudsters like Jelly Belly Pritzker,” Proft said, referring to Democratic attorney Mark Elias, whose firm employs the DPI attorneys handling the case, and using a derogatory nickname for Pritzker.
During the hearing, Hardin’s lawyers described a meeting between Proft and Bailey that took place the day after Bailey won the Illinois Republican primary in June 2022. On that day, Bailey traveled to a Chicago-area country club where he, his campaign manager Jose Durbin, and Proft met in a backroom to discuss the campaign.
At that meeting, Proft told Bailey that Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein had agreed to provide $20 million to Bailey’s campaign – and allegedly slid an envelope over to Bailey containing a check to that effect – if Proft was given control over it.
Questioned about the meeting on Monday, Bailey confirmed that it became heated as Proft made clear his disagreements with Durbin’s managing of Bailey’s campaign up to that point.
Jose Durbin, the campaign manager for Darren Bailey’s 2022 run for governor, offers testimony in a hearing over allegations that the Bailey campaign coordinated campaign expenditures with GOP operative Dan Proft. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
“Mr. Proft, in your own words, called Mr. Durbin an ‘effing moron’ – is that right?” DPI attorney Marilyn Robb asked Bailey, who confirmed with a “yes.”
Proft said Monday he disagreed with the “general messaging and message discipline with respect to the primary campaign.”
If Proft wasn’t given control, Uihlein would instead direct those millions to Proft’s PAC, according to testimony in Monday’s hearing. According to state campaign finance records, Uihlein gave $42 million to the PAC, which in turn spent nearly $36 million during the second half of 2022.
In addition to that meeting, Hardin’s lawyers argued that Bailey’s appearances on Proft’s talk show were a way to coordinate messaging.
“We’re denying people the truth. This is why your streets aren’t safe…” Bailey said in a June 29, 2022 interview on Proft’s show, hours before that backroom meeting. “We’ve got the message – it’s true. We’ve just got to get it out.”
Proft denied the radio appearance counted as coordination, pointing to the fact that crime was a hot topic throughout the 2022 election cycle and that he had other candidates for office and public officials on his show.
Former state senator and one-time gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey sits in a hearing over allegations that his 2022 campaign for governor illegally coordinated campaign expenditures with conservative political operative Dan Proft. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Democrats’ passage of the SAFE-T Act, which included certain police reforms and made Illinois the first state to fully abandon its cash bail system, became a unifying theme for Republicans to knock Democrats after its passage in early 2021 and through its full implementation last year.
Proft’s PAC also used footage taken from the Bailey campaign’s YouTube channel, something that Hardin’s lawyers also argued was only done to coordinate giving material to friendly PACs.
“That is explainable for no purpose other than a desire to help independent groups make ads,” Fox said.
Under Illinois election law, “independent expenditure committees” like Proft’s PAC are barred from making expenditures “in connection, consultation, or concert with or at the request or suggestion of” public officials or candidates for office.
But Bailey’s lawyer said that the actual meaning of this prohibition is not clear.
“This would have been far more appropriate for the board to take up as a rule-making process and make a pronouncement so that PACs and candidates can govern their affairs more clearly based on a clearly delineated set of rules going forward rather than adjudicating somebody for violating rules before we determine what they are,” Jeffrey Meyer said Monday.
In January, a previous hearing officer from the state board of elections noted that it was “rather difficult to determine” what constitutes coordination under the law, given that neither state law nor administrative rules provide further guidance on the subject.
Darren Bailey (right) offers testimony during a hearing over allegations that he illegally coordinated campaign expenditures with GOP operative Dan Proft (left) during the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Download the previous hearing officer’s decision
There is also a lack of case law, according to Illinois State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich, who said that this is the first complaint in Illinois to allege coordination between an independent expenditure committee and a candidate.
Lawyers for Hardin as well as Proft and Bailey are expected to file additional legal briefs in the coming weeks. The Illinois State Board of Elections will decide the case this summer.
Proft has also faced criticisms and a 2016 Federal Election Commission complaint over his publishing and use of a network of free “newspapers” and corresponding websites to support conservative political candidates.
In 2018, Proft sued the Board of Elections and then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in federal court in an unsuccessful attempt to ease restrictions on what activities could be coordinated between political groups and candidates.
In 2020, Proft shuttered his first independent expenditure PAC – called Liberty Principles PAC – with $39,000 unaccounted for, according to state finance records. Uihlein had also donated heavily to that PAC, which Proft founded in 2012, to support conservative candidates.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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image/jpeg dan-proft-darren-bailey.jpg image/jpeg dan-proft-darren-bailey.jpgCHICAGO — A Chicago boy with a passion for trains got to spend his morning navigating the tracks of the L thanks to Make-A-Wish Illinois.
9-year-old Idris Lockett had his wish granted on Monday morning when he got the chance to be a CTA operator for the day.
"If anyone knows Idris, we call him Hero, he absolutely loves the CTA train. He’ll pick the CTA train over Chuck-e-Cheese any day," Idris' mother Catherine Campbell said.
Idris, who is affectionately known as Hero, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at birth and since then, he has had three open-heart surgeries.
"He’s had outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. He’s had IEP, he’s had issues with manipulating his hands," Campbell said.
But on Monday, the troubles of life were put to the side, all to make way for a Green Line train with Idris at the helm.
"He’s been through a whole lot, a lot, but he’s still here. You wouldn’t know just by looking at him. We call him Hero, we gave him that name before he was even born. So it’s very fitting for him
Idris, alongside his close family and friends, boarded the Green Line from their home on the city's West Side, and with the help of the conductors, he learned how to navigate the tracks and even made a couple of stops.
During the experience, Idris got the chance to meet with CTA officials and Chicago police officers who greeted him with gifts, like a backpack full of goodies and a stuffed animal dressed in a CTA uniform.
"I’m just so overwhelmed. My heart is fluttering. Just overwhelmed with joy and excitement. I'm so excited that his wish was able to be fulfilled," Campbell said.
The ride finally came to an end at Union Station, where a big celebration was held in the young boy's honor.
It was a special day, all about celebrating Idris and his track to a stronger future on World Wish Day.
"We grant wishes because we know that they help children recover or cope with a critical illness and we feel it’s very important to treat their spirit as well as doctors are treating their bodies," Jessica Miller, the Senior Communications Specialist at Make-A-Wish Illinois, said.
April 29, known as World Wish Day, is the culmination of World Wish Month.
It is a worldwide commemoration that pays tribute to the original group of “WishMakers," who granted the first wish back in 1980. Some of those involved in the first wish, inspired by the experience, went on to form Make-A-Wish, and have since granted over 585,000 wishes across the globe.
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