OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (December 2023)
OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (December 2023) (Kankakee, IL) — The holidays are the perfect time for the gift of reflection, to be thankful for our loved ones and our progress over the past year.
A year ago in this space, I told you about the untimely passing of my Illinois Senate colleague, Sen. Scott Bennett. Just 45 years old, Scott suffered a collapse from a large brain tumor and died quickly last December, within just weeks of working together at the Capitol in the fall veto session.
We miss Scott’s endless optimism and pragmatic approach to policymaking in Springfield. But I hope his passing also has helped us to recognize what is really important in life, and to focus more on finding solutions than disagreement in our policies and politics.
As I look back at 2023 in our 40th Senate District, I am so proud and thankful to be your senator. We have so much to be excited about here:
- Will County is No. 1 in both job creation and energy growth in all of Illinois
- Local employers such as CSL Behring are great community partners, creating jobs and exciting innovation that is changing people’s lives for the better as evidenced by the recent Illinois Manufacturers’ Association 2023 Manufacturer of the Year award
- The partnerships we have built to support the agriculture industry during my time in office continue to grow, and I am honored to receive the 2023 Ethanol Award from the Illinois Corn Growers Association
- The state of Illinois continues to make key investments in our district’s transportation and parks infrastructure, such as the recent announcement of $200,000 in Illinois Department of Natural Resources funding for trails at the Manhattan Park District
- Clean energy will continue to grow here locally. I am pleased to see our state supporting new opportunities by ending a moratorium on small nuclear generation facilities to help power our electric vehicle battery plants such as the one planned for Manteno
- Our first responders will always have my strong support. Kankakee, Crete, and Manteno are the latest recipients of $850,000 in state funds to replace critical fire trucks and brush trucks
- We are stepping up to help provide hope and fight homelessness in partnership with dedicated advocates at South Suburban PADS, which is putting to good use $250,000 in state funding I helped provide them to serve people in the south suburbs
I am preparing to head to Springfield in early January for the start of our 2024 legislative session. I look forward to sharing with you soon more about my priorities for the session, and to hearing from you on what we can pursue to help our district and our state.
As we head into 2024, I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Please consider giving this holiday season to the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and many other worthy local charities working to make this time of the year better for those in need.
I urge you to contact me anytime I can help: 708-756-0882, or at http://www.
Sen. Patrick Joyce
D-Essex, 40th State Senate District
OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (December 2023)
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