OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (February 2024) (Essex, IL) — We all strive to be remembered for making a difference, and for showing others we appreciate all they have done to help us be successful. I had two important opportunities to show that legacy of love over the past month.

As I have written here many times, I am proud to be an Illinois farmer. In the Legislature, I have led efforts to help small and large farmers reach more lucrative markets and put more of the benefits from the crops they raise back into our economy, through greater use of ethanol and biodiesel.

It can be easy to think the farms and farmers we have counted on for generations will always be here, working hard to support their families and help ours. But that only happens if we show them we care enough to help them overcome challenges and obstacles.

Democrats and Republicans from all parts of Illinois joined together in Bloomington with the Illinois Farm Bureau to announce our support for Senate Bill 2921, the Family Farm Preservation Act. Heavy estate taxes are a real threat for the successful “passing of the torch” from one generation to the next when the parents pass on, and this proposed legislation will take an important step forward by lifting the estate tax burden off of more family farms across the state.

Please take a minute to listen to State Sen. Dave Koehler discuss this legislation and the way it will help family farms survive for the future by creating a legacy of love: https://ilsendems.co/4blM8J9.

Our office worked hard in recent weeks to show local seniors we care through a Valentine’s Day card drive, where we asked you to help make what can be a long and dreary winter season a little brighter for our older generation. You came through in an amazing way! We received and delivered more than 2,000 Valentine’s cards, and the looks on the seniors’ faces who received them made our efforts more than worth it. Thank you for helping show a legacy of love to them.

As I travel throughout the 40th District, I get to meet with people whose communities have created impressive legacies for generations. Park Forest is one of those communities. I was proud to join them on Feb. 1, to celebrate the community’s 75th birthday and to wish them many more happy and successful ones ahead.

I will continue to fight to put my constituents first and to hold the line on needless taxes and spending, in Springfield and at home. That’s why I have raised concerns about Aqua Illinois’ request to the Illinois Commerce Commission to increase water rates in our area. We need to balance investing in our water infrastructure with making sure people have affordable, accessible water supplies.

Our latest legislative session will be hitting high gear in March, and we soon will be busy debating and passing legislation that affects our district and state. I encourage you to follow along with the legislation I am sponsoring at: https://ilga.gov/senate/SenatorBills.asp?MemberID=3164.

I urge you to contact me anytime I can help: 708-756-0882, or at http://www.senatorpatrickjoyce.com/. I will continue to share the latest news on my website and on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/senPatrickjoyce40/.

Sen. Patrick Joyce
D-Essex, 40th State Senate District

OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (February 2024)

Related Articles

Responses