OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (January 2024) (Kankakee, IL) — Our hard work to Rebuild Illinois is paying off, and I am excited to be part of a new group that will create more opportunities for our families and communities to grow and succeed.

I was recently named one of four leaders in the Legislature of the new Illinois Manufacturing Caucus. This group will partner with the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association to create new awareness of and support for the critical role manufacturing facilities play in our regional and state economy.

I am one of four co-chairs from the Illinois General Assembly representing both political parties and diverse viewpoints from across the state. The others are Rep. Amy Elik, a Republican from the St. Louis Metro East area, Republican Sen. Sue Rezin from nearby Morris, and Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Democrat from the south end of Chicago.

Statewide, manufacturers have an enormous impact on our state’s success. They directly provide 650,000 jobs across the state, and every 10 manufacturing jobs supports 17 jobs in other industries. When we support and create more manufacturing careers, we are helping lift families up to then support other businesses and families in our communities. The Gotion electric vehicle battery plant we announced last fall will create more than 2,500 new jobs in Manteno and is an excellent example of the type of investment we will be working as a caucus to make here and across the state.

I look forward to working with my colleagues and the IMA to help develop new pipelines through training programs to connect people to great careers in manufacturing, and to bring new construction and facilities to Illinois in the coming years. I appreciate the confidence the IMA has in my support for manufacturing to ask for my help in guiding this important effort.

I was honored earlier in January to speak at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Bourbonnais. The quote from Dr. King I used this year is really important as we head into what will be a nasty political year across the country: “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

Winter can be trying for all of us. Our seniors need to know we care and are thinking about them. Please take a moment to show local seniors in our area you care by dropping off a card for our Valentine’s Day Card Drive. Drop off or mail in your homemade or store-bought cards by February 9 at 179 South Wall Street, Kankakee, IL 60901.

Our annual reading drive for local children continues to grow. I was glad to take our latest participants out for a pizza party at Monical’s in Kankakee, and I hope these dedicated young people will keep reading as they grow up.

I want to thank everyone who took time to donate blood in January for National Blood Donor Month, and our dedicated law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line for us as we honor them in January on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

Our latest legislative session has begun in Springfield 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 (January 2024)

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