SPRINGFIELD –Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) proudly introduced a resolution in the Illinois Senate to declare November 2016 Lung Cancer Awareness Month on the behalf of Ian Piet, a fifth-grader from Tinley Park in the 19th District.

Piet lost his father in 2015 to a fight with lung cancer, motivating him to become an advocate and fundraiser for a cure.

Working closely with a variety groups to find a cure and collect donations, Piet raised over $800. Participating in the Hancock Hustle, Piet took to the steps of the John Hancock building in Chicago and raised $200 by running up to the top of the building and met United States Senator Mark Kirk on his way up.

“People like Ian are our future and I am so glad to see young people fighting for a great cause like curing cancer,” Hastings said. “I am proud to represent community leaders like Ian and join him in his fight to find a cure.”

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted to send more than $750 million in emergency funding to social service agencies throughout the state.

“Our social service infrastructure was being decimated by this impasse,” Hastings said. “This money will allow many social service agencies to stay afloat while we continue to negotiate a full human services budget.”

Senate Bill 2038 was passed after the Senate concurred on a House amendment that would send necessary resources for services that provide for sexual assault victims, children with autism and the homeless.

The legislation now moves to the governor’s desk for approval.

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted against a proposal that would rewrite the school funding formula in Illinois.  

"There is no doubting the inequity in funding between schools across Illinois," Hastings said.  "However, Senate Bill 231 would have devastating effects on K-12 education throughout the south suburbs."

The proposed legislation would reduce general state aid for south suburban schools and require that local schools become more dependent on property taxes. Furthermore, SB 231 would result in nearly 11,000 of the 32,000 students in the 19th Senate District to lose funding for their education.  

Elementary and high schools across the 19th District could lose anywhere between $1 million to $4 million per school district annually.
 
"We pay an extraordinary amount of property taxes in the suburbs. SB 231 would cause our area to lose approximately $10 million in education funding and would shift this cost to residents by way of property taxes,” Hastings said. “As a former school board member, I worked hard to balance our budget and act financially responsible.  We should not punish responsible school boards, but we should demand fiscal responsibility of legislators in Springfield."

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted to send emergency funding to state universities and community colleges.

Senate Bill 2048 would ensure that all state universities, community colleges and MAP grants would receive some emergency funding to help with the current fiscal year. This is in addition to the Senate Bill 2059 which also sent emergency appropriations.

“Amidst our budget standoff, schools like Governor’s State and Chicago State were being starved and forced to make unfortunate decisions,” Hastings said. “Though a full higher education budget is still necessary, this will allow schools to continue to educate our students without making drastic decisions that only harm our students.”

The legislation would also send funding to schools that accept MAP grants to pay for a portion of the amounts that were awarded prior to the start of the fiscal year.

The legislation now moves to the House for further consideration