CHICAGO – Following a multi-year implementation period, the state’s minimum wage will reach $15 per hour on Jan. 1, thanks to steadfast advocacy from Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford.

“As a state, we have helped countless workers make ends meet, reduce financial stress, and provide a more solid foundation for their futures,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “The $15 minimum wage is a testament to our commitment to economic justice and our belief that everyone who works full time deserves a living wage.”

Lightford led a law in 2019 to put the state on the path to a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2025. The minimum wage was raised from $8.25 to $10 in 2019. Each year after, on Jan. 1, the minimum wage increased by $1 – putting it at $15 come Jan. 1, 2025. Additionally, the youth minimum wage rate will raise to $13 per hour.

SPRINGFIELD – The rise of co-branded alcoholic beverages – like Hard Mountain Dew and Spiked Sunny-D – has piqued the interest of children. Whether the marketing is intentional or not, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is putting a stop to the issue by restricting the location certain alcohol items can be displayed and sold.

"We are taking steps to underscore our commitment to safeguarding the well-being of our youth," said Lightford (D-Maywood). "By limiting the proximity of co-branded alcoholic beverages to items targeting children, we aim to diminish the potential influence of alcohol-related marketing on impressionable minds."

Co-branded alcoholic beverages contain the same or similar brand name, logo or packaging as a non-alcoholic beverage. Senate Bill 2625 will prohibit stores over 2,500 square feet – which primarily is anything bigger than a convenience store – from displaying co-branded alcoholic beverages immediately adjacent to soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water, candy, or snack foods portraying cartoons or child-oriented images.

MAYWOOD – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is working to transform how Illinois funds its higher education system through newly-filed legislation that would take a student-centered approach. 

“Despite education’s paramount importance, the disparity in funding among higher educational institutions remains dreadfully evident,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “This imbalance not only undermines the principle of equal opportunity but also hampers our collective progress as a society.”

Lightford was instrumental in creating the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding in 2021. Over the last two years, the 30-person commission studied if public institutions of higher education are in dire need of a new funding model when serving underrepresented and historically underserved student groups, including Black and Brown students, as well as students from low-income families.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois is just a few months away from having a new state agency to streamline the administration of early childhood education care programs and services thanks to Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford.

“The foundation of a child’s success and well-being is built starting the moment they are born,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “As a state, it is our duty to provide the necessary support and resources to build such stability. The creation of this unique agency will break ground on our transition to a whole, trauma-informed approach to meeting children’s diverse needs.”

The Department of Early Childhood – which will begin its creation July 1, 2024 – will focus on administering early childhood education programs. The new agency will be dedicated to making access to such state programs easier for parents and providers to navigate.