SPRINGFIELD – In response to the governor’s State of the State address, Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) released the following statement.

“The governor’s speech today was disingenuous. His pension cost shift offsets the investment in education he says he’s making, which would put districts who cannot afford the cost shift further away from adequate funding. That does not increase the quality of education for our children.

Furthermore, the cuts in social services show that he cannot fully fund our new education formula and he needs to come up with real solutions. We cannot keep letting our most vulnerable populations take the hit for his lack of governing.”

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) joined Representative Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago), the Heartland Alliance and consumer protection organizations in introducing legislation to protect Illinoisans from predatory lending rates that have trapped thousands in debt.

"With interest rates as high as 300 percent, car title loans are disastrous for families across this state," said Lightford. "It is beyond time that we ensure that car title lending is safe and affordable. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance the Fair Lending Act, which brings much-needed relief for consumers."

SPRINGFIELD- Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) reacted with the following to Governor Bruce Rauner's State of the State address:

"I believe the governor should have told the truth. He talked about a lot of our past history, Gwendolyn Brooks. We can't have another Gwendolyn Brooks if we're not providing higher education opportunitites, if we're not funding MAP grants as we should. We know that MAP grants help fund low income students and helps bridge that gap to keep them in school. And if we continue to neglect these things there will be no inventions of the Twinkie.

I think he made fun of the conditions that we're in today, and it's sad. It's sad that our leader is not governing as he should and he continues to pass the buck on everyone else. I feel like a lot of it was just untrue."

Following the governor’s annual State of the State address, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus assembled for a press conference to discuss the reality of life for many individuals within the black community.

During today’s address, the governor deliberately omitted speaking on many of the struggles that face black and brown Illinoisans today. The caucus says opportunities for advancement are scarce and youth and senior services are being decimated.

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood), who also chairs the joint Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, delivered a clear message:

“The governor did not acknowledge the billions of dollars we’re in debt due to his lack of governing. Today he said he would deliver a balanced budget but did not acknowledge all the cuts he would have to make in order to have a balanced budget unless there is additional revenue created.”