SPRINGFIELD – When students struggle with reading comprehension, they often struggle in other areas of education. To address this issue, Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood), Illinois Senate Majority Leader, is sponsoring a measure to increase students' literacy and reading comprehension. 

"Children with strong reading abilities oftentimes have a confident approach to their education," Lightford said. "It’s critical for educators to focus on developing a child’s literacy development within the early stages."

Senate Bill 3900 creates the Right to Read Act in the School Code to help students achieve greater levels of literacy and reading comprehension at an early age through evidence-based literacy instruction. 

MAYWOOD – Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood), is excited to announce the new $12 per hour minimum wage in Illinois is starting Jan. 1, 2022.

“Even before the pandemic, many working families were struggling,” Lightford, chief sponsor of the 2019 law raising the minimum wage, said. “This increase won’t solve all of their problems, but it will surely help.”

Public Act 101-1 was signed into law in 2019, putting the state on the path to a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2025. So far, there have been three increases to the minimum wage.

Access to early intervention services is an initiative under the Education and Workforce Development Pillar, now known as the Education and Workforce Equity Act. Early intervention services help children with disabilities overcome their difficulties and enter school better prepared to succeed.

MAYWOOD – Kimberly A. Lightford, Illinois Senate Majority Leader (D-Maywood) congratulated local businesses struggling from the pandemic that were awarded grants from the latest round of the Back to Business program.

The B2B program allocated $250 million in American Rescue Plan dollars for small businesses negatively affected by the pandemic. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $150,000 per business and can be used to cover a wide range of operations such as staff and overhead costs.

“Small Businesses struggled the most throughout the pandemic, and I’m glad these businesses received relief so that they can continue to operate in in our communities,” Lightford said. “Local businesses are the backbone of our economy and supporting them helps keep jobs in the community.”