Working alongside Attorney General Lisa Madigan to crack down on unlicensed employment agencies, State Sen. Linda Holmes advanced a plan out of committee Wednesday.

“Employers who are flouting the law are exploiting some of the most vulnerable workers in some of the lowest-paid jobs,” Holmes said. “At the urging of Attorney General Madigan, I’m putting this proposal forward to toughen enforcement and make sure jobseekers are protected.”

Agencies that refer jobseekers to employers for a one-time fee are regulated under an act that has not seen substantive updates in decades. Those regulations also provide inadequate tools for the Attorney General’s Office to enforce compliance.

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AURORA – Families interested in learning more about the John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School are invited to attend one of four informational meetings that will be held in Aurora and Batavia.

East Aurora High School will host a STEM Partnership School meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 23, in the Little Theatre.

Additional information sessions will also be conducted:

Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the cafeteria of West Aurora High School, 1201 W. New York Street, Aurora
Wednesday, March 25, 7 to 8 p.m., at the board rooms in Crouse Education Center, 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora
Thursday, March 26, 7 to 8 p.m. at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1201 Main Street, Batavia

Interested families can attend any of the meetings. The presentations will cover: the concept of the STEM school; curriculum and courses of study; and the application and selection process. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation, which will be conducted in English and Spanish.

The STEM Partnership School on the Aurora University campus serves students in third through eighth grades in the East Aurora, West Aurora, Indian Prairie and Batavia school districts. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

In East Aurora, it is likely that only third grade students will be admitted for the upcoming school year. Students at other grade levels will be put on a waiting list.

To apply, a family member must fill out the Parent or Third Adult Survey, which is due April 10. The application will be available after the parent information meeting.

If more students apply to the school than there are seats available, a lottery will be held. The East Aurora lottery would be held at 6 p.m. in the high school’s Little Theatre.

For more information on the STEM Partnership School, go to stem.aurora.edu.

AURORA — Parents who care for children with disabilities shouldn’t be forced to consider moving them to residential care at devastating expense, State Sen. Linda Holmes argued, alongside families who might be affected by a proposed cut in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s FY 2016 budget.

“They send someone to help when I don’t have anybody,” said Joan Chioles, 83, whose son, 46-year-old James, has developmental disabilities and lives at home through help from the Aurora-based Association for Individual Development (AID). “I wish [Gov. Rauner would] come here and see what’s going on. It would be nice if he could come over here and visit some of these schools and these facilities.”

Lynn O’Shea, president of AID, said about 100 families who receive services from her organization could be similarly affected. For adults with disabilities who have aging parents, the only recourse may be residential placement that can cost families at least $50,000 and the state upwards of $35,000 per person, O’Shea said.

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AURORA – State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement following a trial court ruling that found Senate Bill 1 unconstitutional:

“I was a staunch and outspoken opponent of Senate Bill 1 feeling it was fundamentally flawed and blatantly unconstitutional. Today, the courts have ruled that Senate Bill 1 is indeed unconstitutional. As we respond to this finding, I will continue to stand up for our hardworking teachers and the public employees who have worked their entire lives serving the people of Illinois.”