SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) looks forward to the relief the new budget legislation will bring following its signing by the governor this morning.

“This was unlike any other budget process given the unprecedented essentials funding required for the many services needed to respond and recover from COVID-19’s after effects,” Holmes said. “Education, human services, job recovery, infrastructure and public safety all needed immediate attention to get our people and institutions back on their feet and the economy back on track, and we pulled this together in a bipartisan manner.”

SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is encouraged that Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 2455 this afternoon, allowing important changes to labor and unemployment laws to take immediate effect as workers continue to be shaken by COVID-19’s  toll on jobs and the economy.

Holmes sponsored the measure passed by the General Assembly during the shortened Special Session at the Capitol in May. It will ensure first responders and essential workers have recourse if they contract COVID-19 at work and their employers failed to implement proper health and safety guidelines and requires employers to take this seriously.

SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) made the following statement following the passage of a budget bill for the State of Illinois for Fiscal Year 2021:

“I believe ta very important part of the budget we passed today is that we will make our full pension payment as planned. That is such a cornerstone of our ongoing efforts to address our underfunded pension systems, alongside our current COVID-19-related budget issues at hand.

Legislation addresses federal unemployment aid, employee safety, benefits

SPRINGFIELD — To protect essential workers and incentivize employers to provide the best protective measures possible in the workplace during the pandemic, State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) led the effort to pass a comprehensive labor and workers’ compensation plan out of the Illinois Senate Thursday.

“This is an agreement between business and labor that ensures better protections for employees and clear, consistent guidelines to ensure employers know how to operate safely,” Holmes said. “I’m grateful for the spirit of cooperation that allowed us to work quickly and decisively to pass this plan.”

House Bill 2455, sponsored by Holmes, ensures Illinois continues to qualify for federal relief packages by extending unemployment benefits, waiving the one-week unemployment insurance waiting period, and expanding eligibility for unemployment to non-instructional education employees, such as lunch workers and teachers’ aides. Employers would also not be charged for unemployment benefits paid to those out of work due to COVID-19 for benefits issued between March 15, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020.