SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, issued the following statement after voting in favor of Senate Bill 2043, which, among other things, funds grants for college students that went unfunded over the past year.

“This should have been done a long time ago,” Holmes said. “Failing to deliver on these grants has been harmful to students who are working toward a better education.”

“I urge Governor Rauner to do the right thing by businesses and the next generation of workers who will make them strong: Sign this funding into law.”

Senate Bill 2043 appropriates $397 million for MAP grants and $324 to the Illinois Community College Board for funds that include operations and adult education and literacy programs.

Having passed both chambers of the General Assembly, it awaits the governor’s signature to become law.

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SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, issued the following statement in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s State of the State address Wednesday.

“As Governor Rauner spoke about our state’s accomplishments this past year, he left out that it was a disaster for everyone who looks to government for crucial aid, from children who need daycare to seniors who need food,” Holmes said. “I agree with his calls for government consolidation on the local level and even served on the task force that explored those issues, but I’m disappointed that he’s married these ideas to his anti-union agenda. I am ready to make 2016 the year we set aside these politicized issues and do the work of the state.”

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CHICAGO – State Sen. Linda Holmes, a member of the Lt. Governor's Task Force on Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates, issued the following statement regarding Gov. Bruce Rauner's Monday unveiling of the task force's findings.

"It is unfortunate Gov. Rauner has chosen to inject highly politicized items like repealing prevailing wage and making collective bargaining optional for local governments into the discussion of these other common sense approaches to spending reductions," Holmes said. "I worked with Lt. Governor Sanguinetti to put forth a number of other proposals that could benefit taxpayers, such as granting the power to consolidate units of government with careful local input and examining the unfunded mandates state government imposes on local government. These other items reflect the governor's continued insistence on an anti-union and anti-middle class agenda."

Holmes was one of several members of the task force. She has repeatedly voiced her support for more government consolidation powers to be given over to local governments with proper oversight and taxpayer input. She voted against the task force’s recommendations on the prevailing wage repeal and collective bargaining changes. Unfunded mandates are laws or rules that require local units of government to perform services or meet regulatory standards, but do not provide the funding to do so. Holmes, D-Aurora, will file legislation that would review such mandates on local government.

The commission's full report can be read here.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Environmental Council recognized State Sen. Linda Holmes as one of the General Assembly’s staunchest advocates for the environment in an announcement Thursday.

“Linda Holmes is a leader for the environment in Springfield,” said IEC Executive Director Jen Walling. “Senator Linda Holmes voted 100% of the time with the environmental community on seven pieces of key legislation. The IEC is honored by Linda Holmes’s dedication to Illinois’ environment and we look forward to working together in the future.”

In addition to sponsoring legislation that would have banned ivory sales in Illinois, Holmes also supported legislation to combat invasive plant species, protect an underground water source that feeds 15 Illinois counties and encourage better recycling of electronics by lowering local governments’ expenses in such efforts. Holmes also opposed legislation allowing the hunting of bobcats in Illinois.

“I appreciate the Illinois Environmental Council’s thanks, but I am even more thankful for their continued dedication to preserving the natural beauty and quality of life in our state for future generations,” Holmes said. “Being good stewards of the environment is a duty we cannot afford to ignore.”