Hello Friends! It's March, which means we're a month away from Spring session wrapping up. The work in Springfield continues, and I encourage my constituents to reach out to my office regarding their stances on the bills being presented this session. You can reach us via phone at 815-372-0085 or email at info@repdagmara.org. Please continue to keep Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers as they fight this senseless attack on their nation. Illinois is home to many Ukrainians that we are also keeping in our thoughts and prayers. Sincerely, |
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I virtually attended World Read Aloud Day at Brooks Middle School, where I read Denzel Washington's Fall Forward Commencement Speech. It was beautiful to read this inspiring speech about taking chances to our future leaders. |
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University of Illinois System Office of Governmental relations hosted a virtual panel with alumni that live in my district. I was able to talk to them about the importance of higher education, what's going on in the district, and much more! |
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I had the opportunity to serve as a panelist on the Illinois Association of School Boards Three Rivers Division Legislative Breakfast Panel. We were able to discuss the legislative priorities for the IASB and talk about the education based successes from previous legislation. |
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My office and I attended the Black History Month Awareness Club annual Black History Month event at Bolingbrook High School where we were able to give out resources and PPE, as well as meet members and organizations in the community. |
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Thanks to community members all over the district, we were able to deliver 215 handmade valentines cards to local long term care facilities! These cards really help show our seniors how loved they are. Thank you to all those who participated in making this a success! |
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The annual Bolingbrook State of the Village was held at the end of February, and while I was in Springfield, my office was still able to attend and learn about all the incredible projects Bolingbrook completed in 2021 and all the new businesses that will continue bringing revenue and people to the area in 2022. |
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My staff resumed canvassing this month out in the community. They focused on dropping off resources that our office has to offer constituents as well as information for our resource fair that we were hosting. We love getting out into the community, even when it's cold out! |
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To close out February, we hosted a vaccine clinic and resource fair with Young Invincibles. This was an opportunity for people to get vaccinated, get their booster, and learn about different resources that are in the community. We were able to get incredibly important resources out to people! |
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COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND INFORMATION |
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Mortgage assistance is coming in April through the Illinois Housing Development Authority! IHDA will have webinars in English and Spanish available to walk people through the process of applying. Click here to see the schedule of webinars. In order to be eligible, you must be behind on your mortgage or property tax. Applicants must demonstrate that they have communicated with their mortgage provider about their inability to pay. If you need assistance applying my office will be available to assist you in the application process during our office hours. Please email my office at info@repdagmara.org if you would like to be notified when the mortgage assistance program goes live. |
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We are looking for Summer Interns! We have 2 tracks available to college students. Track 1 is a General Internship that will assist with casework, district research, working with constituents, and more. Track 2 is the Outreach Internship, which will assist with events and event planning, office outreach plan, district canvassing, and other tasks. Click here to apply. |
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We also have a way for high school students in the 85th District to get involved in my office! We are inviting high school students to join my Youth Advisory Council for them to learn more about state government, discuss and present their own bill ideas, hear from other elected officials, volunteer in the community, and more. We will be providing community service hours for participation. Click here to apply. |
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HB1711, known as the Humane Pet Store Law, went into effect at the end of February. Many stores are in compliance with this new law, however there are a few not following the guidelines put forth in HB1711. If you come across a store that is still selling puppies from breeders, please notify IDOA at 217-782-4944. My office has received emails from constituents regarding HB4643, which would allow stores to continue to sell animals from breeders. I hear your calls to vote no on this bill. Rest assured, if this bill comes to a vote, I will not be supporting this measure. My constituents have made themselves clear on this issue. |
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