I wanted to share with you my August update newsletter for the 57th District. If you would like to enroll in the monthly newsletter, please scroll to the bottom of my website’s home page and fill out the form labeled “Stay Informed”. Thank you!
__________________________________
Friends,
My name is Jonathan Carroll, and I’m your State Representative. Thank you for signing up for our email service, I hope to continue to use this newsletter as a way of consistently updating my constituents on what is going on in Springfield and around our district. The 57th District is comprised of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Glenview, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, Palatine, Prospect Heights, and Wheeling. As summer is ending, and we’re getting ready to send our children back to school, I wanted to take a moment to quickly update you on our efforts, and let you know about some upcoming events.
Since taking office, helping individuals with food allergies has been one of my priorities. My 9-year old daughter Brooke is my inspiration as she’s severely allergic to several foods. I’m proud to say that major progress has been made this legislative session. On Friday, July 26th, Governor J.B. Pritzker, signed my sesame allergy bill, HB 2123 into law. This legislation will ensure that allergy information is clearly and accurately labeled in foods containing sesame. I was personally touched, as Governor Pritzker took the time to sign a copy of this bill to my daughter. We are now the first state in the US to require this important labeling, making us a leader in protecting this vulnerable community. To put this in perspective, Illinois joins Israel, Canada, Australia and the European Union mandating this type of labeling.
The Governor also signed HB 3435 on Friday, August 8th. This bill requires insurance companies that are offering health care coverage plans to children under 18, with an allergy, to cover Epinephrine (aka EpiPens). Like the sesame labeling legislation, Illinois is the first state requiring this type of coverage. These are life-essential medications that are the difference between life and death in some cases, and we shouldn’t be forcing families to choose between feeding their family, and buying another dose. I want to thank the Governor for recognizing how vital these bills are, and signing them into law. I commend his work to make people with allergies safe.
In other news, my office recently sent out a large shipment of donated phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers. They are a nonprofit organization that accepts donations of old phones and sends them to our troops stationed overseas so that they can call home and stay connected with their families. I am very proud that we were able to send so many phones to this charity. I am humbled to be representing such a generous constituency. It is an honor to help such a worthy cause. We continue to be a drop-off site, so if you have any functioning phones you no longer want, stop by our district office in Northbrook and drop them off.
Finally, we have some events in the next few weeks that I would like to inform you about. On Wednesday, August 28th, from 6 to 7:30 PM at Prospect Heights Library, we will be hosting an Energy Efficiency Seminar with State Representative Mark Walker and energy experts from ComEd. We will be discussing tips for conserving energy and cutting your utility bills. We will also be conducting Public Office Hours at Indian Trails Library on Tuesday, the 27th of August from 9 to 11 AM, and at Prospect Heights Library on the 10th of September from 3 to 5 PM. My staff, along with staff from US Congressman Brad Schnider’s office and staff from Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office, will be on hand to answer questions and resolve any issues you may have. Please feel free to stop by and say hello. We will continue to be knocking on doors in the district and engaging the community so that my staff and I can better represent the 57th District.
Best Wishes,
Jonathan Carroll
State Representative
57th District
