Priorities

Throughout her career, Jennifer has fought to ensure that the ladders to success are available to everyone – and that starts with equitable funding for our public schools.

Our state has historically underfunded public education at the state level, shifting the burden to local property taxpayers. This is an unsustainable system that hurts students and puts undue burden on homeowners.  Jennifer supports state funding of education in Illinois at constitutionally-mandated levels, which would bring more equity and higher-quality education to students and bring property tax relief to beleaguered homeowners. Jennifer’s priorities include maximizing funding for public education from Kindergarten through college.  We must direct as much money as possible into classrooms by reevaluating administrative and bureaucratic costs and continuing to adjust and improve Illinois’ school funding formula.

Strong schools make strong communities, and Jennifer will join a coalition of legislators who are working to increase the role the State plays in funding our children’s education. The State’s over reliance on property taxes is a critical issue that must be addressed in a way that does not shortchange our children.

Jennifer stands committed to directing our limited financial resources towards public education and will oppose charter schools that undermine the growth of our neighborhood schools.

Our state has an obligation to provide a healthy environment for all residents in Illinois and to protect our natural resources for future generations to come. Jennifer is committed to supporting environmental laws and policies that promote conservation, sustainability and environmental justice through renewable resource practices and clean energy jobs.

As environmental protections come under attack, Jennifer will partner with advocacy groups to fight back against federal rollbacks and any attempts to weaken or repeal environmental health and safety laws in Illinois.

Jennifer’s work to expand protections under federal law for victims of gender-based persecution, including child sex trafficking and forced marriage, has instilled a unique perspective that she brings to Springfield.

Jennifer was a proud champion of the Reproductive Health Act, which shores up the rights of Illinois women regardless of what the US Supreme Court or anti-choice extremists in Washington do.

Jennifer co-sponsored and passed groundbreaking legislation to combat sexual harassment in the workplace and foster a culture of respect. She understands that is only half the battle—Jennifer remains vigilant about the law’s implementation and enforcement.

She also helped pass legislation removing salary history from job applications, which disproportionately hurts women and contributes to the gender pay gap.

Jennifer is leading Illinois toward greater protections for immigrant families and expanded human rights as Chair of the first-ever House Immigration and Human Rights Committee.

As the granddaughter of Chinese immigrants who faced deportation under the Chinese Exclusion Acts and the only immigration lawyer in the General Assembly, Jennifer advocates for policies that support the diversity and welcoming spirit that make our State a place where families choose to live, work and thrive together.

The Illinois House Immigration and Human Rights Committee serves to create greater equity and opportunity for all residents of Illinois by updating and strengthening human rights protections, crafting and proposing new legislation to improve our immigration system, and establishing a forum in Illinois for addressing human rights and immigration issues.

The Immigration and Human Rights Committee will:

• Support policy and legislation that strengthen human rights protections
• Provide a platform to explore innovative new ideas and approaches
• Produce actionable data to guide future immigration and human rights policy
• Foster trust and good faith with people most impacted by immigration and human rights
• Educate the public and our colleagues about human rights and immigration issues