a Better Bubble™

Aggregator

Duckworth, Murray, Booker, Schumer Reignite Push to Help Veterans Struggling with Infertility Grow Their Families

7 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. – C ombat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in reintroducing legislation to help make it easier for our Veterans who struggle with infertility to build their families . Their Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025 would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and Veterans’ health care to include—among other things—in vitro fertilization (IVF) and adoption assistance for servicemembers and Veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance and the option for individuals to freeze their eggs or sperm ahead of deployment to a combat zone. This legislation was previously included as part of Senator Duckworth’s Right to IVF Act , which Senate Republicans blocked not once , but twice last year. “After all the tremendous sacrifices our brave women

Continue Reading

DCFS Awards College Scholarships To Current And Former Youth In Care

7 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO — Today, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Heidi Mueller, legislators, DCFS staff, caregivers and students gathered to celebrate this year’s scholarship recipients at the department’s annual scholarship luncheon. This year, 347 current or former youth in care received scholarships provided by the Illinois DCFS Scholarship Program, including up to five consecutive years of tuition and mandatory fee waivers valid at Illinois public universities, community colleges and vocational schools. The program also provides student recipients with financial assistance for books and school supplies, a monthly grant payment to supplement other expenses and an Illinois Medicaid card. “As governor, I am committed to uplifting the next generation of Illinoisans, particularly those young people who have faced great adversity with grace and grit.” said Governor JB Pritzker. “From textbooks to tuition, students must be afforded

Continue Reading

Attorney General Raoul Co-leads Lawsuit To Block Unlawful Attacks On Medically Necessary Health Care For Transgender Youth

7 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York co-led a multistate lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict access to medically necessary health care for transgender and nonbinary youth. Raoul and the coalition of 14 other attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, filed the lawsuit targeting recent federal actions aimed at deterring providers from offering medically appropriate care to transgender individuals under age 19, even in states like Illinois where such care is legal and protected. The lawsuit argues the administration has overstepped its authority by using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to pressure health care providers. The coalition is asking the court to block these actions and protect access to care for patients who need it. “Medically necessary health care for transgender youth is lawful, essential and lifesaving

Continue Reading

The Original Quarter Auction to Celebrate with Sweet 16 Event

7 months 3 weeks ago
WOOD RIVER - The Original Quarter Auction is celebrating its 16th anniversary with a Sweet 16 bash. On Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, community members can come by the Wood River Moose for a quarter auction featuring 25 vendors and plenty of fun. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the auction starts at 7 p.m. Organizer Andrea, who invented the quarter auction, can’t wait to celebrate its 16th year. “The more you bid, the more you win,” she said. “It’s been fun.” Sixteen years ago, Andrea attended a Tupperware party where attendees were bidding on items using quarters, but she felt it was “so disorganized.” She spent the next two weeks workshopping a new kind of event that would eventually become the quarter auction. Quarter auctions have since gained popularity across the Midwest. When attendees arrive on Aug. 6, they will purchase a paddle for $1. The live auction will begin at 7 p.m., and Andrea’s daughter, Anna Lynn, will call the 100

Continue Reading

Opinion: Fairness at the Pharmacy Counter: Help Is on the Way for Illinois Families and Seniors

7 months 3 weeks ago
GLEN CARBON - In Illinois, families shouldn’t have to choose between putting food on the table and filling a prescription. Yet every day, that’s exactly the choice too many parents, grandparents, and caregivers are forced to make. Not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because a powerful, hidden middleman known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) has made it nearly impossible to keep up. Most people have never heard of PBMs, but they feel their impact every time they stand at the pharmacy counter and wonder why a much-needed medication suddenly costs so much. PBMs are the secretive middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies, and local pharmacies. They negotiate drug prices, decide which drugs your insurance will cover, determine how much your neighborhood pharmacy gets paid, and then benefit from the savings that should be going to you. Illinois families work hard, budget carefully, raise kids, and care for aging parents, yet too often, they

Continue Reading

Veterans and Gold Star Families Day at the 2025 Illinois State Fair

7 months 3 weeks ago
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA), the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois State Fair invite veterans and their family members to enjoy a free day at the Illinois State Fair on Sunday, August 10, 2025. This celebration marks the 250th Birthdays of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The speaking program will include readings and music relevant to the histories of the branches, and period clothing displays. The all-day veterans resource fair features representatives from veteran service organizations from across the state to provide valuable information and resources to veterans. The annual Veterans Day parade through the fairgrounds will conclude the celebration. A complimentary lunch is offered to veterans and their immediate family. “This is a special year for Veterans and Gold Star Families Day as we celebrate the birthdays of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps,” said IDVA Director Terry Prince.

Continue Reading

Budzinski Announces $6.4 Million in Head Start Funding for Champaign County

7 months 3 weeks ago
SPRINGFIELD — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) announced that Champaign County will receive $6.4 million in Head Start and Early Head Start funding. The competitive grant will serve 269 children and 111 infants and toddlers across the county. This announcement follows a letter of support that Budzinski, alongside Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), sent in December 2024 to secure this necessary funding. “Head Start programs provide vital educational and developmental support to working families in Central and Southern Illinois,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “I’m pleased to announce that after our advocacy to secure these dollars, Champaign County has been awarded $6.4 million in Head Start and Early Head Start funding. Supporting early childhood education is one of my top priorities, and I’m going to keep fighting to protect programs like these that ensure every child is set up for success.” “Providing

Continue Reading

IDFPR Finishes Phase 2 Implementation of New Licensing System

7 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced today that 25 more license types are now available for licensure via the Department’s new online licensing system, CORE (Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment) . Today’s announcement marks the successful completion of CORE’s Phase 2, during which IDFPR added 88 license types to CORE. The license types added today are: Athletic Trainer Continuing Education Sponsor Optometry Continuing Education Sponsor Barber/Cosmetologist/Esthetician/Nail Technician Continuing Education Sponsor Prescribing Psychologist Clinical Rotations Program Canine Handler Training Course Professional Counselor Continuing Education Sponsor Dental/Dental Hygienist Continuing Education Sponsor Psychologist Continuing Education Sponsor Dietitian/Nutrition Counselor Continuing Education Sponsor Respiratory Care Practitioner Continuing Education Sponsor Environm

Continue Reading

Environmental Justice Caucus Co-Chairs Duckworth, Booker, Markey Slam Trump Administration for Plan to Eliminate EPA Ability to Protect Public Health

7 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA)—co-chairs of the U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus— issued the following statement after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced his proposal to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding , a landmark determination that requires the EPA to address greenhouse gas emissions and pollution because of the threat that climate change poses to public health and welfare. By rescinding the endangerment finding, the Trump administration will effectively declaw the EPA, giving big businesses a green light to pollute our air and devastate environmental justice communities. “Once again, the Trump Administration is sacrificing our children’s future to protect polluters in the present. Trump and Zeldin are annihilating the key legal foundation that requires our government to act on climate change because it threatens the

Continue Reading

This Week in Gardening & Nature

7 months 3 weeks ago
Plant of the Week: Melons. Hey, parents, teachers, child care providers: Storybooks on Pollinators Sign up for University of Missouri Extension Online Food Preservation Class: pressure canning, boiling water bath canning, steam canning, dehydration, and freezing. $30. Register Plan your garden with  Seed St. Louis Planting Calendar, good for Zones 6a, 6b, 7a, maybe more. Sow … Continue reading This Week in Gardening & Nature →
mceselski