Gov. Pritzker signs new legislation to take aim at “period poverty”

Posted on August 5, 2021
Gov. JB Pritzker. (Facebook/Gov. JB Pritzker)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Newly signed legislation takes aim at what they call “Period Poverty” – when women cannot afford or otherwise access feminine hygiene products.

“There is no excuse for depriving any individual  the right to basic hygiene,” said a sponsor, State Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Cahokia), at Gov. JB Pritzker’s bill-signing ceremony Thursday. “Not providing such an essential need found within feminine hygiene hygiene products to some of our most vulnerable citizens is shameful, and it will no longer happen in Illinois.”

Included – requiring colleges to stock the supplies in restrooms … and getting them covered under the federal food stamp program – SNAP.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…