PARK FOREST – State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) invites residents to participate in his constituent survey to get their input on the most important issues people are facing across the state.

“As your state senator, I value your opinion on important issues facing Illinois,” Joyce said. “I encourage residents to take a few minutes to fill out the survey so I can best represent the families and individuals in our community.”

To access the survey, click here.

With questions or for additional information, Joyce encourages residents to contact his office at 708-756-0882 or visit SenatorPatrickJoyce.com.

PARK FOREST – State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is reminding people to look out for text and email scams asking for personal information from someone claiming to be from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“We have seen an increase in scams throughout the pandemic, and most recently scammers are posing as representatives of IDOT seeking people’s personal information,” Joyce said. “If you’ve received a suspicious text message or email asking for personal information, don’t respond – delete it.” 

While the messages might look official, IDOT will not request personal information, such as Social Security numbers or bank information, via text or email.

To protect personal information, take the following precautions:

• Delete unsolicited emails and texts requesting personal information or promising state driver’s licenses or IDs;
• Do not click on any links contained in such emails or texts, as they may place malware on your computer or devices;
• Hang up on any calls, including robocalls that ask you to take immediate action or provide personally identifiable information;
• Ask to use other types of identifiers besides your Social Security number; and
• Keep software up to date, including operating systems and antivirus protection programs on your computer, phone and other devices.

“While the messages might look official, IDOT will not ask for your personal information through text or email,” Joyce said. “The department is working around the clock to keep you safe.”

SPRINGFIELD – To eliminate the teacher shortage in Illinois, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) advanced a plan out of the Senate Friday to increase the number of hours a retired teacher may work without impairing their retirement status.

“The teacher shortage in Illinois predated COVID-19, and as we see more school districts return to in-person learning, some will be faced with challenges in hiring substitute teachers,” Joyce said. “This legislation will ensure schools have the most qualified professionals to teach our children.”

Currently, Illinois law allows retired teachers to substitute teach for up to 120 days or 600 hours without jeopardizing their retirement status. Because retired teachers often return to work as substitute teachers, Joyce’s initiative would create a yearly, rather than lifetime limit: Retired teachers could substitute teach for 100 days or 500 hours each school year beginning July 1, 2023.

PARK FOREST – Individual income tax returns for Illinois may be submitted starting Friday, Feb. 12, and State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) urges residents to file early this year.

“This is an important filing season, given the pandemic,” Joyce said. “I encourage folks to begin filing as soon as they’re able so they can receive their tax refunds as quickly as possible.”

According to the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR), an error-free return filed electronically can trigger a direct-deposit refund within four to six weeks. The number of electronic filers increased by nearly 3% last year. Of 6.4 million returns filed, 87% were filed online and 63% qualified for refunds.

IDOR officials say that filing tax returns electronically and requesting direct deposit is still the fastest way for taxpayers to receive a refund. IDOR recommends filers create a MyTax Illinois account, particularly because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, so that taxpayers may quickly respond to any filing inquiries and ensure swift processing.

IDOR is also working to protect filers from identity theft. The department encourages taxpayers to be vigilant in protecting personal information and to be alert to phone scams and email phishing.

The deadline to file 2020 income taxes is Thursday, April 15.