KANKAKEE – State Senator Patrick Joyce is urging federal lawmakers to resolve the ongoing government shutdown to prevent the cessation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, come Nov. 1. Nearly two million Illinois residents rely on SNAP to provide basic nutrition for themselves and their families.

"If November comes and a solution isn’t brought to the table, there will be a lot of pain in the 40^th," said Joyce (D-Essex). "I have families in every corner of my district, both urban and rural, Republican and Democrat, who depend on these benefits to put food on the table."

SNAP provides critical support for children, seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities, offering the nutrition they need to live healthy, productive lives. The federal government shutdown threatens to halt these benefits immediately, putting millions at risk of food insecurity – including the 39,131 people in the district Joyce represents who rely on SNAP benefits.

KANKAKEE – State Senator Patrick Joyce secured over $90 million to build and repair infrastructure in the South Suburbs and greater Kankakee area.

“From Wilmington to Park Forest, these local projects will improve road safety and bring good-paying jobs to the district,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “We made a bipartisan commitment to improve our state’s aging infrastructure and now, over the years, we are seeing that vision come to life.”

The largest multi-year program to build and repair infrastructure in state history will invest $50.6 billion over six years, continuing an unprecedented investment in safety, mobility and quality of life made possible by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program. The Illinois Department of Transportation’s new multi-year program is both comprehensive and multimodal, with investments in roads and bridges, aviation, transit, freight and passenger rail, waterways, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations touching every Illinois county.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Patrick Joyce’s proposal to help farmers protect their crop yields was signed into law on Friday.

“Legislation like this highlights the moments where government works,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “Through the Illinois Farm Bureau I was able to hear and see the issues our farmers were experiencing and from there I was able to do my job by getting this bill to the governor’s desk.”

Senate Bill 710 addresses multiple issues with the nuisance deer program and deer hunting tags. Currently for nuisance deer, a property owner has to prove each year that there has been damage to property, like destruction of crops, by the deer. Farmers have been requesting a better way to handle this because under the current program, they cannot manage the deer population until after a problem has occurred. The bill would allow the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to issue deer removal permits based on the percentage of permits redeemed in the previous season by the recipient. The bill would also allow for an expansion of youth hunting tags from one to two.

KANKAKEE – State Senator Patrick Joyce announced that 18 school districts across the 40^th District will receive over $8 million in evidence-based funding, in addition to the base funding that the state provides.

“I am dedicated to ensuring schools across my district get their fair share of state funds,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “From Park Forest to Bourbonnais and South Willy, evidence-based funding brings support to schools that need it most.”

The funding comes from the 2017 Illinois Senate Democrat-backed evidence-based funding formula — an overhaul of the way the state funds K-12 education. The law made school funding more equitable by calculating the needs of individual school districts and basing state revenue on those needs. The formula takes into account a district’s total enrollment, poverty rate and number of special education or English language learners, among other factors.