SPRINGFIELD – After listening to Governor JB Pritzker’s second Budget Address, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) believes the governor is proposing smart investments to help working and middle class families succeed.

One of these investments is a $100 million increase in funding for the Child Care Assistance Program, which would help provide high quality care for an additional 140,000 children.

“Finding affordable child care can be the difference between success and poverty for young families,” Joyce said. “Expanding this program will help so many people establish their careers and get college degrees.”

SPRINGFIELD – In an order to expand coverage of epinephrine – a life-saving medicine for people with allergies – State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is co-sponsoring a measure to make it accessible to all.

“Money should not be a deciding factor for folks who direly need important medications,” Joyce said. “It’s simple. People who have serious allergies shouldn’t be put on the back burner because they can’t afford EpiPens.”

Senate Bill 2457 requires insurers to expand coverage for people who medically need EpiPens regardless of age.

UNIVERSITY PARK – After months of using bottled water and special filters, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) announced that Aqua Illinois will make it easier for University Park residents to access clean drinking water.

Sen. Joyce helped negotiate an agreement with Aqua Illinois, University Park’s water supplier, that focuses on supplying safe and clean drinking water to residents while the company resolves ongoing lead-contamination issues.

“We should be able to take safe, clean water for granted,” Joyce said. “The residents of University Park deserve affordable, convenient access to drinking water that isn’t contaminated with toxic lead.”

SPRINGFIELD – To help address one of the top problems facing the South Suburbs and communities throughout Illinois, Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is joining the Property Tax Relief Task Force, which will propose concrete ideas to help reduce residents’ property tax bills.

Joyce has major concerns regarding the high property tax rates Illinoisans pay compared to the rest of the nation.

“I represent communities where the property tax rate is higher than 30%,” Joyce said. “That’s not sustainable or fair to the people who live there.”