CHICAGO – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins announced that school districts across the 16^th District will receive over $30 million in additional funding to help address the financial challenges of recent years.

“This funding will help our local schools invest in students, who have endured much the past few years,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “As the school year kicks off, I encourage schools to use this investment for our most at-risk youth.”

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 its state revenue on those needs. The formula takes into account a district’s total enrollment, poverty rate, the number of special education or English language learners, among other factors.

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CHICAGO – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins celebrated a new rule through the Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that modernizes the definition of a firearm to better address the proliferation of “ghost guns”.

“Our communities have become too accustomed to the tragedies of fatal gun violence,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “Keeping our most vulnerable populations safe requires a bold strategy to end the market for ‘ghost guns’.”

ATF’s “Frame or Receiver” rule takes effect this week, making clear that parts kits that are ready to convert to functional weapons, or functional frames or receivers of weapons, are subject to the same regulations as traditional firearms. The rule clarifies that background checks must be run on individuals purchasing parts kits, requires serial numbers on parts, and requires gun retailers to keep records for the entire time they are licensed, rather than for 20 years.

Senator Collins passed House Bill 4383 to require the serialization of parts kits in Illinois, making our state a leader in the fight to reduce gun violence. Unserialized guns prevent law enforcement from thoroughly conducting criminal investigations, which hinders their efforts to address the violence in our state. Illinois law enforcement has seen a 400% increase in these types of weapons in just the last five years. The new federal rule will apply Collins’ policy to federally licensed gun dealers across the country.

“Applying our policy at a federal level will make communities across the nation safer, and save countless lives,” Collins said.

Learn more about the new “Frame or Receiver” rule at the ATF’s website.

CHICAGO – Building on the smart infrastructure investments supported by State Senator Jacqueline Collins, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced an investment of more than $220 million in the 16^th Senate District.

“Drivers rely on well-maintained roads to get to work and around our community, and we’ve neglected the state of our infrastructure for far too long,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “Thanks to the Rebuild Illinois program, these investments will improve roads and bridges across the state and provide improved access to jobs and opportunity in our area.”

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CHICAGO – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago) released the following statement after meeting with senior White House officials and leaders from across the country on efforts to prevent gun violence:

“I am grateful to the Biden Administration for convening leaders from across our nation to support our efforts to hold gun manufacturers accountable in Illinois. It is past time that we send a clear message to these manufacturers that we value lives above profits.

“Our communities have unnecessarily suffered and too many lives have been cut short by firearms. Even with some of the more common-sense gun laws in the nation, Illinois is not immune to these tragedies. With the support of leaders in Delaware, New York and the White House, we are working to develop new legislation to end the market for assault weapons by going after the manufacturers directly.

“Assault weapon manufacturers understand that they produce the weapons of choice for mass shooters, yet remain unwilling to stop the flow of these deadly weapons into their hands. Laws providing immunity to assault weapon producers have stopped families from seeking justice and shielded the source of gun violence from any accountability. It is time for that to end.

“With the counsel of leaders who have progressed this fight in their communities, I am confident that we can reduce the gun violence epidemic here in Illinois. Together, a safer future is possible for all of us.”