CHICAGO – The state-operated community-based testing site at Foreman Mills has moved to a new location at the former Save-A-Lot at 7938 S. Halsted St. as of Jan. 2, and will continue providing free COVID-19 testing without the need for insurance, referrals or appointments, State Senator Jacqueline Collins announced today.

“I am glad to continue working alongside Gov. Pritzker and the Illinois Dept. of Public Health to ensure that this state-run testing site, the only one in Chicago, remains operational and located here in Auburn Gresham, one of the parts of the city that has been the hardest hit by the pandemic and home of the first known COVID-19 case and death,” Collins said. “I urge everyone to get the word out about the new location for this site, and I encourage everyone to take the time to get tested.”

The test site will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the week except Tuesday.

Collins was a vocal advocate for bringing a state-run, free testing site to the Auburn Gresham area, which opened this past spring – first located at the Studio Movie Grill, then at Foreman Mills and now at the former Save-A-Lot.

All Illinois Dept. of Public Health-operated community-based testing sites like the South Halsted Street location are open to anyone, and those seeking testing need not exhibit symptoms. A complete list of these community-based testing sites can be found on the Illinois Dept. of Public Health website at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/testing.

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The following letter to the editor from Senator Jacqueline Collins was published in the Chicago Sun-Times Dec. 17, 2020. You can view it here.

What remedy exists for what happened to Anjanette Young in February 2019? What restitution is truly just when police, acting on poor information, raided her home and handcuffed her while she was naked and pleading with them, only to be yelled at and told to calm down?

Nearly two years later, there has been no disciplinary action against the officers. Indeed, we only heard of Anjanette’s terrifying situation 22 months after it occurred, following what appears to be a coordinated, bureaucratic effort to deny giving her footage of the incident from officers’ body cameras.

The City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department remain more concerned with covering up these wrongful raids than stopping them.

Ms. Young was not guilty of any crime, and police raided her house in error. As I made clear when I sponsored the Peter Mendez Act (Public Act 101-224) mandating better training in the event of raids on homes where children are present, raids like these are civil rights violations.

Bursting into the home of someone who has not been convicted of a crime and handcuffing them naked, then forcing them to air this indignity publicly to have any hope for justice, is a civil rights violation whether or not that person is eventually convicted of a crime. These actions are not about public safety or deterring criminal activity. It is about sending a message that police may do as they please.

More than a year since the documentary “[un]warranted” aired young Peter Mendez’s story, people like Peter’s family and like Anjanette Young must fight tooth and nail for Chicago to even acknowledge the wrongs done to them. This cannot stand. We must see accountability on the part of the Chicago Police Department and the City of Chicago.

State Sen. Jacqueline Collins, 16th District, Chicago

CHICAGO – As COVID-19 cases rise to levels worse than they were during the initial outbreak, State Senator Jacqueline Collins said the Illinois General Assembly’s decision to postpone legislative session is the right one, but lawmakers must not lose sight of efforts to fight systemic racism.

“We must treat this virus seriously,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “While the safe and responsible thing to do now is to postpone meeting, one of our top priorities when we do return should be legislation tackling racism in Illinois.”

Collins led a Senate committee hearing to highlight systemic racism in access to home lending during the fall, part of an ongoing effort by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to identify measures that will put Illinois on a course for racial and economic equity. The Black Caucus has focused on reform in the areas of criminal justice and police accountability, education and workforce development, economic access, and health care and human services as its major policy goals.

Since September, the Senate has hosted subject matter hearings on these four policy pillars in an effort to provide legislators and the public with a deeper look into the Black experience in Illinois. The hearings, which are set to wrap up this week, have served as an opportunity to gather facts and recommendations to help the Black Caucus formulate a specific legislative agenda for when the General Assembly next convenes.

“When race is still the greatest predictor of whether someone gets a home loan, whether someone can cash a paycheck at a bank, whether they die by police or from the coronavirus, then we are forced to reckon with the sobering truth that our systems are racist,” Collins said. “I believe more Illinoisans than ever are grappling with this truth, and I urge them to make their voices heard to all their representatives in government as we await the next legislative session.”

The General Assembly is expected to convene prior to the spring session.

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