Barbara Flynn Currie.

Press Releases

  • Rep. Currie Named to Key Education Council

    Race to the Top for Federal Funds Starts with New P-20 Council

    CHICAGO, IL – On December 1st Rep. Currie was appointed to the P-20 Council, a key advisory panel that will make recommendations to the Governor about strengthening our education system. Approximately $400 million in federal Race to the Top discretionary funds may be available to the state of Illinois. The P-20 – which stands for pre-school through graduate school – Council will play an instrumental role in Illinois’ efforts to win those discretionary funds.

    “To ensure a high quality education for all Illinois residents is to help ensure the economic and social vitality of our great state,” said Currie.

    The U.S. Department of Education Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion competitive grant process focused on innovative approaches to education. Illinois could receive approximately $400 million in discretionary funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

    Rep. Currie joins business leaders, teachers, parents, civic groups, university, community college and school officials, and other elected officials on the Council. The broad range of expertise will allow the council to take a comprehensive look at what is necessary for success in our education system.

    Rep. Currie has long been a strong advocate for improved education in Illinois. She initiated the state program that funds pre-school services. Last legislative session, in an effort to create an informed plan for improving education, Rep. Currie sponsored the creation of the Innovation, Intervention and Restructuring Task Force to gather data and report recommendations to the General Assembly. Her appointment to the P-20 Council is another step in her efforts to reform education in Illinois.

    Work for Rep. Currie and the Council begins immediately – the first meeting is to be held on December 8th.

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  • House Approves Currie Legislation to Help Make Housing More Affordable, Efficient for Low-Income Residents

    SPRINGFIELD, IL – New housing and transportation projects in urban areas across the state would focus more on affordability and proximity to work, schools and shops under a measure sponsored by state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, that passed the Illinois House with overwhelming bipartisan support on Friday.

    “When we consider where to build housing and fund transportation projects, we should get the best bang for our buck,” Currie said. “Affordability for low-income residents is a high priority, and housing that links workers to their jobs increases affordability.”

    Senate Bill 414 provides that the state use a Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, also known as the H+T Index, as a development tool for housing and transportation project funding and siting in urban areas in Illinois.

    The goal of the proposal is to maximize efficiency and promote affordability within city housing plans. For example, the H+T Index could encourage the development of new housing next to a train station or a bus line. Currie’s measure, which is sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, is backed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a group focused on promoting sustainable urban communities, transportation and community development.

    “Millions of Illinois residents who live in urban areas rely on mass transit to get to work, do their grocery shopping and see the doctor,” Currie said. “The fiscal burden is greatly increased when the closest bus stop is five miles from home. Reversing that pattern and putting new housing closer to vital transportation hubs makes good sense and helps promote healthier communities.”

    Currie’s and Raoul’s bill now returns to the Senate where the chamber must approve revisions made to the bill in the House. If the Senate concurs with the changes, the bill will move to the governor for his consideration.

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  • Currie Legislation Aimed at Helping Families End the Cycle of Recidivism Passes Legislature

    Bill requires state to give families access to information on local support services

    SPRINGFIELD, IL – To help end the cycle of crime and recidivism among families, the Illinois Legislature has passed a measure sponsored by state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, requiring state agencies to work with community groups on providing informational materials to the families and children of incarcerated parents.

    “Ending the cycle of crime will never happen just by putting criminals behind bars, and it is not as simple as making sure that we teach our children right from wrong,” Currie said. “We need to work to provide resources so children can have a strong community support system, as well as a strong family support system.”

    Senate Bill 1404, which was sponsored by state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, in the Senate, requires the state Department of Corrections and Department of Human Services to inform the children and families of incarcerated parents of the social service programs that are available to them, including visitation programs, family counseling, mentoring, school-based programs, and other programs identified by community organizations that work with families of prisoners.

    Materials must provide telephone and Internet contacts to provide the children’s caregivers with further information and assist them in locating and accessing services for children. The Department of Corrections must make this information available through its website and through existing toll-free telephone numbers. The Department of Corrections would provide the materials to inmates during orientation to ensure that children’s caregivers receive them, and materials would also be made available in correctional facility visiting and waiting areas.

    According to the Community Renewal Society, children of the incarcerated are disproportionately poor, African American and Latino, and many continue the cycle of crime. The Community Research Society also reports that without intervention, a large percentage of children with parents involved in the criminal justice system are themselves likely to end up in the system.

    Currie’s and Raoul’s bill now awaits the governor’s signature. The bill is supported by the Illinois Task Force for Children of Prisoners, Community Renewal Society, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers and the Illinois African-American Family Commission.

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  • Currie Receives Legislative Award for Commitment to Protecting Chicago Parks

    February 9, 2009

    CHICAGO – State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, received a legislative award from Friends of the Parks at its 34th Annual Meeting on Thursday for her efforts in the Illinois legislature to improve and protect Chicago parks.

    “Chicago is renowned for its world-class schools, arts, and culture, but our parks are also one of our city’s magnificent jewels,” Currie said. “Hundreds of selfless volunteers work hard day after day and year after year to make sure Chicagoans can enjoy the outdoors and preserve open spaces for future generations.”

    Friends of the Parks recognized Currie for her work in helping to secure $725,000 for improvements to Nash Park, Jackson Park, the South Shore Cultural Center, and Burnham Park. On Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a supplemental spending bill that returns $9.25 million to the state Department of Natural Resources and prevents the loss of more than $15 million in federal funding. The bill restores funding to six state conservation funds, including the Illinois Habitat Endowment Trust Fund and the Illinois Habitat Fund. Currie, who serves as majority leader in the House, helped ensure passage of the bill in the General Assembly.

    “The state of Illinois faces a number of significant challenges in meeting its obligations to its citizens,” Currie said. “As we work through many tough issues, including stimulating a sluggish economy, we cannot forget the importance of protecting our natural environment. We have worked hard together to make Chicago a city that places a high value on both economic strength and environmental protection. We must not let up in our efforts.”

    Friends of the Parks is a non-profit park advocacy organization that works to protect, preserve and improve parks and forest preserves in Chicago. Friends of the Parks builds stronger communities by empowering Chicagoans to take ownership of their neighborhood parks through volunteer activities and civic engagement. For more information, visit www.fotp.org.

  • Currie to Continue as House Majority Leader for 96th General Assembly

    SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, took the oath of office and was sworn in as a member of the 96th Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday. Currie will continue in her role as House Majority Leader for the next two years and will also continue serving as chair of the House Special Investigative Committee that last week voted unanimously to recommend the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House. The governor was impeached by the House with a near unanimous vote again on Wednesday.

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  • Hospital Assessment Program Approval

    December 4, 2008

    JOINT STATEMENT FROM
    KEN ROBBINS PRESIDENT, AND JIM SKOGSBERGH, BOARD CHAIR,
    ILLINOIS HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

    RE: TODAY’S APPROVAL OF THE ILLINOIS HOSPITAL ASSESSMENT
    PROGRAM BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES


    NOTE: The Hospital Assessment Program will bring Illinois $3.85 billion in new federal Medicaid funds over five years, including $3.2 billion for hospitals. The program will also provide $1.3 billion – when matched by federal funds – for other Medicaid health care needs
    across the state.

    The Illinois Hospital Association commends all those who played a key role in partnering with the hospital community to make the new five-year Illinois Hospital Assessment Program a reality: the entire Illinois Congressional delegation, Governor Rod Blagojevich, state legislators – especially Senator Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) and Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), Illinois Healthcare and Family Services Director BarryMaram, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
    (CMS).  During these turbulent economic times, when the need for health care services is growing and funding sources for health care are shrinking, the Illinois Hospital Assessment Program is essential to our state’s health care delivery system. The program will significantly improve Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals, which are far less than the costs of delivering that care, and ensures the state can play a part in helping hospitals provide essential, high quality heath care for all Illinois patients who depend on their local hospitals in addition to Medicaid beneficiaries. The program will also provide critically needed funding for other Medicaid health care needs across the state.
    With this infusion of funds, our hospitals will be able to continue providing life-saving but extremely high-cost services such as trauma care, neonatal intensive care, and care for burn victims. Improved Medicaid funding helps hospitals keep pace with advances in medical technology, recruit and retain qualified nurses and doctors, and continue to improve patient safety for all who come to them for care.

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    The Illinois Hospital Association, with offices in Naperville and Springfield, represents 200 hospitals and health systems and the patients and communities they serve. For more information, see the web site, www.ihatoday.org.
    Contact: Danny Chun, 630-276-5558; dchun@ihastaff.org.

     

  • Rep. Currie Directs $500 Donation to Hyde Park & Kenwood Hunger Programs

    CHICAGO, IL – State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie recently directed a $500 donation from the United Counties Council of Illinois to the Hyde Park-Kenwood Hunger Programs. The HPK Hunger Programs support a soup kitchen and a community food pantry. Rep. Currie is delighted that UCC stepped up to the plate and she encourages everyone to make a donation.

    The community food pantry, located at 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave., and the soup kitchen, located at 4608 S. Greenwood Ave., are safety nets for the community – serving the jobless and the underemployed, the homeless, the disabled, seniors and children. Rev. Susan Johnson of the Hyde Park Union Church reports that the community food pantry is currently serving nearly 600 people every month, up from the usual 500. And the soup kitchen serves approximately 175 people every day but Saturday.

    For more information on the program or to find out how to make a contribution, please contact Rev. Susan Johnson at 773-363-6063.




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Paid for by Barbara Flynn Currie for State Representative Committee. A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, Illinois. Contributions are not tax deductible. State law requires that we report the occupation and name of the employer of any individual who contributes over $500.