Mike's
Legislative
Wins
✓ Banned discrimination against black hair in all schools
After reading about a 4 year old black child on the west side of Chicago being suspended from school because of his braids, Mike immediately drafted and passed a bill that bans hair discrimination in all K-12 schools. Mike named the legislation the “Jett Hawkins Act,” naming it after the boy. Schools have targeted black hair across the country, baring athletes from playing on sports teams while wearing black hairstyles and suspending children whose hair looks like mine. It’s time to turn the page on this ugly history. Everyone should be able to sport their hair in a way that is authentic and that honors their heritage just like I do as a state Senator who proudly wears free-form locs.
✓ Championed youth mental health
Passed into law a bill that requires schools to instruct on how and where youth can access resources to improve their mental health. Mike’s bill also sets up the first statewide youth mental health council which will include queer youth, black and brown youth, young women, and underrepresented mental health workers to help shape statewide mental health policy.
✓ Stood up for affordable housing residents
Responding to the tragic deaths of three residents of affordable housing who died during an early heatwave in 2022, Mike secured passage of a new landmark law requiring air-conditioning in all state-supported affordable housing. Mike’s bill also codifies new protections for residents of affordable housing all across Illinois including minimum heating requirements and minimum time to fix heating outages in the winter. Mike also passed legislation that prevents displacement of low-income rental housing subsidy users when their income fluctuates. Mike supports lifting the ban on rent control. Mike also passed a new law that creates a Cooperative Housing Fund to help build and preserve co-op housing for low and moderate income residents.
✓ Secured passage of new law requiring transit agencies to move to zero-emission buses by 2026
Mike led the fight to require that the Chicago Transit Authority and other transit agencies will only be allowed to purchase zero-emission buses starting in 2026. Mike’s bill was included in a major transit bill that he helped lead in the Senate which also includes reduced fares for youth and survivors of domestic violence. As a lifelong rider and staunch supporter of public transit, Mike will continue to push CTA and other transit agencies across Illinois to improve reliability and frequency of service.
✓ Passed far-reaching legislation outlawing book bans in school classrooms and all libraries
Mike’s bill, SB689, also includes robust protections for groups targeted in books bans to date: LGBTQ+ populations, books about race, books dealing with sexual health, gender identity, and memoirs, among other protected groups and themes. With more fringe candidates running for school boards attempting to ban books and rewrite history, we must aggressively protect our classrooms and curricula. Mike also was chief-cosponsor of a recently signed bill, HB2789, withholding state grants from libraries that ban books.
✓ Led passage of bill breaking down barriers to healthcare for those in need of medications to prevent HIV
Helped negotiate and fight for passage of new law that authorizes local pharmacies to dispense life-saving HIV medications PREP and PEP. This is a crucial step in ensuring folx can access needed medication who historically are poorly served by the healthcare system or don’t trust the medical establishment.
✓ Co-led legislation with constituents that provides auto-renewal of transit benefits for people living with disabilities and seniors
Championed idea brought forward by constituent with direct lived experience that will provide automatic renewal for those with Ride Free transit cards every five years without requiring them to reprove their disabled or senior status. Illinois now is only the third state to do this.
✓ Authored and fought hard for passage of new law that guarantees coverage for liver disease screenings for high risk groups
Responding to the gaps in health care and health insurance coverage of countless people who struggle with liver disease, often a chronic illness lacking obvious symptoms but that can plague those struggling with addiction, Mike authored and passed crucial legislation making life-saving liver disease screenings available to those between 35-65 years old at no cost or copay. This new law will save countless lives across Illinois and here in the 7th district.
✓ Leading the fight for expanded Medicaid coverage and better health care coverage for all communities
Mike also has championed universal health care, introducing and co-leading bills to expand eligibility for Medicaid to low-income, uninsured communities. He also is fighting for his bill which would outlaw billing low-income patients who qualify for Medicaid or otherwise are uninsured. He also is a strong supporter of a bill requiring cultural competency training for healthcare providers.
✓ Fought for package of new bike and pedestrian safety laws
As a lifelong avid cyclist, Mike took initiative in passing a new groundbreaking law that requires bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure improvements on non-highway state roadways when routine maintenance work is being done. For example, if the state is resurfacing a street or curb or fixing a streetlight, it will now be required to do a 500 feet scan (about one city block in each direction) to identify and carry out other necessary bike and pedestrian safety improvements at the same time such as installing curb bump outs, high visibility signage, protected bike lanes, and bus shelters among other infrastructure improvements. This will bring complete streets planning to scale across communities all across Illinois, it will calm traffic, and it will save lives. Mike also helped secure an agreement between the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Chicago Department of Transportation which will help usher in traffic safety improvements. He also passed multiple other bills this year including a hard-fought new law that limits the size of trucks on roadways to support complete streets and aid safety of cyclists, pedestrians, those living with disabilities, and others. He also authored and passed a bill that requires warning signage on bike trails and roadways, as well as co-led a bill establishing the Zero Fatalities Task Force.
✓ Led passage of new pro-voting laws
Mike remembers what it felt like to vote in his first election as a college freshman, and wants young people to have that same experience. So he secured passage of a new law that allows 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote so they can vote as soon as they turn 18. Mike has also championed legislation that would restore the right to vote for roughly 30,000 currently incarcerated people in Illinois, and helped pass pro-voting legislation that makes Election Day a holiday and allows curbside voting among other new pro-voting reforms.
✓ Passed bills to mitigate risks from lead pipes
Secured passage of two bills - one that requires follow up corrective action on lead inspections of buildings when lead is found, and another that requires transparency around progress made towards lead pipe replacement. In his first term Mike secured $1 million to help with lead pipe replacement in the 7th district.
✓ Fought hard for passage of assault weapons ban and new gun laws
Working with groups like Moms Demand Action for Sensible Gun Laws, Mike fought hard for passage of a robust new ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. A strong supporter of tighter gun laws, Mike also chief-cosponsored a bill that bans unserialized “ghost guns” in Illnois. Mike remains an outspoken advocate for sensible gun laws and centers the experiences and needs of his own constituents who are survivors of gun violence by convening them in his people’s legislative councils to help guide and shape statewide gun policy.
✓ Pushed hard for protections for gender-affirming care and expanded abortion access
Mike served on the legislative reproductive healthcare working group formed after Roe was overturned, pushing hard for expanded protections and access for abortion services across Illinois. Mike also was a key leader in fighting to ensure protections for gender-affirming care were included in the final bill, The Patient and Provider Protection Act, signed into law in January 2023. Mike also was a chief-cosponsor and helped secure votes for final passage of the Repeal of the Parental Notification Act in 2021, which removed a requirement that those under 18 notify a parent or custodian in order to access an abortion. Mike also strongly defended and helped pass legislation allowing businesses to provide multi-occupant gender-neutral restrooms.
✓ Co-led passage of paid leave in Illinois while championing multiple new measures supporting low-income households
Mike was a chief-cosponsor and championed legislation signed into law in March 2023 which gives Illinois workers up to five days of paid leave for any reason. Mike’s work with single moms in the 7th district as part of his people’s legislative councils helped shape his advocacy for this new law. Mike has also led the fight to create a child tax credit in Illinois, has pushed for universal child care access, and co-sponsored a law that gives school workers five mental health days a year. He also strongly supported an increase in the state earned income tax credit (EITC) in 2022 to additional low-income tax filers, the first time the EITC was increased in two decades.
✓ Worked with advocacy groups to steer passage of new laws protecting survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault
Mike secured passage of “Sara’s Law,” legislation that protects survivors from automatically being tried as adults when they have attacked a perpetrator in self defense, or are survivors of related trauma. Mike also helped co-lead passage of legislation last year that supporters survivors of sexual assault by expanding the amount of time they can access trauma-informed treatment. The same bill also clarifies that someone is unable to give consent while intoxicated. Mike also supported legislation that expands the definition of rape crisis organizations so they can offer more urgently needed treatments for survivors.
✓ Supported police accountability and human rights
Mike passed legislation that now makes it a hate crime to call the police on a person of color when no threat to public safety exists. As Chair of the Senate Human Rights Committee, he uses his platform to shine a light on the pressing threats to the human rights of many communities – LGBTQ+ communities, Black people, women, immigrants and refugees, those who are housing insecure, and many others.
✓ Led passage of bills supporting our seniors
Mike passed a bill that created the Senior Living Task Force which is made up of seniors from across Illinois who will help shape policy and programming for seniors beginning in 2025. Mike also supported creation of the Commission on LGBTQ+ Aging, as well as legislation that requires health care plans to provide continuous coverage for glucose monitors for people diagnosed with diabetes and require insulin. Most recently, Mike co-sponsored and strongly supported legislation, now law, that cracks down on price gouging of generic prescription drugs.
✓ Lifted up the needs of returning citizens
Mike authored and passed a bipartisan new law that gives returning citizens up to a year where they will not be required to pay court-assessed fines, penalties, and fees giving them a chance to gain employment, housing, and healthcare so they don’t recidivate. He also led passage of a bill that pilots remote learning for incarcerated young people so they can complete school and successfully reenter their communities.
✓ Delivering resources for our far northside communities
Mike has secured more than $10 million in funding for facilities and programs in the 7th district including funds to support expanded capacity for street-level violence prevention and community safety efforts, investments in aging school buildings and grounds in the 7th district, investments in early childcare facilities, investments in our small business corridors, investments in culturally competent mental health care for LGBTQ+ communities, expanded capacity for mentorship programs for refugee youth, funding to support school based mental health care access, funding to support senior services including meal delivery, funding to support overstretched food pantries in our district, funding for migrant resettlement services, new funding for enrichment and counseling programs for 7th District youth, and a brand new $2.5 million secured in the budget to help remove barriers to healthcare for communities poorly served by the health care system by expanding access to life-saving HIV PREP and PEP medications, as well as expanded STI screening. Mike also helped bring in millions in funding for our 7th district hospitals and community clinics and a first-in-a-generation Medicaid rate increase to support their capacity to serve our neighbors who need health care.