Creating Better Health Care, Clean Energy for Illinoisans

I recently joined a local radio station to discuss our top legislative work from the spring session in Springfield. To borrow a phrase from the Governor, we put our shoulder into two important initiatives – health care reform and clean energy.

I wrote here a few months ago about the emotional challenges our family went through when our children struggled with terrifying diseases. My son had heart surgery several times, including when he was a toddler. My daughter lost her battle with leukemia in 2011.

We saw, with both of them, health care isn’t as simple as getting the care you need at a reasonable cost. It involves fighting insurance companies, who have used tactics to delay and deny care options, taking the power out of consumers’ hands. House Bill 5395 is the new Healthcare Protection Act law that brings long overdue reform to the health care system, and I am hopeful it means real help for thousands of families like mine, who need it when they go through difficult times.

“Doctors and hospitals decide your procedures instead of insurance companies,” I told WVLI FM host Rob West. “It’s something that’s really going to help the residents of Illinois in getting the health care they need. It’s a big win.”

Another new law we discussed creates more economic opportunities through the growing clean energy industry. When the Clean Energy Jobs Act was created, Illinois set up 13 Clean Jobs Workforce Hub sites across the state to train workers for successful careers in clean energy development.

I fought successfully to bring the 14^th site to Kankakee County, where Kankakee Community College will serve as the host. Our region is at the heart of clean energy development. Having training on the ground here will ensure we are prepared for the transition and can grow our economy with local workers.

We have more work to do in the coming months to support our vital agriculture industry, as I discussed in the interview.

We were not able to pass legislation that will change the estate tax to best support small farm families. I remember when my grandfather died in the 1970s, my dad and uncle struggled to pay the estate tax in that transition. We shouldn’t punish families, who have dedicated decades to investing in our local lands, with punitive taxes when ownership shifts from generation to generation.

One of the reasons I voted against this year’s state budget is because we did not invest properly in our agricultural needs. We have more work to do to invest in programs such as the Fall Covers for Spring Savings programs that help farmers make conservation decisions to preserve their soil and protect our environment.

Soil and water conservation districts across the state are suffering from millions of dollars in cuts that could have ripple effects for many years to come, as we try to adopt more environmentally friendly practices on our farmlands and wetlands. My commitment is to continue to support these conservation efforts and family farms.

I urge you to contact me anytime I can help at 708-756-0882 or http://www.senatorpatrickjoyce.com/. I will continue to share the latest news on my website and on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/senPatrickjoyce40/.

Sen. Patrick Joyce

D-Essex, 40^th State Senate District