SPRINGFIELD – Barack Obama may be celebrating his birthday outside the White House this year, but State Senator Emil Jones III (D-Chicago) wants to make sure the former president is not forgotten.

Jones passed legislation during the legislative session that designates Aug. 4 of each year as Barack Obama Day in Illinois.

“President Obama is a man who has inspired millions with his decades of dedicated public service,” Jones said. “He deserves to be honored for his continuous hard work for the people of our nation, our state and our communities.”

Obama worked as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago after graduating from Columbia University and was elected to the Illinois State Senate to represent the 13^th District in 1996. As a state senator, he helped pass ethics reform, negotiated welfare reform and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.

The former president went on to be elected to represent Illinois in the United States Senate in 2004 before becoming the first African-American to be elected President of the United States in 2008.

Senate Bill 55 passed unanimously in both houses and Gov. Rauner signed it into law.

SPRINGFIELD – At a time when Springfield can’t pass a budget, State Senator Emil Jones III declared Illinois legislators should not receive a planned mileage reimbursements or per diem rates, voting to pass such a measure in the Illinois Senate on Wednesday.

“After 700 days without a budget, Illinoisans are feeling pain,” Jones said. “Human service providers, state universities and schools are wondering if they will be able to remain open. How can we take a pay increase in good conscience?”

House Bill 643 freezes the Illinois General Assembly's mileage reimbursement and per diem rates for the upcoming year. In addition, the initiative eliminates the planned cost of living adjustment in the upcoming budget year for the members of the legislature and other offices set by the Compensation Review Board. The comptroller's office states that the cost of living adjustment would be 2.1 percent without the passage of a freeze.

Having passed both chambers with bipartisan support, House Bill 643 awaits the governor’s signature to become law.

This morning, with the release of the newest  video of an young black male suspect being gunned down at the hands of a Chicago police officer, I cannot help but wonder when will it stop.

Time and time again, we see law enforcement overstep their boundaries and take the role of the judge, jury and executioner when other steps can be taken to deescalate a non  life threatening situations.

Earlier this year, I introduced Senate Bill 2207, ensuring every Chicago Police officer would be required to wear body cameras.  Instances like this only prove that we need to have an accurate account of police encounters, so law enforcement can be protected from false claims and citizens can be protected from rogue officers.

I plan to make a strong push to advance this legislation during veto session, with the additions of a key measure. This measure would be aimed at holding police officers who turn their video device(s) off during suspect pursuit more accountable by seeking disciplinary action.

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