Criminal justice reform has worthy goals thetelegraph.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetelegraph.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Chapin Rose / Courtesy
UPDATED 11:16 a.m. | An education reform bill would force schools to test children even before they enter kindergarten. The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus spearheaded the measure, which passed through both houses of the General Assembly Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, is a chief sponsor of the bill. Lightford said the measure will require schools to assess and identify the needs of students starting with kindergarten. Schools would test incoming kindergarteners on literacy, language, math, and social and emotional development. Once this identifies what those needs are, there needs to be early intervention services that are available to those small children, so that once they arrive in kindergarten, they re assessed, and then they have the support for their families that they need, said Lightford.
By Jerry Nowicki & Capitol News Illinois
• Jan 12, 2021
Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, D-Hillside, (right) speaks to Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, Monday on the floor of the Bank of Springfield Center, which is serving as the Illinois House chamber amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the House Black Caucus backed Welch for speaker of the 102nd General Assembly Monday night.
Credit Justin Fowler, State Journal-Register
One day after state House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, announced a suspension – but not a withdrawal – of his campaign for another term as speaker, a state representative who has been accused of being a staunch Madigan protector has launched a bid for the post.