05282021CM0462SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas is proud to be appointed to the inaugural Crime Reduction Task Force, a group of legislators working to reduce crime across the state.

“In order to prevent crime in the state, it is important to address the root causes of crime—including the multi-layered forces of systemic oppression, access to mental health resources, and rates of drug use and addiction in our communities,” said Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago). “I look forward to serving on this task force to bring light to these issues, addressing them, and consequently reducing crime in our communities.” 

The Crime Reduction Task Force will review research and best practices to prevent crime in Illinois. Members will take expert and witness testimony and submit a report detailing its findings, recommendations and needed resources to the General Assembly and Governor by March 1, 2023. Senator Pacione-Zayas is excited to be a part of this task force to address rising rates of crime in her community.

“As a public servant, one of my highest priorities is ensuring public safety for all through establishing statewide systems of care,” Pacione-Zayas said. “By addressing interlocking systems of oppression that create conditions and circumstances that ultimately limit choices and can lead a person to commit a crime, we are laying the foundation for solving root causes. Additionally, we are also helping to identify solutions for mitigating the systemic racism in the criminal legal system individuals may face if found guilty of a crime, such as mistreatment in the prison system, and the ongoing struggle of finding work upon release and ostracization from their community because of their conviction.”

Senator Pacione-Zayas was appointed to the Crime Reduction Task Force on Sept. 7, 2022.

Category: In the News

Wellness center called ‘transformative’ for Humboldt Park

By Michael Loria, Chicago Sun-Times

From the article: “La comunidad cura, la cultura cura,” [Pacione-Zayas] said, invoking Humboldt Park’s longstanding role as a hub for the Puerto Rican and Latino community. “The community, the culture cures. This project is a manifestation of that particular phrase,and it’s more than just a phrase because it’s endemic in us.”

Read the full article here

Category: In the News

I was honored to be a part of a conversation with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and other leaders in the education sphere to discuss my Too Young to Test legisation and ISBE's proposed changes to standardized testing in schools. Check out there resources below to hear what we had to say:

Category: In the News

CHICAGO TRIBUNE  

From the story: 

Illinois Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, a Chicago Democrat, recently spearheaded the Too Young to Test Act, which would prohibit standardized tests for Illinois’ youngest students, except for the case of diagnostic tests including determining eligibility for special education services, bilingual services, dyslexia interventions, observational tools like the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey and the federally mandated English Learner assessments.

“We’ve already taken significant time and resources away from student learning by having students jump right back into testing last spring, in the thick of the pandemic, and the results were what we predicted,” said Pacione-Zayas, a mother of two children...

“Who won here? The testing companies,” Pacione-Zayas said, adding that instead of spending taxpayer dollars on multimillion-dollar contracts with testing companies, the state should use part of the $7 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding allocated to Illinois schools to improve resources in the classroom for students, and provide professional development for teachers.

“We need a radical transformation in our educational system, because what has been done in the past is not working,” Pacione-Zayas said.

Read the full story here

Category: In the News

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Springfield Office:

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