Dear neighbor,

I am happy to be back in the statehouse working on legislation for the 20^th district! We have worked into the night to pass our progressive agenda, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from being manufactured or sold in the state, increasing protections and accessibility to reproductive health care, fighting for more affordable housing, and more! Read on to hear about what we accomplished in the past 2 weeks of session.

As always, feel free reach out to my office for assistance by calling 773-278-2020, sending a text message to 773-207-7838, or sending us a note at www.senatorpacionezayas.com/contact-us.

Sincerely,

State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas | 20th District

Updates from Springfield

In the final days before the next General Assembly begins, Senators and Representatives have the opportunity to push out final legislation they were not able to get to earlier in their session and to address new issues that have become more prominent since session adjourned. This period, nicknamed “Lame Duck” session, is also the last chance for officials who are leaving their office by the start of the next General Assembly—which begins January 11, 2023.

During this Lame Duck session, we passed:

• House Bill 5471, which bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from being manufactured or sold in Illinois. Read more about this legislation here.
• House Bill 4664, which protects legal and practical access to abortion care in Illinois following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Read more about this legislation here.
• House Bill 5285, which increases transparency for applicants by making public the rubric and scoring threshold for passing each step in the process, allows for due process when candidates do not advance to the next stage of evaluation, and gives Local School Councils access to the entire eligible pool of candidates.
• House Bill 3878, which increases funding for the Rental Housing Support Program to ensure families with limited economic resources have access to affordable, permanent housing. It will also create a task force to ensure rental housing support funds will be distributed equitably across the state and prioritize communities that historically have not been able to take full advantage.
• House Bill 5107, which grants principals and administrators in the Chicago public schools system the right to collectively bargain.
• House Bill 9, which makes changing the gender on your birth certificate more accessible.

I am looking forward to what we are going to accomplish in the 103^rd General Assembly!

Inauguration into the 103^rd General Assembly

On Jan. 11, I was sworn into my second term as Senator of the 20^th district. I am honored that my community trusts me to represent their interests in government. I look forward to continuing our model of co-governance and representing your ideas and interests under the dome!

Job Opportunities in and around the 20^th District

Check out my webpage featuring a list of job opportunities in Chicago and the 20^th District. There, you can find links to jobs with the State of Illinois, Chicago Public Schools, local organizations and more.

Warming Centers

While snowy conditions may be fun and festive for some, they pose a serious health concern for many folks who do not have access to reliable heat or housing. If you or a loved one is in need of warming centers or shelter this season, these local centers will be open when the temperature is below 32 degrees:

• Englewood Center, 1140 W. 79th St.
• North Area Center, 845 W. Wilson Ave.
• Garfield Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave.: This center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to connect people to emergency shelter.
• South Chicago Center, 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
• King Center, 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
• Trina Davila Center, 4312 W. North Ave.

SPRINGFIELD – To provide more transparency and due process in the current hiring process for principals in the Chicago Public School system, State Senator Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas, in collaboration with Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, introduced a new initiative to grant Local School Councils (LSC) access to the universe of qualified applicants for these vital positions—ensuring viable candidates are not overlooked, and underqualified applicants are not chosen over their peers.

“Current policies have caused some schools to hire administrators who did not meet the roles and expectations set, and this legislation will help address those issues,” said Senator Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago). “Administrators lead and determine how schools operate, so by ensuring that each school can see the full scope of applicants, we are providing greater access to select those best qualified for the position.”

Currently, aspiring principals face rigorous standards to be licensed by the state and must go through a second eligibility determination process when applying to Chicago Public Schools. After passing this unclear vetting process, candidates interested in a particular school must submit their credentials to the entire CPS system for the first round of vetting, not the school they are interested in.

Additionally, LCSs do not get to look over the entire candidate pool, and only have access to the group CPS advances, even if other candidates were also eligible. This has led to issues in many schools in the CPS system, including a principal being hired who was not fluent in a language of instruction at a two-way bilingual school which compromised the principal’s primary function of evaluating teachers in the language of instruction. The lack of transparency in the current CPS hiring process did not grant the LSC full view of other potential candidates who may have been fluent in the languages of instruction.

To address this and other oversights, this legislation increases transparency for principal eligibility applicants by making public the rubric and scoring threshold for passing each step in the process, allows for due process when candidates do not advance to the next stage of evaluation, and gives Local School Councils access to the entire eligible pool of candidates. These protections give LSCs a more diverse pool of candidates to select from—some of whom may be more qualified to be leaders in schools than the narrower pool that CPS may have advanced. Further, it allows greater opportunity for equity by informing candidates of deficiencies and resources for professional improvement. Senator Pacione-Zayas is confident this change will make the hiring process work better not just for aspiring principals, but also for students, educators, and the wider school community.

“Students and school communities lose out when great leaders are arbitrarily excluded from eligibility,” Troy LaRaviere, President of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said. “On behalf of the 1100 men and women who lead Chicago’s public schools, I thank all of the General Assembly members for passing HB 5285, which will bring more transparency to the hiring process.”

“Principals and administrators play a meaningful role in the success of our schools and students and are arguably the primary driver of positive school outcomes and success,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Our students and faculty deserve to know the process applicants undergo, and Local School Councils should have access to the full list of eligible candidates to review as they pick who is best fit for the job as principal.”

House Bill 5285 passed both chambers on January 10, 2023.  It now awaits the Governor’s signature.

Estimado vecino,

Estoy feliz de regresar al Capitolio y trabajar en legislación para el Distrito 20. Trabajamos largas horas en la noche para aprobar nuestra agenda progresista que incluye una prohibición para producir y vender armas de asalto y cargadores de alta capacidad en el estado, aumentamos las protecciones y accesibilidad del cuidado de salud reproductivo, luchamos por más vivienda asequible, y más. Lea para enterarse sobre lo que logramos en las dos semanas pasadas de sesión legislativa.

Como siempre, siéntase en libertad de comunicarse con mi oficina si necesita asistencia llamando al 773-278-2020, enviando un mensaje de texto a 773-207-7838, o mandando una nota a través de www.senatorpacionezayas.com/contact-us.

Sinceramente,

Senadora Estatal Cristina Pacione-Zayas | Distrito 20

Actualizaciones desde Springfield

En los días finales antes de que la siguiente Asamblea General comenzara, los Senadores y Representantes tuvieron la oportunidad de impulsar legislaciones que no les fue posible antes en la sesión, y atender temas nuevos que se han vuelto relevantes desde que la sesión terminó. Este periodo, apodado sesión del “Pato Cojo”, es también la última oportunidad para quienes están a punto de dejar sus oficinas antes del comienzo de la próxima Asamblea General —que comienza el 11 de enero de 2023.

Durante la sesión del “Pato Cojo” aprobamos:

• House Bill 5471, prohíbe que las armas de asalto y los cargadores de alta capacidad sean producidos o vendidos en Illinois. Lea más sobre esta legislación aquí.
• House Bill 4664, protege el acceso legal y práctico a un aborto en Illinois luego de la derogación de Roe v. Wade por la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos. Lea más aquí.
• House Bill 5285, aumenta la transparencia de los solicitantes a directores de escuelas al hacer públicas las rubricas y el estándar con que son calificados al avanzar en cada paso del proceso, permite el debido proceso cuando los candidatos no avanzan a la siguiente fase de evaluación, y da acceso a los Consejos Escolares Locales al número total de candidatos elegibles.
• House Bill 3878, aumenta el financiamiento al Programa de Apoyo a la Renta de Vivienda para garantizar que las familias con recursos económicos limitados tengan acceso a una vivienda asequible y de forma permanente. También crea un grupo de trabajo que asegure que los fondos de apoyo a la renta de vivienda sean distribuidos con equidad en todo el estado y que den prioridad a las comunidades que históricamente no han podido aprovechar estos recursos.
• House Bill 5107, otorga a los directores y administradores del Sistema de Escuelas Públicas de Chicago el derecho a negociar en bloque.
• House Bill 9, permite que sea más accesible que una persona cambie el género en su certificado de nacimiento.

¡Veo hacia adelante sobre todo lo que lograremos en la Asamblea General 103!

Inauguración de la Asamblea General 103

El 11 de enero juramenté mi segundo término como Senadora por el Distrito 20. Me siento honrada de que mi comunidad me otorgue su confianza para representar sus intereses en el gobierno. Espero continuar con nuestro modelo de cogobierno y representar sus ideas e intereses en el Capitolio.

Oportunidades laborales en el Distrito 20 y en el área

Revise mi webpage donde hay una lista de oportunidades de trabajo en Chicago y en el Distrito 20. Ahí podrá encontrar empleos con el Estado de Illinois, las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, organizaciones locales y más.

Centros para Protegerse del Frio

A pesar de que cuando hay nevadas puede resultar divertido para algunos, también representan una preocupación seria para las personas sin acceso a una vivienda confiable con calefacción. Si usted o un ser querido necesita acceder a un centro para protegerse del frio durante esta temporada, estos centros estarán abiertos cuando las temperaturas se encuentren debajo de los 32 grados:

• Englewood Center, 1140 W. 79th St.
• North Area Center, 845 W. Wilson Ave.
• Garfield Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave.: This center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to connect people to emergency shelter.
• South Chicago Center, 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
• King Center, 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
• Trina Davila Center, 4312 W. North Ave.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas took the oath of office to serve as State Senator for the 20^th District Wednesday, and is eager to hit the ground running in her second term with new policies to support her community and ensure effective implementation of her past legislative wins.

“In my first term, we were able to enact historic legislation addressing systemic racism, promoting early childhood development and investing in violence prevention,” said Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago). “I can’t wait to continue to fight for transformational change in the General Assembly in this new term.”

Pacione-Zayas became a Senator in 2020 and quickly introduced a progressive agenda focused on early childhood care and education, empowering local school councils, housing stabilization and supporting the early childhood workforce. When the Senate was not in legislative session, Pacione-Zayas organized many community initiatives, including policy roundtables where community members could discuss policy solutions to issues affecting them, launched a 20^th district youth council to involve young people in the public policy process, provided vaccination clinics to promote community wellness, and open houses to meet her constituents in person for them to understand the role and function of the district office.

Senator Pacione-Zayas represents the 20^th Senate District, including the neighborhoods of Albany Park, Avondale, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Humbolt Park, Logan Square, Irving Park, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, North Center, and Lakeview in Chicago.

Pacione-Zayas was among all 59 state senators sworn into office today to serve in Illinois’ 103^rd General Assembly.