Originally published in EIN Presswire, February 22, 2021.

Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz has filed the RISE Act in the General Assembly. The Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC) urges legislators to pass the RISE Act (Recovery Initiative to Support Employment) to get people back to work and support small businesses.

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the small business community. Many small businesses have closed their doors and others have had no choice but to lay off valued employees. Independent contractors are struggling.

The SBAC has worked alongside State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Ram Villivalam on legislation that will provide resources for small businesses to retrain and hire individuals who are unemployed because of the pandemic. The incentives will only be available for new hires and benefit Illinois’ economy in the long run by replacing unemployment payments with tax revenue.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) released the following statement in response to Gov. Pritzker’s State of the State address:

“Since the beginning of this pandemic, my office has helped more than 750 people experiencing unemployment across our district with accessing their benefits. I am hopeful that this proposed additional funding to the Illinois Department of Employment Security works to address the backlog.

“Additionally, the governor pointed out where we can potentially save $932 million by closing corporate tax loopholes. At a time where large corporations are making record profits at the expense of everyone else, we need to close as many corporate loopholes as possible in order to help small businesses and working families.”

Funding Will Go Towards Purchase of Software Needed to Investigate Expressway Shootings

Springfield, IL - The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced it will provide $12.5 million to the Illinois State Police (ISP) for the purchase and installation of automated license plate readers (ALPR) and software to aid in the investigation of Cook County expressway shootings. ALPR installations at 47 locations will include specialized cameras to read the license plate numbers of vehicles moving in traffic. The installations will also include a communication system to backhaul the video images to a central location where additional software is used to query and match license plates to existing license plate and vehicle databases. This will help agents investigating expressway shootings.

“No one should feel afraid for their life or safety on Illinois expressways, and I’ve directed my administration to work collaboratively and creatively to ensure we have assets in place to protect the public,” Governor JB Pritzker said. “Tamara Clayton’s tragic death must not be forgotten, and we must do everything we can to prevent more expressway shootings.”

Originally published on CBS Chicago, February 8, 2021.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Only on 2. It’s yet another unemployment frustration. A suburban woman can’t do her taxes because of how much the state wrongly paid her. The amount has to be reported to the IRS.

CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot has been following the woman’s money troubles for weeks.

We first spoke to Rimma Brodetsky last month.

“It’s a very hard time right now,” Brodetsky said.