SCHERER CELEBRATES UPCOMING TAX HOLIDAY FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Jul 20, 2022
DECATUR, Ill. — As the new academic year quickly approaches, state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, is highlighting the upcoming sales tax holiday on certain clothing and school-related items that will take place August 5-14. During that ten day period, sales tax for school supplies and qualifying clothing and footwear will be reduced by 5 percent.
“As a parent and a former educator, I know how expensive back to school shopping can be, especially as we deal with the current inflation,” Scherer said. “This sales tax holiday will put money back into the pockets of families across the state as they prepare their children for the new school year.”
Items that qualify for the tax holiday include school supplies used by students in their course of study, such as binders, crayons, notebooks, pencils and more. Clothing and footwear that are priced below $125 also qualify for the sales tax holiday. Scherer passed the sales tax holiday as part of the comprehensive Illinois Family Relief Plan, which also suspended the grocery tax, froze the gas tax and doubled property tax rebates.
“I care deeply about the wellbeing of all of the students and families in Illinois, and I will continue advocating for legislation and policy that benefits them,” said Scherer. “I encourage all families to plan ahead and take advantage of the sales tax holiday.”
SCHERER INTRODUCES BILL TO HELP FEED FOSTER CHILDREN
Jul 13, 2022
DECATUR, Ill. – In continuation of her support for children in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services, state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, introduced legislation that would expand public food assistance to foster families in Illinois, regardless of income.
“Being a foster family is challenging, and these families deserve our full support as they take care of our state’s most vulnerable children,” said Scherer. “Providing them with food assistance is a commonsense way to make sure foster children are adequately fed so they can learn, grow and live healthy lives.”
Currently, foster care children and adults are considered boarders and cannot receive food assistance separately from the household providing foster care, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. House Bill 5767 would make it so that all foster families would automatically qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits regardless of income, subject to federal approval if required.
“I care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of Illinois’ children and I will always advocate for their best interest. This bill is an integral step in ensuring that foster children have the nutrition they need and deserve,” Scherer said. “I am hopeful that access to these benefits will encourage more families to become foster families and help children across Illinois.”
For more information on this legislation, please visit www.ilga.gov.
REP. SCHERER'S BILL TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEX OFFEDNERS BECOMES LAW
Jun 3, 2022
DECATUR, Ill. – A bill introduced by state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, that prohibits child sex offenders from being employed at carnivals or fairs was recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“Carnivals and fairs are family affairs that parents should feel good about taking their children to. Sex offenders have no place at these child-centered events,” Scherer said. “I sponsored this legislation because I care deeply about the safety of our state’s children and I will do everything I can to protect them.”
Senate Bill 3019 prohibits child sex offenders from being employed or associated with any carnival, amusement enterprise or state or county fair when persons under 18 are present. In 2021, a convicted sex offender was discovered working at a children’s ride at the Illinois State Fair, which was allowed because of a gap in existing law. Scherer’s legislation closes that gap to ensure a similar situation does not happen in the future.
“State and county fairs are a time for communities to come together and celebrate. This new law makes sure that everyone can enjoy the fair safely,” said Scherer. “This new law reaffirms our commitment to child safety and improving the lives of youth across Illinois.”
For more information on this legislation, please visit www.ilga.gov.
REP. SCHERER HIGHLIGHTS CO-RESPONDERS PILOT PROGRAM COMING TO SPRINGFIELD
May 26, 2022
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – As part of her commitment to improving public safety, state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, celebrates the passage of House Bill 4736, which creates the Co-Responder Pilot Program. The Scherer-backed bill is part of a comprehensive package of legislation aimed at increasing public safety by supporting law enforcement and tackling the root causes of crime.
“When law enforcement and social services agencies work together, our communities are safer and better supported,” said Scherer. “The Co-Responders Pilot Program will help vulnerable residents get the support they need while helping law enforcement police in a way that is both safe and compassionate. I am thrilled that this legislation designates Springfield as one of four cities to be a part of the pilot program and I am eager to see the program’s results.”
The Co-Responder Pilot Program will have social services and mental health professionals go on calls with police officers to determine whether individuals involved are experiencing a mental health crisis. Law enforcement and social services will then determine if a mental health facility or other resources could help the individual. The bill also creates a program to assist victims and witnesses of violent crime with temporary living costs, moving expenses, rent, security deposits and other appropriate relocation expenses. It also mandates all ISP homicide investigator training to include instruction on victim-centered, trauma-informed investigation no later than July 1, 2023.
“Through compassionate policing and supporting the victims and witnesses of violent crimes, we’re enacting a holistic approach to public safety that will benefit the 96th district and the entire state,” Scherer said. “Our work on public safety is ongoing, but House Bill 4736 is a significant step toward a safer Illinois.”
The Co-Responder Pilot Program will launch in Springfield in the next six months. For more information on this legislation, please visit www.ilga.gov.
SCHERER-BACKED BILL TO LOWER PENSION LIABILITIES SIGNED INTO LAW
May 10, 2022
Representative Scherer
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, co-sponsored a bill to lower the state’s pension liabilities by expanding the pension buyout option for state employees. The bill was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week.
“This common sense legislation will reduce long-term pension liabilities and help our state continue on the path of fiscal responsibility,” said Scherer. “At the same time, the bill also provides state employees with the flexibility to access and spend their pensions as they see fit.”
House Bill 4292 authorizes an additional $1 billion of State Pension Obligation Acceleration Bonds to extend the pension buyout option for participants in the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), State Universities Retirement System (SURS), and Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) until 2026. This allows state employees and downstate teachers to receive accelerated pension benefits at reduced long-term costs to the state and reduces the state’s unfunded liability.
“This bill is a testament to the importance of bipartisanship. When we cross the aisle and work together, the entire state benefits,” said Scherer. “I thank my colleagues on both sides for their support in getting this bill passed, and I am grateful to Gov. Pritzker for his signature.”
Scherer represents areas of Sangamon, Macon and Christian counties. For more information, please contact her full time constituent service office at 217-877-9636 or staterepsue@gmail.com
BLUE CROSS CUSTOMERS AREN’T GETTING WHAT THEY PAID FOR, SCHERER SAYS
March 27, 2022
NEXSTAR
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Representative Sue Scherer (D-Decatur), a former school teacher, outlined the new regulatory and enforcement measures in her proposal to require insurance companies to provide an adequate network of doctors.
Scherer also previewed a committee hearing scheduled for this week where lawmakers are expected to press officials at Blue Cross Blue Shield, Springfield Clinic, and the Department of Insurance for answers about the pending contract negotiations that have caused bottlenecks and disruptions in affordable access to health care for tens of thousands of patients over the last five months in the Springfield region.
BILL LETS PARENTS DECIDE WHEN CHILDREN ARE RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO BRIEFLY BE ON THEIR OWN
March 3,2022
ILLINOIS POLICY
Parents of kids under 14 are one step closer to legally deciding when it’s safe to leave their children home alone.
The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill amending the child abandonment statute. House Bill 4305 instead lets parents determine maturity based on the individual child, not a minimum age.
Illinois’ minimum age of 14 is the highest age in the nation, and 39 states have no minimum at all. They leave that decision up to parents. State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, introduced the bill back in December after multiple families reached out saying the law puts them in a bind.
“People who have talked to me say, ‘I have a 13-year-old and I want to leave them alone for a half an hour between when I have to go to work and when they have to go to school.’ It is very extreme the way the law is written right now,” Scherer said. Parents know their children better than anyone, which is why Scherer’s bill gives parents the deserved authority over when their kids are mature enough to be unsupervised. The bill now moves to the Illinois Senate.
ILLINOIS HOUSE PASSES BILL TO REIMBURSE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR COLLEGE, FEES
March 3, 2022
Capitol News
Springfield -The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would reimburse public school teachers for tuition and mandatory fees paid to a public institution of higher education.
The measure is intended to promote the retention of teachers, but Republicans said it would skew toward the benefit of wealthy students whose parents paid for their education.
In a 70-42 vote, with no Republican support, the House passed House Bill 4139, which would require the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish and administer a teacher reimbursement grant program that provides eligible applicants an annual reimbursement of tuition and fees.
Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, said the bill addresses a dire need for teachers and incentivizes teachers to remain in Illinois public schools for at least 10 years. “I’m a retired teacher of 35 years, and my heart is broken when I go to high schools in my community,” Scherer said. “I see a gymnasium full of students without teachers because it seems to me many people have a reason to turn a blind eye to the teacher shortage.”
To be eligible for reimbursement, applicants must have attended a public Illinois university and completed a state-approved educator program. Scherer said while they are employed at an Illinois public school, they will get reimbursed one-tenth of the amount they paid in tuition and fees for up to 10 years.
To receive reimbursement, applicants would need to provide documentation of the total amount of tuition and mandatory fees paid and would be reimbursed for up to eight semesters or 12 quarters. Tuition and fees beyond the eight semesters or 12 quarters would be ineligible for reimbursement.
If the grant program were to serve everyone eligible, it would require about $1.4 billion over 18 years, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill at the request of a Republican lawmaker. In fiscal year 2023, it would cost about $88.3 million altogether and grow each year until annual costs peaked in years nine and 10 at about $140.2 million and declining thereafter. It would impact an estimated 65,160 Illinois teachers, including an estimated 53,460 current teachers.
The bill does not appropriate any money for the program, however, so lawmakers would have to include funding in future state budgets for it to have any effect.
Scherer said the reimbursement program is modeled after a 1970s program.
Illinois State Board of Education data shows that there are 1,703 unfilled teaching positions across 852 school districts in Illinois.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said as someone who comes from a family of teachers, she has heard from her siblings how the shortage has impacted their ability to do their job. Cassidy noted that private sector companies have used tuition reimbursement as an incentive to hire workers.
Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, noted that ISAC had concerns about the bill and filed a witness slip in opposition to it. She requested the fiscal note on the bill which showed the billion-dollar price tag.
Bourne said due to the lack of income requirements in the bill, state taxpayers could be on the hook for tuition that a wealthy family member had already paid to the public university. For that reason, she said, the bill does not help the people it is intended to help.
She said it is an inequitable way of encouraging students to go into the education profession. The bill is supported by the state’s major teachers unions. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, noted that while there are many reasons for the teacher shortage, the pandemic has “added fuel to the fire,” and Scherer’s bill would be another opportunity to provide support to teachers.
STATE REP. SUE SCHERER TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION IN 96TH DISTRICT
January 15, 2022
DECATUR, Ill. – State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, announces she will run for re-election in 2022.
“Unlike any other time in recent history, Illinois, and especially our 96th district, is in a position to make real changes and significant progress that will positively alter the future for years to come. We need effective representation at the Capitol from leaders that know how to effect change and have the determination and courage to speak up and work hard to make change happen. I am humbled and honored to have served our area after working for 35 years as a teacher in Macon County. There is so much more that needs to be done. If re-elected I will be your voice for issues ranging from electric cars to new roads, public safety and schools with a continued focus on balancing our budget.”
For more information, call Rep. Sue Scherer’s campaign office at 217-433-7030 or email sueforrep@gmail.com. Scherer represents the 96th district, which includes portions of Macon, Sangamon and Christian Counties.
Public school employees now have expanded access to FMLA benefits in Illinois
January 30, 2022
DECATUR, Ill. – State Representative Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) celebrates educators in the state of Illinois now having expanded access to family and medical leave benefits. House Bill 12, sponsored be Representative Scherer, went into effect at the beginning of this year.
House Bill 12 was passed by the Illinois General Assembly last year. Employees of school districts, public universities, or community colleges who are eligible can receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Eligible workers have to be employed by the school for at least a year and worked a minimum of 1,000 hours to be eligible, down from the 1,250 hours previously required, the release stated.
"The ability to take family or medical leave is a right and not a privilege," Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said in the release. "This legislation is about compassion in policy making because it is important that everyone has access to leave that allows for selfcare or the care of a loved one."
This HB 12 was passed with bi-partisan support.
3/3/22
Capitol News
Springfield -The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would reimburse public school teachers for tuition and mandatory fees paid to a public institution of higher education.
The measure is intended to promote the retention of teachers, but Republicans said it would skew toward the benefit of wealthy students whose parents paid for their education.
In a 70-42 vote, with no Republican support, the House passed House Bill 4139, which would require the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish and administer a teacher reimbursement grant program that provides eligible applicants an annual reimbursement of tuition and fees.
Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, said the bill addresses a dire need for teachers and incentivizes teachers to remain in Illinois public schools for at least 10 years. “I’m a retired teacher of 35 years, and my heart is broken when I go to high schools in my community,” Scherer said. “I see a gymnasium full of students without teachers because it seems to me many people have a reason to turn a blind eye to the teacher shortage.”
To be eligible for reimbursement, applicants must have attended a public Illinois university and completed a state-approved educator program. Scherer said while they are employed at an Illinois public school, they will get reimbursed one-tenth of the amount they paid in tuition and fees for up to 10 years.
To receive reimbursement, applicants would need to provide documentation of the total amount of tuition and mandatory fees paid and would be reimbursed for up to eight semesters or 12 quarters. Tuition and fees beyond the eight semesters or 12 quarters would be ineligible for reimbursement.
If the grant program were to serve everyone eligible, it would require about $1.4 billion over 18 years, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill at the request of a Republican lawmaker. In fiscal year 2023, it would cost about $88.3 million altogether and grow each year until annual costs peaked in years nine and 10 at about $140.2 million and declining thereafter. It would impact an estimated 65,160 Illinois teachers, including an estimated 53,460 current teachers.
The bill does not appropriate any money for the program, however, so lawmakers would have to include funding in future state budgets for it to have any effect.
Scherer said the reimbursement program is modeled after a 1970s program.
Illinois State Board of Education data shows that there are 1,703 unfilled teaching positions across 852 school districts in Illinois.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said as someone who comes from a family of teachers, she has heard from her siblings how the shortage has impacted their ability to do their job. Cassidy noted that private sector companies have used tuition reimbursement as an incentive to hire workers.
Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, noted that ISAC had concerns about the bill and filed a witness slip in opposition to it. She requested the fiscal note on the bill which showed the billion-dollar price tag.
Bourne said due to the lack of income requirements in the bill, state taxpayers could be on the hook for tuition that a wealthy family member had already paid to the public university. For that reason, she said, the bill does not help the people it is intended to help.
She said it is an inequitable way of encouraging students to go into the education profession. The bill is supported by the state’s major teachers unions. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, noted that while there are many reasons for the teacher shortage, the pandemic has “added fuel to the fire,” and Scherer’s bill would be another opportunity to provide support to teachers.
STATE REP. SUE SCHERER TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION IN 96TH DISTRICT
1/15/22
DECATUR, Ill. – State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, announces she will run for re-election in 2022.
“Unlike any other time in recent history, Illinois, and especially our 96th district, is in a position to make real changes and significant progress that will positively alter the future for years to come. We need effective representation at the Capitol from leaders that know how to effect change and have the determination and courage to speak up and work hard to make change happen. I am humbled and honored to have served our area after working for 35 years as a teacher in Macon County. There is so much more that needs to be done. If re-elected I will be your voice for issues ranging from electric cars to new roads, public safety and schools with a continued focus on balancing our budget.”
For more information, call Rep. Sue Scherer’s campaign office at 217-433-7030 or email sueforrep@gmail.com. Scherer represents the 96th district, which includes portions of Macon, Sangamon and Christian Counties
PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES NOW HAVE EXPANDED ACCESS TO FMLA BENEFITS IN ILLINOIS
1/30/22
DECATUR, Ill. – State Representative Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) celebrates educators in the state of Illinois now having expanded access to family and medical leave benefits. House Bill 12, sponsored be Representative Scherer, went into effect at the beginning of this year.
House Bill 12 was passed by the Illinois General Assembly last year. Employees of school districts, public universities, or community colleges who are eligible can receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Eligible workers have to be employed by the school for at least a year and worked a minimum of 1,000 hours to be eligible, down from the 1,250 hours previously required, the release stated.
"The ability to take family or medical leave is a right and not a privilege," Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said in the release. "This legislation is about compassion in policy making because it is important that everyone has access to leave that allows for selfcare or the care of a loved one."
This HB 12 was passed with bi-partisan support.
SCHERER INTRODUCES BILL REIMBURSING TUITION FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
10/7/21
DECATUR, Ill. – Public School teachers will now be eligible for a new tuition reimbursement program under new legislation introduced by state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur.
“Teachers are one of the most critical occupations to our society yet, they are critically undervalued for the work and skillset they provide for our education system,” said Scherer. “Many teachers have to go the extra mile financially for their students and lesson plans to have an effective and successful year of instruction, the reimbursement program will relieve some of our teachers of the financial burden of paying such high student loan debt when they give their services to Illinois schools.”
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, in 2017 the state had about 1,000 unfilled teaching positions. This year in 2021, that number is nearly 1,700 with 77% of Illinois School District reporting teacher shortages or difficulty hiring substitute teachers.
Scherer’s legislation will require the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish a teacher reimbursement grant program used for tuition and mandatory fees paid to a public institution of higher learning in the State. Eligible teachers may receive grants for the purpose of reimbursement worth 8 semesters of intuition for up to 10 years as a part of the program.
“We need to actively address the teaching shortage in our state as the pandemic and other factors have led to an increased need for educators,” said Scherer. “Not only will this encourage more individuals to pursue a career in education but it will also give our educators benefits and resources they deserve for the service they provide to our state and their communities.”