MOBILE OFFICE HOURS
Thank you for all the constituents who joined me at my Mobile Office Hours in Wood River last week! As your State Rep, I make every effort to be accessible and transparent. If you weren’t able to make it and need assistance with state agencies or services, please give my office a call at 618-433-8046.
EDUCATION
Illinois high school students to start new exams in spring 2025. When Illinois high school students sit down to take their annual state assessments next year, they will take a different exam than in recent years.
The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced that starting next spring, it will use the ACT exam rather than the SAT.
Both are standardized tests that measure students’ proficiency in core subjects such as English language arts and math. Both are also commonly used for college admissions – although many colleges and universities have stopped requiring them – as well as scholarship applications.
Illinois, however, also uses them as part of the battery of tests schools administer each year to meet federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Results of those tests are reported each year on the Illinois Report Card and are used to hold schools and districts accountable for meeting basic academic standards.
Illinois started using the SAT with Essay as the state assessment for 11th grade students in spring 2017. Two years later, it began using the PSAT 8/9 exam for 9th grade students and the PSAT 10 for high school sophomores. Read the rest of the story by Peter Hancock on Capitol News Illinois.
ROUTE 66
Illinois State Museum to collect oral histories of the Route 66 “Mother Road.” With the Route 66 centennial coming up in 2026, the Illinois State Museum is looking for people who had an interaction with America’s iconic open-road highway prior to its decommissioning in 1985. By the 1980s, Route 66 was no longer a trunk road because various Interstate highways connected Chicago, Los Angeles, and all the points in between. U.S. Route 66 is now marked in Illinois as a “Historic Route,” with brown signs signaling its historic interest. Many State and local installations up and down the highway, including sites maintained by the private sector, further set off and celebrate the historic roadway.
The State Museum’s history staff is asking people with ties to Route 66 to contact them and send them emails. Potential storytellers include:
- People who have memories of driving on Route 66.
- People who have memories of operating car-related businesses, or watching their families operate businesses, along the iconic highway. “Car-related businesses” include restaurants, hotels, and auto service businesses.
- Workers who helped build, maintain, or reroute Route 66.
GORDON MOORE SINKHOLE
Safety remains to be the number one priority as Gordon Moore Park remains closed following the sinkhole late last month. I have been involved in meetings and briefings and am continuing to monitor the situation. I’m in constant communication with city and company officials on the data collection and inspection process and am working with all levels of government to ensure the process is done diligently.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
My prayers continue to be with President Trump and his family, as well as the Secret Service, first responders, and the victim and his family following the attempted assassination of President Trump in Pennsylvania. I am relieved President Trump is safe, but my heart breaks for the innocent victim and others still fighting for their life following this senseless act. I continue to be amazed by the first responders and their quick action, not knowing the outcome. They put their lives on the line every day to protect us. As we learn more about this story, I will continue to pray for those involved and pray that our country can come together to condemn political violence.