Investing in Communities

• Established the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative, led by the Lt. Governor, to advance criminal justice reform and equity-focused programs
• Directed cannabis revenue toward investments in communities historically harmed by violence, excessive incarceration, and economic disinvestment
• Doubled the amount of funding for violence prevention programs
• Allocated $40 million for new home buyers, providing down payments and student loan repayment assistance to working families and communities of color across the state

Ensuring Equal Rights for All

• Ensured votes will always be counted by increasing access to the ballot by expanding early voting and vote-by-mail
• Built the most diverse executive branch cabinet and governor’s office in state history, including hiring the first-ever Chief Equity Officer to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout state agencies
• Ensured every school in our state is safe, supportive, and inclusive for our trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming students
• Expunged minor cannabis-related offenses for 700,000 Illinoisans, reducing barriers to employment, housing and professional licenses
• Expanded the Illinois Human Rights Act to include LGBTQ+ residents as a protected class and expanded infertility insurance to cover LGBTQ+ families
• Enacted an historic reform agenda, initiated by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, that begins to address systemic racism through criminal justice reform, equity in education, expanded economic opportunity, and improved health care
• Created a uniform standard for people to correct gendered language on their birth and marriage certificates