Farewell, Maralea…welcome Torrence!
For the last 3+ years, the 14th District has been incredibly fortunate to have Maralea (Lea) Negron leading our team in the district office. Lea’s steady leadership, dedication to service, and incredible patience with my tendency to blow up the schedule has meant that our team and our constituents are always receiving the best possible service. Throughout the pandemic, her partnership as we’ve navigated ensuring our constituents have the most up to date information possible and get the empathetic and thorough service required to help address the impacts of the pandemic has been amazing. On a personal note, having Lea at my side through some of the most impactful and tumultuous years of my legislative career has been a godsend and I know I’m not the only one who will miss her daily presence here in the 14th district office. On Monday, November 29th Maralea will begin a new role as Operations Director with The Democratic Party of Illinois. We will all miss her terribly, but please join me in wishing her all the best in her new adventure.
Never fear though, our commitment to outstanding constituent services will not waver. I am pleased to announce that we will soon be joined by Torrence Gardner, who has served as Director of Economic and Community Development to Alderwoman Maria Hadden since her election in 2019. Torrence played a key role in helping pass the Juneteenth city ordinance prior to its recognition at the Federal level and has experience volunteering and working with grassroots local and statewide advocacy organizations. He has a Masters degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois Chicago. Torrence loves riding his bike and most recently completed the full 30+ mile bike the DuSable Lake Shore Drive event. As Torrence gets started, we’ll be reaching out to stakeholder groups around the district to help him get acquainted with community leaders and service providers as well as stakeholders in policy areas central to our work.
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Pictured: (left to right) Torrence Gardner, Kelly Cassidy, Lea Negron.
Transitions offer an opportunity to retool and reimagine how we operate, and we’re doing exactly that. In addition to Torrence joining us as our Chief of Staff, we’ve made some other changes as well, just with some familiar faces. Wade Greer, who has ably served in a part time Constituent Outreach role, will go full time and assume the role of Director of Outreach and Constituent Services. This will allow him to centralize and more effectively coordinate our constituent service operations while also stepping up our outreach and events efforts. Anyone who has stopped by a festival booth this summer has had an opportunity to meet Taylor Ortiz who has been with us since early this summer as an intern through the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. She is now joining staff in a part time role as Constituent Advocate. Taylor is currently completing her Masters degree in Public Policy and is a former CPS teacher.
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Pictured: (left to right) Wade Greer, Taylor Ortiz, Torrence Gardner.
Even as we manage these transitions, know that outstanding constituent service remains our central mission and we are here and ready to help our constituents access state services. Our full time district service office is open Monday through Friday 9am-5pm, you can email our main inbox at repcassidy@gmail.com or call us at 773-784-2002.
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Governor Declares November Gun Violence A Public Health Crisis |
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On Monday, November 1, Governor Pritzker declared gun violence a public health crisis in Illinois. In his declaration, he pledged support to a $250 million investment by the State through the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to implement the Reimagine Public Safety plan. The data-driven plan will be executed over the next three years as a community-based violence prevention initiative.
The Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA) establishes the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention (OFPV) within IDHS to focus on reducing firearm violence in communities with the highest rates of gun violence. This will be focused on in different ways, depending on if the area of focus is inside the City of Chicago or other places throughout Illinois. OFPV will also announce grants and funding opportunities soon for technical assistance for violence prevention and youth development and intervention.
You can read more information in the Governor's press release and executive order. You can also find more information on the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's website.
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COVID Vaccines for Kids and Updates |
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COVID-19 cases have risen dramatically, by about 20%, in the past week both in the city of Chicago and overall in Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state is averaging over 2600 new COVID cases each day as of last week. With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and plans to travel, be sure to get your COVID vaccine to protect yourself as well as your family and friends in any gatherings this holiday season. You can find more information on where to find vaccines and boosters here.
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COVID Vaccines for Children 5-11
The CDC has approved the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to children ages 5-11. They now recommend anyone age 5 or older to get the vaccine. According to their website, this is the current breakdown of approval for each age group.
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Children ages 5-11 will get an appropriate, smaller dose of the vaccine when they get their shots. Although COVID-19 tends to be milder in children compared with adults, children can still get very sick and are at risk of being hospitalized if diagnosed with COVID. Children with underlying medical conditions are also more at risk to catching COVID. Vaccinating your children is also very important because they can carry and transmit COVID without showing any symptoms. We must do our part in the efforts to protect ourselves and slow the spread of COVID-19 in Illinois.
The Chicago Public Schools have also put together a page of resources where you can search to find vaccines in your community, through the Chicago Department of Public Health, as well as through these designated CPS vaccination sites. You can find these resources and search engines here.
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49th Ward Flu Shot & COVID Vaccine Event |
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The 49th Ward office, Rush Medical College, and the Illinois Department of Public Health are partnering to provide flu shots and COVID vaccines to ward residents.
Date: Saturday, November 20
Time: 9AM - 1PM
Location: Willye White Park, 1610 W. Howard.
Vaccine numbers are limited, so be sure to register at bit.ly/49FluVaccine. The registration form will close once all appointments have been filled.
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Please support our Annual Fall Coat Drive! A wish list can be found on Target's website linked in the flyer below. We have also updated our flyer with a QR code linking to this information for your convenience. |
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State Relief and Resource Tele-Townhall |
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IDHA Emergency Rental Assistance |
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Update from IDHA: Due to a vendor needing additional time to ensure its application platform is functioning properly, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) will reopen the Illinois Rental Payment Program on Monday, Dec. 6 instead of Monday, Nov. 8. While the date for the program reopening is delayed, money from this round will still be distributed to approved Illinoisans before the end of the year as originally scheduled.
You can also see the flyer below for more information.
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Six New Grocery Stores Accepting SNAP Benefits |
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IDHS has announced that 6 additional grocery stores are offering online SNAP purchasing in Illinois. The newly-approved retailers are as follows:
For information on SNAP and how to sign up, visit dhs.state.il.us. Retailers who are interested intaking SNAP funds can learn more and apply here.
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Hamdard Health Announcements |
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Hamdard Health Alliance is also hiring. More more information and position titles, see the flyer below. |
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Heartland Alliance Seeking Translators |
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Heartland Alliance currently has a large population of Afghan Refugees who have recently arrived in Chicago and is seeking employees and volunteers who speak Farsi, Dari, and/or Pashto. If you are interested in applying, contact careers@heartlandalliance.org. You can also find flyers for these positions below.
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UPS is currently hiring more than 6,500 essential seasonal employees in Illinois to fill full and part-time positions. Primary roles include package handlers, drivers, driver helpers and personal vehicle drivers.
Visit here for more information. Interested applicants should apply here. You can also find more information on the flyers provided below.
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Sincerely,
Kelly Cassidy
State Representative, 14th District
Office of State Representative Kelly Cassidy
5533 N Broadway
Chicago IL 60640
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773-784-2002(phone)
773-784-2060(fax)
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