May 17, 2012          Health Exchange Talks Stall

Feb. 15, 2012          Dixie Square Mall Finally Meets With Wrecking Crews

Illinois Flag

Dec. 28, 2011          State Lawmaker Not Impressed With Tollway’s Traveler Information Offering

Nov. 11, 2011          South suburbs hope to learn from Denver in developing new Metra train line

July 12, 2011           Governor Quinn announces efforts to boost development of south suburban Cook County

July 12, 2011           Fed funds flow to six southland towns

July 12, 2011           Save Our Jewels! Olympia Fields Rally Behind Grocery

April 2011               ‘Better opportunity for a bright future’

March 8, 2011        Southland transit district created

 

June 4, 2010         Measure to Help Fathers Fails in Illinois House

March 10, 2010     Governor Accused of Holding Education Captive In Exchange for Tax Increase

March 1, 2010       Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Report

 

July 15, 2009        Capital plan to bring projects, jobs to Southland

July 14, 2009        “Section 41 Rule Gutted.  This is a follow NBC 5 news story which was featured in March.  Restrictive language in 1945 removed – by Lisa Parker.  Click here for video…  Or copy and paste the link… http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/cta-section-41-1945-law.html

July 11, 2009          Legislative Update:  Finally, economic stimulus for the State of Illinois, implications for the 38th District, thoughts on the FY2010 budget negotiations, and Jazz In The Park For Charity 2009 2 week countdown. Click here to read more...

June 3, 2009          Legislative Update;  Governor signs Section 41 legislation to eliminate provisions in the law which negatively impacted families across the Chicago area involved in CTA accidents. Click here to read more…

May 21, 2009        Riley, Demuzio team up to create cancer screening program

May 19, 2009        Riley passes bill protecting rights of victims of CTA accidents

Apr. 23, 2009        Riley chosen as Legislator of the Year

April 13, 2009        Mid-Session Report:  $30 million dollars of construction projects coming to the 38th District.  This newsletter serves as a mid-session report to include an update of road projects, grants to local art councils and the recent capital budget hearing at South Suburban College.  Click here to read more…

Apr. 06, 2009        Riley brings in over $30 million for local road projects

Mar. 18, 2009        Riley responds to Governor Quinn’s budget proposal

March 15, 2009     Representative Riley and South Suburban legislators hold a press conference regarding the SouthEast Service Line. This was a missed opportunity for shovel ready projects.  Click HERE for the video.

March 11, 2009      Section 41 of the CTA Act:  Below is a NBC news story featuring an important piece of legislation I am working on to help citizens who have been involved in an accident with the CTA who have been summarily dismissed, on a technicality never to be heard again.  Click here to view the video.

Mar. 03, 2009        Riley introduces legislation to protect the rights of those injured in CTA accidents

Feb. 18, 2009        Letter to the SouthtownStar Editor

Jan. 1, 2009           New Year’s Greetings.  To view the New Year’s Greeting, please click here.

 

Dec. 30, 2008        Comments on the NTSB decision on EJ&E

Nov. 30, 2008        The Prelude to Jazz in the Park was held on November 20, 2008 at the Tall Grass Arts Gallery in downtown Park Forest.  The event brought together communities of the 38th Distrist including local mayors and officials as well as social service agencies to kick off the 2009 Charity Event.  I am pleased to announce that my office will be hosting Jazz in the Park for Charity 2009 at Bi-Centennial Park in Olympia Fields on July 26, 2009.  For more information please contact my office at 708.799.4364.

Oct. 21, 2008        Grassroots Effort Brewing to Save Health Care Facilities

Oct. 1, 2008           State Representative Al Riley’s “Faces of the Future” is in full swing. This committee has been established to develop an interest in the legislative process for high school students.   The youth committee will “be in session” for an entire year with meetings on Saturdays. Session began in early September and will end in the Spring of 2009, at the conclusion of the academic school year.  In order to be considered for next years Youth Committee, students must be Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors and fill out the necessary forms.

Sep. 26, 2008        Roadmap for the Region (map)

Sep. 17, 2008        Fetal Alcohol Syndrome subject of conference

Sep. 8, 2008          Social Services Fair in Country Club Hills.       The Social Services Fair was held on September 6, 2008 at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills from 10 am – 2 pm.  The event was in collaboration with Rich Township and the Illinois Department of  Healthcare & Family Services. At least 25 booth attendees were at the event. Thank you for your contribution, it was a successful event.

Sep. 2, 2008          EJ&E Viewpoint

Aug. 26 , 2008       Trauma Care at St. James Hospital

Aug. 25, 2008        Rep. Riley fights for economic development program..

Aug. 19, 2008        Rep. Riley reflects on the life of Mayor Mark Stricker…..

May 29, 2008            General Assembly Scholarship Winners.  The selection process for the 38th District scholarship application has been completed.  2008 Legislative Scholarship Winners:

  1.  Rebekah Torres – Rich Central H.S. – U of I-Chicago
  2.  Ahmed Shalabi – Rich South H.S. – U of I-Champaign Urbana (Alpha Phi Alpha)
  3. Stephen Watson – U of I Medical School – U of I Medical School
  4. Chanelle Robinzine – Homewood-Flossmoor H.S. – Illinois State Univ.
  5. Javaite Wilson – Marian Catholic H.S. – U of I-Champaign Urbana
  6. Tracey Faulkner – Rich East H.S. – Eastern Illinois Univ.
  7. Lesliefaye Gogins – Prairie State College – U of I-Springfield
  8. Laura Myers – Rich Central H.S. – U of I-Champaign Urbana

May 27, 2008         2007 – 2008 Awards

March 20, 2008      Rep. Riley gets an “A” on racial equity report card….Daily Southtown

March 10, 2008        Environmental Working Group Presentation:  State Representatives Al Riley & Elaine Nekritz hosted an  Environmental Working Group Presentation at Prairie State College on March 3, 2008.     The presentation, 10 Americans – 287 chemicals was produced by Ken Cook.  Mr. Cook is President of the Washington DC based Environmental Working Group (EWG). The EWG has identified chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, reproductive problems, and immune disorders in the blood of 10 Americans.

Feb. 1, 2008               RTA “Doom’s Day”. The RTA “Dooms Day” was avoided when the mass transit bill became law on January 18th.  The Southland Caucus collaborated on the mass transit bill to ensure the language of the bill was reflective to the needs to the entire RTA region. Representatives William Davis, David Miller, Bob Rita, and George Scully along with myself worked diligently on these issues. Representative Robert Molaro also provided strong support to our efforts. Below is a brief outline of legislation successfully negotiated in the mass transit bill.

  • PACE grant to the South Suburban region: PACE and the RTA will cooperate in the development, funding, and operation of programs to enhance access to job markets for residents in south suburban Cook County. The RTA will allocate to PACE, no less than $7.5 million for the costs of such programs.
  • Suburban Community Mobility Grant: The Suburban Community Mobility Fund will make grants to PACE for the purpose of operating transit services, other than traditional fixed-route services, that enhance suburban mobility, including, but not limited to, demand-responsive transit services, ride sharing, van pooling, service coordination, centralized dispatching and call taking, reverse commuting, service restructuring, and bus rapid transit.
  • Governance: I was instrumental in developing regional representation on the Metra Board by expanding the Suburban Cook appointments based upon geographical boundaries.
  • Citizens Advisory Boards: Worked to strengthen the language affecting the Citizens Advisory Board to increase the opportunity to bring diversity to these boards.
  • Minority & Women Business Programs: Worked to ensure the RTA and the service boards adopt programs to promote diversity in employment and contracting.

Nov. 30, 2007       Breast Cancer Forum.  On November 10th, my office in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago Public Health Department conducted a morning breast cancer forum at Prairie State College. Vital information was presented on screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. I highlighted two legislative measures aimed at prevention of ovarian and breast cancer. Public Act 95-0096 amends the Community Health Center Expansion Act by including ovarian cancer screenings within the definition of preventive health services to be offered by community health centers. Public Act 95-0431 requires insurance companies to provide coverage for mammograms for women over 40 years of age. This act also requires coverage for a comprehensive ultrasound screening for women at risk for breast cancer. Guest speakers included:

  • Richard Warnecke, PhD (Director, Program for Cancer Control and Population Science, UIC Cancer Center at Chicago)
  • Thomas Britt, MD (National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer (Chicago Chapter); and
  • Mary Holmes—Johnson, RN, BSN (Office of Women’s Health, Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, IDPH)

Sept. 25, 2007       Regional Budget Hearing.  A Regional Budget Hearing analyzing the Governor’s veto of local projects and other budgetary line items was held at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Thank you to the roughly 125 people who attended to testify about the negative impact of these cuts on the Southland Region. I chaired this hearing which was co-sponsored by fellow representatives David Miller, Will Davis and George Scully. Approximately 40 organizations came to testify which included hospitals, health care agencies, school districts, colleges and universities and community based organizations. The hearing lasted about 4 and 1/2 hours and included a slide presentation by the House Democratic Staff on the more substantive financial aspects of the budget cuts.

Sept. 16, 2007      Mass Transit Legislative Timeline:

The mass transit bill was negotiated. The South Suburbs were hardly considered in the drafting of the language.

In May 2007, a subcommittee created with bi-partisan support established in the Mass Transit parent committee. The subcommittee is meant to address regional equity issues in mass transit services affecting the region, with a focus on the Chicago Southland.

On June 16, 2007, we conducted our first subject matter hearing in Matteson. Representatives from the RTA, CTA, PACE, Metra and IDOT were in attendance to discuss transportation issues facing the Chicago Southland. There was an extensive discussion regarding current planning activities at the Service Boards which is meant to expand transit services in the region. CMAP discussed the importance of linking transportation with economic development.

Moving forward from the June 16th hearing, I began to work on the mass transit bill with the Southland Caucus in collaboration on major issues facing this region. We worked extensively with Representative Julie Hamos and the RTA. Among the issues addressed were: developing regional representation on the Metra Board, ensuring viability in the Suburban Community Mobility Fund, provide additional monies to PACE, and strengthening diversity representation on the citizens service boards.

On July 18, 2007, the merits of the transit bill were presented in a morning legislative meeting with the RTA and Representative Julie Hamos. After multiple meetings with the Southland Caucus regarding our needs, the Caucus negotiated with the sponsor and the RTA to ensure that the Southland does not get left behind. We were strident in our efforts in ensuring our region had a voice.