Majority Caucus Whip Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) will be holding her annual Family Wellness and Back to School Fair with State Representative Jaime Andrade, Jr. (D-Chicago), Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo, Jr. next month.

The fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at Avondale Logandale School, 3212 W. George, on the corner of Kedzie and George.

“The start of the school year is a perfect time to check up on your health and learn about the services that are available in your community,” Martinez said. “The services at the event are designed to keep both kids and adults healthy all year long.”

Kids will receive free backpacks and healthy snacks at the fair and can get physicals, immunizations and dental screenings.

Services are available for parents and other adults, including blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings.

For more information on the Family Wellness and Back to School Fair, please view the flyers below in English or Spanish or call Martinez’s office at (773) 278-2020.

After shouldering the responsibility of crafting and passing a balanced budget last week, Senate Democrats expressed their frustration today that the governor and the House refused to finalize a deal to bring stability back to Illinois.

“The Senate Democrats have acted responsibly over the past five months,” State Senator Andy Manar (D – Bunker Hill) said. “We’ve passed major bills that the governor has both asked for and demanded in some cases. Along with that, we have advanced a budget to the House that lives within the governor’s spending limits that he put forward.”

The Senate Democrats’ balanced budget includes a mix of $3 billion in cuts and reductions to government spending, an increase in revenues and a host of reforms.

In addition to closing the nearly $5 billion hole in Gov. Rauner’s introduced budget, the Senate Democrats’ budget includes millions of dollars for human services and education – two vital areas that continue to suffer as the governor holds the state hostage.

“We stand very firm and proud of the fact that we did what we believed to be the right thing, which was to pass a fully funded budget which addresses things we’ve heard about for two years now,” State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D – Chicago Heights) said. ” The cost of chaos is something you can’t manage.”

The budget provides the highest level of investment for colleges and universities they’ve seen in two years. It also restores funding for college grant (MAP) funding that Gov. Rauner slashed and would ensure public schools can open in the fall, with $330 million in additional funding, plus $35 million for after-school programs and advanced placement classes.

A variety of human service programs eliminated by the governor would be restored, including: autism support, youth employment, Teen Reach, community youth services, immigrant services and addiction prevention services.

“It’s time for the governor to do his job,” State Senator Don Harmon (D – Oak Park) said. “We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the governor to do his job and all he does is campaign. It’s time to govern.”

“We now need the governor and the House to join in and get a balanced budget. We in the Senate did our jobs. We passed a balanced budget. We now need everyone to step up and do their jobs,” State Senator Heather Steans (D – Chicago) said.

Majority Caucus Whip Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) released the following statement on the Senate passing legislation creating an elected Chicago school board:

"The people on the Chicago Board of Education make decisions about the education of our children, decisions that can impact the rest of their lives. Surely their parents ought to have a say in who represents their children’s interests on that board. I am proud that we took action to ensure the Chicago school board answers to parents, not the mayor."

Majority Caucus Whip Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) released the following statement on the Senate passing a balanced budget for FY 2018:

“Today, after months of failed negotiations with Republicans, Senate Democrats made the responsible choice and passed a budget that will restore stability to the communities that need it the most.

For almost two years, immigrants, women, children, people with disabilities and senior citizens have suffered without a budget. Over and over again they have voiced their fears about losing the services they need. And over and over again Governor Rauner’s administration hasn’t listened. Today, the Senate Democrats took action to fix what the governor has broken.

The budget we passed today includes $6 million for immigrant services. It fully funds domestic violence shelters, child care services, and breast and cervical cancer screenings. It provides opportunities for youth through millions of dollars for youth employment and community youth services. It cares for our most vulnerable citizens through funding for mental health programs, addiction treatment and prevention, and autism support. And it ensures that our students can start school on time by including additional funding for public schools.

Illinoisans have been suffering for years because of a crisis that they did not create. We were elected to do a job, and today we fulfilled our responsibility to our constituents and our communities.”