Last Friday I was proud to attend Vermilion County’s Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at Turtle Run Banquet Center in Danville. It is a wonderful event organized by County Board Chairman Larry Baughn and his office to show appreciation to the Men and Women in Vermilion County who are serving and protecting us to keep our communities safe. Any police officer serving in the Vermilion County is encouraged to attend for a free meal and fellowship from their grateful community members! It is a small token of gratitude for those who do so much to serve our community. My compliments to Chairman Baughn for hosting this annual event.
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to stop by Hope Meadows Generational Living complex on the old Chanute Airbase in Rantoul to help celebrate their 25th anniversary. After Chanute closed in the early 1990’s, Hope Meadows used some of the vacated base housing to create a cutting-edge model of housing. In this model, older retired couples without family close would live in a tight nit community with children in need of family. The housing model received national acclaim. Congratulations to Hope Meadows for 25 years of having positive impact in the lives of its residents.
Monday was a good day. I was very happy to have a young man from Danville High School, Christopher Morse, job shadow me all day long. Christopher is an impressive young man who is aspiring to have a career in public service because he wants to make his community a better place. I enjoyed spending the day with Christopher and he definitely has a bright future in front of him.
One stop we made was for a tour of the Survivor Resource Center, an agency that helps victims of sexual assault. The organization does impressive and critical work helping victims in our community. I was able to learn about some of the staggering statistics about the prevalence of sexual assault in our community and the immense damage inflicted. It is unfortunate that we need entities like the Survivor Resource Center, but I am glad we have them doing the great work in our community.
Tuesday night I spoke at the Georgetown Domestic Violence Awareness Rally to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I was honored to be at the event and to be given the opportunity to offer a few words of support to both the victims and survivors present at the rally. People facing this horrible trial need to know that we as their elected leaders stand in full support.
On Thursday, we collaborated with CRIS Healthy Aging and Vermilion County Sheriff Pat Hartshorn to sponsor my first annual Vermilion County Senior Safety Awareness Fair. It was a great turnout and a wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to a great number of area senior citizens. It was an awesome opportunity for Seniors to learn about services offered by State Agencies and local vendors. The Sheriff gave an outstanding presentation about personal safety to the audience. I look forward to having more of these community events in the years to come.
It was a busy week in the 104th District. Summer has come and gone, and now the fall Veto Session is upon us. Legislative work continues to happen and I will continue to see you out and about the district until we go back to Springfield. I am in the middle of drafting my new legislation for the next session. Please let me know if you have any ideas, concerns, or suggestions as I move into this next year. Stay tuned on my Facebook page for updates on my upcoming events! Have a great next week.