SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberley Lightford (D-Maywood) joined Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton on Thursday to recognize the achievements of women in Illinois, as part of the governor’s Women’s History Month Celebration at the Capitol.

“We’re joined by distinguished women who have spent their careers blazing a trail for generations to come,” Lightford told the assembled crowd in the Capitol Rotunda. “Women like you, our three award recipients, and countless women across our state are the reason Illinois continues to advance women’s rights and make progress toward true gender parity.”

Governor Pritzker presented achievement awards to Dr. Alicia Alexander, founder of the Edwardsville chapter of Support the Girls, Kahala Clay, Circuit Clerk of St. Clair County, Wendy Pollack, founder of the Women’s Law and Policy Initiative at Chicago’s Shriver Center, and former State Representative and Democratic Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie.