SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved legislation Wednesday that establishes a new $3.5 billion Medicaid Hospital Assessment Program, including $360 million in new funding for safety net and critical access hospitals.

The Black and Latino Caucuses in the Illinois General Assembly gave support to these hospitals by signing a letter earlier this year stating they would not support a plan that would cut funding for safety net hospitals.

“Safety net hospitals play a vital role in our communities and serve some of the most vulnerable populations in our state,” Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) said. “If their funding is cut, we would see a direct impact on our constituents who depend on them to stay healthy.”

Safety net hospitals often serve a large number of Medicaid patients which makes it difficult for the hospitals to subsidize those costs through private insurance as other hospitals can.

The current assessment program is set to expire this summer. Senate Bill 1773 now heads to the House for consideration.

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) was the keynote speaker at Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ Black History Month Celebration, which was held in the Illinois State Capitol rotunda. Lightford shared a message of support and honor for organizations and activists that have uplifted the Black community throughout history.

Leader Lightford spoke of the legacies of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Panther Party and the Black Lives Matter Movement, all organizations that were established as defense mechanisms against injustices faced by African Americans in this county.

As the Chairman of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, Senator Lightford leads unapologetically in continuing the legacy of the caucus’ founding members set forth in 1967 to ensure equity, prosperity and representation of African-Americans throughout Illinois.

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) continues to highlight Black activism and liberation organizations this Black History Month.

One of the reasons for the establishment of the Black Panther Party was to defend Black communities from police brutality, something modern day activists continue to fight against.

Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was from Maywood, Senator Lightford’s home town. He brokered a nonaggression pact between Chicago’s most powerful street gangs to make communities safer.

The Black Panther Party established a free breakfast program and looked after the needs of Black communities at that time.