PEKIN, IL – State Representative Mike Unes (R-East Peoria) will be hosting a free paper shredding event this Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to Noon.  The event will take place on the street in front of the representative’s district office, located at 19 S. Capitol Street in Pekin.

With broad support from area school districts, a bill sponsored by Representative Mike Unes (R-East Peoria) requiring the State of Illinois to provide the ACT test to any school district that wishes to employ it for purposes of measuring and demonstrating college readiness, passed  by 73-36 votes in the Illinois House of Representatives today despite opposition from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).   This proposed legislation comes after ISBE’s unexpected decision to abandon its successful and well-established history with the ACT by instead entering into a three-year contract with SAT.  The ACT has long been the preferred college-readiness exam in states like Illinois.

Yesterday, the Illinois House of Representatives provided essential long-term assurance to community colleges in the state by passing HB 4675, which would ensure that all future federal dollars distributed to the State of Illinois for Adult Education and Career and Technical Education are timely appropriated to community colleges, even in lieu of a state budget.  Currently, these funds are coded within the Comptroller’s Office as “special funds” rather than “federal funds,” which had previously compromised their ability to be distributed in lieu of a higher education budget.  Other similar technicalities within the fund distribution process were addressed by previous bills, but did not include the funds outlined specifically by HB 4675.