At his first town hall of the legislative session, state Rep. Curtis J. Tarver II (D-25th) dove into his local and statewide priorities for the year amid a relatively slow session in the state house. 

“Typically in election years, not much happens before the primary,” he said at Thursday’s meeting at King College Prep, 4445 S. Drexel Blvd. “I wanted to get the chance (to) see everybody, and talk (about) what’s going on in Springfield.”

Since the General Assembly reconvened in January, Tarver has introduced several bills focused on amending state law and more funding for small businesses and schools. The 25th District, which encompasses parts of Kenwood and Hyde Park, extends from 43rd Street along the lakefront to the East Side.

For his first order of business at the Feb. 15 meeting, Tarver said he’s seeking community members for two task forces: one focused on political corruption and another focused on education. 

The first is the product of Tarver’s House Bill (HB) 351, signed into law in November, which bars public officials convicted of corruption from holding public office again. The task force will review and make recommendations as to “what criminal conduct precludes a person from holding public office in the state,” per the law.  

The second was created by Senate Bill (SB) 3986, the “Too Young to Test Act.” Co-sponsored by Tarver and signed into law in 2022, the act prohibits the use of standardized tests in public schools from pre-kindergarten through second grade. The task force will study the effects of "overtesting" young students, he said.

Those interested in either task force can reach out to Tarver’s office at office@repcurtisjtarverii.com. 

Ongoing work

Of this session’s bills he detailed were ones introducing new regulations, expanded tax credits, personal finance education and incentivizing clean energy.

The first he noted, HB4203, would prevent retail establishments from displaying products with alcohol next to products without alcohol, such as soft drinks, fruit juices or other items that children might confuse with products containing alcohol. The bill is still being discussed in committee. 

Also under consideration is HB2455, a bill that would amend the law to ensure the judicial branch is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Currently, the judiciary is exempt from these reporting requirements. 

Two proposed bills, HB4485 and HB4646, aim to boost employment at small businesses. The first renews the Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit Act program, which provides tax credits for hiring employees; the second incentivizes hiring returning citizens. 

“It’ll be a pretty powerful tax credit if you hire a (returning citizen),” Tarver said. 

If passed, small businesses could get tax credits as high as $2,500 per new employee hired, and as high as $3,500 per new returning citizen hired. 

Other bills would require more frequent training for law enforcement officers, personal finance courses for 11th and 12th grade public school students, and create more charging stations for electric vehicles on the South Side.

Noting the importance of teaching young people about personal finance, Tarver said he’s seen too many young people wrack up debt on credit cards and loans in college: “by the time they get out and they’re ready to buy a condo, they owe a condo.” 

Other business 

Two “hot topics” in Springfield right now, Tarver said, is the General Assembly’s task of drawing up Chicago’s school board maps and negotiating this year’s state budget, primarily as it relates to allocating funding for migrant support. 

“For the longest period of time, there’s been a movement, and rightly so, to have a fully elected school board in Chicago,” he said. 

In November, Chicago voters will elect 10 members to the city’s 21-member school board for the first time ever. By 2027, the board, which has been mayoral-appointed since 1995, will be made up of entirely elected seats. The General Assembly has until April to finalize the map, according to Chalkbeat Chicago. 

Regarding the state budget, Tarver said this year Illinois is looking at a deficit of about $900 million. The biggest point of discussion, he predicted, will be funding for asylum seekers. 

“I go into my office and I see women across the street from CVS with children all day long, out in the cold, asking for money or trying to sell things,” he said. “And it’s absolutely heartbreaking, so there’s no way we can turn a blind eye to that.” 

However, Tarver said, he will not vote for a budget that does not also address longstanding problems of homelessness and inequity in the city. “To call this a humanitarian crisis is fine with me, as long as it’s the same thing when there have been Black people and others sleeping on the streets,” he said. 

Referencing the city’s failed plan to create a large tent camp in Brighton park for the thousands of migrants awaiting housing, Tarver alleged, “there is no plan, there’s never been a plan, the city purposefully underfunded its own budget.”

“The City of Chicago is setting up a new Department of the Environment, and nobody thought to say we shouldn’t put people on a bed of mercury,” he continued, noting the discovery of mercury, arsenic, lead and other contaminants that made the site nonviable. 

Lastly, Tarver brought up constituent requests to open a new dog park in the district. He said the park must be at least 11,000-square-feet, and his office is still working to secure land for it, potentially through a partnership with Chicago Public Schools. 

Constituent concerns 

Attendees at the meeting expressed some concerns about the placement of a dog park and the lack of benches in the district; a few sought legislative pressure to address Harper Square Cooperative residents’ displacement after a fire last winter. 

Rita Williams Harris, who moved into Harper Square in 1976, is among the 100 residents displaced from the building (until repairs are complete) following the January 2023 fire. 

“It is unacceptable for seniors — and I am a senior — to be homeless, borrowing and living on sofas, and staying with other people far away from their original home,”  she said. “They said June, then they said September and (then) December … now they’re saying June or maybe 2025.” 

All the while, Harris added, insurance payments have run out for many residents. 

“We need help from our board of directors and our construction people,” she said. “There’s just been no transparency whatsoever.” 

Regarding the state budget, Patric McCoy, an art collector and photographer in Kenwood, emphasized the need for more outdoor seating in the district. 

“There’s no benches from 51st to 39th (streets),” he said. “I travel around the city and every green space in the other parts of the city has benches.”

Concluding the meeting, Tarver told attendees, “When you ask if there’s room in the budget, the short answer is yes, there’s room in the budget for everything.”

“But it’s going to be a 3,000-page document, so the question is, can you keep it in,” he added.