SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) released the following statement regarding the governor’s State of the State address this afternoon:

“I am glad to see Gov. JB Pritzker’s top priorities will revise our state’s ethics procedures, early childhood education and provide property tax relief for residents throughout the state. Providing property tax relief will help people with their basic expenses and hopefully retain our residents.

CENTREVILLE – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) recently announced school districts in Cahokia and East St. Louis have received the Illinois State Board of Education Property Tax Relief Grant.

“This is the first step in creating long-term property tax relief for homeowners,” Belt said. “Taxes are a huge burden for Illinois residents, which is why I am pleased to announce that several communities in my district will benefit from this grant.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) was appointed as the new chairperson of the Illinois Senate’s Black Caucus Tuesday.

“Having the opportunity to be the Black Caucus Chairperson is truly an honor,” Belt said. “Being in this position gives me more encouragement to fight even harder for social equity across the state.”

CENTREVILLE – To increase the success of our youth, State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) is urging schools to submit an application to receive the Early Childhood Block Grant from the Illinois State Board of Education.

“Schools need to close their student’s achievement gap sooner than later and that starts with increasing the investment in our kids at a young age,” Belt said. “We are trying to improve access to quality early childhood programs and early childhood investors need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Last year’s $543.7 million appropriation for early childhood was the largest in Illinois history.