EAST ST. LOUIS – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) encourages people to help lift up veterans across the state by asking service organizations, volunteers and others to write friendly letters to veterans’ home residents ahead of Veterans Day.

“The district I represent is home to a large population of veterans, each of them being valued members of the community,” Belt said. “Some have lost their lives, and some continue to endure the impacts of their service, and we must honor, recognize, and show appreciation to all of them.”

Operation Rising Spirit is an initiative of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs that encourages communities to write letters to residents in the care of veterans’ homes in Illinois. At a time when isolation is at a record high, the letters are meant to extend friendly affirmation for the bravery and courage of veterans both throughout their service and the pandemic.

EAST ST. LOUIS – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) and State Representative LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis) are partnering to bring the treasurer’s office to the Metro East for an I-Cash event in Belleville Wednesday.

“I-Cash events provide easy and free access to filing claims to recover owed money,” Belt said. “I encourage Metro East residents to come out and take advantage of this event to make sure that they are not missing out on what could be theirs at no cost.”

The free event is Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 12-3 p.m. at Southwestern Illinois College – Belleville, located at 2500 Carlyle Ave. in the Garden Room, room 1310.

Representatives with the treasurer’s office will be available to check if residents should be owed any of the $3.5 billion in unclaimed property. Hundreds of people each year learn through the I-Cash program that they had money from old bank accounts, life insurance policies or other financial institutions that they had yet to collect.

If residents have questions about the event, Belt urges them to contact his office at 618-875-1212 or Greenwood’s office at 618-646-9557.

SPRINGFIELD – School district, community college and public university employees who are required to isolate or quarantine due to contracting or being exposed to COVID-19 may be given as many administrative leave days as necessary thanks to a measure sponsored by State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) that passed the Senate Wednesday.

“Teachers have faced so many challenges since the pandemic began,” Belt said. “From remote learning to hybrid learning, teachers continue to make sacrifices for their students. They shouldn’t have to worry about using their personal time when they need to take time off due to COVID-19.”

If an employee is required to isolate or quarantine, all public school districts, community colleges and public universities must provide employees with as many administrative leave days needed to follow all public health guidance, mandates and requirements issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health. In addition, employees will receive administrative leave days if they need to care for their child in elementary or secondary school who was sent home because of COVID-19 protocols.

EAST ST. LOUIS – State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) congratulated local businesses struggling from the pandemic that were awarded grants from the latest round of the Back to Business program awards.

The B2B program allocated $250 million in American Rescue Plan dollars for small businesses negatively affected by the pandemic. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $150,000 per business and can be used to cover a wide range of operations such as staff and overhead costs.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and have been hard hit during the pandemic,” Belt said. “As the holiday season approaches, I encourage residents to shop local and support businesses that continue to recover.”