CHICAGO — State Senator Graciela Guzmán is hosting a monthly legislative town hall on the last Monday of every month until the end of May to keep local residents informed of the legislative work going on in Springfield, and give them the opportunity to participate in the legislative process.

“I am excited to share the legislation I am advocating for with my community members who inspire and inform my work to make our district and state a better place to live,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “From holding polluters accountable to protecting reproductive health care access, we have many measures that will have a prolific impact on our state, and I can’t wait to discuss them with my constituents.” 

Guzmán’s first legislative town hall of 2026 will take place on Monday, Jan. 26 from 6-7 p.m. via Zoom. Attendees should register for this and future town halls by visiting bit.ly/ SD20Leg. Spanish interpretation will be available. 

CHICAGO — After the federal administration announced a freeze of federal funding for child care programs in several Democrat-led states, including Illinois, which would impact around 100,000 working families, State Senator Graciela Guzmán released the following statement:

“The child care system is under attack by the Trump administration, which is using unfounded claims of fraud to take actions that will make child care more expensive for families, make children less safe, and make it harder for child care centers to stay open. The administration is putting children, families, and providers at risk—destabilizing families, threatening the closure of small child care businesses, and damaging our broader economy, all while doing nothing to address the ongoing child care crisis. Our nation’s child care system is already too expensive and precarious, and Trump’s attacks will only worsen the challenges facing families.

SPRINGFIELD — As of Jan. 1, people requiring laser hair removal due to a medical condition will soon be able to get this procedure covered by their insurance plans due to a legislative measure led by State Senator Graciela Guzmán and State Representative Lilian Jiménez.  

“Everyone deserves to receive health care for medical conditions they are experiencing,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “For too long, people requiring laser hair removal for their health conditions were unable to receive this essential care. I am thrilled that with this new law, thousands of Illinoisans will be able to access the treatment they need to have the best quality of life possible.” 

To give more people the ability to seek medically necessary care, House Bill 3248 requires all state employee health plans and private insurance plans to cover medically necessary laser hair removal if the procedure is a prescribed medical treatment in accordance with generally accepted standards of medical care. People diagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa, a chronic inflammatory skin condition caused by blocked hair follicles, severe hormonal disorders that may lead to excess hair growth, and gender dysphoria will now be able to pursue this treatment plan at a lower personal cost and improve their quality of life. 

SPRINGFIELD — Thanks to legislation championed by State Senator Graciela Guzmán and State Representative Will Guzzardi, information about the lack of affordable housing options will soon be more easily accessible, promoting the development of more reasonably priced living options.  

“Thousands of renters in my district, including myself, struggle with the rising cost of living. Despite our testimony about these difficulties, we need more transparent data to back up our conversation about the housing affordability crisis in our state,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “Under this law, we will have the information we need to form real policy solutions that will help alleviate the housing crisis in areas with the most need for homes working families can afford.” 

House Bill 3616 aims to illuminate the demand for affordable housing and the lack of housing inventory middle-income earners are facing. It requires IHDA to collect data on the inventory of affordable housing that is accessible to extremely low-income and middle-income households in each local government in Illinois. Every five years, IHDA is required to make this data available to the public and report the data to the General Assembly. From there, it can be used to influence policy to invest in more affordable housing options.