During the weekend of Nov. 9-12 the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation will honor our veterans with a series of statewide events featuring resources and information for those who have served our country.

The Summit was a one-day event that featured a unique blend of professional development workshops and active learning opportunities from experts representing a variety of professional sectors. It also included a “corporate speed networking” session for career development, followed by a rooftop social happy hour at the Emily Hotel in Chicago’s West Loop.

The Foundation held a press conference to announce our collaborative efforts with Project C.U.R.E. to bring nearly $500K in essential medical supplies to hospitals in Accra, Ghana. Additionally, the Foundation awarded five medical doctors $5K grants each through our inaugural 2023 Brain Trust on Health: Representation Matters grant.

Related Link:  On the Record with Tiffany Hightower

The ILBCF, in collaboration with The Progressive Minds Show, held our Business Exchange Forum which featured the importance of economic growth and unification between the diverse communities that make up the African Diaspora, both here and abroad.

The ILBCF and the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation came together to mark the last days of the spring legislative session with a joint celebration in Springfield.

During this webinar, the Foundation invited a number of state agencies to cover a variety of topics including Medicaid redetermination, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits eligibility and GATA certification. 

As the cannabis industry in Illinois grows, large corporations and the government rake in millions in revenue each year, while many in our community continue to find themselves on the outside looking in. Our cannabis equity town explored the challenges of the state’s adult-use cannabis social equity program, along with pathways to ensure greater industry accessibility for Black entrepreneurs.

The Foundation partnered with local advocacy organizations for a screening of the film Birthing Justice. The film places Black women at the center of the fight to fix a broken system for all women in this country, by focusing on the progress being made by those on the frontlines of this fight and highlights solutions that can be replicated in communities across the country.

The ILBCF provided a free screening of the movie Punch 9 For Harold Washington at Cap 1908 facility in Springfield. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first Black Mayor of the City of Chicago, but before that he served in the Illinois General Assembly and was a founding member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in 1967.

The ILBCF hosted its annual Black History Month soiree at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in downtown Springfield, Illinois. This represented the first in-person soiree since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured Gov. JB Pritzker, along with Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton.

We commemorated the inauguration of the 103rd General Assembly with our biennial celebration where we recognized our ILBC members during a special swearing-in ceremony featuring Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham.

The 2022 ILBCF Annual Legislative Conference celebrated the organization’s enduring legacy during its 20th anniversary year, along with the ILBC’s 55th anniversary year. The conference theme — United In Purpose — spoke to the two organization’s shared mission of improving the quality of life for Black Illinoisans through policy. Held in October, it included a robust workshop schedule, informative panels with our leaders, and culminated with our Saturday evening Nia and Umoja Gala.

NUL affiliates throughout Illinois have worked alongside Caucus members and the Foundation to empower and advocate for our communities. Most recently the ILBCF teamed up with local Urban League affiliates to create Black Business Development Seminars that were held in Chicago, Peoria, and Springfield with the intention of helping business-minded Illinois residents leverage state resources to develop their businesses.

Media Links: 

Tri-County Urban League Helps Black-Owned Businesses