Priorities
From protecting seniors and supporting first responders to easing the cost of everyday life, Fran is fighting for the issues that matter most to families in the 18th District.
Seniors
Fran believes seniors who spent their lives working hard, raising families and dedicating themselves to our communities deserve to retire with dignity and peace of mind. That’s why she focused so much of her work in the Illinois House on easing the financial pressure many aging adults face every day.
Fran worked to lower the cost of annual license plate stickers for seniors to $10 and delivered critical property tax relief by raising the senior freeze income limit to $75,000, ensuring older adults can protect their homes from rising assessments. She helped lower prescription drug costs to help those living on a fixed income keep more money in their pocket, championed protections for nursing home residents facing unfair medical debt and continues to host community events to help seniors learn new technology and stay connected to important services that make their lives easier. For Fran, supporting seniors means making sure people can age with the stability, independence and respect in the communities they’ve helped build.
Public Safety/First Responders
Fran knows how important it is to keep our communities safe – that’s why she’s standing up for the first responders who protect our neighborhoods. As the former chair of the Police and Fire Committee, she was a vocal advocate for expanding the use of expressway cameras to solve violent crimes and increasing penalties for violations of Scott’s Law, which requires drivers to slow down and move over for any vehicle pulled over with hazard or emergency lights on. While she was in the House, Fran passed legislation ensure police, firefighters and EMTs can access mental health services without fear of repercussions from their employers, and Fran championed the creation of a specialized suicide prevention task force to provide critical, life-saving resources to those on the front lines.
Fran addressed catalytic converter theft through bipartisan legislation and ensured the families of fallen heroes receive line-of-duty benefits without delay. She remains dedicated to supporting those who serve in uniform and the families who rely on them, and she led efforts to secure grants for police recruitment and lower the retirement age for state troopers.
Affordability
Fran believes that families shouldn’t have to struggle just to afford the essentials of everyday life. She knows her neighbors are all struggling with economic instability where the costs of groceries, electric bills and gas prices continue to climb. As a mother and grandmother herself, Fran understands the financial pressure on working parents and middle-class households trying to build a stable future.
That’s why Fran is focused on bringing real, common-sense relief to ease the burden on everyday budgets. During her time in the House, she successfully championed a law to automatically renew property tax savings for homeowners, making sure local families didn’t lose out on critical financial relief just because of confusing paperwork. Fran also knows that keeping life affordable means protecting families from unpredictable spikes in their electric and gas bills. That’s why she fought for emergency utility assistance programs. Fran also backed a bill to support veteran families by cutting through red tape to match service members leaving the military with high-quality civilian job training and apprenticeships, ensuring they can transition seamlessly into steady, well-paying careers without a lapse in income. She remains committed to tackling the rising costs that are making life so difficult for hardworking families. Fran believes that families should keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets and she’ll find creative ways to do that. To keep our communities strong, we need to make sure people can afford to stay in the neighborhoods they know and love.
