Record of Accomplishment
The 10th District should expect its next Congresswoman to be ready to lead on day one with the demonstrated skills, experience and courage to tackle complex local, national and international issues.
For the past 32 years as a public interest lawyer, Assistant State's Attorney and as a state legislator, Julie Hamos has taken on the tough issues that face Illinois. Her brand of leadership is recognizable by bringing people together to build bipartisan coalitions, developing strategies around a shared vision, treating all coalition partners with respect and dignity, and negotiating to reach consensus.
Some of the most creative and effective policy changes Julie has pursued come directly from her constituents. Through the process of coalition building and problem solving, she empowers her constituents to see their ideas come alive and address the needs of their community.
To that end, Julie is organizing Policy Teams composed of 10th District constituents and activists. These teams will help analyze, debate and craft innovative federal policies that will guide her agenda as Congresswoman. Sign up here to serve on a Policy Team.
Review Julie’s strong record and proven leadership on many important issues affecting families and communities throughout Illinois:
Supporting Public Transportation
Preserving Housing Opportunities
Protecting Against Crime and Violence
Protecting Reproductive Rights
Promoting Innovations in Technology
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Supporting Public Transportation
For the past 11 years Julie has worked to create a coordinated and efficient regional transit system. In 2005, the area transit system was on the verge of collapse. Julie was appointed to create and chair a new House Mass Transit Committee to prevent its demise. A full audit and hundreds of hours of hearings and work sessions produced a blueprint not just for funding but for real reform. The 230-page comprehensive legislation rescued the transit system in January 2008 after a protracted legislative battle.
During her first year as a legislator, Julie planted the seeds that grew into the Public Transit Subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee. Her goal was to create better coordination among Metra, CTA and Pace -- with more adjoining stations, coordinated schedules and a universal fare card. She also consolidated two agencies to integrate land use and transportation, eliminating fiscal and environmental waste.
Julie was appointed chair of the Aviation Committee in 2001. She organized hearings to review regional airport capacity and authored a blueprint for a regional airport network.
Promoting Quality Health Care
As a legislator, Julie works to improve the quality of health care for Illinois’ families through greater accountability and increased health care efficiency. In 2003, Julie enacted legislation to create the Consumer Guide to Health Care, requiring hospitals and outpatient surgical treatment centers to disclose data on key measures for 30 medical procedures -- part of a national movement to help consumers make comparisons based on health quality data. The Consumer Guide to Health Care became available online in November 2009.
Julie was the state's early champion of electronic health records, improving patient care, increasing the efficiency of medical practice and reducing medical errors. Her legislation in 2005 created the Electronic Health Records Task Force, drafting a plan of implementation for Illinois. In 2009, Julie worked to launch a health information exchange initiative -- providing planning grants to communities just as federal dollars become available for states that are ready to move forward.
To reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, Julie co-sponsored and passed the MRSA Screening and Reporting Act, requiring every hospital to screen ICU and other "at-risk" patients for MRSA, then isolate and treat those patients. The state is held accountable for compiling and releasing data on MRSA.
For increased health insurance access to young adults, Julie sponsored legislation to extend the age young people can be covered as "dependents" by their family health plans up to 26. The legislation took effect in June 2009.
Preserving the Environment
Julie is an active member of the Legislative Environmental Caucus and a proud co-sponsor of all pro-environment legislation that has gone through the state since 1999. A statewide champion for energy efficiency in transit and construction, she led the fight for legislation to adopt a statewide energy efficiency building code for all new construction of commercial, industrial and institutional buildings and residential high-rises. In 2009, she passed legislation to expand the building code to new home construction.
To keep the Great Lakes clean, Julie works with the Alliance of the Great Lakes, and in 2008 sponsored the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Act. This act would prevent the discharge of invasive species into Lake Michigan from oceangoing vessels. Although the legislation was deferred to allow the federal government to create a regional plan for all of the Great Lakes, Julie will continue to pursue this legislation in Congress.
Julie was appointed Chair of the Special Committee on Gas Pricing in 2000 to examine the causes of the spikes in gasoline prices. With those findings, she authored a report recommending continued use of “clean air” gasoline, fewer gasoline blends for the Midwest region, and a comprehensive energy policy.
Preserving Housing Opportunities
Julie has worked to create and preserve housing opportunities for Illinois families, seniors and the disabled, creating and chairing the Housing & Urban Development Committee that pressed the state to develop an annual plan for better and more affordable housing. She continues to serve on the interagency Illinois Housing Task Force to monitor the state's progress.
To protect homeowners facing foreclosure, Julie sponsored legislation in 2009 to requiring all lenders and loan services to notify homeowners 30 days delinquent on mortgage payments that they have 30 days to seek mortgage counseling services. Borrowers who initiate counseling have an additional 30-day grace period to develop a loan repayment plan.
Preventing a family from entering the cycle of homelessness saves taxpayer dollars. More importantly, though, it preserves a stable environment for our children and communities. Julie enacted the Homelessness Prevention Act to help families experiencing short-term emergencies with small one-time grants for delinquent rent, utility payments or security deposits. This program has kept roofs over the heads of thousands of area families in need.
Promoting Local Healthy Food
Julie devised the creation and guided the work of Illinois’ first Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force in 2007-08. The task force was charged with recommending policies to expand and support an Illinois local and organic food system, and to assess and overcome obstacles facing local growers. This year, she passed legislation that has started the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations. The legislation has galvanized a statewide local food movement addressing issues of obesity and health, the environment, food safety, support for farmers, and revitalization of rural communities.
Fighting for Consumers
Julie leads the effort to close a major “loophole” under the Payday Loan Reform Act, and to add new consumer protections for small consumer loans that now have enormous interest rates and no regulations.
In 2001, Julie served as chief sponsor for the comprehensive rewrite of the telecommunications act — creating the most consumer-friendly law in the nation, with strict service standards for telephone installation and repair, an easy-to-use complaint process, and remedies to promote competition in local telephone service.
Julie fights for consumers who shop around for wine purchases from online brokers, auction houses or through catalogues. Protectionist legislation has restricted consumers from buying directly from out-of-state retailers.
Protecting Against Crime and Violence
Julie has worked to create statewide violence prevention movements since the 1970s. She authored Illinois’ first laws to criminalize domestic violence, co-founded the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and fought to secure state funding for shelters and services to protect women and children from their batterers. In the 1980s, she served as a policy adviser to then-State’s Attorney Rich Daley and trained police, prosecutors and judges on the new domestic violence and rape laws. As a legislator, she has championed improvements in domestic violence legislation and finding funding for important services to assist the victims.
Julie is a staunch advocate for rape victims and helped lead major revisions in Illinois’ sex crime statutes. In 2009, she was the chief sponsor of a new law to impose a "rape shield" in civil cases, which ensures a rape victim’s sexual history and reputation are not admissible in court, with certain exceptions.
Julie has supported and co-sponsored all legislation that imposes sensible gun regulations to reduce violence in our streets and in our homes.
Reforming Child Support
As director of the Child Support Division of the Cook County State's Attorney from 1984-1988, Julie was responsible for 300,000 child support and parentage cases. Under her watch, the division eliminated backlogs in cases, pioneered the use in Illinois of the "10 Most Wanted" list of child support law violators, and created a community relations helpdesk to troubleshoot problem cases. Child support is an important resource for many families, and must be closely monitored and administered.
As a legislator, Julie authored, sponsored or assisted with almost all legislation improving child support collections. She led a bipartisan team to reorganize the state's fragmented, inefficient child support system, and she currently serves on the state's Child Support Advisory Committee to watchdog the state's efforts.
Protecting Reproductive Rights
As State Representative, Julie has been involved in every legislative initiative affecting choice or reproductive health care. She has acted as sponsor or co-sponsor, as strategic adviser, and as coalition-builder among colleagues to extend services and uphold constitutionality on reproductive rights issues.
Julie sponsored legislation requiring all health plans that cover prescription drugs to expand coverage to include contraceptives. In 2009, she co-sponsored HB 2354, the Reproductive Health and Access Act, to protect the fundamental rights created by Roe v. Wade. The bill specifies that individuals should have access to reproductive healthcare and services, including prenatal care, adoption, contraceptive care, pregnancy termination, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and age-appropriate sexual health education.
Advancing LGBT Rights
Julie is committed to equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. In 2009 she co-sponsored the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which legalizes civil unions in Illinois (the bill currently is pending a vote in the Illinois House). Julie also was the chief sponsor of legislation to amend the pension code to allow a designated domestic partner of a teacher to qualify for survivor benefits.
In the early 2000s, Julie co-sponsored legislation to amend the Human Rights Act outlawing discrimination due to sexual orientation in connection with employment, real estate transactions, access to financial credit and the availability of public accommodations.
Supporting the Disabled
Programs that focus on prevention and early intervention are cost-effective and avoid greater, long-term problems. As a freshman legislator, Julie enacted legislation creating a universal program to test the hearing of all newborns prior to their discharge from the hospital. This new law recognizes hearing loss in several hundred babies each year, who then are referred to treatment.
Julie sponsored and passed the Illinois Children's Mental Health Act of 2003. This public/private partnership now is creating an annual plan for coordinated and improved services that respond early to children's untreated social and emotional problems. Julie also co-sponsored two groundbreaking bills in 2008 mandating health insurance coverage for children with autism and other disabilities. In 2003, she enacted legislation to expand park services for children and adults with disabilities through special recreational districts.
Julie stands up for people with disabilities by fighting to provide housing options and passing legislation to enable them to live successfully and fully integrated in the community in accordance to their desires, needs and capacity. This provides a more cost-effective alternative and quality of life experience than institutional care.
Supporting Seniors
Julie enacted comprehensive legislation offering quality of life alternatives for seniors. The Older Adult Services Act and improvements to the Community Care Program offer home and community-based services that enable seniors to live independently and remain out of nursing homes as long as possible. These alternatives are the most cost-effective for the state of Illinois.
Julie also enacted legislation amending the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act to include seniors who “self-neglect” -- due to physical or mental impairments or diminished capacity -- to be able to receive services under the program, following the example of 41 other states.
Promoting Innovations in Technology
To be able to compete successfully in this era, every family, business and community should have access to computers and high-speed Internet. Julie co-sponsored the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act, providing for the state to enlist a not-for-profit organization to implement a statewide high-speed Internet deployment strategy -- demonstrating a private/public partnership with federal and local engagement.
Julie also is working actively to support the Illinois Rural HealthNet, which will be a high-speed network connecting rural Illinois hospitals with specialists at larger facilities throughout the state and nation – part of growing trend known as “telemedicine”.
