WEST CHICAGO, Ill. — State Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, was appointed to the Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force, continuing her commitment to more effective and compassionate  approaches to tackling Illinois’ biggest health issues. 

“We need to move beyond old ways of treating patients and problems if we are going to combat our state’s physical and mental health issues,” Hirschauer said. “I am excited to bring the voices and insight of my community and stakeholders to this appointment as we work collaboratively to shape a better future for healthcare in Illinois. By looking at our leading health problems through the lens of individual and generational trauma, our healthcare system can better serve the people.” 

The Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force is a product of Senate Bill 646, which moves Illinois into a trauma-informed direction. The task force would align definitions and goals laid out in the Whole Child Task Force, Children’s Mental Health Plan, and the recent Children’s Mental Health Transformation Initiative. Receiving trauma-informed care means that healthcare professionals at the clinical and organizational level understand a patient’s complete history, even the history often overlooked in mainstream healthcare practices. By opening up relationships between patients and providers, treating health issues can become more long-lasting and effective.

For more information on Senate Bill 646 and the Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force, visit ilga.gov.

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. – State Rep. Maura Hirschauer released the following statement Friday after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld legislation she worked to pass banning the sale of assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and rapid-fire modifications:

“I applaud today’s ruling for commonsense gun safety as a lawmaker, as a Moms Demand Action volunteer, and as a mother myself. First and foremost, I’m glad to see our Supreme Court upholding the work so many of my neighbors sent me to Springfield to do. I know there is more work to be done, so I am heartened to see that the voices of so many students, moms, and other advocates means more than the money and clout of the gun lobby. And I’m grateful to know, at least in Illinois, we will value our children more than we value guns. We will not accept the national mania that would have us believe that seeing people massacred in our classrooms, in movie theaters, and on our streets is a price we must pay again and again. We will act on behalf of the students who have spoken clearly about the need for change; we will comfort the parents who drop their kids off at school and say a silent prayer that they make it home safe; and we will continue the work of ending gun violence in every community in this state.”