MEYERS-MARTIN REPRESENTS SOUTHLAND IN SPRINGFIELD

Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin represents the 38th District, which is comprised of 15 municipalities in the Southland. Photo provided by Sean Howard
Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin represents the 38th District, which is comprised of 15 municipalities in the Southland. Photo provided by Sean Howard

Meyers-Martin represents Southland in Springfield

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     Debbie Meyers-Martin is the Illinois State Representative for the 38th District. There are 15 municipalities in the 38th District. Meyers-Martin has been an Illinois State Representative since 2019.
     Prior to joining the General Assembly, Meyers-Martin was an environmental justice advocate and was appointed to the
environment justice committee by then Governor Pat Quinn. “I’m happy to say that I am a co-sponsor of the Clean Energy
Jobs Act, which is something that is providing resources and elements to move the state toward renewable energy. We are
certainly hoping that by 2050, we will be completely all renewable energy by 2030, we should have been able to address most of the carbon production in the state,”
she said. Meyers-Martin said it has been rewarding in gathering support for that bill as well as engaging constituents on the progress of the bill.
     Meyers-Martin has lived in the South Suburbs for the last 30 years. She was previously mayor of Olympia Fields.She was the mayor for seven years and a trustee of Olympia Fields for 10 years before that. She said she was encouraged to run for state representative of the 38th District — which at the time, was an open seat— by other Southland mayors and other stakeholders in the area.
     Meyers-Martin said what makes those 15 municipalities unique is that there are some that are successful in their economic development endeavors and some that are not. She acknowledged that there are challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining businesses. She said the demographics in the district are also diverse. Meyers-Martin added, it has been interesting and challenging as a legislator during COVID-19.
     When Governor J.B. Pritzker issued the stay-at-home order in March 2020, she said legislators had to work remotely. In
May, they came back to vote on a budget and they did not go back to Springfield until January 2021.
      “I’m happy to say the new speaker, Speaker Welch, did bring us back to Springfield to vote on some new rules that allowed us to conduct committee hearings remotely. Up
until that point, we had not been able to do that. We had not been able to move bills out of committee remotely,” she continued.
     During her off time from Springfield, Meyers-Martin participated in Personal Protective Equipment and food giveaways. She said she wanted to bring much needed
resources to the community during the pandemic. She said the villages were suffering because of the pandemic. “We do know the disparities in health care became apparent, especially in communities of color,” she stated.
     Meyers-Martin said in her first term, she has learned that Springfield is all about relationships. She said great relationships with colleagues are imperative as well as communication. She said being a legislator means doing the research and investigating before agreeing to support a bill. She said she does not commit to supporting every bill that is brought to her until she has done the necessary work to read the bill and find out what the opposition is to the bill. “That has become sort of my benchmark in being successful in Springfield is to make sure I know what I’m talking about and that I know what I’m supporting,” she said.
     Meyers-Martin said she has tried to be accessible and responsive to her constituents. She said she was able to bring more than $15 million to the Southland in her first year as a legislator for capital funds. She said she hopes constituents know that she has been speaking up on their behalf in Springfield. She said she welcomes the constituents’ input when it comes to legislation.
     Meyers-Martin said the legislation she is most proud of is the Illinois Bank On Initiative, which she sponsored in the
House of Representatives and was passed into law in 2019. She said the aim is to make families in Illinois more bankable
and to give them more access to retail banking products. She said the Illinois Comptroller’s Office is certifying those
products to make sure they are safe, waiving late and overdraft fees.
     “I am very proud of that, because finally, the commission is in place, we have gathered many financial institutions like
US Bank and Bank of America to sign on to this product to help, not only individuals, but also business because some of our businesses missed out on PPP money because they didn’t have relationships with lenders. And, so we’re trying to correct
that,” she said.
     Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin is available by phone at 708-833-7010 or via email at staterepdebbiemm@ gmail.com

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