Illinois Council on Women and Girls aiming to tackle backlog of untested rape kits

Posted on March 5, 2020
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (Photo courtesy: Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton says her Illinois Council on Women and Girls means business.

“As the first black woman to serve as a constitutional officer in our state, and as the mother of four daughters who live here in Illinois, this work is very personal to me,” Stratton said at an announcement in Springfield Wednesday. “I believe it’s personal to the women who have served on this council since we came together a year ago.”

The council’s goals include working toward equality, health, and safety for women. Proposed legislation would, among other things, tackle the backlog of untested rape kits.

Kicking off the event was Grace Beyers, a senior at Southeast High School in Springfield. “In Illinois, women make up 51 percent of the population, but we only make 29 percent of elected officials in the state,” she said. “We should be as represented in government as we are in the population.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

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