FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 23, 2024
CONTACT: Grace Pai – gpai@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Asian American Community Leaders to Celebrate Passage of Language Equity and Access Act
New bill expands language access to state services for Illinois’ immigrant communities

CHICAGO (May 23, 2024) – After two years of organizing, the Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment (PAVE) Coalition applauds the Illinois state legislature for passing the Language Equity and Access Act (SB3762) on Thursday.

The bill’s passage comes after a rally at the Capitol during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month where 300 Asian American community members urged legislators to support language justice for all.

The bill ensures that the nearly one million individuals in Illinois who rely on a language other than English can access vital state services regarding health, public aid, small businesses and more. In the Asian American community, nearly 80 percent of adults speak a language other than English at home, and roughly one in three prefer to communicate in their native tongue. The Language Equity and Access Act requires state agencies to create language access plans and provide translation and interpretation in more than a dozen languages. It also designates the Governor’s Office of New Americans to support agencies in creating and implementing their language access plans. The bill now awaits Governor Pritzker’s signature.

“Immigrant communities who were hit hard by COVID-19 struggled to get the services they needed because of language barriers,” said Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago Executive Director Grace Pai. “The Language Equity and Access Act will save lives and ensure that Illinois’ growing immigrant community is able to thrive.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity.

PAVE Coalition Members: Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), Apna Ghar, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, Cambodian Association of Illinois, Chinese American Service League, Chinese Mutual Aid Association, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago, Hamdard Health Alliance, HANA Center, Hanul Family Alliance, Indo-American Center, Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago, Japanese American Service Committee, Lao American Organization of Elgin, Muslim Civic Coalition, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute, Vietnamese Association of Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, May 1, 2024
CONTACT: Grace Pai – gpai@advancingjustice-chicago.org

350 Asian American Community Leaders to Rally at the State Capitol Demanding Language Justice For All

CHICAGO – On May 1, hundreds of Asian American community leaders with the Pan Asian Voter Empowerment (PAVE) Coalition kicked off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a rally at the Illinois State Capitol. The rally featured community testimonies calling on lawmakers to pass the Language Equity and Access Act (SB3762), fully fund immigrant services, create progressive revenue streams to generate new funding solutions for the state, and invest in the implementation of K-12 inclusive history requirements.

Asian immigrant communities disproportionately face difficulties accessing public health and government services due to language barriers, an issue only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Americans continue to be the fastest growing racial demographic in Illinois and the country and are flexing their growing political power to address issues like language access facing Asian, immigrant, and other marginalized communities.

Phong Nguyen, a community leader with the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, gave a testimony in Vietnamese that was interpreted into English. He called on lawmakers to pass the Language Equity and Access Act (SB3762), saying, “Almost 50 years after my community built a livelihood for themselves in the U.S., we are still demanding basic rights to language access – because that is how we build real inclusive communities!”

Mohammed Siddique Gandhi, a community leader with the Indo-American Center, shared, “At Indo-American Center, we have over 200 English and Citizenship students like me. Our classes have students who speak Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Pashto, Bangla, French, Spanish, and many more languages. The Immigrant Services Line Item funds immigrant-serving organizations like Indo-American Center and others here today to connect immigrant communities to critical resources. We need it fully funded at $40 million this year!”

Jayaraj Lobo, a youth leader with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, highlighted the need for funding for K-12 inclusive history implementation, saying, “The textbook my high school uses for US History has two sentences about Asian Americans. Knowing that my family, who worked so hard to come here and give us a better life, aren’t being seen – it hurts. That’s why I’m here today to urge our lawmakers to support the appropriations request of $2 million per year for the next five years for all inclusive history mandates. This funding is not just about numbers; it’s about investing in the future of our children and our communities.”

State Representative Theresa Mah, state Senator Ram Villivalam, and state Representative Nabeela Syed also spoke in support of the Pan Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition’s 2024 legislative agenda.

Interviews, photos, and videos available upon request. View Facebook and Instagram livestreams.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity

PAVE Coalition Members: Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), Apna Ghar, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, Cambodian Association of Illinois, Chinese American Service League, Chinese Mutual Aid Association, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago, Hamdard Health Alliance, HANA Center, Hanul Family Alliance, Indo-American Center, Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago, Japanese American Service Committee, Lao American Organization of Elgin, Muslim Civic Coalition, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute, Vietnamese Association of Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT:  

Grace Pai (Executive Director), Asian Americans Advancing Justice l Chicago
(224) 289-5291, gpai@advancingjustice-chicago.org 

Poll Watching Findings: Suburban Cook County struggles with bilingual judge recruitment, while Chicago implements new signage to highlight language access

CHICAGO, IL — March 19, 2024 – During today’s presidential primary election, poll watchers from Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (Advancing Justice | Chicago) visited 223 polling places across Cook County to monitor compliance with language and disability access requirements. In total, 36 poll watchers surveyed 106 Chicago precincts and 117 suburban Cook County precincts. 

Thanks to the federal Voting Rights Act and the Cook County Voting Opportunity and Translation Equity (VOTE) Ordinance, certain precincts that have high concentrations of Asian American and limited English proficient (LEP) voters are required to provide language assistance and translated voting materials in one or more of the following Asian language groups: Chinese, South Asian (Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu), Korean, and Tagalog. These precincts are known as “designated language precincts.” 

The goal of Advancing Justice l Chicago’s poll monitoring program is to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their ballots without interference, with a special focus on language and disability access requirements. Poll watchers checked precincts for translated election materials (informational signs, ballots, and voting instructions), surveyed bilingual election judges, and observed the polling place as voters cast their ballots. On average, poll watchers spent 20 to 30 minutes at each precinct. 

In Chicago, the Chicago Board of Elections (CBOE) rolled out two new signs that highlight the availability of language access in language-designated precincts. These signs, which are pictured below, were developed in direct response to Advancing Justice | Chicago’s recommendations from 2023. Overall, poll watchers noted strong compliance with language and disability access requirements across all 106 designated language precincts in Chicago. While CBOE’s hotline was often busy, staff were helpful in identifying and addressing staffing gaps and missing materials or signage.

In contrast, poll watchers noted widespread issues with bilingual election judge recruitment across suburban Cook County. Nearly half of the designated language precincts in suburban Cook County were missing at least one bilingual election judge. However, when asked, poll workers were aware of the Cook County Clerk’s language-specific hotlines and the availability of translated ballots on the touch screen voting machines.  

Advancing Justice | Chicago’s executive director, Grace Pai, noted: “We see the impact of our advocacy and collaboration with the Chicago Board of Elections in our poll watching results. Our poll watchers observed continued improvements in bilingual election judge staffing, the availability of translated signs and voting materials, and the addition of two new signs highlighting language access. While there continues to be room for improvement, we are heartened by the progress we’ve observed and look forward to collaborating with the Cook County Clerk’s office in a similar fashion.” 

Thanks to staff and volunteer poll watchers, Advancing Justice | Chicago monitored 99 percent of the designated Asian language precincts in Chicago and 100 percent of the designated Asian language precincts in suburban Cook County. In the coming months, Advancing Justice | Chicago will publish two reports – one for Chicago and one for suburban Cook County – using data collected from the poll watching program to document our findings and make recommendations for improvement. 

Advancing Justice | Chicago thanks the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, HANA Center, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI), Indo-American Center (IAC), and Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE) for their collective advocacy and collaboration throughout the election cycle.  

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at advancingjustice-chicago.org.