McHenry Times

Three female state senators let it be known they are a force to contend with in the very near future.

Sens. Karen McConnaughay (R-St. Charles), Heather Steans (D-Chicago), and Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields) literally stood with all other female senators behind them as they announced the formation of a bipartisan Women’s Caucus in the Senate at a Nov. 9 press conference.

“All of us work really well together,” McConnaughay said, adding the impetus was the recent swarm of sexual harassment allegations made in the Illinois Capitol, which has led to mandatory annual sexual harassment training for all legislators, lobbyists and state employees and the creation of a sexual harassment task force.

“I think it has been what is going on around here for the last few weeks and the national conversations that made us say the time has come were we formalize the united desire we have to work together,” McConnaughay said.  

Steans cited the formation of the 1977 Congressional Women’s Caucus and the success that group has made in the last four decades.

“In the last 40 years they have done important things like pregnancy discrimination laws and the Violence Against Women Act,” Steans said. “I am hoping 40 years down the road, we will be able to say the same thing about the Women’s Caucus in the Senate.”

Hutchinson told reporters the group of women gathered meant business.

“This is a very diverse group of women that are standing up here from across the political spectrum,” Hutchinson bsaid. “Conventional wisdom says we all go into our corners, but what we have recognized in the Senate we do have a collaborative way to work together and there are some things even outside a larger political divide that we can find to do together.”

Hutchinsoni said the “first foot forward” was the formalization of the group and the press conference announcement.

“We intend to be taken seriously,” Hutchinson said.

McConnaughay said anytime women on both sides of the aisle come together and share their ideas, they end up with a strong policy product that is easier to pass as a group. 

She said the Illinois Women’s Senate Caucus will be creating “a real policy agenda” in the future that focuses on issues that impact women, especially when it comes to sexual harassment.

“I am thrilled about this,” McConnaughy said. “Obviously we have a task force coming up and I think our group is going to work very hard to make sure we stay focused in as we talk about sexual harassment and policy that educates and deals with that issue proactively and effectively as well as other issues.”