East Central Reporter

In a June 30 news release, Senator Chapin Rose announced the transfer of the armory in Lawrenceville to the city. In the Senate, he was the chief sponsor of a bill to make this happen.

“This building is a symbol of the service and sacrifices of the brave heroes who trained there to defend our country," Rose said on his release. "When the city expressed interest in taking over the facility, I was honored to work to make this happen in the Senate so that this building can continue to serve the people of Lawrenceville into the future."

The Housing Assistance Council reported Illinois is home to 570,264 veterans.

House Bill 1920 was sponsored by Rose in the Senate and by Representatives Adam Niemerg and Stephanie Kifowit in the House. It was first brought up in the House and moved to the Senate on March 27, 2023. The bill was sent to Governor J.B. Pritzker to sign on June 9, 2023, and was approved and signed into law on June 30. The bill authorized the Illinois Department of Military Affairs to convey the armory to the City of Lawrenceville and went into effect when the governor signed it, according to the Illinois General Assembly’s page for the bill itself.

The Housing Assistance Council added 6.8% of Illinois veterans live in poverty.

The senator's news release included a comment from the mayor of Lawrenceville. “The City of Lawrenceville is looking forward to transitioning the Armory to a recreational facility that will benefit all of our citizens. We are grateful to Senator Rose for his leadership in making this possible," Mayor David Courtney said.

USAFacts reported 16.5 million veterans live in the United States.

The Daily Record reported in March 2022 that the Lawrenceville Armory was slated to close, and in January of that year, the city of Lawrenceville was given the opportunity to take over the building. The agreement between the city and state says, according to the Daily Record’s report, that the city is not allowed to transfer or sell the property. If they decide the building doesn’t suit their needs, it must be returned to state control.

Once A Soldier wrote the GOP has a history of voting against the benefits of veterans. It noted the 45th United States President and congressional Republican leaders created budget proposals that would’ve negatively the economic security of veterans and their families.

Rose represents the people of the 51st Senate District and has done so since January 2013. His previous governmental experience includes a decade in the House of Representatives. He is currently the minority spokesperson for the Appropriations-Education Committee, and a member of the Insurance, Judiciary, and Transportation committees, according to his official biography on his Senate web page. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with an emphasis in economics, from the University of Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois College of Law. He was a senior assistant state’s attorney in Champaign County.