The Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition, a coalition of Asian American organizations from across the Chicago area, will come together in Springfield on Tuesday to advocate for legislation to meet the community’s needs. 

Starting this school year, every public elementary school and high school in Illinois must include a unit of instruction on Asian American history. Illinois became the first state to implement the requirement when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act into law last summer. 

Chris Javier, a deacon at Chinese Christian Union Church, has been working on developing safety plans for residents in the community. Going door to door, he’s been educating residents on how to keep themselves protected against the rise in hate crimes, scams and more.

Some community leaders want to see Chinatown and the surrounding area included in a single ward as part of the city council’s once-a-decade remap process. Advocates are also calling for Asian American communities in Albany Park, West Ridge, and Uptown to stay together in their respective wards to ensure their voices are heard. 

In the midst of a right-wing attack on creating a more inclusive education in the U.S., Illinois just became the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools.

Illinois would become the first state to require public schools to teach Asian American studies if the governor signs a bill that cleared the state Legislature. Lawmakers have proposed similar mandates this year in Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin.

A coalition of state representatives and organizations representing the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander community called on residents to unite against discrimination in the wake of a mass shooting in Georgia that eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

President Joe Biden on Friday condemned rising hate crimes against Asian Americans in the wake of the mass shooting in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent.

Asian Americans were already rattled by a wave of racist attacks amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic across the United States. While the motive behind Tuesday's rampage remains under investigation, some see it as a wake-up call to stand up against a rise in violence against the community.