SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner secured over $68 million to build and repair infrastructure in Central Illinois.

“Continuing to invest in our roads increases safety, brings more jobs and boosts the local economy throughout our communities,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “We made the commitment to improve our state’s aging infrastructure and we are seeing the benefits these investments are making that will have a lasting effect for residents here in Central Illinois.”

The largest multi-year program to build and repair infrastructure in state history will invest $50.6 billion over six years, continuing an unprecedented investment in safety, mobility and quality of life made possible by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program. The Illinois Department of Transportation’s new multi-year program is both comprehensive and multimodal, with investments in roads and bridges, aviation, transit, freight and passenger rail, waterways, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations touching every Illinois county.

As part of IDOT’s latest Multi-Year Plan under Rebuild Illinois, the district Turner represents will see infrastructure projects totaling more than $68 million next year.

“With this significant funding coming right to the roads we drive daily, we are investing in the future of our communities,” said Turner.

A full list of projects in the 48^th District can be found here.

SPRINGFIELD – Over $227,000 is coming to Springfield and Decatur to support four literacy programs, thanks to strong backing from State Senator Doris Turner.

“Libraries are essential, serving as a vibrant hub in our communities for all residents to utilize," said Turner (D-Springfield). "Investing in our library systems is an incredible way to empower their initiatives, while directly supporting the community."

Over $28 million was awarded to regional libraries systems across the state to enhance online catalogues at local libraries, support day-to-day operations, expand interlibrary loan programs and to radio information services that equip vision-impaired individuals with narrations of newspaper content. Baby TALK received funding to help provide integrated, intensive instruction to improve the basic reading, writing skills, math or English language proficiency of parents and children together.

SPRINGFIELD – After hearing from Central Illinois residents, State Senator Doris Turner sent a letter on Wednesday to the U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner asking to bring back mail sorting in Springfield, rather than allow it to remain out of state.

“The aftermath of the decision to sort mail in Missouri has been detrimental,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “People aren’t getting their prescriptions delivered on time, putting them in life-threatening situations. Rent payments, paychecks, bills and more are taking much longer to arrive. Enough is enough.”

On March 26, Turner joined hundreds of local residents, postal workers and local elected officials at a town hall to share concerns about the proposal. USPS approved changing Springfield’s Packaging and Distribution Center into a Local Processing Center, which moved mail processing outside of the state to operations in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I’ve heard about the mail issues from constituents, and I too have experienced increased delays. Today we find out mail is scattered along a street in Springfield with people’s addresses on display,” said Turner. “I stand with residents, postal workers and the entire Springfield community. I’m having conversations with our federal partners as we navigate the ongoing and unjust USPS issues.”

A copy of the letter can be found here.

SPRINGFIELD – As a strong advocate for agriculture education, State Senator Doris Turner championed a new law to allow hands-on learning for FFA and 4-H students to count toward school hours.

“As chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a member of the Senate Education Committee, I know the valuable experiences students get from participating in hands-on learning,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “This is a necessary step to ensuring no student is jeopardized for attending an FFA or 4-H event.”

Building on Turner’s 2023 law, House Bill 2802 allows participation in supervised career development experiences and other approved work-based learning activities to count toward the daily calculation of school clock hours.

Illinois FFA is a youth organization that prepares members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. 4-H is the largest out-of-school youth organization across the state aimed at teaching practical skills to youth by offering lessons in communications, leadership, career development, livestock, home improvement and computer technology.

“To really understand the ag industry, students need to have the option to participate in events and competitions that provide hands-on learning,” said Turner. “Illinois is a national agriculture leader and it’s important we build the pipeline to encourage students to join the industry.”

House Bill 2802 was signed into law Friday and takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.