Elmhurst Politician Wants More Diverse State Workforce

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst state lawmaker has proposed a bill that she said would help create a more diverse workforce in state government.

In a news release Thursday, Deanne Mazzochi, a Republican, said her bill would improve the state's ability to fill bilingual state positions and streamline the process for workers to prove their linguistic qualifications.

The state, she said, lacks test capacity for linguistic skills and includes a number of bureaucratic hurdles.

Mazzochi called Illinois an "incredibly diverse" state. She noted a 15 percent increase in the last decade of Illinoisans identifying as Hispanic and that 13 percent of DuPage County's population is Asian, the highest of any county in the state.

"The parts of our government that help our most vulnerable residents are precisely where we must do better to fill positions with people who have the needed linguistic skills," Mazzochi said. "This legislation will help do that.”

Mazzochi's bill would obligate the state to accept third-party testing programs and cultivate programs with community colleges for filling staff positions. She said it would also help the state keep bilingual employees who, to date, have been unfairly denied promised supplemental pay while providing needed services.