CHICAGO – Today State Senator Napoleon Harris III (D – Flossmoor) invited all K-12 students in Illinois’ 15th Legislative District to create a Google doodle for the opportunity to win a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for his or her school. The opportunity comes with the launch of Google’s 2014 Doodle 4 Google Contest, which gives students across the U.S. the chance to display their own Google doodle on www.google.com.

“Doodle 4 Google is a great example of a public-private partnership encouraging creativity and offering unique opportunities to the students of District 15,” said Sen. Harris III. “Each student’s imaginative vision should be something the whole world has a chance to see. I want to make every student, parent and teacher is aware of this fun and educational opportunity.”

Google doodles are the fun versions of the Google logo that appear on the Google homepage throughout the year in celebration of special events and people. This year’s theme is “If I could invent one thing to make the world a better place…” Students can submit their doodles until March 20, 2014.

Google will announce the 50 state winning designs on April 29, 2014 — among them our very own Illinois winner. The public across the U.S can then vote for these students’ doodles to help decide a national winner. State winners will be flown to Mountain View, CA for a national awards ceremony on May 21, where Google will announce the national winner. Google will display the winning artist’s work on the Google homepage for a day in June, and the student will win a $30,000 college scholarship, along with a $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for his or her school. Plus, for the first time ever, the winner will spend a day with the Google Doodle team to bring their doodle to life through animation.

Teachers can also bring Doodle 4 Google into their classroom in a number of ways, including utilizing three free lesson plans with videos from Google’s own Doodlers and integrating technology by joining in a “Connected Classroom” — a Google Hangout on Air — where a Google Doodler will take the class through the creative process from idea to final design for one of their personal favorite doodles.

Entry forms can be downloaded from Google’s Doodle 4 Google site and completed doodles can be submitted by mail or online. For more details, including full contest rules and entry forms go to google.com/doodle4google.

Senator Napoleon Harris invites you to learn more and sign up for health care via the Affordable Care Act, also known as Get Covered Illinois. Get your questions answered Wednesday, October 30 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Thornton Township High School. See details below.

CHICAGO – State Senator Napoleon Harris III (D-Chicago) recently saw legislation he sponsored signed into law. The new law provides protections for tenants living in foreclosed buildings.

“Although the economy is on the upswing, the effects of the decline are still being felt by homeowners statewide,” Sen. Harris said.  “Continuing to offer these protections and services to keep people in their homes is imperative to continuing our economic recovery.”

Currently, tenants living in foreclosed properties are protected under federal law, but those protections are set to sunset in 2014. An owner who acquires a property in a foreclosure proceeding can evict a tenant only at the end of the lease or, if there is no lease, with 90 days’ notice. If the new owner intends to use the property as his or her primary residence, he or she may terminate the lease but must give 90 days’ notice. A bank foreclosing on a rental property also must inform tenants of where they should pay their rent.

Each day, nearly three million men and women in Illinois are denied decent employment and housing due to prior convictions. On Friday, legislation supported by Senator Napoleon Harris III was signed into law that allows the courts to seal criminal records for eight non-violent offenses. Current law and practices prevent hard-working, law-abiding individuals the chance to move forward from past mistakes.

“Sealing records for ex-offenders removes a barrier for those who made mistakes in the past and are now trying to contribute to society,” State Senator Napoleon Harris said. “This legislation allows mothers and fathers who at one point made a mistake the opportunity to find meaningful employment and support their family.”