Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Urbana on Thursday afternoon with a visit to Rape, Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services (RACES). Simon will join RACES staff members to advocate for Senate Bill 3348, which would require all strip clubs that permit alcohol to pay a $5-per-patron fee to help fund crisis prevention and assistance centers.
RACES, like many crisis centers across the state, laid off employees and scaled back services due to recent state budget cuts. A waitlist is currently in place at RACES, requiring many sexual assault survivors to wait four to six weeks for counseling services.
Thursday evening, Simon will address sexual assault survivors, RACES staff and volunteers, community members and university students in a “Take Back the Night” march against sexual violence. The march begins at 7:00 p.m. at Lincoln Square Mall and will culminate with Simon’s remarks and an open mic at approximately 7:45 p.m. on the University of Illinois quad.
EVENT: Take Back the Night March
TIME: Steps off from RACES at 7:00 p.m., arrives on quad at approximately 7:45 p.m.
PLACE: Outside RACES, Lincoln Square Mall, 300 S. Broadway, Urbana
Note: The Take Back the Night march is open to the public and the press.