Families of children with developmental disabilities face unique challenges, and to help address them, Julie was a founding member of the Illinois General Assembly’s Special Needs Caucus.
Recognizing these families’ needs and the complexities of navigating the available services, she has hosted a Developmental Disability Resource Fair aimed at directing parents of children with disabilities to resources such as work, housing, and transportation.

Julie continues to push for increasing the personal needs allowance for the developmentally disabled. During her time in the general assembly she has also passed bills aimed at providing stronger court protections for people with intellectual disabilities who are the victims of crimes.