Bush, Morrison, Murphy call for end to budget impasse

GRAYSLAKE - In response to news that suburban community colleges have cut staff and may cut more in the coming months, State Sens. Melinda Bush, Julie Morrison and Laura Murphy called on the governor to swiftly end the year-long budget impasse and approve a state spending plan.

“The time for arguing over ideological differences is over,” said Bush, D-Grayslake. “College of Lake County exists to provide affordable, accessible higher education to students who we want to become tomorrow’s employees. Governor: Show us you want a business-friendly state and pass a balanced budget.”

College of Lake County has cut 20 positions. Speaking Thursday, President Jerry Weber told reporters the school could need to cut as many as 40 more employees and reduce programs and services if the $8 million the state owes the college is not approved by the end of June. The college has dipped into reserve funds to cover the unreleased funds, as well as $800,000 in promised Monetary Award Program grants to students that have also not been released.

“Businesses makes decisions on where to locate and expand their operations based on the availability of highly trained workers,” said Morrison, D-Deerfield. “The longer this impasse continues, the more long-term damage we are inflicting on our educational facilities and our economy.”

State Senator Julie Morrison (D – Deerfield) met with representatives from ComEd today to discuss the installation of smart meters in her district.

A smart meter is a digital electric meter that transmits usage information directly to ComEd, eliminating estimated bills, reducing operating costs and providing customers with more access to information on their energy use. 

“Smart meters will reduce the time it takes to restore power during an outage and give greater control to customers over their energy use,” Morrison said.

SPRINGFIELD – Court protections for individuals with intellectual disabilities, cognitive impairments and developmental disabilities would be expanded under a proposal State Senator Julie Morrison (D – Deerfield) passed out of the Senate Criminal Law Committee this morning.

Currently, an individual with an intellectual disability who has been the victim of certain crimes involving physical or sexual assault are protected from having to testify during trial. The law, however, is vague and excludes many vulnerable victims. Morrison’s proposal, contained in Senate Bill 3106, more thoroughly lays out who qualifies for what is known as a hearsay exception to include language protecting individuals with cognitive impairments and developmental disabilities.

“Confronting an accuser in a courtroom can be a very difficult process for anyone,” Morrison said. “For someone with a disability, it can be next to impossible to testify in public.”

SPRINGFIELD – Two proposals that would increase the level of accountability among Illinois lawmakers were recently introduced by State Senator Julie Morrison (D - Deerfield).

Senate Bill 3107 would require state legislators to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest before casting a vote on any legislation. While some lawmakers currently make conflict of interest disclosures public, the practice is not required under state law.

“The public has a right to know when lawmakers have a conflict of interest,” Morrison said.