Murphy extends commission to give residents a voice in pandemic recovery

• Government accountability
• Coronavirus
• Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission

SPRINGFIELD – To help plan Illinois’ post-pandemic recovery and ensure the state sees it through, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) sponsored a law to give the legislature a voice in the reopening process by reinstating the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission.

“Thanks to all the residents who have gotten their vaccine, the pandemic is ebbing, but our work isn’t finished,” Murphy said. “As we recover and rebuild, the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission will offer lawmakers an avenue to communicate our constituents’ feedback and ideas.”

The law reenacts the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission, a bipartisan, bicameral commission created last May to monitor and help shape the state’s economic recovery plans after the COVID-19 crisis.

The commission met from July through December 2020, joined by representatives from a variety of state agencies to ask questions and offer feedback to help advance the state’s recovery.

The commission originally sunset on Dec. 31, 2020, but in light of the continuing challenges of the pandemic, Murphy’s initiative extends the operation of the commission by two years to Jan. 1, 2023.

“The executive branch doesn’t operate in a vacuum—the legislature must be a part of our state’s recovery strategy,” Murphy said. “Through the commission, we can work together to ensure Illinois comes back stronger than ever.”

The law, originally Senate Bill 632, was signed into law Tuesday and takes effect immediately.

Murphy laws improve financial transparency, living conditions for residents of mobile home parks

• Transparency
• Mobile home parks

SPRINGFIELD – Mobile home owners across Illinois can now depend on financial transparency and a basic standard of living, thanks to new laws sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines).

“To know the terms of one’s loan agreement and to have access to clean water—those are essential rights every homeowner should be able to rely on,” Murphy said. “These laws simply bring protections for mobile home owners in line with those afforded to every other Illinoisan.”

A loan for a mobile home located in a mobile home park is different from a mortgage: Mobile homes are assessed and taxed as personal property rather than real estate, interest rates are often much higher than those for typical home loans, and refinancing options are limited. To ensure residents are well informed when purchasing a mobile home, Senate Bill 1779 requires lenders to disclose these differences to prospective mobile home buyers.

Murphy also championed Senate Bill 1780, which calls for the owner of a mobile home park to provide water to residents if the normal water supply has been disrupted for more than three days, unless the disruption is due to circumstances beyond the owner’s control. Murphy was inspired to introduce the legislation after a weeklong water shortage in 2019 at the Blackhawk Estates mobile home park in unincorporated Des Plaines, which left residents unable to shower, do laundry or wash dishes.

“The conditions faced by the residents of Blackhawk Estates aren’t unusual—mobile home owners across the state have been suffering from this kind of exploitation for far too long,” Murphy said. “These new laws will raise the bar.”

Senate Bill 1779 was signed into law Friday, and Senate Bill 1780 was signed at the end of July. Both laws take effect Jan. 1, 2022.

New Murphy law cracks down on lavish severance packages for university administrators

• Education
• Transparency
• Higher education
• Schools
• students

SPRINGFIELD – University administrators will no longer be able to exploit loopholes in the law by receiving massive payouts, or “golden parachutes,” after leaving their positions under a new law introduced by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines).

Lawmakers passed the Government Severance Pay Act in 2018 to limit the amount paid in university severance packages. Murphy’s measure strengthens the act by expanding the definition of severance pay and defining limits on compensation.

“I’m proud to see Illinois take a stand in defense of college students and families,” Murphy said. “The Government Severance Pay Act is a key part of making sure our colleges and universities put the campus community first.”

Universities typically offer severance packages to end an employment agreement without litigation or arbitration. Upon resignation, many public university administrators are awarded severance packages that pay amounts equal or nearly equal to their entire salary, even in cases of declining university performance under their leadership.

The new law expands the definition of severance pay to include employees who are transitioning to a new position within a unit of government. It also limits the compensation that employees may receive to the annual compensation of the highest paid employee in their department.

“This new law ensures tuition and tax dollars are benefitting students—not lining administrators’ pockets,” Murphy said.

The law, originally Senate Bill 2240, was signed into law Friday and takes effect immediately.

Murphy joins committee hearing investigating DCEO small business grants

• Transparency
• Government accountability
• Small businesses
• Grants

CHICAGO – To ask questions and offer feedback on behalf of small businesses in the district she represents and across Illinois, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) joined Thursday’s joint hearing of the Illinois Senate Appropriations and Commerce Committees on the Back to Business (B2B) small business recovery program.

“Small business owners have suffered unimaginable stress over the past year. State and federal grant programs offered them some relief, but funding didn’t reach everyone who needed it,” Murphy said. “We approached this hearing seeking answers and solutions for the businesses that felt left out in the cold.”

The B2B program, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, is expected to distribute $300 million in economic relief to small businesses across the state to help offset losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leveraging relationships with regional partners established through the recently expanded community navigator outreach program, DCEO will conduct outreach locally for the B2B grant program and prioritize hardest-hit industries and communities.

At the hearing, lawmakers questioned representatives from DCEO, conveyed feedback from their local small business owners and offered suggestions on how the B2B program could learn from the successes and shortfalls of previous relief programs like the Business Interruption Grant program to better serve the needs of the Illinois small business community.

“The Back to Business program has enormous positive potential for small business communities across the state, but it must be managed with business owners and communities’ interests in mind,” Murphy said. “The feedback we received during this hearing should help direct outreach, funds and other resources to the businesses and communities that need them most.”

Applications for the B2B program open Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. More information, eligibility requirements and applications are available on DCEO’s website at Illinois.gov/DCEO.