Murphy prioritizes bringing fallen troops home

• Veterans
• 2017

State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) championed legislation to support the United States’ priority to bring every fallen service member home.

“I believe that returning fallen soldiers to their families is incredibly important,” Murphy said. “These men and women made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and should be returned to their families if possible.”

An estimated 83,000 American service members are currently considered missing in action. Soldiers that do not return home are classified as Prisoners of War, Missing in Action or Died in Captivity.

The legislation also urges Congress to reestablish the select committee on POW/MIA affairs to investigate the process of recovering fallen United States service members.
“I hope that by urging Congress to prioritize bringing our troops home, more families who have lost loved ones will find closure,” said Murphy.

Murphy also co-sponsored a Senate resolution to encourage Illinois communities to participate in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundations’ “Wall of Faces” project. This project seeks to locate photos of service members who died in action or went missing during the Vietnam War. The photos for 479 Illinois soldiers have not yet been recovered.

Murphy supports commonsense transparency measure

• 2017
• Debt Transparency Act

Senate overrides governor’s veto of Debt Transparency Act 

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) issued the following statement on the Senate’s motion to override the governor’s veto of the Debt Transparency Act, HB 3649:

“The governor’s veto of the Debt Transparency Act is illogical and irresponsible. This is commonsense legislation to provide the Comptroller with more accurate information on State agencies’ liabilities and estimated interest penalties. Coming out of a two-year budget impasse, the Comptroller’s office needs this information to better manage state payments.”

Murphy cosponsored HB 3649.

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Murphy fights for transparency in Medicaid managed care program

• 2017
• Audit
• DHFS

Senate moves to override governor’s veto of SB 321

SPRINGFIELD — Taxpayers and Medicaid recipients would benefit from a measure sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) that would provide increased transparency to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Medicaid managed care program. The Senate voted to override the governor’s veto of this legislation today.  

“The governor attempted to put a multibillion dollar industry before the needs of taxpayers and Medicaid recipients,” Murphy said. “This legislation works to ensure that contractual requirements are met by Medicaid managed care organizations, that the program runs cost-effectively and that participants receive the best care possible.”

Senate Bill 321 would require the auditor general to audit the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Medicaid managed care program. Performance audits can only be conducted at the request of the General Assembly or the Audit Commission and generally take one year to complete. The auditor general completes financial audits yearly and compliance audits every two years for most agencies.

“The governor claims that a performance audit is ‘expensive’ and ‘unnecessary,’” Murphy said. “I believe that transparency and ensuring our tax dollars are being properly spent is worth the cost of investigating. It is absurd that a governor that declares that Illinois is ‘broken’ is unwilling to investigate if one of its largest contracts is running properly.”

Senate Bill 321 now moves to the House for further consideration.

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Murphy concerned sexual harassment legislation is rushed

• 2017

State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of a suite of legislation to address sexual harassment in Illinois politics:

“Requiring sexual harassment awareness training and empowering the Legislative Ethics Commission are great first steps, but they do not go nearly far enough. We should have voted on a comprehensive solution instead of rushing this legislation through.

“The issue of sexual harassment in Illinois politics is serious and requires careful consideration. That’s why I urged the leaders to slow the process down so that we could hold hearings and holistically address the issue. I look forward to working with my colleagues on additional legislation to address this issue.”

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