SPRINGFIELD – Prompted by a recent report detailing the appalling misuse of “quiet rooms” in Illinois schools, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) has announced her support of a House bill that aims to end the use of isolation and seclusion as punishment in Illinois.

In response to the report, Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Northbrook), a former special education teacher, has filed House Bill 3975 to ban Illinois schools from using isolation, a measure Murphy strongly supports.

“Putting a child in a quiet room is an extreme, potentially traumatizing course of action, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Murphy said. “It’s time to end the abuse of this practice in Illinois schools.”

Join me on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Des Plaines Public Library for my Silver Beat Seminar. The event is free to seniors and the Attorney General's Office will be there to answer any questions regardinfinancial exploitation and to help you learn about the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)Project and health care fraud.

DES PLAINES – State Senator Laura Murphy’s measure to fight human trafficking in Illinois by requiring more training on the issue as well as creating stronger penalties was signed into law Thursday. 

Senate Bill 1890 creates the Lodging Establishment Human Trafficking Recognition Training Act, which will require hotels and motels to train their employees on how to recognize human trafficking and how to alert authorities.

“Hotels and motels have been shown to be popular locations for human trafficking,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “I knew if we wanted to combat this issue head on, we had to ensure that hospitality staff were educated, aware and putting forth a conscious effort to save victims and catch traffickers.”

Murphy’s new law will also require the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to provide training for police officers to detect human trafficking. It also will extend the statute of limitations for all offenses related to human trafficking to 25 years.

“I am happy to see my bill signed into law, but I don’t think we should stop here,” Murphy said. “Human trafficking is unlike any other crime; it involves the selling of humans. Everyone needs to be educated on this growing epidemic because it doesn’t just happen behind closed doors – it can be anywhere.”

Senate Bill 1890 goes into effect immediately. 

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Laura Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat, supported a balanced budget plan that protects the middle class and continues the state’s trend of making its annual pension payments.

“This budget begins Illinois’ path to stability,” Murphy said. “It prioritizes spending on programs that will help working and middle class families and responsibly allocates funds for our annual obligations.”

“Over the past four years much instability occurred in this State due to the lack of a budget. Social service agencies were starved. Our seniors, children and the disabled received the brunt of this dysfunction.  I am happy to say that has changed under this new leadership”.

This budget includes a $50 million increase to the Monetary Award Program (MAP), which makes college more affordable and accessible for everyone in Illinois.

“We saw that after two years without a budget, Illinois students were leaving the state in large numbers to pursue their college education elsewhere,” Murphy said. “Many of them don’t return, representing an enormous brain drain with significant financial implications. I hope this continued investment will encourage more students to stay in Illinois to attend college.”

The budget also fulfils the state’s annual pension payment obligation and buts a dent in our backlog of unpaid bills.

“The state made a promise and should keep that promise when it comes to pensions,” Murphy said. “This has been an issue for far too long, and I am happy to see that this budget meets the financial obligation it promised.”