SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy on Wednesday helped block a measure that would have made it more difficult for women to access reproductive health care services in Illinois.

Senate Bill 78 would have prevented state agencies from contracting with facilities that perform abortions. Murphy and five other Senate Democrats stopped the legislation from advancing out of the Senate’s Public Health committee.

“At a time when President Trump is attempting to strip away women’s access to health care, we must continue to fight to protect these rights,” said Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat. “I will continue to stand up to overreaching proposals that set women’s rights back decades.”

The legislation was opposed by Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Men4Choice, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force and other organizations that support women’s health.

Senate Bill 78 failed 3-6 in committee.

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) issued the statement below following Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget address.

“For the third time in a row, the governor failed to live up to his constitutionally required duty to present a balanced budget to lead our state out of the current budget mess.

“While the governor sits on the sidelines, I look forward to continuing to work toward a balanced, bipartisan budget in the Senate that protects funding for higher education and services for the disabled, while including necessary reforms such as a property tax freeze and local government consolidation.”

SPRINGFIELD- Currently, Illinois has the most local units of governments in the nation with over 7,000, running up an expensive tab for taxpayers.

Today, the Illinois Senate passed Senate Bill 3 to make it easier for local governments to consolidate or be eliminated completely and save taxpayers’ money. State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) supported the legislation.

The proposal, which passed the Senate with a vote of 36-14:

•    allows counties to dissolve local governments with governing boards appointed by the county (excluding water and fire protection districts)
•    allows townships to merge with adjacent townships
•    allows townships that share the same boundaries as a municipality to be dissolved by referendum
•    removes the current cap on square mileage of a township and other various barriers that prevent townships from consolidating  

“These duplicative layers of government cost taxpayers thousands of extra dollars every year,” Murphy said. “Removing these outdated barriers to consolidation will provide significant savings.”

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) released the statement below following Governor Rauner’s 2017 State of the State Address.  

“It’s discouraging that once again, the governor failed to lay out a specific plan to solve our budget crisis weeks after state funding ended for higher education, services for the elderly, mental illness, those with disabilities and the most vulnerable.

“In the Senate, I look forward to continuing to lead the way toward a bipartisan budget compromise that closes corporate tax loopholes and freezes property taxes, while producing a bipartisan budget deal for the first time in over two years.”