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 “Removing these outdated barriers to consolidation will provide significant savings.”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.”

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) joined with her colleagues in the Senate to support a 10-year term limit for the President of the Senate and Senate Minority Leader. The term limits were put in place by a change to the Senate Rules.  

Murphy has been a leading advocate for term limits since she sponsored a Constitutional Amendment to enact them when she joined the Senate in 2015.

“Term limits for legislative leaders is the top concern I hear while talking to constituents in my community,” Murphy said.  “I have heard them and agree – leadership positions are not meant to be lifetime appointments.”

The term limits became effective following approval of the Senate Rules for the new General Assembly.

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) voted today to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill 250. The proposal creates an automatic voter registration system, which would allow easier access to the democratic process and significantly cut administrative costs of registering voters.

“Encouraging more people to get involved in our democratic process – at a lower cost to taxpayers – can only be beneficial to our state,” Murphy said. “The governor’s veto of legislation that initially received overwhelming bipartisan support is pure gamesmanship.”

Under the initial proposal, Illinois citizens would be automatically registered to vote when they renew their driver’s license or state ID. They can still choose to opt out of registering to vote if they wish.

The legislation will also help clean up the voter rolls by increasing the number of cross-checks the State Board of Elections must conduct between the statewide voter database and the National Change of Address Database from two to six.  

The override passed the Senate with a vote of 38-18 and will now head to the Illinois House.