Illinois Budget
Concerns continue as no agreement reached on growing spending crisis. With the FY15 budget more than $1.6 billion out of balance, more and more subsectors of the Illinois economy were affected this week. House Republicans reaffirmed their commitment to solving issues related to immediate funding issues faced by child care, corrections, and court reporter sectors of the economy.

“The unbalanced FY15 budget needs to be corrected immediately and brought into balance,” asserted House Republican Leader Jim Durkin on Tuesday, March 3. Pointing to the State’s failure under former Gov. Pat Quinn to meet its constitutional responsibility to enact a balanced budget, Durkin and his leadership team pledged to help “clean up the mess Governor Rauner inherited on January 12, 2015.”

Last month a group of lawmakers sought to advance a package of legislation aimed squarely at a $750K severance buyout that left local taxpayers reeling. Now revelations by the Chicago Tribune that College of DuPage administrators spent hundreds of thousand of dollars on taxpayer-funded outings at the high-end publicly-owned restaurant on the campus of College of DuPage has raised the ire of those same lawmakers.

Here's what they have to say:

Rep. Steve Andersson (R-Geneva)
“The article today by the Tribune is just another example of the largesse that Dr. Brueder engaged in to the detriment and expense of the taxpayers. The COD Board has failed its citizens in allowing this sort of abuse to occur. It is unfortunate that such an “asleep at the wheel” attitude by the Board has cost so many so much. This will likely cause other districts to lose flexibility due to the actions of the COD board.  However, reform must occur to stop this sort of misconduct from recurring.”

Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield)
“I think once people read these new revelations, there will be a renewed call for an electoral remedy for the college board members who allowed this to happen. There should be resignations, but short of that, voters should have the right to recall these officials.”

Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard)
“This situation clearly extends beyond just an egregious severance package, to the point we need to hold immediate public hearings, and possibly to demand resignations of those involved. We’ve been measured but firm in our call to action thus far, but it is clear we need to move more quickly.”

Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton)
“This is just one more example of the type of malfeasance that has been going on at the College of DuPage for years. It is also an example of exactly why the COD trustees need to comply with the legislative request that the Illinois Auditor General be allowed to come in and do a thorough performance audit.”

Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove)
“As more details emerge about the impetus of the ousting of the head of the College of DuPage, the taxpayer funded, high-end restaurant on the College of DuPage campus, it only adds to the clear need for this situation to be fully vetted in the eye of public hearings.”

Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville)
"Once again, we have seen irresponsible, reckless spending out of our leadership and elected officials from the Community College of DuPage. This is just another reason why a full compliance audit of C.O.D must be completed by the Illinois Auditor General to create better transparency, reinforce accountability and start to regain the trust of the taxpayers."


Read the Chicago Tribune story in its entirety here:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-college-of-dupage-waterleaf

Today the Illinois of Representatives will pause to remember the late State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) who passed away on December 30, 2014.

Rosemary Mulligan served in the General Assembly for 20 years (1993-2013) and throughout that time she never lost sight of why she came to Springfield – to be a voice and an advocate for children, for the disabled, for the elderly, for women, for our state’s veterans, for improving access to quality health care and to strengthen public education in the State of Illinois.

A former Chairman of the House Human Services-Appropriations Committee, some of Rep. Mulligan’s key accomplishments include passage of a bill making female genital mutilation illegal in Illinois, the establishment of the veterans' scratch-off lottery card to fund veteran's programs in Illinois, a bill to allow for an income tax check-off to help pay for prosthesis replacements for veterans, securing funding  for fighting flooding issues in the Des Plaines River area, instituting programs to fight compulsive gambling and other addictions.

Rep. Mulligan was known for her tenacity and her extraordinary compassion for the most vulnerable families in Illinois; particularly those with developmental disabilities, mental health issues and various addictions.

House Resolution 76 honors the life and career of our former colleague and friend Rosemary Mulligan, whose contributions to the State of Illinois and dedication to the communities of Chicago’s northwest suburbs will be long remembered.

Hepatitis C Task Force leads charge to raise awareness about life threatening virus targeting baby boomers...

Legislators are bringing awareness to the dangers of Hepatitis C in Springfield by partnering with community advocates and Hepatitis C experts to promote screenings for those who are at risk and are working to ensure access to treatment for those who need it.

State Representative Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago), chairman of the Hepatitis C Task Force is sponsoring House Resolution 214 to explain the dangers of the silent epidemic that is Hepatitis C. The resolution also declares May as Hepatitis C Awareness Month.

Because of the significant health implications from Hepatitis C, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a one-time screening for all baby boomers (those born between 1945-1965).

“Baby boomers have the highest at risk factors for Hepatitis C, but we are seeing an upswing in the younger population due to an increase in Heroin use,” McAuliffe said. “Because about 75% of the infected population is unaware that they are infected with Hepatitis C, screenings are incredibly important.” Read more.

State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) was sworn in today to the Illinois House of Representatives, taking his seat as the new representative of the 87th House district.

“It is an honor to represent the people of Central Illinois in the House,” Butler said. “Illinois has some challenging days ahead and I am eager to get to work on the tough issues the state is facing. I look forward to serving the citizens of the 87th District.”

Butler was appointed to the House seat over the weekend, and he took the oath of office in the Illinois House Chamber Tuesday morning. He was joined by family and friends from throughout the district.

Prior to his service in the Illinois House, Butler was district chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) and previously served in the same role for former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Peoria). He was director of marketing for St. John’s Hospital in Springfield for three years. Butler and his wife Wendy have lived in Sangamon County since 1998, residing in Logan County for three years prior to that. He has family in Menard and Tazewell Counties as well. Butler is on the Boards of Directors of Downtown Springfield, Inc. and the Everett Dirksen Congressional Center. He received his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Eastern Illinois University in 1990.

The 87th House district includes all or part of four central Illinois counties: Logan, Menard, Sangamon and Tazewell. Butler can be reached in his Springfield office at (217) 782-0053.

Watch Tim Butler take the Oath of Office:

Two Illinois lawmakers plan to propose bipartisan legislation Monday to combat growing heroin and prescription drug abuse, though they acknowledge it may be tough to pass in a difficult budget year.

The 240-page bill, sponsored by House Democratic Assistant Majority Leader Lou Lang and GOP State Rep. John Anthony, is a byproduct of legislative task force that traveled around the state over recent months to hear testimony from doctors, coroners, pharmacists, treatment centers, addicts and family members on heroin use and its correlation to prescription drug abuse.

The legislation, the details of which Lang shared with The Associated Press in advance of its filing, would require drugs combating heroin overdoses, such as Narcan, to be dispensed more widely to those who have been trained to properly administer them.

Currently, some police units carry the antidotes, but the legislation would require all state and local government agencies that employ law enforcement officers and firefighters to possess them. School officials and family members of addicts could also administer the drugs, if they received proper training. CBS Chicago has the story.

A small business owner and consultant, Rep. Mark Batinick serves the people of the 97th District.

Rep. Batinick understands how to save money and make organizations run more efficiently. As a private citizen, he has exposed waste and inefficiencies of local government bodies at the same time he provided alternative solutions that were cost-effective and improved government services. As a state legislator he will bring this experience to state government.

Rep. Batinick and his wife reside in Plainfield with their five children

Read more about Rep. Mark Batinick.