SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, issued the following statement in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s State of the State address Wednesday.

“The problem this past year has not been with the governor’s initiatives, but with his actions,” Bush said. “After a year that pulled the rug out from under seniors, children and the needy, I hope his call for cooperation is real. It is time for Illinois to move past partisan bickering.”

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Here are notable pieces of legislation Senator Melinda Bush supported in 2015.

You can look up additional legislation Senator Bush sponsored in 2015 at http://www.ilga.gov.

Economic Development

SR 576 - Resolution supporting full access to I-94 at Route 173
Demonstrating support for access from Route 173 to Interstate 94

SB 1427 – EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy) Credit Reform
Reforms the way we incentivize business, allowing us to better compete with other states

SB 659 – New Business Permitting Portal
Creates a website to help individuals create new businesses or relocate to Illinois

SB 680 – Lower business (LLC) filing fees
Reduces the fee required to file with the Secretary of State as a new business

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GRAYSLAKE, Ill. – State Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) and state Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) recently visited with residents of Library Lane Senior Residence to discuss issues that are important to the aging community and answer their questions about the state’s current budget impasse.

“Our senior community deserves a voice in this budget impasse,” Bush said. “Too often seniors are in danger of being left on the fringes of these conversations, and today they had an opportunity to talk about the challenges they face and the way their lives have been impacted by this crisis. I will carry those concerns to our negotiations in Springfield.”

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Lake County News-Sun, Nov. 5, 2015 | Original article

By Frank Abderholden

Two state legislators from Lake County are pushing a bill to reinstate child care benefits that were curtailed in an emergency executive order signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner earlier this year.

With Senate Bill 570 scheduled for its third house vote next week, state Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, and state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, got together in Gurnee on Thursday to sign a pledge in support of the bill.

"You have a single mom going to work doing the right thing, but if she makes minimum wage (during a 40-hour work week) she is making too much money (to receive child care assistance). So what are you going to do?" Bush asked. "She's trying to do the right thing, and we're saying to her, 'Stay at home and collect welfare.'

"We want to be the hand-up and not the hand-out state," added Bush, explaining that about 90 percent of the people who used to be eligible now don't qualify due to the governor's action July 1. "It's a temporary hand-up program, one the Republicans started. You can only receive it for a limited time."

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