SPRINGFIELD – Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of House Bill 40:

“At a time when we’re seeing women’s access to health care being threatened at the federal level, I’m proud to have voted to ensure that all Illinois women have equal access to health care, and to ensure that should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade, Illinois women will still have access to safe and legal abortions. I hope the governor fulfills his 2014 campaign promise and signs the bill to protect health care for all Illinois women.”

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Illinois News Network - May 8, 2017 | original article

By Cole Lauterbach

Illinois state senators progressed a bill that would have removed President Donald Trump from the ballot in Illinois if it were law last year.

The sponsor, State Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, says his legislation would require any presidential candidate wishing to appear on Illinois' ballot to disclose the previous five years of tax returns to the Illinois Secretary of State's office, who would then make them public.

"I think this gives the voters the ability to evaluate the candidates standing before them for the most powerful office in the history of the world," he said.

Trump declined to disclose his tax information, saying he was under audit.

State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, says people have a right to know this information.

"Seeing someone who's running for president's tax return is something we expect," she said.

Read the full story...

SPRINGFIELD – A resolution introduced by Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) to designate the last week of October 2017 as Dyslexia Awareness Week in Illinois passed in the State Senate today.

“Dyslexia is one of the most common difficulties Illinois students face, but the general public really doesn’t know that much about it,” Bush said. “We need to do a better job of identifying dyslexia. Dyslexia Awareness Week will help fulfill this goal.”

Dyslexia affects 70 percent to 80 percent of people with reading difficulties and is more common than autism or attention deficit disorder. However, awareness and identification of the learning disability are still severely lacking in Illinois.

“With the help of early intervention, students with dyslexia can learn to read and write at grade level,” Bush said. “Unfortunately, parents and teachers often don’t know how to identify dyslexia and are unable to address a student’s reading difficulties. That’s why it’s so important to increase awareness about dyslexia.”

The passage of Senate Joint Resolution 16 is another step forward for those struggling with dyslexia.

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) issued the following statement today after an automatic voter registration measure unanimously passed the Illinois Senate:

“Not only does automatic voter registration remove a barrier to voting for eligible citizens, it is a common-sense way to modernize the registration process, reduce bureaucracy and duplication and save the state money,” Bush said. “I hope this good government reform receives the same bipartisan support in the House and from the governor as it did in the Senate.”

Senator Bush is a chief co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1933, which if enacted, will automatically register eligible Illinoisans when they interact with certain state agencies. If an individual does not want to be registered, they can opt-out. Currently, there are more than 2 million Illinoisans who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered.

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