Press Releases

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois faces a critical shortage of services for survivors of human trafficking. In fact, Illinois only has 12 beds for women and girls who have been exploited.

State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) is co-sponsoring a proposal that would help fund specialized services for victims of this horrific crime.

The proposal calls for the creation of a fund managed by the Department of Human Services, from which grants would be made for the creation and support of services for prostituted and trafficked women and children.

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Round Lake – With the Affordable Care Act registration deadline approaching, the Round Lake Area School District Area 116 and Get Covered Illinois will be partnering to provide an enrollment event in Round Lake tomorrow, March 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at John T. Magee Middle School (500 N. Cedar Lake Rd., Round Lake, IL.).

The enrollment event will provide attendees with on-site information about the health insurance marketplace and the various coverage options. Attendees will also be able to enroll in the health insurance plan that best meets their needs.

“We are trying to get the word out that the deadline to enroll is March 31st,” said Senator Melinda Bush, a Grayslake Democrat. “I am thrilled that the school district and Get Covered Illinois are providing opportunities to enroll in our community.”

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Modern roads and bridges make our communities safer for families and more attractive to businesses. Investing in our transportation network is a top priority.

In January, I wrapped up a six-month effort to meet with every municipality and discuss the transportation and infrastructure improvements most vital to their cities, villages and towns. I want to make sure state transportation officials know the needs of Lake County and its communities and that we finally get the investment in projects that we’ve long deserved.

Please help me fight for our communities by signing my petition to show that transportation needs in Lake County must be a state priority.

Click here to view and sign my Transportation Petition.

2013 case revealed technical loophole that could have prevented arrests

SPRINGFIELD - Late last year, a man who’d been legally declared a sexually violent person in Illinois, cut off his ankle monitor to evade authorities. When he was found, waiting on a train in St. Louis, he had a ticket in hand bound for Albuquerque, NM.

Police quickly worked to obtain an arrest warrant only to find a legal technicality in their way. The man in question wasn’t technically an escaped criminal. That’s because he’d been committed to state custody under civil proceedings -- not criminal proceedings.

So, when he crossed state lines, police were essentially powerless to use criminal laws to arrest him for hacking off the electronic monitor and thereby violating the terms of his conditional release.

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