DES PLAINES – State Senator Laura Murphy is teaming up with the Illinois State Treasurer’s office to host a college funding savings seminar on Sept. 10.

“Saving for your child’s college can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “By attending this seminar, you will learn the best ways to put money aside for future college expenses.”

The seminar will be held Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 6-7 p.m. at the Schaumburg Township Library’s Adult Classroom, located at 130 S. Roselle Rd. It will be presented by the Illinois State Treasurer’s office and is free and open to the public.

Parents will have the opportunity to learn about important college costs to consider, including housing, meals, books and supplies. The presenters will highlight the Bright Start 529 savings plan and how it can be used to cover qualified education costs.

For more information, contact Murphy’s office at 847-718-1110 or online.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy spearheaded a new law to protect consumers by cracking down on unlicensed car dealers deceiving consumers with sales of defective cars.

“This law ensures that we are holding unlicensed car dealers accountable and ensure every car sale meets the standards of safety and honesty,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “Ending curbstoning lifts a burden off of Illinois consumers.”

The goal is to make the already illegal practice of “curbstoning” — a scheme where individual sellers draw car shoppers to places like parking lots and side streets to sell used cars without a license — more difficult. The cars are sold for more money than they are worth and typically have significant issues such as water damage, mileage rollbacks, mechanical issues, or salvaged titles — which are only issued if the car has sustained enough damage to be declared a total loss.

DES PLAINES – State Senator Laura Murphy announced three libraries in the 28th District are set to receive a combined total of over $340,000 for library services and programming.

“Libraries are the beating hearts of our communities, providing vital knowledge and invaluable services that help families thrive,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “This additional funding will empower our communities by expanding all our libraries have to offer.”

Through the Illinois Secretary of State’s Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grants program, 639 public libraries statewide will receive nearly $18 million in grants. Libraries may use the funds to support resources and services for their communities, including books, e-books, online resources and internet access, personnel, public programming and capital expenditures.

Three libraries in the district Murphy represents received over $340,000 in funding, including:

• Des Plaines Public Library, $89,496
• Park Ridge Public Library, $58,493
• Schaumburg Township District Library, $192,259

More information on available library grants can be found here.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy’s law to bring to justice to victims of human trafficking by expanding the expressway camera program to target traffickers was signed into law Monday.

“With this law we send a clear message: Illinois is not a safe haven for human traffickers,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “By empowering law enforcement with the tools necessary to identify human traffickers in real time, we are helping with investigations, increasing public safety and saving lives.”

Human traffickers often use highways to transport victims. Truck stops in particular are often hotspots for this kind of illicit activity and those vehicles can be tracked using an expressway camera.

Building on Murphy’s efforts to address public safety in 2022, the new law will expand the existing expressway camera program to Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties and enable police to use expressway cameras for human trafficking and involuntary servitude investigations. Previously, the camera program was limited to target gun violence, vehicular hijacking and other offenses.

Law enforcement has used these cameras to great effect in the 20 counties previously authorized for their operation. According to the Illinois State Police, automated license plate readers helped identify a suspect or a witness in 82% of interstate shootings in 2024.

To protect the privacy of everyday Illinoisans, the law exempts images captured on expressway cameras from Freedom of Information Act requests. This is in line with state laws prohibiting data collection tools like license plate readers from being used by out-of-state law enforcement to target people traveling to and around Illinois to access reproductive and gender-affirming care.

“Public safety is always a concern for the people of Illinois, and by ensuring bad actors can’t access these images to stalk or track someone, we’re protecting the average citizen,” said Murphy. “Everyone deserves to have their safety and sensitive data protected.”

House Bill 3339 was signed into law on Monday and takes effect immediately.