SPRINGFIELD- The Illinois Senate voted to advance House Bill 40 today to protect women’s health care choices in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court. State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines), a co-sponsor of the legsialtion, released the statement below following the vote.

“Women’s ability to make their own healthcare decisions is under attack with President Trump in the White House,” Murphy said. “I’m proud to support this proposal to protect the rights of women across Illinois.”

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SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) voted to create an automatic voter registration in Illinois last week. Senate Bill 1933, which Murphy co-sponsored, passed the Illinois Senate unopposed.

The legislation would allow Illinois citizens to automatically register to vote when they choose to renew their driver’s license or state ID. They can still opt out of registering to vote if they wish.

“Encouraging more people to get involved in the democratic process will only be beneficial to our state,” Murphy said. “The measures included in the legislation to save taxpayer money and prevent election fraud are additional benefits.”

Other states that have enacted similar proposals have seen the cost of processing an application to vote from 83 cents to 3 cents.

Penalties for submitting false voter registration data and increasing the number of cross-checks to the State Board of Elections must annually conduct between the statewide voter database and the National Change of Address Database were also included in the legislation.

It will now head to the Illinois House for consideration.

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SPRINGFIELD – Only about 18 percent of Illinois companies have women on their corporate boards, despite a recent study by the Credit Suisse Report that shows companies with women on their boards tend to be less risk-averse and have higher income growth.

Today, State Senator Laura Murphy passed Senate Resolution 140 through the Illinois Senate, which encourages more equitable and diverse gender representation on corporate boards and urges corporations in Illinois to increase the number of women on their boards.

"Women bring a diverse viewpoint to the workforce and promote higher corporate income growth. It’s past time for corporations to recognize this and ensure women are represented at the highest level in their companies,” Murphy said.

Murphy is sponsoring the initiative on behalf of Women on Boards 2020, which aims to have company boards made up of at least 20 percent women by 2020.

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