SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy was one of 50 members to vote for a measure meant to bring transparency to the Illinois Tollway Board.

Senate Bill 1298 immediately creates a vacancy in every office of the Tollway Board. Murphy has been concerned with issues at the tollway for some time.

“I have been quite vocal for months about my desire to see some transparency and more importantly accountability in the tollway board,” said Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat. “A lot of taxpayer money goes toward the salaries of board members, and I believe the taxpayers have a right to be certain that they don’t make decisions based on political or potentially unethical motives.”

Once the bill becomes law, the offices of each member of the Tollway Board, including the chairperson, will be abolished. The bill requires the vacancies to be filled by Feb. 28, 2019. The bill received widespread bipartisan support, passing nearly unanimously through both chambers of the General Assembly.

“Quite frankly, this bill is long overdue,” Murphy said. “I’m proud to have helped pass this legislation that will finally give Illinois taxpayers some idea of how their money is being spent at the tollway.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) welcomed several new members to the Senate today after their inauguration into the 101^st General Assembly.

“I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations to the newest members of the Illinois Senate,” said Murphy, who begins the third year of her current term. “I can’t wait to start digging in and solving problems.”

Despite the enthusiasm, Murphy recognized the need to take things slowly.

“It’s important that both new and experienced members show some patience in the coming months,” Murphy said. “There are a lot of problems to fix, but with a new governor on the way, we now have a path to start tackling these issues.”

The 101^st General Assembly will serve until January 2021.

DES PLAINES – State Senator Laura Murphy (D – Des Plaines) was at George Washington Elementary school in Park Ridge Tuesday to present the school with an official Senate recognition honoring the district for being named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

“Ensuring the youth in our state receive a quality education is one of the most important tasks that my colleagues and I have as legislators,” Murphy said. “I am thrilled to be able to present this recognition to George Washington elementary for displaying an outstanding commitment to educating students, and I hope to be able to hand out more of these to other schools in the coming years.”

The National Blue Ribbon Schools program was started in 1982 as a way to recognize public and private elementary, middle and high schools that either promote a high level of academic excellence among their students or exhibit signs of positive progress in closing achievement gaps between subgroups of students. George Washington Elementary was one of 349 schools named to the program in 2018 by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

George Washington Elementary was the only public school in Murphy’s district to be named to the National Blue Ribbon School program in 2018. In total, 24 schools in Illinois received the honor this year, and over 100 Illinois schools have received it since 2013.

DES PLAINES – A local Jewel-Osco store will now offer ADA Paratransit tickets, thanks to the efforts of State Senator Laura Murphy (D – Des Plaines).

Murphy was touched by the story of a constituent named Garland Armstrong, who lives in an apartment complex in Des Plaines specially designed for people with physical disabilities and special needs. Armstrong’s wife also has a disability and relies on Pace bus service to get around. She would often have to travel several miles out of his way in order to purchase ADA Paratransit tickets for the Pace bus service.

“It broke my heart to hear Garland’s story,” Murphy said. “I knew right away that we needed to get to work to help make it easier for people with disabilities to get where they need to go.”

Murphy’s office contacted Pace directly, and they agreed to partner with Jewel-Osco to add an additional location to purchase tickets within the district, so that Armstrong and any other person with a disability can purchase the tickets they need without having to out of their way.

“I am thrilled that Pace and Jewel-Osco were able to expand this service after Garland’s passionate advocacy for the larger disabled community,” Murphy said. The new location is a Jewel-Osco store, located at 1500 S. Lee St. in Des Plaines.

The ADA Paratransit tickets are sold in books of 10 for $32.50 and may be used on ADA Paratransit service throughout the Chicagoland area.