SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Senator John Millner (R-Carol Stream) expressed his dissatisfaction with the budget process on Friday after the Senate approved a budget bill that increased spending, included pay raises for state employees and lacked any spending reforms Senate Republicans have been pushing for all spring session.

“What we witnessed last night was an abbreviated and rushed budget process and is something Illinois taxpayers should be appalled at,” Sen. Millner said. “It’s the one of the most irresponsible state budgets ever proposed.”

Sen. Millner said the budget bill was only unveiled with mere hours to look it over before it came to the Senate floor for a vote, an act that lacked an appropriate amount of time to give legislators, staff, the media and the people of Illinois to even know what it contained.

“No one can read, analyze and process 2,300 pages in an hour. That’s impossible,” Sen. Millner said. “Even the budget’s sponsor admitted he hadn’t read through it all and said he didn’t know everything it contained. In a time of fiscal crisis, it’s shocking how callously the budget was shoved through.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Three pieces of legislation sponsored by State Senator John Millner (R-Carol Stream) passed the General Assembly on Wednesday addressing crime and mental illness issues.

Passing both chambers unanimously, House Bill 4807 requires the Department of Human Services not place people found “not guilty by reason of insanity” for their crimes in facilities near surviving victims or their families.

Sen. Millner said the bill came from a Bartlett constituent widow who learned the man, who shot her husband -- and was found unfit to stand trial three times after he was arrested – was committed to a mental health institution seven miles from her home. 

Also passing unanimously, House Bill 5861 ensures that when a person escapes a mental health institution, all law enforcement agencies are notified by the Department of Human Services. Currently, only local law enforcement is notified by DHS, not the State Police.

Additionally, both chambers passed Senate Bill 3305, which expands the number of offenses that require a criminal to register under the Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act.

“It’s my hope these new laws will help further protect our communities and give law enforcement and corrections institutions better tools to do so,” Sen. Millner said. “I’m always eager and willing to use my years working in law enforcement to take suggestions from constituents to improve public safety.”

Dear Editor,

Illinois witnessed an opportunity for reform vanish this week as the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 121 on Wednesday along partisan lines to continue the practice of allowing politicians to cherry-pick their constituents.

While little known and considered “insider baseball,” legislative redistricting is an important issue that will directly affect every Illinois citizen for the next ten years to decide who represents them in the General Assembly.

More than 40 newspaper editorials across the state have echoed the call of government reform advocates – including the League of Women Voters, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and Better Government Association – to remove politicians from the legislative district map-making process and use an independent commission that will put an end to gerrymanding and incumbent protection.

If SJRCA 121 becomes law, then the General Assembly will not have just the first opportunity to slice the state to its liking, but it will also have the final say in the process. It consolidates the power of the legislative leaders – the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House – even further. Elections will become less competitive and – even worse – political, voter-history data will continue to be used in the district-boundary drawing process.

An alternative does exist, which I am co-sponsoring: SJRCA 104. It would end the practice of letting politicians choosing their voters, form an independent commission, ban the use of using political data, bring transparency to the map-drawing process, stop back-room dealing and is supported by the aforementioned reform groups and more civic and advocacy groups across the state.

Reform can still happen by stopping SJRCA 121, which must also pass in the Illinois House and be signed by the governor. Contact your House member and the governor to tell them you want real reform. Your voice matters.

Sincerely,

John J. Millner

State Senator

28^th District

State Senator John Millner visited the Trickster Gallery in Schaumburg on Saturday, March 6, to join in the celebration of its fifth anniversary and arts benefit. 

Sen. Millner said it was important to encourage people to visit the gallery since no Native American reservations exist in Illinois and it's one of the few places to act as a hub for learning and appreciating Native American culture and art. 

“In Chicago, it is such a diverse city,” Sen. Millner said. “When you’re looking at basic human feelings, situations, conditions, we’re all fellow travelers, and being here helps break down those xenophobic feelings and helps create this feeling of understanding and appreciation for the other culture.”

To learn more about the Trickster Gallery, go to http://www.aic-chicago.org/