SPRINGFIELD — A proposal to bring automatic voter registration to Illinois is another step toward modernizing the state’s voting process and producing an engaged and informed electorate, Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said Wednesday.

“In recent years, we have made Illinois much friendlier to voters, and we have made access to registration and voting much easier,” Harmon said. “Automatic voter registration is the obvious next step. Illinois has been a leader in this. We don’t want to fall behind other states that are moving more quickly. We need to remain a leader across the country.”

Harmon was among a group of Illinois senators who called for passage of an automatic voter registration law during a press conference Wednesday. They were joined by representatives of Just Democracy Illinois, a coalition that works to expand voter access.

OAK PARK — State Sen. Don Harmon issued the following statement regarding Monday’s Senate vote to release $3.1 billion in local money that has been held up by the budget impasse in Springfield.

“Mayors and village leaders representing the communities in my district can no longer afford to wait for the release of money that the state collects but rightfully belongs to local communities – especially motor fuel tax dollars that are used to buy road salt and pay for snow removal,” Harmon said. “This money never should have been held up by the state in the first place.”

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the legislation – Senate Bill 2039 – Monday afternoon.

Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement about Tuesday's meeting between legislative leaders and Gov. Bruce Rauner regarding Illinois' budget impasse:

"Senate President John Cullerton was correct to urge more meetings going forward. There can’t be compromise on the budget if the state’s leaders aren’t talking,” Harmon said.

"The prolonged budget impasse has created a horribly unfriendly business climate for Illinois. I hope the governor is ready to acknowledge that his approach to leadership has not been working and that it’s time to end this stalemate, which has done nothing but harm the state’s most vulnerable residents and worsen Illinois’ bleak financial picture.”

As suburban-Chicago drivers dodge potholes and wonder why streets are staying icy longer than usual this winter, they can thank Gov. Bruce Rauner for holding up the money that would make their commutes safer this time of year.

Money that communities in District 39 should be using right now to purchase road salt and repair streets is stuck in Springfield because Rauner vetoed legislation that would have sent those dollars flowing to the communities they rightfully belong to.

Up-to-date figures are unavailable from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which oversees the state’s Motor Fuel Tax distribution, but records show communities in the district collected millions of dollars in MFT money in 2014. Among them:

SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement about the death of former Illinois Supreme Court chief justice Thomas Fitzgerald.
 
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Justice Fitzgerald. He was a gentleman and a lawyer’s lawyer – he spoke softly but clearly, and his voice will be missed. His contributions to the state and to Illinois’ legal community will not be forgotten.”
 
Fitzgerald was a Cook County prosecutor who rose through the ranks to become chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He presided over the Illinois Senate’s impeachment trial of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2009.
 
Fitzgerald died Sunday at the age of 74.