McLean County Times

State Sen. Sally Turner recently hosted a tele town hall to stay connected with constituents.

“Please join State Rep. Tim Butler and me for a Tele-Hall Town Hall,” Turner posted on Facebook of the Feb. 10 event. “Representative Butler and I will be providing a legislative update about out spring session as well as taking questions live over the phone.”

Turner also recently joined Senate Republican Caucus members in calling for better ethics reform through Senate Bill 3636. The bill that seeks to thwart public corruption would place a ban on any member of the General Assembly or their immediate family members from working as a lobbyist while in office.

"I have unfortunately quickly learned that our state lacks the adequate protections against corruption in many areas,” said Turner, who also serves on the Senate Ethics Committee. “Whether it's a process of how the Legislative Inspector General is chosen or the constraints placed on those responsible for fighting corruption, such as in the Legislative Inspector General's Office, or the countless loopholes that may be manipulated for unethical purposes."

As one of the co-sponsors of SB 3636, Turner said the measure seeks to build on the ethics reforms passed during the last legislative session.

"We're continuing the push from last year for strong, commonsense reforms that will truly root out corruption our state has become all too known for," she said.

SB 3636 would ban legislators from negotiating future employment with a lobbying firm while working in the legislature and prevent any outgoing lawmakers from being employed as a lobbyist for a full year after leaving their elected position.

"Our legislation will finally implement real change that the people of Illinois have asked for and that they truly want," Turner said. "Our constituents are simply tired of waiting for change. We must act now. It's time for legislators who have promised to combat corruption to keep their word and to change the culture of politics in Illinois."

Filed on Jan. 19, the bill now sits in the Senate Assignments Committee.

Turner also recently reminded residents hard hit by all the recent storms that help from the state is now available.

"The Governor has issued a disaster proclamation for 28 counties impacted by the recent storms and tornadoes" Turner posted to Facebook on Dec. 13. "The proclamation includes three counties within the 44th Senate District: Logan, Sangamon, and Tazewell. This proclamation will help expedite the use of state resources, personnel, or equipment, and allows the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to procure additional resources to help communities recover. Residents impacted by the storms can access helpful information and services at the virtual Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) website.

Counties included in the disaster declaration include Bond, Cass, Champaign, Coles, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Greene, Grundy, Iroquois, Jackson, Jersey, Kankakee, Lawrence, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Sangamon, Shelby, Tazewell and Woodford.