SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have ended Illinois’ participation in the controversial Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program, which is used to detect voters who are registered in more than one state. Critics say the system is a cybersecurity liability has been used to suppress minority voters by purging valid voters from voter rolls in other states.

The legislation, Senate Bill 2273, would have required Illinois to use the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) instead of Crosscheck. ERIC uses tougher security protocols and more information to guarantee that personal information is correct and safer from hacking.

Rauner’s veto came days after the U.S. Justice Department announced it had indicted 12 Russian military officers for hacking voter data systems throughout the nation, including systems in Illinois.

State Senator Bill Cunningham, a Democrat representing Chicago and the Southwest suburbs who chairs the Senate’s Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee, issued the following statement in response to the governor’s veto:

“It’s inexcusable that within days of federal prosecutors indicting Russian cyber-spies for hacking the personal data of Illinois voters, Gov. Rauner vetoed a bill designed to secure Illinois election systems. Gov. Rauner chose to leave Illinois vulnerable to data breaches in order to preserve the Crosscheck system, which has been used in blatant voter suppression tactics for partisan advantage. He placed the political benefit of his party over the personal data security of Illinoisans.”

Read more ...

Residents can protect their identities by shredding confidential documents

PALOS PARK – Area residents are invited to protect themselves from identity theft by taking advantage of a free document shredding event in Palos Park Friday, July 13.

State Senator Bill Cunningham and State Rep. Fran Hurley are co-hosting the service, which will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at Palos South Middle School, 7700 W. 127th St.

Residents can bring confidential documents that are printed with personally identifiable information to be safely shredded. This includes old bank statements, old pay stubs, tax returns older than 7 years, bills, receipts, invoices, credit card applications and outdated medical records. (More details about what will or won’t be accepted can be found below.)

Some restrictions apply:

• The service is free and available to residents of the 18th Senate District and the 35th House District. No commercial document shredding available.
• Participants are limited to two boxes per car.
• Paper clips, staples and other bindings should be removed from all documents before shredding.
• Cardboard boxes may not be left at the event site.
• Shredding will be done until the shred trucks reach capacity.

In addition to helping people protect their personal information, shredding documents helps keep paper out of landfills.

For more information, call Senator Cunningham’s office at 773-445-8128.

Read more ...

Cunningham: ‘This is the result of Gov. Rauner’s obsessive attacks on public workers’

CHICAGO – State Senator Bill Cunningham expressed disappointment in this morning’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to weaken collective bargaining rights for average workers who depend on unions to amplify their voice in the workplace.

“This is the result of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s obsessive attacks on teachers, police officers, firefighters and all the other public employees who do difficult work on behalf of taxpayers every day,” said Cunningham, a Democrat representing Chicago and the southwest suburbs.

“The middle class is shrinking in our nation, and it is in large part due to the loss of union jobs. Those losses will accelerate with the Janus decision. It’s both shameful and telling that the governor will count this set-back for working families as one of the few ‘accomplishments’ of his tenure.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the landmark Illinois public employee union case Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 overturns unions’ ability to collect fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective bargaining and enforcement of labor contracts. These fees are known as “fair-share” or “agency fee” payments.

Rauner filed suit over fair-share fees in 2015 shortly after becoming governor. The Supreme Court’s ruling, which overturns a 1977 decision, has implications for collective bargaining units all over the country.

Read more ...

During the past few years, I have worked with Evergreen Park Mayor Jim Sexton and 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea to hold CSX Railroad accountable for the frequent traffic delays it creates in our communities.

In 2016, the City of Chicago and the Village of Evergreen Park initiated legal action against CSX related to ongoing public safety and quality-of-life issues arising from the repeated blockage of grade crossings by stopped trains or malfunctioning gates on CSX’s Elsdon Line. This particular rail line runs north and south (mostly parallel to Sacramento Avenue) before angling northwest and crossing Kedzie just north of 95th Street.

In 2016, the City of Chicago and the Village of Evergreen Park initiated legal action against CSX related to ongoing public safety and quality-of-life issues arising from the repeated blockage of grade crossings by stopped trains or malfunctioning gates on CSX’s Elsdon Line. This particular rail line runs north and south (mostly parallel to Sacramento Avenue) before angling northwest and crossing Kedzie just north of 95th Street.

As a result of this legal action, CSX is required to file monthly reports with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regarding use of the line through June 2018.

As the STB reporting period draws to a close, I’d like to ask residents to comment on their experiences with the Elsdon Line during the past 12 to 18 months. Please note: this does not include the recent closing of the 95th and 103rd Street crossings, which was part of a regularly scheduled reconstruction project. Complaints should focus solely on delays or other issues caused when the line is operating under normal circumstances.

Read more ...