Cunningham, Hurley save IDOT project at Alsip-Chicago border

CHICAGO – Drivers who travel near Marist High School will enjoy a faster commute and less congestion because of a road widening project backed by Senator Bill Cunningham and Representative Fran Hurley.

“For years the residents of our community have been dealing with the extreme congestion that occurs at the intersection near Marist,” Cunningham said. “We needed a solution.”
 
The local project includes adding a turn lane to smooth out traffic at 115th Street and Pulaski Road. Cunningham and Hurley pushed the Illinois Department of Transportation to prioritize widening the intersection.

“Projects like these continue to be critical drivers in our economy,” Cunningham said. “We can’t let road projects lapse. It harms our communities and allows our infrastructure to degrade.”

“This intersection has been a traffic-clogging nuisance to motorist in our community for decades,” Hurley said. "Not only will widening the intersection make for quicker commutes, it also will make the intersection safer for both motorists and pedestrians."

The project is part of the nearly $63 million dollars planned to be invested in roadwork throughout the 18th Illinois Senate district over the next six years.

Prior to the stopgap spending plan passed by the General Assembly on June 30, the director of IDOT announced that all projects would be stopped on July 1 due to the lack of a budget. But Senator Cunningham and Representative Hurley pushed for a stopgap measure that would keep projects on schedule.

From Left to Right: Edward Moody, Worth ​Township Highway Commissioner, Senator Bill Cunningham, 18th Senate District, Patrick Kitching, Mayor of Alsip, Representative Fran Hurley, 35th House District, Kevin Hughes, Supervisor of Worth Township, Brother Hank Hammer, President of Marist High School,
Larry Tucker, Principal of Marist High School

Cunningham measure to bring justice to victims of sexual assault becomes law

• sexual assault
• SB 2221
• 2016

SPRINGFIELD—New safeguards for processing DNA evidence will be put in place to improve tracking of sexual assault offenders thanks to legislation, sponsored by Senator Bill Cunningham, being signed into law.

On Friday, the governor signed Senate Bill 2221, which would require the state police notify not only the local police department when a potential DNA match has been found, but they must also report the finding to the appropriate state’s attorney.

The new law comes in response to a situation that occurred in the Village of Robbins, when the local police department failed to follow through on a rape investigation after a state crime lab alerted them of a positive match on a DNA test kit. The suspect identified by the lab was never arrested and went on to commit additional crimes.

“This new law will enable prosecutors to follow up on lab reports and ensure that positive DNA matches are being investigated by local police departments," Cunningham said. "Victims of sexual assault must have confidence that law enforcement is doing everything possible to track down violent sexual predators."

The new law would also require that local police departments and the state police take annual inventories of DNA test kits in their possession and report that to the appropriate state’s attorney’s office.

The new law went into effect immediately. Cunningham thanked Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for bringing the issue to light and for his department's work reinvestigating dozens of unsolved rape cases in Robbins.

Cunningham votes for bipartisan stopgap budget agreement

• higher education
• SB 2047
• K-12 Education
• human services

SPRINGFIELD— On Thursday, State Senator Bill Cunningham joined a bipartisan group of senators to pass legislation that would raise the investment the state makes in elementary and secondary education by more than $6 million for the southwest suburbs school districts he represents.

It would also send stopgap funding to institutions of higher education and human service providers throughout the 18th District.

“Illinois has very big problems, and we need bipartisan solutions. I am glad that we were able to come together and agree that investing in primary, secondary and higher education needs to be a top priority,” Cunningham said. “This is a start to ensuring that we can get Illinois back on the correct fiscal path.”

Senate Bill 2047 would provide a stopgap budget for the state for the first half of FY 2017.

The legislation also would ensure that state-funded road construction continues throughout the next year.

Federal panel backs local officials, sanctions railroad for Evergreen Park delays

• railroad,
• STB
• CSX
• Christ Advocate

SPRINGFIELD—The federal government’s Surface Transportation Board has ruled against CSX Transportation in a complaint brought by the Village of Evergreen Park and City of Chicago.

The case involved multiple problems with CSX's mismanagement of a rail line that runs just East of Kedzie Avenue. Senator Bill Cunningham, who represents Evergreen Park and Chicago's 19th Ward, helped coordinate the case.

“We have been dealing with blocked crossings and idling trains since CSX acquired the Elsdon Line back in 2013,” Cunningham said. “This action by the STB will improve the quality of life for the residents of my district. I thank everyone who took a proactive step in holding CSX accountable.”

Complaints about CSX included multiple blocked grade crossings, trains idling in residential neighborhoods for hours on end, and malfunctioning gates that would stop traffic with no train in sight. Most troubling, stopped and slow moving CSX trains have blocked grade crossings on 95th Street, the main emergency route to Christ Advocate Medical Center, the regions only top level trauma center.

CSX now will have to file monthly reports with the STB detailing the company’s efforts to address malfunctioning gates and grade crossing blockages.