Depth of Experience

Agenda Priorities

Pediatric Care The number one priority affecting many Northwest Indiana families with sick children. We have great pediatric care in Chicago, but with half of our children on Medicaid, they don’t have access due to a disparity in reimbursement for Medicaid patients when crossing state lines, forcing those children and families to travel to Indianapolis for care. A solution exists that could save money, and encourage those hospitals to invest in offering local service. I’ve championed this issue since my first year in the legislature, and there’s finally a committee looking into this. I can bring the stakeholders together to get it done. Financially Distressed Government Units Two years ago we created a dashboard to help identify struggling school corporations, however, there are concerns with more than just school corporations. Bankruptcy is not allowed and clearly we waited too long to take action with the Gary School Corporation. We need a process that would apply to all financially distressed units, before they need state assistance.

Mental Health I‘ve already sponsored legislation to support Crisis Intervention Teams for law enforcement, designed to de-escalate minor offenses that are mental illness related to avoid using our criminal justice system in place of mental health professionals. Our law enforcement agencies in Lake County can benefit with this training and I will encourage the effort. Utilities Utility rates are a big concern, especially with public utilities phasing out coal fired plants, requiring energy to be purchased from out of state suppliers.  I believe that we need to establish a statewide energy policy to protect our rate payers.  Affordable and reliable energy is critical for a strong economy and quality of life.

Legislative Accomplishments

2018 Reconcile Electronic Vote - Authored bill requiring the reconciliation of electronic voting systems to electronic poll books. Tax Sale Surplus - Updated the property tax sale code to streamline the process and define substantial property interest of public record. School Funding - Co-authored bill to use reserves for emergency additional funding due to increased public school attendance. Childcare Safety - Co-authored bill to tighten regulation on day-care facility requirements, licensing and what must be inaccessible to children. Transparency - Sponsored and amended a Senate bill to allow a state or local government agency to provide copies of public records in electronic or paper form if they exist in electronic format, at the option of the person requesting, with no fee.

2017 State Examiner Findings - Authored bill that specifies requirements for corrective action when audited entities fail to comply with certain guidelines or laws. South Shore Rail Transit - Authored bill that outlines the funding and development mechanism for South Shore double tracking and the transit development districts associated with each rail stop. Precinct Consolidation - Establishes requirements for the consolidation of small precincts in Lake County Purdue Northwest Biosciences Building - Advocated for 5 years for the replacement of an old facility at the Calumet campus. Secured $35 million in funding in the biennium budget for construction. Crisis Intervention Teams - Sponsored a Senate bill that allows the law enforcement training board may establish the technical assistance center and for the commission to provide operating grants.