Turner moves to make changes to Sangamon County Capital Township in first bill as State Senator

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) passed her first piece of legislation out of the Illinois State Senate Thursday, April 22, in an effort to allow Capital Township residents the right to vote for their own officials.

“This legislation speaks solely to representation,” said Sen. Turner. “This bill addresses an electorate’s right to choose their own representatives. Under state law, the current Sangamon County Clerk and Treasurer are automatically officers of Capital Township, and that’s not fair. That is akin to the voters of Naperville voting for the officers of Cook County. This bill would allow that only the voters of Capital Township elect Capital Township officers.”

Currently, if a township is completely within a city of more than a population of 50,000 residents, then the County Clerk is the ex officio Township Assessor and Clerk and the County Treasurer is the ex officio Township Supervisor and Collector.

Advocates of the bill point out that of the 1,432 townships in the state of Illinois, Capital Township in Sangamon County is the only city where this rule applies. Senate Bill 826 would allow Capital Township voters to elect leaders.

The bill passed the Senate and moved to the Illinois House of Representatives for further consideration.

Turner congratulates the city of Carlinville for receiving Governor’s Hometown Award

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner (D- Springfield) celebrates the city of Carlinville for winning the Governor’s Hometown Award in the Make Carlinville Beautiful” (MCB) project.

“It is such an honor to represent the beautiful city of Carlinville,” said Turner. “As we celebrate Earth Day today, this award could not be more fitting. I am so proud of the residents and their dedication to improve the quality of life in the city.”
Since 1983, the Governor’s Hometown Awards program has honored people and projects that improve their communities’ quality of life.

This project began as a dedication memorial for a grieving family who lost their son and turned into a community effort with citizens from all walks of life.

So far 50 volunteers have planted 45 pollinator sites. Future plans also include a sculpture garden, plantings at the Carlinville Amtrak station, vegetable gardens to aid the local food pantry and schools and family garden spaces. The Standard Addition, on the north side of Carlinville, is the largest collection of Sears Roebuck homes in the country.

The city will receive a plaque and a road sign for the entrance to town designating Carlinville as a Governor’s Hometown Award winner.

Turner celebrates Decatur youth group for winning Governor’s Cup Award

SPRINGFIELD – Today, State Senator Doris Turner (D- Springfield) congratulated Young Leaders in Action (YLIA), a Macon County youth service and leadership group, for winning the first Illinois Governor's Cup Award.

“This is a major win not only for the students involved in YLIA but for the entire community,” said Turner. “This award recognizes all of our students' hard work and dedication and I couldn’t be happier about the governor selecting them for this great achievement.”

The Governor’s Cup is the top honor given in a field of 24 community projects in the state. YLIA accepted the award from Gov. Pritzker in a virtual ceremony held Tuesday.

YLIA, an initiative of The Community Foundation of Macon County, aims to enhance its members' leadership, communication, social and analytical skills through service projects.

The organization's members include more than 100 sophomore, junior and senior high school students from each of the 11 Macon County high schools, along with homeschooled students.

Turner reacts to Chauvin verdict

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner’s (D-Springfield) released the following statement following the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin:

“For days the words of the prosecution “He didn’t let up; he didn’t get up.” have played through my head and brought tears to my eyes.

And, while I am pleased at the decision made by the jury, we still have a long way to go in ensuring our system of justice is fair and equitable for everyone.

The killing of George Floyd caused much unrest across the nation as many of us witnessed the horror of George Floyd's final moments.

I hope this verdict brings a sense of peace to Mr. Floyd’s family, friends and community.

I also hope we continue the dialogue on how to better develop police-community relations across not only our state but entire country.

Let us use this moment to work together to get to a place of true equity and justice for not just a privileged few but for everyone.”