Melinda Bush (born August 5, 1956) is a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

for the 31st district. The 31st district spans northern Lake County and includes all or parts of

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...

, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Gages Lake, Winthrop Harbor, Old Mill Creek,

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

, Lindenhurst,

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, Waukegan,

Gurnee Gurnee ( ) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area. Best known for being th ...

, Beach Park,

Grayslake Grayslake is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Chicago's downtown, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lake Michigan, and 15 miles (24 km) sout ...

and Lake Villa.

Illinois State Senator

2012 election

In the general election, Bush faced Joe Neal. She was endorsed by Lieutenant Governor

Sheila Simon Sheila J. Simon (born March 13, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Comptroller, losing to Republican incumbent Jud ...

, Senator

Terry Link Terry Link (born March 20, 1947) is an American politician who represented the 30th district in the Illinois Senate from 1997 until his resignation in 2020. The 30th district includes all or part of the municipalities of Beach Park, Buffalo Gro ...

, Senator

Susan Garrett Susan Garrett is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, who represented the 29th District from 2003 to 2013, and the 59th district of the Illinois House of Representatives for four years previously. The 29th district includes all or ...

, State Representative

Rita Mayfield Rita Mayfield is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 60th district since July 2010. Early life and career She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia College in Computer Information Syste ...

, the Illinois AFL–CIO, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, the

Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

and future

general assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

colleague

Sam Yingling Sam Yingling (born July 4, 1980) is an American politician from Lake County, Illinois. A Democrat, he is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 62nd district. A resident of Grayslake, he served as the Avon Township Superviso ...

. On election day, Bush won in a close contest.

Tenure

Her associated representatives are District 61 representative Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) and District 62 representative

(D-Round Lake Beach). As of July 2022, Senator Bush is a member of the following Illinois House committees: * Appropriations - Business Regulations and Labor Committee (SAPP-SBRL) * Appropriations - Government Infrastructure Committee (SAPP-SAGI) * (Chairwoman of) Credits, Deductions, and Exemptions Committee (SREV-SRCD) * Education Committee (SESE) * (Chairwoman of) Environment and Conservation Committee (SNVR) * Labor Committee (SLAB) * Redistricting - Lake & McHenry County Committee (SRED-SRLM) * Revenue Committee (SREV) * Revenue - Special Issues Committee (SREV-SRSI) * Transportation Committee (STRN)

Legislation

During her tenure in the current 101st General Assembly, Bush has sponsored a number of bills. In 2019, she sponsored the Needle and Hypodermic Syringe Access Program Act, which would allow certain groups to establish and operate a needle and hypodermic syringe access program. The bill was signed into state public law in August 2019. Shortly before the 2020 U.S. coronavirus outbreak, Bush sponsored legislation in the Illinois Senate that would impose a new fee of $0.10 on each carryout bag from food retail establishments. In 2020, she introduced a bill that would require prescribers (such as physicians) to offer a prescription to naloxone hydrochloride in certain situations that increase a patient's risk to overdose.http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/101/SB/PDF/10100SB3659lv.pdf

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 98th Illinois General Assembly **By session
98thProfile
at Illinois Senate Democrats
Campaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Melinda Democratic Party Illinois state senators Women state legislators in Illinois 1956 births Living people People from Grayslake, Illinois 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians County board members in Illinois