Melinda Bush (born March 18, 1956) is a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

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

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Gages Lake,

Winthrop Harbor Winthrop Harbor is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Winthrop Harbor is considered the corner stone of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,705. It is located along the northern border of Illinois and is part of th ...

, Old Mill Creek,

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

, Lindenhurst,

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

Waukegan Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its popu ...

Gurnee Gurnee ( ) is a Village (United States), village and suburb in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, Illinois, Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within ...

, Beach Park,

Grayslake {{Infobox settlement , name = Grayslake, Illinois , settlement_type = Village , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = Grayslake.PNG , image_caption ...

and Lake Villa.

Illinois State Senator

2012 election

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

, 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 Syst ...

, the Illinois AFL–CIO, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Sierra Club,

Planned Parenthood Illinois Action The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

, Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, the Daily Herald 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 former member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 62nd district. A resident of Grayslake, he served as the Avon Township Su ...

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

Tenure

Her associated representatives are District 61 representative

Joyce Mason Joyce Mason is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 61st district. The 61st district, located in northern Lake County, includes all or parts of Zion, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Old Mill Creek, Gurnee and Anti ...

(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. She introduced a bill in 2022 that in the intrest of "freedom of choice in health care" would recognize Naturophathic Doctors as "physicians", create a "Naturopathic Physician Medical Board", and declare that the naturopathic pratice "merit the confidence of the public". .

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 1956 births 21st-century American women politicians County board members in Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators Living people People from Grayslake, Illinois Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly