NW Illinois News

As the 2017 legislative year was coming to a close, Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) put in his two cents about the year that he describes as "the good, the bad and the ugly."

Bivins began serving as state senator of the 45th District in March 2008. One of the focal points during his tenure has been to improve the state's debt crisis, which is why he told NW Illinois News that one of the best parts of 2017 for Illinois lawmakers was that the budget was "finally passed." However, he said that the downside has been that the financial plan is "barely a maintenance budget, which means massive problems still exist."

Bivens named the Illinois General Assembly's sexual harassment issues as the ugliest moment of the year. During the Nov. 7 veto session, legislators discussed a proposed bill that would extend the current one-year statute of limitations on complaints handled by the inspector general. This would allow the inspector general to review 27 complaints that date back to 2014. According to NPR Illinois, one of those complaints is suspected to have been made by an activist accusing Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) of sexually harassing her in 2016.

Though Bivins announced in June that he would not be running for re-election, he still has plans to finish his tenure with a constructive bang. He says that 2018 will focus on creating a more responsible budget and a more effective government.

"I’ve introduced a Senate bill that would remove legislators from sitting on the Legislative Ethics Commission, which is a crucial step in reforming the (ruling) process and prevents legislators from sitting in judgment of other legislators," Bivins said. "(It's) the same standard many legislators have applied to law enforcement: 'police shouldn’t police themselves.'"

Bivins advises Illinoisans to "hold on to your hat," as 2018 will be a hectic election year that is likely to bring more budget negations.