State Rep. Tom Morrison announces his intention to seek re-election as State Representative in the 54th District

Palatine, IL – With a strong commitment to pension reform, tax relief for individuals and businesses, traditional family views, and a fair legislative map, State Representative Tom Morrison announced his intention to run for re-election in the 54th district.

Immediately following his first election in 2010, Morrison was the first legislator in a generation to opt out of Illinois’ legislative pension system. Now, there are nearly 40 legislators who have permanently opted out—about 1/6 of active General Assembly members. In addition, Morrison has returned about $46,000 in district office allotments to the state.

“I have been a vocal proponent of pension reform since I first announced I was running for state representative,” Morrison said. “It’s more difficult to craft a fair solution to our unfunded pension liability if we’re part of the problem. We need more legislators to lead by example and turn this state back to a sustainable path.”

Morrison has pushed for a Constitutional Amendment to give lawmakers and the Governor greater ability to deal with the pension crisis. He also believes all new employees should be enrolled in a defined contribution system and supports legislation that would enable an optional pension buyout for legacy employees. Morrison is the Republican Spokesman for the House Personnel and Pension Committee.

In addition, Morrison is also supporting efforts to change the Illinois Constitution to alter the way legislative districts are drawn.

“I support the Fair Map because the gerrymandered districts we have in Illinois are not in the public’s best interest,” Morrison said. “We need an independent map process to take the politics out and put the interests of the people first.”

Last year, Morrison helped to lead the fight to stop the progressive income tax. He also supports efforts to enact meaningful property tax relief for Illinois residents and businesses. Last spring, Morrison joined efforts to pass meaningful business reforms such as workers’ compensation reform and lawsuit reform.

“Since the Great Recession, Illinois is the only state in the Midwest to add more people to the state’s Medicaid rolls than workers to the work force,” Morrison said. “We need to enact reforms to improve the business climate in this state or else we’ll be in a perpetual budget crisis. The exodus of people and business capital is alarming. Let’s get Illinois working again.”

While the Senate and House majority leadership continues to reject these reforms, Morrison said one positive development was the House’s failure to override the Governor’s Veto of SB1229, which would have likely blocked the Governor’s bargaining authority with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

SB1229 would have shifted binding authority to an arbitration panel over state workers’ contracts for the next four years, which means Rauner or a new Governor would not regain the authority to negotiate state worker contracts until 2019. The Governor vetoed it and the House failed to override the Veto.

“Had the House overrode the Governor’s Veto, it would have been disastrous for the State of Illinois,” Morrison said. “Taking the negotiating power away from the Governor would have meant taxpayers would not have the kind of representation they need at the bargaining table. The Governor is elected by the people to represent the people in these negotiations. Taxpayers deserve to have a voice in these negotiations.”

Finally, Rep. Morrison continues to prioritize traditional marriage views, religious freedom, the rights of the unborn, the 2nd amendment, and school choice.

Representative Morrison’s background includes small business ownership and teaching middle school. He is a 1997 graduate of Hillsdale College. He is married to Bethany, and together they have three children.

For more information, log onto www.repmorrison54.com

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