Senate President Don Harmon inauguration remarks as prepared

(Senate President Don Harmon inauguration speech -- As prepared for delivery)

Good afternoon, all.

I want to take a moment to tell you a quick story about the universality of the Senate.

Back in October, Senator Cunningham and I had the good fortune of accompanying the governor on a trade mission to Japan.

We spent the trip either in meetings learning about clean energy and quantum computing, or in the back of a van being shuffled to those meetings.

It was rainy and overcast almost the entire 2 ½ days we were there.

A dream vacation.

But on the final morning, Senator Cunningham and I found ourselves up and out at 7 a.m.

We had some time to kill, and there was a break in the weather.

And so we decided to walk to the National Diet Building, the home of Japan’s legislative branch.

Now the first door we came to was that of the Japanese House of Representatives.

We approached and asked about tours or seeing the building … and the Japanese House promptly turned us away.

True story.

Undaunted, we continued on.

And the next door we came to belonged to the upper chamber, the House of Councilors. Japan’s Senate.

Let me tell you, they could not have been more welcoming.

We got the full tour.

I came away thinking – hoping -- that there is a welcoming universality to Senates everywhere, as a place where differences and conflicts are set aside so that we can come together and do the people’s business.

And now, to hold up my end of that bargain, I’d like to welcome all of you to the new and improved Illinois Senate chamber.

We’ve been gone nearly 2 ½ years.

On behalf of the Senate, I want to congratulate Capitol Architect Andrea Aggertt, Mark Flowers, and the army of men and women whose extraordinary craftsmanship produced this stunning chamber.

Of note, the stained glass skylight was in this chamber when the Senate met here for the first time in January 1877.

A fire destroyed it in the 1930s -- and now it’s back.

And, I’m also advised that the women’s facilities received long overdue upgrades.

Governor Pritzker, thank you for being here and opening today’s ceremony.

I told you we’d eventually have a normal Senate inauguration, and this is pretty darn close.

I want to take a moment to thank Communications Director Brandy Renfro, her inauguration team, LIS, the pages, volunteers and custodians who moved heaven and earth … and a lot of furniture … to get us back in this chamber and make today’s ceremony possible.

I am once again honored and humbled to receive the support of my colleagues to serve in this post.

Thank you.

My commitment to you is that I will strive each day to do my best to live up to the responsibilities and trust you have placed in me.

And congratulations to Leader Curran.

I appreciate your leadership and look forward to continuing to work with you in the session ahead.

I want to thank Senator Murphy, Senator Koehler and Senator Villivalam for their kind words.

And I especially want to thank my seatmate and legislative neighbor back home, Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford.

I am humbled to have your support and looking forward to another great and productive session working with you all.

I want to thank Tiffany Mathis Posey for gracing us with her voice.

I’d like to thank Rabbi Shoshanah Conover and Imam Saad Palwala for the invocation, and Rev. Dr. Marshall E. Hatch for the benediction.

I also want to recognize several guests who have joined us today:

Please welcome back to the Senate, the Honorable Kwame Raoul, Attorney General and the Honorable Michael W. Frerichs, Treasurer

Nice to see you.

Once a Senator, always a Senator.

Also with us today administering the oath of office is the Honorable Mary K. O’Brien, Supreme Court Justice.

I’d also like to welcome the Mayor of the City of Springfield, the Honorable Misty Buscher.

Thank you all for being here.

I have my Harmon support group here today.

My wife, Teri.

And our daughter Frances is here representing her two siblings.

My family is the foundation of every good decision I make.

Now, let’s turn our attention to all of you – the members of the Illinois Senate.

Congratulations -- Give yourselves a well-deserved round of applause.

We each took different paths to get here, but here we are.

For some of you, this a welcome return to this grand chamber.

For others, this is your first time here.

I invite you all to take it in.

I hope you will appreciate that fewer than 1,500 people in the history of our great state have ever held the title of Illinois State Senator.

And now you will forever be listed among them.

Whether you’ve been here 30 years or 30 minutes, you are an Illinois State Senator.

We’re all in this together, and if you’ve read media clips or financial reports, it might be a tough year ahead.

We will face stressful moments.

I am challenging myself, and everyone here, to be the better leaders in our state, to treat everyone with decency and respect, and to let that shine through our work.

Now, as your Senate President, and the presiding “Midwestern” dad of the chamber, let me offer some thoughts on achieving that resolution.

 

First, treat your neighbors well:

Look to your left and right.

Your seatmates, the members of your caucus, are your neighbors in the Senate. 

Your time here will be much more pleasant if you are good to them.

Take a new lawmaker under your wing.

Co-sponsor a piece of legislation.

Take a colleague out for a cup of coffee to celebrate a legislative win, or to console them after a difficult loss.

Remember that your neighbors in this chamber are some of the only people in Illinois who can relate to what you’re going through.

The Senate is an active laboratory for coalition building.

Forge those bonds and look out for one another.

Now, I want you to look a little farther.

Look across the aisle separating our partisan caucuses.

The senators sitting on the opposite side of the room are here for the same reason you are.

They want to serve Illinoisans and make our state a better place.

We will often disagree on how to reach our goals.

We will often become passionate when advocating for our causes.

But we will all be more productive and do more good if we remember that our political counterparts are also our neighbors.

We can disagree without being disagreeable.

Look even farther.

Expand your view out of this building entirely.

Each one of us represents a district with at least 216,119 neighbors.

Your presence in this chamber means that a majority of voters in the district you represent agree with you politically.

But you came here to represent the ones who didn’t vote for you, too.

Your neighbor is the volunteer who knocked on hundreds of doors for you in the fall.

Your neighbor is also the person who supported your opponent.

Your neighbors may not look, eat, love, or pray the same way you do.

But you are here in Springfield to be their voice.

Remember that, while you can never make every constituent happy … you can serve every constituent well.

Next, stay humble:

No matter how strong a sense of humility you have, being in Springfield will challenge it.

People will offer you meals, drinks and coffee.

People will hold open doors.

People will let you go in front of them in line.

There are people in this town whose job description includes puffing up your ego.

You even get a special license plate.

But you run into trouble when you start to believe you are owed any of these things.

Your one vote is just as important as anyone else’s -- cagey veteran or green rookie.

But your one vote is ONLY as important as everyone else’s.

And it’s important to remember:  Try as you might, you can’t pass a bill with only one vote.

Work with those neighbors I mentioned earlier.

Voters sent you to Springfield with the great responsibility of representing them in the Senate.

Hold onto the values that inspired you to seek office, and remember that you answer to the constituents you represent.

Finally, be kind:

I often describe the Senate as a family -- we certainly spend enough time together.

As in any family, when tensions get high, relationships can be strained.

When two people, equally passionate about a topic, find themselves adamantly opposed to one another, tempers can flare.

Don’t let them.

Don’t let your words in a heated moment diminish the valuable work you’ve come here to do.

Because at the end of the day, we are all here because we love this state, the people who call it home, and want the best for all of them.

We can’t do this job on our own.

We need all of our neighbors.

So, don’t forget a “please” and “thank you” for the people who keep this building running: our excellent staff.

They, like everyone else, deserve kindness and respect.

They deserve to be treated like the professionals they are.

We are 59 people, individually, yet collectively we are chosen to represent all of the people of Illinois.

We come from many different places.

But you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to learn how much we have in common.

May the universality of the Senate, the comradery, and shared sense of purpose guide us in this chamber these next two years.

Thank you for placing your trust in me to lead us through the next chapter.

Thank you for your service to the people of this great state.

The Illinois Senate is now in session.

Harmon re-elected Senate President for 104th General Assembly

Oak Park Democrat Don Harmon was elected Senate President by his colleagues Wednesday, vowing to keep Illinois moving forward and calling on all in public office to strive for unity in a time of division and treat everyone with dignity and respect.

“I am challenging myself, and everyone here, to be better leaders of our state, to treat everyone with decency and respect, and to let that shine through our work,” Harmon said. “Because at the end of the day, we are all here because we love this state, the people who call it home, and want the best for all of them.”

Harmon announces funding to address teacher shortage

OAK PARK – Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) today announced funding to help prepare area high school students to become teachers.

The Des Plaines Valley Education for Employment region will receive $250,000 in grants administered by the Illinois State Board of Education. The region serves six high school districts in western Cook County.

“Illinois is facing an ongoing teacher shortage that impacts every area of our state,” said Harmon. “We need to do everything we can at the state level to make a career in education accessible to anyone who has a passion for teaching students.”

The three-year grants were awarded primarily to rural, understaffed and underfunded areas. They aim to train students through hands-on experience and strive to increase diversity within the state’s teacher workforce. 

“Teaching is a career that changes lives,” said State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders. “A career in education allows teachers to shape the future while finding deep personal fulfillment. These grants are ensuring that our students are not just prepared but inspired to step into the classroom and make a difference for generations to come. We encourage high school students in participating districts to explore this incredible field.” 

To learn more about the grants, visit ISBE’s College and Career Grants webpage.

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Harmon passes bipartisan update to Prisoner Review Board standards

SPRINGFIELD – In response to a deadly stabbing that occurred earlier this year, Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) joined with Senate Minority Leader John Curran to advance legislation improving training and transparency for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB).

The legislation comes after Crosetti Brand was charged with murder for allegedly stabbing 11-year-old Jayden Perkins and his pregnant mother. Perkins died while attempting to protect his mother. The attack came one day after the PRB voted to grant Perkins release.  

“It is clear that gaps existed in Prisoner Review Board rules and training that, tragically, contributed to a child losing his life,” Harmon said. “This is an attempt to strengthen the review process so that something like this hopefully never happens again.”  

In an effort to prevent future tragedies, the measure:

• Requires additional training for PRB members to be completed annually and before their first vote as a member of the board;
• Requires the PRB to provide victims notice of hearings and notice of revocation of mandatory supervised release;
• Increases transparency by requiring certain PRB hearings to be broadcast live and mandating the minutes from hearings be posted online; and
• Allows crime victims abused by incarcerated individuals to petition for orders of protection.

“These bipartisan, victim-focused reforms are a strong first step in increasing accountability and transparency in how the Prisoner Review Board operates,” Curran said.  

The PRB conducts hearings to determine whether individuals are eligible for parole or mandatory supervised release. Its members are appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate.

In the aftermath of Perkins’ death, two members of the PRB resigned.

Gov. JB Pritzker also announced additional training and screening requirements for PRB members.

HB 681 passed the Senate without opposition and heads to the House for concurrence.