With the winter heating months approaching, and with natural gas utilities forecasting higher costs, Senator Brady is reminding utility customers of things they can do to save money on their utility bills.

 “Utility customers were shocked last year by skyrocketing rates. Despite a long, tough fight in the General Assembly, we were not able to win true rate relief for consumers,” Senator Brady said. “Now, Ameren is warning customers that their winter heating bills could be as much as 30 percent higher because of steep increases in the costs of natural gas. Consumers must start taking action in their own homes to save money on their utility bills.”

Senator Brady has long been an advocate for utility consumers and supported the 2008 law that states that Ameren can no longer disconnect utility service on says when the temperature is 95 or higher.

Senator Brady is working to help veterans meet their education goals.

The 44th District Senator has been appointed to serve on the Task Force on Servicemember and Veterans Education, created by House Bill 5368.

Chaired by Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, the seven-member Task Force met for the first time August 19.

“When the men and women of our Armed Services leave their homes and families to serve our country overseas, it often disrupts their education. We need to do all we can to make education as accessible as possible for our veterans,” Senator Brady said.

Senator Brady says Governor Rod Blagojevich has no good reasons for closing the Pontiac Correctional Center,  and the state must place a moratorium on prison closures until a comprehensive review of all of Illinois correctional facilities is completed.

“The Administration has not given us any good reasons why the prison at Pontiac needs to close,” said Senator Brady, a member of the state Commission of Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA), which conducted a public hearing on the proposal August 20 in Pontiac. “His position on this matter changes with the direction of the wind and as such, we need to call a halt to the process of closing prisons until an objective system for making such decisions is in place.”

The 44th District Senator says Senate Republicans called for a moratorium in May and introduced legislation that would create a Correctional Facilities Panel charged with closely examining the conditions at Illinois’ correctional centers. Until the panel completes the review, a moratorium would be placed on all correctional facility closures.

SENATE FINALLY ALLOWED VOTE ON PAY RAISES

It took more than three months, but Senate President Emil Jones finally allowed us to vote on a salary increase for government officials.

I did not support the pay raises and am pleased that they were rejected.

The 2008 report of the Compensation Review Board, which would give pay raises to members of the legislative and executive branch, was rejected August 12 by a 47-0-3 vote of the Senate. The House of Representatives voted down the salary increases May 7, by a 94-8-6 vote.