Illinois Legislative Panel Event - Focusing on BBB (Business, Budget & Bears)

Join us for an informative and timely discussion featuring local legislators as they engage in a constructive dialogue on the key issues impacting our business community—along with other important topics currently being addressed in Springfield.

Featuring:

• Assistant Majority Leader, State Senator Laura Murphy

• State Senator Darby Hills

• State Senator Cristina Castro

• State Representative Michelle Mussman

• House Minority Leader, State Representative Tony McCombie 
• Representative Dan Ugaste

This important Legislative Panel Event will be moderated by Jim Slusher of the Daily Herald and is proudly presented by the Schaumburg Business Association and the Village of Schaumburg.
☕ Light breakfast included.

Featuring:

Assistant Majority Leader State Senator Laura Murphy

Born into a middle-class family in Park Ridge, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She spent more than 20 years as an active member of the Des Plaines community, including eight years as an alderman for the city’s 3rd Ward.

Murphy has over two decades of experience in health care and social services management. As a member of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, she worked to educate youth on alcohol and tobacco prevention.

Murphy was appointed to the Illinois State Senate in 2015 to represent the 28th Senate District and has run successfully since. That district neighbors O’Hare International Airport and includes all or parts of Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Glenview, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Roselle, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norwood Park, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, and Schaumburg.

In 2020, she was appointed Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. Then, in 2023, she was appointed Assistant Majority Leader. Murphy also serves as chair of the Committee on Executive Appointments, and as a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Assignments, Consumer Protection, Executive, Firearms, Government Operations, Local Government, Tobacco and Transportation.

Her working-class background and previous professional experience inform her views on government as an entity that should work toward the betterment of the people and reinforce her belief in the importance of education, public safety and fighting corruption and waste in state government. Senator Murphy lives in Des Plaines with her husband and son.

Senator Darby Hills

Senator Darby Hills was sworn into office February 2025 as the State Senator for Illinois’ 26th Senate District. She founded Barrington Children’s Charities, which provides meals, medical assistance, and social services to over 500 children weekly. Hills previously served as a Cook County prosecutor and attorney, and later as a trustee on the Barrington Hills Village Board. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She’s also a wife and mother of three, determined to make life better for Illinois families.

Senator Cristina Castro 

State Senator Cristina Castro was born and raised in Elgin and is a lifelong resident of the 22nd Senate District. A second-generation Mexican American, Castro was the first Latina elected to the Illinois State Senate to serve a suburban district. Castro’s parents – who both quit school when they were young to work and contribute to their families, and continued working factory jobs after they moved to Elgin – instilled in her a work ethic that has earned her a reputation as a tenacious advocate for working people.

After attending Larkin High School, Castro received an associate’s degree from Elgin Community College and became the first in her family to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University. She served eight years on the Kane County Board as well as on the board of directors for the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Black History Family Festival and Centro de Información.

Some of Castro’s most acclaimed accomplishments highlight her dedication to equal pay and worker protections. She authored an update to the Equal Pay Act to make sure lower pay can no longer follow a person from job to job, and she championed the Dignity in Pay Act to require people with disabilities to be paid fair wages. Working toward the goal of community wellbeing and public safety, she has secured multiple protections for Latino and immigrant communities in their interactions with law enforcement, landlords, employers, state agencies and other entities.

Castro has been a tireless advocate for improving the lives of new mothers and their babies. She pushed to expand Medicaid for new mothers, culminating in Illinois becoming the first state to extend coverage from 60 days postpartum to a full year. She is committed to addressing women’s health, passing numerous laws to reduce financial barriers, increase access to prenatal vitamins, and enhance insurance coverage for infertility treatment.

Her strong support of environmental issues has earned recognition from statewide associations including the Sierra Club and Illinois Environmental Council, especially for her key role leading the historic Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that creates jobs and puts Illinois on track to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Castro currently serves as the Majority Caucus Whip for the 104th General Assembly and as chair of the Senate Executive Committee. She holds leadership positions within numerous national organizations dedicated to excellence in state government leadership, including the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

State Representative Michelle Mussman

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie

As a legislator, McCombie is focused on job creation, property tax relief, and holding government accountable. Since flipping the seat in 2016, she has worked —logging tens of thousands of miles across her district to connect with residents and address their concerns firsthand. McCombie has been married to her husband, Curt, for almost 20 years. Together, they embrace the great outdoors, spending time with family and friends in what she would argue is one of the most beautiful parts of the state.

Representative Dan Ugaste 

Representative Dan Ugaste was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018. He represents the 65th District, which includes the far western suburbs of Chicagoland, including the areas in and around Campton Hills, Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, Lily Lake, South Elgin, St. Charles, Wayne, and West Chicago.

Ugaste is a former shareholder and attorney at the firm of Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie, and Lowry, where he specialized in workers’ compensation defense and other related litigation. He represented both insured and self-insured businesses of all sizes and across most industries, including manufacturing, construction, healthcare, shipping/logistics, retail, and professional institutions.

Ugaste has served as the President of the Lake Forest College Alumni Board, as well as President and Chair of various bar associations and committees.  In keeping with his past work, he now works every day to protect businesses from over-zealous advocates and against a system of regulations and red tape that hamper efforts to create their product, deliver a valuable service, and provide good-paying jobs for workers and their families. He is a committed fiscal conservative.

Ugaste continues to focus on pro-growth legislation and policies, helping to bring economic development and better career opportunities for the residents of Illinois. He is also committed to and advocates for transparency and accountability in the Illinois House, where he serves on several committees as well.

Ugaste has served his community as a coach and volunteer, including as a former volunteer firefighter. He regularly attends church. Ugaste graduated from Lake Forest High School and Lake Forest College, earning a Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul University. He and his wife, Denise, have three adult daughters and six grandchildren.

Jim Slusher-Moderator 

As Assistant Managing Editor for Opinion, a position he assumed in 2010, Jim Slusher oversees editorial writing, selection of syndicated columns and cartoons and letters to the editor for the Daily Herald Opinion Page. Working with an editorial board made up of top editors in the Daily Herald newsroom, he helps shape the newspaper's voice on subjects of interest to suburban readers, while seeking to present an engaging mix of opinions on broad social and political topics along with a forum for local residents to present their views on whatever topics they consider important.