I want to follow up with everyone regarding our visit yesterday with Senate President Don Harmon and the status of HB 4066 following this morning's House Executive Committee hearing. 

While HB 4066 was not called during today's hearing, these bills are not dead. As many of you may recall from our efforts in 2016 and 2017, moving a 9-1-1 surcharge bill through the Illinois legislature is never easy and rarely a smooth process.

First and foremost, on behalf of John Ferraro and myself, thank you to everyone who took the time to complete witness slips for today's committee hearing. Your response showed exactly what we hoped it would. It demonstrated that there is real support and genuine interest in making this surcharge increase happen.

Our conversations yesterday reinforced what many of us already understood. Advancing this legislation during the spring session was always going to be difficult, especially in an election year. Senator Harmon made it clear that in order for this effort to move forward, we must have Republican sponsors on both the House and Senate side.

That means our work continues.

We are asking each of you to please stay engaged and continue reaching out to legislators in your areas. In particular, if you have a Republican State Senator or Representative, please continue asking for their support and sponsorship. We need them. This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue. This is a 9-1-1 issue, and everyone depends on 9-1-1.

Please also be prepared for additional requests in the weeks and months ahead, including future trips to Springfield and additional calls for witness slips.

Thank you again for everything you have done to date and for your continued commitment to this effort. We have more work to do, but your support matters and is appreciated.