South Cook News

Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) spent some time this week talking with and listening to the concerns of his constituents at an event in Willowbrook.

The Nov. 30 event took place at Lumes Brunch Cafe on Plainfield Road and gave people the chance speak with their elected officials one-on-one in a casual setting. 

"I just wrapped up a Coffee & Conversation event in Willowbrook," Curran wrote in a Facebook post. "Thank you to Willowbrook Mayor Franklin Trilla and Darien Mayor Joseph Marchese for joining me for casual conversations with constituents, and thank you to the more than 50 people who came out to the event."

Curran recently objected to changing the Health Care Right of Conscience Act, not for vaccinations, but protecting Illinois residents' religious freedoms and encouraged his colleagues to vote against the amendment, West Cook News reported in November. 

"The proposal before us diminishes religious protections in the workplace," Curran said on the Senate floor. "This is a dangerous precedent and a slippery slope."

In October, Curran and other Republican lawmakers sought answers from The Illinois State Police Merit Board after executive director Jack Garcia was fired, according to the Dupage Policy Journal. 

"We asked and demand that the governor step forward and answer our questions and be forthright with the people of the state," Curran said during an Oct. 26 news conference.

Curran said Garcia had been investigating accusations of fraud involving Jenny Thornley, a former chief fiscal officer with the Illinois State Police Merit Board. 

The State Journal-Register reported that Thornley had been charged with theft from her former employer. Thornley is accused of stealing between $10,000 and $100,000 by forging documents that were believed to be signed by Garcia.

She was indicted in September. The case remains under investigation by the state Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor's Office.