Illinois Legislative Panel Event -

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 Representative Michelle Mussman

• House Minority Leader, State Representative Tony McCombie

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 the last 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. That district neighbors O’Hare International Airport and includes all or parts of Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Roselle 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, Executive, Higher Education, Labor, Local Government, Public Health 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.

State Representative Michelle Mussman

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.

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.