In the News

Forest & Bluff Magazine, January 2009

This month, Illinois Senator Susan Garrett will be inaugurated into her third term as senator and 10th year in state politics. This inauguration will be a landmark event as Susan is promoted to leadership and she will also be chairing the state's environment committee—the future focus of her efforts.  She sat down with Forest & Bluff and charred about her goals for the state's economy and the changes Illinois will undergo.

Susan was born at Lake Forest Hospital and grew up in the surrounding suburbs, returning to the community as a student at Lake Forest College.  She got involved in politics as a grassroots activist.  She was always interested in local issues and would attend local school board and city council meetings when she moved permanently to Lake Forest with her family 25 years ago.  When she first received a call from the Democratic Party about an open seat in the General Assembly, she was shocked.  "[The Party] said, 'We've called a lot of people to see if they'd be interested in running for this seat as Democrat.  And everyone we've called referred us to you,'" she explains.  "I was really surprised to hear that because I didn't have any political aspirations."

In 1998, she became a member of the House of Representatives, representing the 59th District, which happened to be the most diverse district in Illinois.  At the time, the district included Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Green Oaks, North Chicago, and part of Waukegan.  "It really was a great experience for me because I represented a microcosm of the diversity of the entire state," she reflects.  After being in the House for four years, she became a member of the Senate in 2003, representing the 29th District, which spans as far south as Des Plaines and as far north as Lake Bluff.  This past term, she sat as Chair of the Public Health Committee, but she will be changing gears in 2009—leading the Environment Committee.

As head of this committee, she hopes to work on several environmental issues in the area.  She wants to improve the quality of both the drinking water and Lake Michigan.  Currently, the senator is working on legislation to remove trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the water supply.  This would be accomplished through a prescription take-back program—creating a location where people could drop off unused and expired medication.  This program would prevent people from flushing pharmaceuticals into the sewer system, therefore keeping them from ending up in the water supply.  She also wants to work on ways to prevent bacteria from getting into the swimming water.

The current push is for everyone to go green, and Susan is a big proponent of this, not only because it's healthy, but also because it is an integral part of Illinois' economic development.  "There's a push to go green for many reasons: one, because it's healthier, and also, because it’s a job generator.  More environmentally suitable products will create new jobs in the manufacturing of those products," she explains.  She also mentioned she is happy to have President-elect Barack Obama in the White House as a partner for these environmental improvements.

Her goals for her next term revolve around bettering the economy of the state.  The job loss rate in the Midwest is one of the highest, and since Illinois is such a diverse state, every group must be taken into consideration.  "I like to describe Illinois as three states in one: Chicago, the Chicago suburbs, and then Southern and Central Illinois, which is anything south of I-80," Susan explains.  "Each area offers different economic opportunities, and we have to pay attention to all of them in this economy."

The Senator remains optimistic about the state's situation because of the implementation of John Cullerton as the leader of the Senate and several other changes.  "The last couple of years we've been at a standstill because of political personalities blocking progress.  Now that we are going to have new leadership in the Senate, we will see the beginning of cooperation, which translates into taking on tough issues and making progress," she says.  "I'm excited for the future."

Most importantly, the senator must represent the economic issues facing her district, such as the suffering real estate market and the difficulties facing smaller local businesses.  "As prosperous as Lake Forest and Lake Bluff continue to be, we still will be affected...We are not immune to what's going on nationally."  But she points out that these communities have made it through similar recessions in the past.

She is sanguine about the future.  Since Lake Forest and Lake Bluff are so close-knit and nurturing, she believes they will persevere.  "It's that willingness to reach out and figure out how to make things better that surprisingly doesn't exist in all communities throughout the state of Illinois.  We have something that is almost magical.  It's not partisan, it’s not gender related, it's just a really strong commitment and belief in serving your community."