SALEM… State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem), opposed House Bill 40 and made the following statement this afternoon:

“My faith and moral compass tell me that life begins at conception and that every life is precious. I worked with special needs children since I was in school at summer camps to help give them a more fulfilling life. Those camps and programs were used to help develop what has become known as the Special Olympics. Also, I have worked to help keep open the Murray Developmental Center that serves people who need constant care because they too are valuable human beings.

I’m disappointed with the actions of the governor today to expand spending public dollars on a procedure that I oppose and is opposed by the majority of people in my district. I will work with other conservatives to draft legislation and reverse this new law.”

Equifax, an Atlanta based credit-rating agency, suffered a security breach on July 29th that exposed sensitive information of millions of Americans. Such information included social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, birthdays, and addresses. It has been determined that 5.4 million Illinois residents have been affected by the breach.

The company has set up a website where you can check if your personal information was affected by the breach: www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has opened an investigation into the recent security breach, and called on Equifax to provide free credit freezes to all Illinois residents in the wake of the breach. She urges Illinois residents to take the Equifax breach seriously and take steps to protect themselves from the possibility of identity theft:

· Seriously consider placing a credit freeze on your credit reports with all 3 consumer reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax;

· Regularly request your free credit reports, inspect them closely, and promptly dispute any unauthorized accounts;

· Inspect all financial account statements closely and promptly dispute any unauthorized charges;

· Consider placing alerts on your financial accounts so your financial institution alerts you when money above a pre-designated amount is withdrawn;

· Beware of potential phishing emails; don't open any email messages or attachments from unknown senders and do not click on any unknown links. Fraudsters will frequently send coercive and misleading emails threatening account suspension or worse if sensitive information is not provided. Remember, businesses will never ask customers to verify account information via email. If in doubt, contact the business in question directly for verification and to report phishing emails; and

· Be on the lookout for spoofed email addresses. Spoofed email addresses are those that make minor changes in the domain name, frequently changing the letter O to the number zero, or the lowercase letter l to the number one. Scrutinize all incoming email addresses to ensure that the sender is truly legitimate.

With questions on the data breach, you can contact Equifax at 866-447-7559, or the Illinois Attorney General’s Identity Theft Hotline at 1 (866) 999-5630.

Photo of Rep. Cavaletto courtesy of Bruce Kropp at WJBD Radio.

Names of All Emergency Responders Killed at World Trade Center Are Read and Their Steps Traced

The Salem Fire Protection District remembered those who lost their lives in 9-11 with a program in Bryan Memorial Park over the weekend.

Salem Fire Lieutenant Greg Miller says it is important the memory of the 9-11 attacks be kept alive.

"On September 11, 2001 eight EMTs, 60 police officers, 343 fire fighters lost their lives responding to help others. Since that day another 653 have died from 911 related illnesses. We are gathered here today to mourn their loss and to celebrate their dedication and devotion to people they have never met and would have never met," said Miller. "Memorial events like this one are vital if we are going to keep the events of 911 from just being another page in a history book."

State Representative John Cavaletto told emergency responders they have strong representation at the State Capitol in Springfield.

"You have done great work, and I want to thank all of you for what you do. We can't forget the people that have past and gone on because of fighting the fires, the policemen and the firemen," said Cavaletto. "Let's take a moment of silence for them."

Read the full story on the WJBD radio web page by clicking here.