January 23, 2024
Meghan O'Toole
Student assists Illinois senator in introducing new legislation
Megan Dodrill ’26 began working in Illinois Senator Julie Morrison’s office last semester. This session, she is helping introduce a piece of legislation she helped research.
Dodrill is double majoring in biology and politics with a minor in legal studies. With aspirations of attending law school, working in Morrison’s office has made for invaluable experience. While attending outreach events and answering emails for Morrison, Dodrill has also been responsible for aiding in research for a specific piece of legislation.
Morrison represents Illinois’ 29th District, which includes portions of the North Suburbs of Chicago in Lake and Cook Counties.
The project began when Morrison identified a problem in her district: When many companies turned to remote work throughout the pandemic, they realized they could cut a significant cost by downsizing headquarters and moving out of the large corporate campuses that populate Chicagoland. This leaves vacancies in large buildings, and industrial warehouses are eager to assume these spaces.
However, these structures are often close to and nestled within residential neighborhoods. Increased warehouse presence would mean an increase in traffic and pollution. Dodrill has been assisting Morrison in researching the impacts of these warehouse conversions and other legislation that exists around the country so they can pass a law to regulate these warehouses.
“We don’t need massive headquarters anymore,” Dodrill explained. “They’re going out of style, and these industrial companies are continuing to try to take over. California and New Jersey are in the starting phases of having some kind of regulation around this issue, so I researched what they have been doing.”
Dodrill has also been meeting with relevant people in government as well as residents of Riverwoods, Illinois who dealt with a similar situation.
“Working in these offices has really opened my eyes to local government,” she said. “People call us and ask for help, and there are so many people in local government who rally to solve community issues. I just have more of an appreciation for local government and see its value so much more than I did before.”
Senator Morrison is aiming to file the legislation in the coming weeks.