Thomas R. "Tom" Morrison is a Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly, 54th district, first elected in November 2010. Morrison defeated incumbent State Representative Suzanne Bassi in the Republican primary on February 2, 2010, receiving 54.3% of the vote, to Bassi's 45.7%. Morrison went on to defeat DemocratMatt Flamm in the general election, receiving 61.9% of the vote, to Flamm's 38.1%. Morrison defeated Richard Rudd in 2012 with 59.08 % of the vote. He won the 2014 election against Laddi Singh with 65.92% of the vote, and in 2016, he ran unopposed. In 2018, he defeated Maggie Trevor by only 43 votes, receiving 50.05% of votes cast. Morrison is a graduate of Hillsdale College. He has been a radio news reporter and anchor in Iowa, a 5th-grade teacher at Christian Liberty Academy of Arlington Heights, which his parents helped found in 1969, for six years, and a ServPro franchise owner of Palatine/Rolling Meadows and Elk Grove/Itasca/Roselle. Rep. Morrison has been a strong proponent of pension reform. He led the movement to end Illinois taxpayer-funded legislative pensions. Rep. Morrison denies climate science and was chosen to speak before a climate-change-denying organization. During his speech, he said, "The school textbooks have done a masterful job of convincing most Americans that climate change is happening." Morrison was one of only five Illinois representatives to vote against the Illinois Right to Vote Amendment on its passage in the Illinois House of Representatives. The bill subsequently was passed unanimously in the Illinois Senate, and was approved as a constitutional amendment by the voters of Illinois. Rep. Morrison is also known as a hardliner on social issues. In 2016, he authored legislation denying young transgender children access to the restroom of their identity. He opposes abortion in all circumstances, including rape and incest, voted No on an equal pay bill, and also voted no on the ERA. Previously, he attempted to Constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in Illinois. Upon being re-elected in 2018, Rep. Morrison authored legislation to punish doctors for providing transition healthcare to transgender children experiencing gender dysphoria. This legislation was condemned by Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Rep. Morrison has an A rating from the NRA.
