Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District
Springfield Update • June 23, 2011
End of Session & Neighborhood News
The House and Senate returned to Springfield this week to finalize some important state budget and construction issues. (FYI…this was not a Special Session of the General Assembly, so there were no per diem or other expenses incurred). Here is a short list of some of the most important legislation that was approved and sent to Gov. Quinn:
The Capital Construction Plan was reauthorized and reappropriated for FY2012. This will allow continuation of road, bridge, transit, school and other construction programs across Illinois that will employ upwards of 50,000 people and put $18 billion into the economy. You can see the entire capital plan SB2414 here (before hitting download…this is a 1600 page document): http://ilga.gov/legislation/97/SB/PDF/09700SB2414enr.pdf
We also approved a temporary borrowing from state funds in order to capture a final enhanced Medicaid match payment from the federal government that will bring the state an extra $90-100 million. The bill number is SB1633 and can be viewed here: http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB1633enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=57584&DocNum=1633&GAID=11&Session=
Finally, the General Assembly once again voted to cut our own pay and expenses for FY12. All legislators will have 12 furlough days, a 20% cut in our session expenses and we also voted to cancel our cost-of-living increases. The bill number is SB266 and you can see it here: http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB0266enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=55049&DocNum=266&GAID=11&Session=
Thanks Chicago Police Department!
Special thanks to Commander Kathy Boehmer and the Chicago Police department for another successful operation to help rid Uptown of violence, gangs and drugs. Check out the story in today’s Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-police-uptown-girl-investigation-nets-18-arrests-20110622,0,4160172.story
Town Hall Meetings on TIF Reform and Job Creation
Stay tuned for announcements of the time and place of two upcoming Town Hall Meetings. The first meeting will be to discuss ideas for reforms of TIF law, and second will be to present information to the community about tax credits and incentives available to local businesses to create new jobs and hiring in the neighborhood.
Finally, be sure to cheer for us and wave at this Sunday’s Pride Parade! I will be on float #13 with Ald. Ameya Pawar, Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy. See you there!