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SPECIAL
EDITION - March 30, 2010
RCGA and
Leadership Council Southwestern
Illinois Meet with State
Officials on Illinois Legislative
Day
A delegation of business
and government
affairs executives from the
RCGA and Leadership Council
Southwestern Illinois met
with elected officials during their
annual "Illinois Legislative
Day" on Wednesday, March
24th in
Springfield.
The joint delegation met with
regional
and state legislative and
executive branch leaders during their
trip to Springfield to
discuss the priorities of our 2010
Legislative Agenda, including
state fiscal responsibility, moving
ahead with the Capital Bill,
investment in job creation, the
levee situation and
high-speed rail.
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(from
left) RCGA
Director of Illinois Government Affairs Kevin
Riggs,
RCGA SVP-Public Policy Chip
Casteel,
Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton),
Sherri
Bilderback, Manager of Public Relations
& Legislative
Affairs for Prairie State Generating Company,
Senate
Majority Leader James Clayborne
(D-Belleville),
Senate President John Cullerton
(D-Chicago),
Executive Director of the Leadership Council
Southwestern
Illinois Patrick McKeehan,
Doug
Sitton, President of Sitton Construction
Group and Chair
of the RCGA's Illinois Public Affairs Committee,
Emmy
McClelland, Director of Government
Relations for St.
Louis Children's Hospital, John Twombly,
Manager of Public
Relations
for Children's
Hospital, and Monica
Bristow,
President of the River Bend Growth
Association.
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Senate President John Cullerton, Senate
Majority Leader James
Clayborne, and Senator Bill Haine
met with the group to discuss
the State's dramatic budget
shortfall and
regional
priorities. Senator
Cullerton suggested that a tax increase
might be necessary to make up
for the State's continuing revenue
losses. The legislative
leaders also discussed the
importance of the $31 billion
capital bill to jumpstarting the
State's economy through job
creation and construction
projects.
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Senate President John Cullerton
(center), Senate Majority Leader James
Clayborne
(top
left), and Senator Bill Haine
(bottom)
speak with the delegation about Capital
Bill projects in
Southwestern Illinois.
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The
Capital Bill was also a focus
of discussion with members of the
region's legislative
delegation. Representatives
Dan Beiser, Jay Hoffman, Tom
Holbrook, Eddie Jackson, and Dan
Reitz (pictured
below) discussed a $1 billion bond sale
planned for April that would
allow the State to move forward with
projects during the summer
construction season. The group
also said that they
expected the SIU-Edwardsville Science
Lab, Forensic Lab in
Belleville, and highway projects in East St.
Louis to be "Phase I"
projects of the capital
bill.
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(from left) Sen. David
Luechtefeld
(R-Okawville),
Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton), Doug
Sitton, Emmy
McClelland, Rep. Eddie Jackson (D-East St.
Louis),
Sheri Bilderback,
Rep. Tom Holbrook (D-Belleville), Monica
Bristow, Rep. Dan
Reitz (D-Sparta), Kevin Riggs, John Twombly,
and Chip Casteel.
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The
delegation also spoke with
Senate Minority Leader
Christine Radogno, Assistant
Senate Minority Leader David
Luechtefeld, and Senator Kyle
McCarter (see picture
below). Senator Rodogno
stated that key
actions to help get the State
budget under control are reducing
spending and reforming the
State's pension system. Senator
Luechtefeld expressed
interest in working with members of both
parties to address
improvements in the State's medical
malpractice legislation, and
Senator McCarter focused on the need
to pass a meaningful economic
development bill to help Illinois
businesses grow.
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| (from left) Assistant Senate Minority Leader David
Luechtefeld
(R-Okawville), Doug Sitton, Kevin Riggs, Sen. Kyle
McCarter
(R-Lebanon),
Sheri Bilderback,
Emmy McClelland, Senate Minority
Leader Christine
Radogno (R-Lemond), Patrick McKeehan, John
Twombly and Chip
Casteel |
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Overview of the
RCGA/Leadership Council's
2010 Legislative
Priorities
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Fiscal Responsibility
Encourage
responsible
stewardship of state finances
and a balanced budget without undue
tax burdens on the business
community or unduly reducing the
effectiveness of essential
state programs.
Capital Bill and
Infrastructure
Ensure timely completion of
the New
Mississippi River Bridge.
Encourage funding for key
downstate
projects to be in "Phase I"
of capital bill funding.
Support the region's projects
in the
IL-DOT Highway Improvement
Program. Support increased
public transportation funding
in Madison and St. Clair
counties.
Support investment in the
region's higher
education assets.
Investment and Job
Creation
Support legislation that
leverages
private investment and the
use of tax credits for capital
investment, workforce
expansion/retention, and workforce
training.
Support increases in direct
funding for
brownfield cleanup projects,
such as the River's Edge program.
Encourage venture capital
policies that
attract, assist and retain
quality technology businesses in
Illinois.
Support funding for the Tri
City Regional
Port District to construct
new intermodal hubs. Support
funding endeavors of Mid
America Airport to increase
international trade
capacities.
Health
Care
Ensure adequate and timely
Medicaid
reimbursement to hospitals
serving Illinois residents.
Restore provisions of 2006
medical
malpractice legislation.
Ensure greater availability
of health
care providers, improved
health care access, and greater cost
controls.
Assist small businesses with
lowering
their health care costs and
oppose new health insurance
mandates.
Federal
Support urgent funding for
the Army Corps
of Engineers to repair the
levee-based flood protection systems
in the Metro-East.
Support legislation to provide relief to
residents and businesses
relative to unduly expensive flood
insurance and development
restrictions.
Support appropriations for
planning and
construction of high-speed
rail between Chicago and St. Louis.
Continue to support the
presence and
effectiveness of Scott Air
Force Base as a strategic asset.
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Illinois General Assembly
Passes Pension Reform Plan
during Legislative
Day!
While the RCGA and Leadership Council
Southwestern
Illinois delegation was in
the Capitol on March 24th, the
Illinois General Assembly
debated and passed a sweeping
pension-reform
package. The delegation's presence
was fitting, as the group has
long-advocated fiscal
responsibility and a balanced
budget to help foster economic
growth.
RCGA and
Leadership
Council's position on Fiscal
Responsibility
Encourage responsible
stewardship of state finances
and a balanced state budget
without placing undue tax burdens on
the business community or
unduly reducing the effectiveness of
essential state programs.
Support prudent borrowing for urgent
capital improvements and
economic development needs.
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Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
(pictured left)
lauded the pension reform
legislation, saying,
"It's historic. It's going to
make a big difference today
and tomorrow. If you look at it
from now until 2045, it's
going to save over $100 billion."
The bill, which was
shepherded by House Speaker Michael
Madigan, modifies
provisions relating to state pension
calculations for future
employees, increasing the
retirement age from 65 to 67,
capping benefits, and requiring
workers to contribute more to
the plans.
When our delegation met with
Malcolm Weems,
Deputy Director and Chief of
Staff for the Governor's Office of
Budget Management
(pictured right), he stated that the
pension reform legislation
would help improve the budget
situation both now and in the
long-term. However, he noted
that pension reform alone was
not enough to plug the $13 billion
FY 2011 budget deficit, and
that across-the-board cuts will
likely have to be made.
Weems suggested that the Governor's
proposed 1% income tax
increase, which would generate an
additional $2.8 billion per
year, was one option that Illinois
lawmakers should seriously
consider to maintain State support for
education.
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Delegation Meets with Senate
Transportation
Chair
An
informative and constructive
discussion was held with
Senator Martin
Sandoval (D-Chicago), Chairman of the
powerful Senate Transporation
Committee, regarding the
importance to our region of
High Speed Rail service between St.
Louis and
Chicago.
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| (clockwise from top center)
Senate
Transportation
Committee Chairman Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago)
speaks with
delegation members Emmy McClelland, Sheri Bilderback,
John Twombly,
Monica Bristow, Patrick McKeehan, and Chip Casteel
about the
importance of high-speed rail to the state and
region. |
Senator Sandoval is clearly committed
to
the longer-term concept of
220 mph "bullet train"
service, which would
require new routing and cost
billions of dollars to
construct, as the true
"game changer" for the state
and region.
To that end, he has
filed
legislation to create a
commission to work toward
planning and eventual
construction. Our
delegation expressed
support for the
legislation,
and for having Southwestern
Illinois representation
on the commission
once it is formed.
In the meantime,
regional leaders also
expressed support to the
Senator for the near-term
plans to upgrade existing
passenger and
freight service to 110 mph
along the route,
as part of the recently
approved federal stimulus
funding program announced
in both Illinois and
Missouri.
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Make plans to attend RCGA's
Annual Illinois House-Senate
Softball Game on April
21st!
On Wednesday, April 21st the
RCGA will host its
18th Annual Illinois House-Senate
Softball Game at 5:30 p.m. in
Springfield's Lincoln
Park. Come
watch the legislators face off as the
Senate tries to defend their
bragging rights against their rival
chamber. For more
information please contact Sherri Bailey
at sbailey@stlrcga.org or (314)
444-1134.
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| The Senate team smiles proudly
after
successfully
defending their title against the House last year in
a close 13 - 11
game. More than 200 Capitol observers came
out to Lincoln
Park to watch the game organized by the
RCGA. |
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The
RCGAdvocate is
published periodically to inform RCGA
members and government
officials about important public policy
matters at the state, federal
and local levels. It seeks to
provide timely, in-depth
coverage on regional issues, and, at
times, to call RCGA members
to action. We welcome your comments
and
suggestions.
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