In this issue:
- Capital budget proposal includes funds for rehabilitating Dwight Correctional Center site
- Sign the petition to protect homeschool freedom
- Nominate your local fire department for grain bin rescue equipment
- On the road in Iroquois County
Capital budget proposal includes funds for rehabilitating Dwight Correctional Center site
It has been more than a decade since the Dwight Correctional Center in Livingston County was shut down by the state. Since then the 160 acres of buildings and grounds have fallen into disrepair, but now the state is looking to make improvements to the site which would make it more attractive to a private developer.
The Governor’s budget proposal included a $300 million investment in cleanup of old, unused state grounds. The hope is to attract a private developer to create a project that will bring jobs and economic activity to the area. Dwight is one of five sites around the state which are part of the proposal. Others are in Jacksonville, Lincoln, Rockford and Kankakee. Last year the state spent $1.7 million on maintaining surplus properties.
Sign the petition to protect homeschool freedom
Legislation has been introduced in the House which threatens the ability of homeschool families to teach their children according to their values. House Bill 2827 is currently pending in the House Education Policy committee. If it comes up for a vote on the House floor, I will be voting No.
If you believe that parents know what is best for their children, and if you stand against these intrusive mandates, you can join in the effort to stop this legislation by signing my petition to protect homeschool freedom. You can also make your voice heard to the entire House of Representatives by completing a witness slip on the legislation and making your position part of the official record of the bill.
It was great to see so many homeschool families getting involved in the process and making their way to Springfield a few days ago to rally against the bill. More than 25,000 Illinoisans have already filed a slip in opposition to the bill.
Nominate your local fire department for grain bin rescue equipment
Rural firefighters are often the first and only line of defense when someone becomes helplessly trapped in a grain bin. Unfortunately, many fire departments lack the specialized rescue techniques and equipment necessary for a successful grain bin rescue.
If you would like to nominate your local fire department for a grain rescue tube valued between $3,000 and $5,000 and six hours of hands-on rescue to help save lives you can do so here by April 30.
State announces plans to borrow $725 million
The state of Illinois will sell $725 million in Build Illinois bonds in the coming weeks in order to fund capital projects. Bond sales are a common way in which governments fund building projects.
The state’s Build Illinois bonds are financed by sales and use tax revenues of the state, meaning that anytime someone buys taxable goods or services in Illinois the sales tax on their payment can be used to repay the bond debt. Since this is considered a secure funding stream, lenders have been willing to loan money to the state on this basis.
Among the projects on the list for funding are the state’s “quantum campus” in Chicago and an initiative to clean up and offload surplus state property that has fallen into disrepair (such as the Dwight project mentioned above). School construction projects, including buildings at the state’s colleges and universities, are also possible beneficiaries of the bond sale.
On the road in Iroquois County
On Monday I was on the road visiting with different businesses in the 106th District. One of the businesses I toured was Lyon LLC in Watseka.
Lyon LLC has been a leading manufacturer of metal products since 1901. Lyon Metal Lockers can be found in schools, locker rooms, and workplaces across the country. Lyon LLC offers a large selection of stocked lockers. They are the number one metal locker supplier in the USA!
It was a great visit and I’m looking forward to watching their business flourish!
We stopped at Iroquois Memorial Hospital on Monday afternoon and met with CEO Michael Tilstra, several employees and the hospital board.
One of the most admirable parts of the discussion as we went around the table was that just about everybody in the room was either born at IMH or had their children there.
IMH wants to take care of their community just as they’ve done since they opened their doors in 1916. They have a 24/7 Emergency Department and Prompt care. They offer several outpatient and clinical services as well. They also have a Pharmacy that is open seven days a week. Three times a year they offer a $65 Lab Fair where you can have a blood panel completed with a health screening.
Thank you to the IMH team for the meaningful conversation and tour!
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $2,278,918,688. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.5 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
Illinois State Police to host its first ever all-women law enforcement recruitment event
Study: Illinois has the highest overall tax rates in the country
Illinois facing energy shortfalls, price spikes this summer