• Ethics Reform for State Board Appointees: SB 2306 creates the State Board Appointee Ethics Act. The Act:
  • Prohibits the Governor’s appointees to State boards, commissions, and task forces from holding two or more appointments simultaneously and from making campaign contributions to holders of and candidates for statewide and legislative offices.
  • Establishes an Office of Boards and Commissions within the Governor’s office to recommend nominees for appointment and to publicize appointment vacancies as well as the qualifications and partisan background of nominees.
  • Provides legal help to appointees, through the Attorney General’s Office, to provide legal guidance and materials designed to ensure the highest ethical conduct.

• Oversight on Spending of RTA Tax Revenues: SB 1920, introduced in response to the RTA funding bill passed at the end of last year, provides that the county boards of the collar counties must report annually to the General Assembly and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on the revenues they have received from the RTA tax and how those moneys are being used. This bill has already passed out of committee and will come before the full Senate this week.

• Public Process for RTA Fare Increases: SB 2536 requires the RTA to hold a public hearing before putting in place any fare increase for public transportation. Notice of the hearing must be published in newspapers and sent to the Governor and to each member of the General Assembly whose district overlaps the affected area.

• Incentives to Hire the Disabled: I have reintroduced my disabled hiring bill as SB 2312. I am going to continue to work toward passage of this bill that would encourage both State and private employers to hire qualified disabled workers.

• E-Waste Recycling: As I have mentioned before, I have been working on an electronic waste recycling bill, SB 1583, for the past two years. We are communicating with various interested parties to produce a bill that is fair and workable. The bottom line is, we need to start doing a better job of keeping harmful waste out of our landfills, and I hope this bill will be a step in the right direction.

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Here at home, I am holding three Town Hall Meetings on Saturday, March 1 in conjunction with Rep. Karen May. Below are the times and locations:

I hope you can attend; your input is always appreciated!

TOLLWAY INFORMATION MEETING

I receive many questions and comments about the Illinois Tollway. The Tollway will be holding a public information open house this Thursday, February 21, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. to provide information on the scheduled improvements on the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294). This will be an open house, so you can arrive any time and ask questions. The location is the Tollway’s field office at 1121 Lake Cook Road, Suite O, in Deerfield.

I am interested in your feedback about tollway issues, so please call or e-mail me if you have any thoughts or comments
about this.