The following email was received this morning from Senator Dave Syverson:
Legislation Benefiting Reclaiming First Advances
The Reclaiming First Legislation I am co-sponsoring with fellow Senator Steve Stadelman passed the first hurdle last week passing unanimously out of the Senate Executive Committee.
The legislation allows Rockford, Winnebago County, and other municipalities in the county to finance expansion of athletic facilities. Those facilities host sports tournaments which pump millions of dollars into the local economy.
Senator Syverson and Senator Steve Stadelman testify in favor of legislation to benefit Rockford before a Senate committee.
The Reclaiming First project in Winnebago County is a victory for the entire region. Investment in our sports facilities bring thousands of people into the community every year which means more jobs and more tax revenue to help build the economy from the ground up.The project would help fund the Ingersoll project a multi-sport indoor facility. It would also modernize the Sportscore Two facility by adding more artificial and lighted multi-purpose fields, In addition, will retrofit the current Indoor Sports Center to include a second indoor soccer field.
Once the improvements are completed, Reclaim First is expected to result in between $8-16 million in the region. The project will support 210 construction jobs and up to 250 annual new year-round full-time jobs.
The bill now moves to the Senate floor for consideration.
Pension Reform Advances in both Houses –
However Senate and House plans greatly differThe Illinois Senate approved a very narrow pension reform measure last week. Senate Bill 1 would only impact active teachers outside the City of Chicago. Retired teachers, state employees, university employees, Chicago teachers, General Assembly members and judges were not included in the bill. The House passed HB 1165, a more comprehensive bill that included curbing automatic cost-of-living increases to retirees, and is estimated to save as much as $100 billion in taxpayer dollars over 30 years.
A similar measure to this failed in the Senate earlier in the week. Unfortunately, the Democratic Leaders and Governor are not on the same page yet on a reform package. So, it may still be a while before we see a solid piece of pension reform that will make the system viable and sustainable.
Meanwhile, without comprehensive reform, pension costs squeeze funding for schools, universities, and state services.
The people of this state know reforms must be made to our pension systems, and they don’t want a “Band-Aid” approach to a problem. We need comprehensive pension reform that is fair to retirees, active employees, and taxpayers. The solution must be a long term one, one that gives certainty to all affected by the program including taxpayers.
To read more on legislative action in the Senate last week, click here.
Sincerely,
Senator Dave Syverson
Paid for by Syverson for Senate. A copy of our report is (or will be) available at the State Board of Elections, Springfield. Political contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes. Not paid for at taxpayer expense.
Senator Dave Syverson / P.O. Box 1600 / Rockford, Illinois | Privacy Policy.
Senator Dave Syverson | P.O. Box 1600 | Rockford | IL | 61110-0100