Below is the government affairs update from Roberta Parks, President of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, dated 6/1/12.

Overtime

After Speaker Madigan’s announcement yesterday that he would not be voting in favor of the Pension reform, Minority Leader Tom Cross did not call the legislation to the floor for a vote. With the Pension Reform unfinished, the legislature will be called back to Springfield for a special session this summer. We will pay close attention to this issue and be sure to let you know when action takes place. The major sticking point is clearly how the employer costs for teachers and university employees are handled. Madigan wants to push it all to the schools/universities at one time and Cross and the Republicans won’t support the “cram down” approach.

Quick Session Summary

Two of the three financial problems were tackled. Earlier in the session Medicaid reform was enacted a plan that will bolster the struggling system with $2.7 billion. This is not without pain. Providers are taking a 3% hit and a new tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products was enacted.

The General Assembly also passed a budget last night that had a couple of notable points. Education is planned to be fully funded by virtue of a new tax that customers of satellite television will have to pay. This 5% tax, which is the same for what cable purchasers pay, is expected to raise $75 million. There may be some other nuances about this funding that we are not sure on yet and will look into it further. Another notable item in the budget is funding for state facilities, including the adult transition center in Peoria. However, just be because the money is allotted doesn’t mean that the governor will keep the facility open, he has the choice.

We also have some news about the passage of a new enterprise zone bill. SB 3616 – House Amendment 1 will provide a temporary extension of all established enterprise zones until July 1st, 2016 and any new zone will have the possibility of being up to 25 years long. Though this doesn’t extend the current zones for as long as we would have wanted, it does provide some breathing room.

We will have a more comprehensive overview for you next week, once more of the dust settles and there has been some time to debrief further.

Big News for Peoria

Yesterday Senator Koehler proposed Senate Amendment 1 to SB 184 that would pave the way for the possibility of Peoria getting a big new employer. Orascom Construction Industries is looking to build a new fertilizer plant in either Illinois or Iowa. The amendment that Koehler proposed would make the incentive package that Illinois can offer to Orascom to be the equivalent of Iowa's. This new $1.6 billion plant would be a boost for the Peoria Area economy, with 165-200 permanent jobs once the plant is constructed and an estimated 1000 jobs while the plant is under construction. It will also help Illinois farmers by reducing transportation costs for fertilizer. The SB 184 passed through the Senate and so it will be incumbent on the House to take up this opportunity to strengthen Peoria's economic community.

If you would like to receive these updates by email, please email Roberta at rparks@chamber.h-p.org and tell her that you would like to be placed on the government affairs email list. For past government affairs updates, click here.