Below is the government affairs update from Roberta Parks, President of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, dated 8/8/12.

More On Pensions…

Speaker Madigan has announced that he will call the pension reform bill passed by the Senate. This bill only deals with reforming State Employee and the General Assembly Retirement Systems, so it is not the overarching reform that the state desperately needs. Senate President Cullerton has been urging the House to take action on this bill since the end of the legislative session back in May. He thinks that even passing limited reform will show credit-rating agencies that the state can sort this mess out and save off a credit downgrade. Leader Cross is still pushing for a comprehensive plan, though that looks very unlikely since the cost shift problem has not yet been resolved. The big question is whether or not the Senate passed bill will be able to garner the support it needs to reach the 71 votes needed because it has an effective immediate date. If it doesn’t, they can always tack the contents of the bill onto a bill that has a later effective date and try to get the 60 votes needed to pass.

Source: State Journal-Register

Fiscal Cliff

The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce has signed onto a letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that will be sent to Congress and the President urging them to take action to avert the nation from the upcoming fiscal cliff and to avoid driving the economy back into a recession. This letter calls for immediate action to 1) extend all of the 2001 and 2003 tax rates (including current marginal rates, dividend and capital gains rates, and estate tax relief) for all taxpayers, 2) extend vital expired and expiring business tax provisions, 3) provide alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief, and 4) find spending cuts to replace a sequestration never intended to go into effect. In addition to the suggestions for immediate action the letter asks that the President and Congress firmly commit to tackling comprehensive tax reform in the next Congress and agree to develop a long term plan to address America’s excessive spending, particularly entitlement spending.

So Who Is Running?

The Peoria Journal Star reported yesterday that there are already challengers in the 2nd and 5th Peoria City Council Districts in next Aprils City Council election. I have heard of at least one additional challenger. If you know of someone who is running or considering running, I’d love to hear about it --- whether for the City Council or any other local position, just give me a call.

Enterprise Zone Bill Signed

Governor Quinn has signed SB 3616 which extends the enterprise zones for an additional 25 years. This is good for the business climate of the State and the best part… and immediate effective date. To read the governor’s press release, click here.

IDOT High Speed Rail

There will be several meetings across the state to receive public views on the proposed high speed rail line that will be constructed between Joliet and Alton. Click here for the dates, times, and locations of these meetings.

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.