Post by momto4 on Mar 19, 2010 11:45:51 GMT -5
Dear Constituent,
Things are progressing in Springfield quite rapidly this spring session, and I wanted to take a moment to update you on a few things:
Budget Negotiations Officially Begin with Introduction of Governor's Budget
Over a year after taking office, Governor Pat Quinn presented his state spending proposal for the upcoming fiscal year which, aside from proposing massive cuts to education and human services, also includes over $4.7 billion in new borrowing.
The Governor's speech reiterated many of the same points that were released weeks ago upon his launch of his state budget website which sought public input on the state's spending plan. The numbers were the same, proposing $900 million from elementary and secondary education, $400 million from state universities, $276 million from human services.
However, in the budget address itself, he attempted to create a focal point within his budget by admonishing his own proposed cuts to education, thereafter calling for a 1% income tax increase to restore this education funding.
In all, Quinn's proposed a spending plan totals just over $32 billion, $24.7 billion in towards general revenue spending and $7.4 billion towards the current and past pension payments. With the state projecting only $27.4 billion in revenue, he also proposed $4.7 billion in short term borrowing to bridge the gap while reiterating his argument that without new revenue, these cuts would be virtually impossible to avoid.
Area legislators, including myself, are tremendously frustrated by not only the direct threat to our area's education funding, but also the lack of reform initiatives within the proposal. This mix of unbalanced priorities and lack of reform is going to be a huge issue moving forward in the budgetary process.
What's especially troubling is the fact that education funding is now specifically being used as leverage in the quest for a tax increase. We've heard this line before, give us new revenue and we promise it will go towards education, but what was notably missing was a commitment to change the way the state spends money.
Over the past year, my Republican colleagues and I have attempted repeatedly at bringing fiscal reform legislation into legislative discussions. These proposals included pay as you go budgeting to keep future spending in check, regulatory business reforms aimed at retaining employers and Medicaid and pension reform measures to reduce our long term debt obligations.
Each of these proposals has repeatedly been blocked by parliamentary procedures at the behest of Democratic leadership, and none of them were mentioned by the Governor today.
Moving forward, my goal throughout the rest of this process will be to protect our area's education funding, and help reprioritize state spending. I am prepared to make tough choices, but I will not compromise until meaningful reform is in place.
Sexting Bill Passes House
After much behind the scene negotiating regarding the specifics of the legislation, the measure seeking to refine state law to properly handle the harmful "sexting" trend among teenagers has finally passed the full House.
The legislation, HB 4583, seeks to change Illinois' juvenile code to prevent these children from registering as a sex offender. The intention of the law is to protect teens who can't fully grasp the long term consequences of their immature actions.
Current law remains narrow leaving law enforcement little room to maneuver when dealing with this specific type of electronic dissemination of sexual materials. Because of this lack of definition, the primary legal remedy has been through defining the materials as child pornography. By creating this statutory definition of "sexting," it would prevent minors from becoming entangled in the state's often harsh sexual offender laws that result from charges of child pornography.
I think this legislation is a great thing to not only deter an inappropriate action by teenagers, but also protect them from potentially devastating ramifications of these actions. This law will help ensure that they are being held accountable for their actions, however, without ruining the young person's life,
The legislation, which was crafted with the guidance of local Naperville Technical Police Unit, is now headed to the Illinois Senate for further consideration.
Reminder: General Assembly Scholarship Applications Available
Once again the state of Illinois allows members of the General Assembly the privilege of awarding scholarships to residents of their legislative district. For those individuals who have not previously received a General Assembly scholarship from any legislative source, we would encourage you to apply.
The scholarships will be awarded for the Fall / Spring semesters of the 2010-2011 school year. This office will be awarding a total of eight one-year scholarships to the University of Illinois and all other state universities in Illinois. Please note the scholarships are good for tuition only, not for housing, medical care, books etc...
Please contact my office for an application and information sheet for the General Assembly Scholarship Program. Completed applications and official high school /college transcripts must be received in our District Office (125 Water St., Naperville, IL 60540) by April 1, 2010. Recipients of legislative scholarships will be notified in writing by June 30, 2010.
Sincerely,
Darlene Senger
State Representative 96th District
Things are progressing in Springfield quite rapidly this spring session, and I wanted to take a moment to update you on a few things:
Budget Negotiations Officially Begin with Introduction of Governor's Budget
Over a year after taking office, Governor Pat Quinn presented his state spending proposal for the upcoming fiscal year which, aside from proposing massive cuts to education and human services, also includes over $4.7 billion in new borrowing.
The Governor's speech reiterated many of the same points that were released weeks ago upon his launch of his state budget website which sought public input on the state's spending plan. The numbers were the same, proposing $900 million from elementary and secondary education, $400 million from state universities, $276 million from human services.
However, in the budget address itself, he attempted to create a focal point within his budget by admonishing his own proposed cuts to education, thereafter calling for a 1% income tax increase to restore this education funding.
In all, Quinn's proposed a spending plan totals just over $32 billion, $24.7 billion in towards general revenue spending and $7.4 billion towards the current and past pension payments. With the state projecting only $27.4 billion in revenue, he also proposed $4.7 billion in short term borrowing to bridge the gap while reiterating his argument that without new revenue, these cuts would be virtually impossible to avoid.
Area legislators, including myself, are tremendously frustrated by not only the direct threat to our area's education funding, but also the lack of reform initiatives within the proposal. This mix of unbalanced priorities and lack of reform is going to be a huge issue moving forward in the budgetary process.
What's especially troubling is the fact that education funding is now specifically being used as leverage in the quest for a tax increase. We've heard this line before, give us new revenue and we promise it will go towards education, but what was notably missing was a commitment to change the way the state spends money.
Over the past year, my Republican colleagues and I have attempted repeatedly at bringing fiscal reform legislation into legislative discussions. These proposals included pay as you go budgeting to keep future spending in check, regulatory business reforms aimed at retaining employers and Medicaid and pension reform measures to reduce our long term debt obligations.
Each of these proposals has repeatedly been blocked by parliamentary procedures at the behest of Democratic leadership, and none of them were mentioned by the Governor today.
Moving forward, my goal throughout the rest of this process will be to protect our area's education funding, and help reprioritize state spending. I am prepared to make tough choices, but I will not compromise until meaningful reform is in place.
Sexting Bill Passes House
After much behind the scene negotiating regarding the specifics of the legislation, the measure seeking to refine state law to properly handle the harmful "sexting" trend among teenagers has finally passed the full House.
The legislation, HB 4583, seeks to change Illinois' juvenile code to prevent these children from registering as a sex offender. The intention of the law is to protect teens who can't fully grasp the long term consequences of their immature actions.
Current law remains narrow leaving law enforcement little room to maneuver when dealing with this specific type of electronic dissemination of sexual materials. Because of this lack of definition, the primary legal remedy has been through defining the materials as child pornography. By creating this statutory definition of "sexting," it would prevent minors from becoming entangled in the state's often harsh sexual offender laws that result from charges of child pornography.
I think this legislation is a great thing to not only deter an inappropriate action by teenagers, but also protect them from potentially devastating ramifications of these actions. This law will help ensure that they are being held accountable for their actions, however, without ruining the young person's life,
The legislation, which was crafted with the guidance of local Naperville Technical Police Unit, is now headed to the Illinois Senate for further consideration.
Reminder: General Assembly Scholarship Applications Available
Once again the state of Illinois allows members of the General Assembly the privilege of awarding scholarships to residents of their legislative district. For those individuals who have not previously received a General Assembly scholarship from any legislative source, we would encourage you to apply.
The scholarships will be awarded for the Fall / Spring semesters of the 2010-2011 school year. This office will be awarding a total of eight one-year scholarships to the University of Illinois and all other state universities in Illinois. Please note the scholarships are good for tuition only, not for housing, medical care, books etc...
Please contact my office for an application and information sheet for the General Assembly Scholarship Program. Completed applications and official high school /college transcripts must be received in our District Office (125 Water St., Naperville, IL 60540) by April 1, 2010. Recipients of legislative scholarships will be notified in writing by June 30, 2010.
Sincerely,
Darlene Senger
State Representative 96th District