Gov.
Blagojevich lays out ambitious agenda in 2006 State of the State
address
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Governor
proposes key initiatives to create 230,000 jobs, help parents pay
for college tuition for their children, help uninsured veterans
obtain health insurance, and help meth addicts break the cycle of
crime and addiction; renews call for state assault weapons ban
[JAN. 19, 2006]
SPRINGFIELD -- On Wednesday, Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich delivered his 2006 State of the State address, outlining
the significant progress made over the last three years to help
working families. The governor proposed several major new
initiatives to create even more jobs, improve education, increase
access to health care and continue to lower the crime rate.
"A little more than three years
ago, the people of Illinois decided to bring us together to chart a
new course," the governor said. "To make Illinois once again the
land of opportunity. To shake up a system here in Springfield that
accepted mediocrity and failure. To make state government begin
again to work for the people, rather than the other way around.
Despite facing one of the most challenging periods in our state's
history, today, Illinois is now leading the nation in taking steps
that help real people, people who work, middle-class families, build
better lives. We are making real progress -- but there is so much
more to do.
"I believe in the basic Democratic principle that
government can be -- and must be -- a force for good," the governor
continued. "An active government that helps people and rights wrongs
is what our founding fathers envisioned; it's what Abraham Lincoln
believed in; it's what makes serving in government worthwhile.
"Families across Illinois are struggling enough to make ends
meet. It's not their job to bail us out. It's our job to help them. That has been our governing principle: Do everything you can to help
families get ahead and build better lives.
"That means an Illinois
where every family -- and especially every child -- has access to
good, affordable health care; an Illinois where every child can get
a good education; and an Illinois where those same children can then
afford to go to college so they can develop their skills and get a
good job. It would mean an Illinois where good jobs remain good jobs
-- jobs that stay in this state and stay in this country. An
Illinois that's safe from street crime, safe from gang crime, safe
from terrorism. And, an Illinois that treats everyone equally and
fairly, no matter where you come from or what you look like.
"That's our vision for this state. It's a vision we've worked
hard to turn into reality over the past three years. It hasn't come
without a struggle. It hasn't always been easy. Nothing in life
worth having ever is. Today, state government now works more for the
people out there and less for the special interests around here. We
have turned things around, changed the priorities of state
government, and the results are clear."
In his State of the State address, the governor highlighted what
Illinois has accomplished in the last three years, including how
Illinois:
Is the only state that guarantees
access to affordable, comprehensive health care for all
children.
Leads the nation in making health
care accessible for working men and women.
Has the most generous response of
any state to help seniors fill in the holes in the federal
prescription drug plan.
Invested more money in schools in
the last three years than any other Midwestern state.
Raised graduation standards to
better prepare students for college.
Dramatically expanded access to
preschool, putting Illinois among the top three in the nation.
Led 44 other states in job
creation last year.
The governor's agenda for Illinois is in stark contrast to the
federal agenda in Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, the
federal government has cut prescription drug benefits for seniors,
ignored the fact that 43 million Americans live without health
insurance, cut overtime pay, outsourced jobs, refused to raise the
minimum wage, refused to fund stem cell research, let the assault
weapons ban expire and failed to fund "No Child Left Behind," their
own law that was supposed to reform education.
During his address, the governor outlined new initiatives to move
Illinois forward, specifically in the areas of economic opportunity,
education, health care and public safety.
Creating jobs
Where the federal government has stalled or even hurt economic
opportunities for middle-class families, Illinois has filled the
void. Illinois passed laws to increase the minimum wage and
guarantee women equal pay for equal work, refused to go along with
federal law stripping overtime pay from workers, and lured companies
to Illinois with support and incentives. In comparison, Washington,
D.C., trade policies have resulted in nearly 1 million American jobs
being sent overseas.
Capital construction program
On Wednesday, Blagojevich proposed a new capital construction
plan to create 230,000 good-paying jobs around the state and build
critical roads, schools and improve mass transit.
The governor's capital plan would build on the state's success
last year, when Illinois created more jobs than 44 other states.
Illinois also recorded its lowest unemployment rate since June of
2001. Additionally, hotel receipts, corporate tax receipts, foreign
direct investments and exports are up. The Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum is even outdrawing the Clinton
Presidential Library and Museum. And, in the last three years, while
taking multiple steps to make Illinois more attractive to business
-- including reforming the workers' compensation system, reducing
medical malpractice costs, improving infrastructure such as the
Illinois Tollway, expanding O'Hare and developing a plan for Peotone
-- Illinois completed 320 different deals, spurring $4.5 billion in
private investment.
The governor's capital plan will:
Build roads -- The program the governor is proposing will
build or rebuild 100 miles of streets and highways statewide and
create 140,000 jobs. It will match the projects in the federal
road bill and includes:
Expanding Route 51 in Decatur.
Widening Interstate 55 from Weber Road to Illinois 126 in
Joliet.
Widening Illinois Route 13 from Marion to Carterville.
Building Technology Boulevard in Peoria.
Improving Route 2 in Rockford.
Improving Route 5 in Moline.
Starting work on the Mississippi River bridge.
Making Route 336 a gateway from Chicago all the way to
Kansas City.
Improve mass transit -- The mass transit component of the
capital construction plan will create 85,000 jobs. It will allow
Chicago to connect between CTA and Metra lines, the Chicago
suburbs to upgrade their train stations, and communities
including Danville, Mattoon, Rockford and Champaign will be able
to get new buses.
Build schools -- This component of the construction plan
will create 7,000 more jobs. Many Illinois schools are old,
overcrowded and in disrepair. Passing a capital bill will create
more classroom space, reduce class sizes and give students more
modernized facilities to learn in.
"I'm asking you to join me in supporting a major public works
initiative," the governor said. "There are roads and bridges and
highways across Illinois that need to be built and need to be fixed.
We need to build new schools and help commuters who rely on mass
transit. These are things that need to be done. So we should do
them.
"And if we do them, we will give people all around Illinois the
opportunity to go to work. Two hundred thirty thousand jobs all
across Illinois. Jobs in every part of Illinois. Jobs in your
district. Not a handful of jobs, a lot of jobs. And when I say jobs,
these are good jobs. These are laborers laying asphalt for the
expansion of Route 2. These are ironworkers fabricating the support
beams for the new Mississippi River bridge.
"And do you know what these jobs pay? They can pay anywhere from
$50,000 all the way to $120,000 a year. These are good-paying jobs.
"And, if we're prepared to put partisan politics aside and work
together in a constructive way, we can create these jobs all across
Illinois."
Improving education
Four years ago, the federal government instituted the No Child
Left Behind Act, increasing standards and accountability in the
nation's schools. But, the program is largely unfunded, causing
significant hardship for states, including Illinois. In spite of new
bureaucracy and unfunded mandates from Washington, D.C., and an
inherited $5 billion budget deficit, in the last three years, led by
Blagojevich, Illinois has:
Increased education funding by $2.3 billion -- more money than
any other state in the Midwest and more than all but six other
states in the nation.
Increased funding by 50 percent for access to preschool, giving
more than 25,000 more children the ability to start school early.
Illinois is now ranked among the top three states in the country for
access to preschool.
Strengthened Illinois high school graduation standards. For the
first time in over two decades, Illinois high school students are
required to take more math, science, reading and writing to graduate
-- better preparing them for college.
College tuition relief
To make it easier for parents to afford to send their children to
college, Blagojevich on Wednesday proposed a $1,000 tax credit for
every student who attends a college in Illinois -- private or
public. The governor's proposal requires students to maintain a B
average to receive and keep the tax credit. It would also apply to
the first two years of college, because when students make it
through the first two years, odds are high that they'll graduate.
More expensive than ever, it costs on average more than $7,000 a
year in tuition and fees to attend a public university in Illinois
and more than $18,000 for a private institution. Three years ago,
the governor signed the "Truth-in-Tuition" law, which locks in the
cost of tuition when students are freshmen so they pay the same
tuition cost as seniors. The governor also expanded the MAP program
over the last three years to help more than 20,000 more students and
their parents afford college. But while Illinois helps families
afford college, the most recent federal deficit reduction package
cuts financial aid by $13 billion.
"Yes, this is a generous tax credit," Blagojevich said. "But
that's what makes it meaningful. For many families, $1,000 is a
mortgage payment. It's three or four or five car payments. It's the
electric bill for an entire year. For many families, it's a tax
credit that can help make the dream of college affordable and the
dream of college a reality. It's a tax credit that helps parents who
work hard, who love their children and who want it better for their
kids than they've had it for themselves."
Today, Illinois leads the nation in health care -- perhaps the
greatest difference between priorities in Illinois and Washington,
D.C. There are 45 million people in the U.S. without health
insurance, eight million of whom are children, and the federal
government just cut funding for Medicaid and other similar programs
by $40 billion. In contrast, led by Blagojevich, Illinois has:
Expanded FamilyCare to make sure that 170,000 working men and
women have access to health care.
Expanded KidCare to make sure that 180,000 more children have
access to health care.
Created the All Kids program, making Illinois the only state in
the nation that guarantees every child access to affordable,
comprehensive health care.
Created the Illinois Cares program so that no senior would lose
coverage after the federal government created a Medicare
prescription drug benefit program that actually provides Illinois
seniors with less coverage than before.
Became the first state in the Midwest to publicly fund stem cell
research.
Additionally, the administration in Washington cut funding for
the groundbreaking Breast Cancer Research Program and proposed
eliminating the block grants that states use to help women detect
breast cancer and cervical cancer. It also does not support women's
reproductive rights and freedoms. But, Illinois protects these
rights. The governor spearheaded the effort to require health
insurance companies that cover prescription drugs to also cover
contraceptive services and prescriptions.
"We became the first state in the nation to prohibit pharmacists
from turning away women seeking to fill prescriptions for birth
control from their doctors," Blagojevich said. "No delays, no
lectures, no hassles. Just fill the prescription. Now, I understand
that several bills have been introduced that would overturn my
executive order to protect women's reproductive freedoms. Let me
make something else very clear -- if any of those bills reach my
desk, they are dead on arrival."
Veterans health care
Because veterans serve their country in the military, fight our
wars, put their lives on the line -- and come home and may not be
able to afford a doctor, Blagojevich proposed a new program
providing veterans access to affordable and comprehensive health
care.
There are 1.7 million veterans in America who do not have health
care. While the federal government hasn't come up with a solution to
help them, Blagojevich proposed a new program Wednesday called
Veterans Care. The ultimate goal of the program is making sure every
veteran has health care. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Blagojevich began
developing Veterans Care when the All Kids program was being
developed. The first phase of the veterans program would cover
low-income veterans who do not have health insurance and who don't
live within a reasonable driving distance of a VA hospital.
Mercury emissions
To drastically reduce mercury emissions that can cause serious
health problems, Blagojevich proposed new state standards to cut the
toxic emissions from power plants by 90 percent by June 30, 2009.
Mercury can cause serious health problems to the human nervous
system; pregnant women, women of childbearing age and children
younger than 15 years of age are especially at risk. Developing
fetuses can be exposed to mercury when a mother eats tainted fish
and can suffer mental retardation, cerebral palsy, lower IQs, slow
motor functions, deafness, blindness and other health problems.
Recent studies indicate that as many as 10 percent of babies born
each year in the United States are exposed to excessive mercury
levels in the womb.
The governor's proposal for new state standards will reduce toxic
mercury emissions faster and more thoroughly than new federal
restrictions adopted last spring and will achieve the largest
overall amount of mercury reduction of any state in the country. The
rule will be submitted to the Illinois Pollution Control Board in
February.
Fuel efficiency
As another way to protect the environment and also provide
consumers some relief from high gas prices, Blagojevich proposed
giving consumers a $500 tax rebate on the purchase of fuel-efficient
cars. Those who buy cars that run on E-85 or biodiesel fuel and get
more than 35 miles per gallon on highways or 25 miles per hour in
cities will be eligible for the credit.
Public safety
Over the last two years, crime in Illinois dropped by nearly 7
percent. Illinois recorded fewer robberies, burglaries, stolen cars,
arsons and murders than in the rest of the past decade. Highway
accidents and fatalities hit a 60-year low, and Illinois is ranked
among the best in the nation in homeland security and preparedness.
Assault weapons
During his State of the State address, the governor renewed his
call to lawmakers to pass a ban on assault weapons and .50-caliber
rifles. The federal government allowed the assault weapons ban to
expire more than a year ago, putting people in Illinois at risk.
Last year, the governor and some lawmakers nearly passed a state
assault weapons ban.
Assault weapons are extremely dangerous. They fire bullets
rapidly and can fire at multiple targets. In addition, the
military-style features make these guns even more dangerous. They
have a high level of firepower, can penetrate body armor and
therefore pose a significant threat to police as well as innocent
bystanders. The .50-caliber rifle is among the most destructive
weapons available to the public. It's capable of hitting a target
accurately from up to 2,000 yards, killing someone from a mile away,
or even bringing down an airplane. The ammunition .50 calibers use
is able to blow through a half-inch-thick piece of steel -- and
easily pierce armor that police officers wear.
Fight against methamphetamine
Because methamphetamine can be as destructive to families and
communities as assault weapons, Blagojevich proposed to create a
specialized prison and treatment facility for meth addicts at the
667-bed Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center.
More than 12 million Americans have tried meth and 1.5 million
are regular users. In Illinois, the number of meth labs dismantled
grew from 24 in 1997 to 961 in 2004. In the last three years,
Illinois has provided law enforcers with more tools to fight meth
and made it easier for prosecutors to go after meth makers and
distributors. Illinois laws regarding meth are among the toughest in
the nation.
The new meth facility would be modeled after the Sheridan
National Model Drug Prison and Reentry program. Additionally, the
governor proposed to expand the Sheridan Correctional Center the
following year, in fiscal 2008, from 950 offenders to its full
capacity of 1,300, with 200 spaces specifically for another meth
unit.
As announced during his first State of the State address as
governor, Blagojevich launched the Sheridan project in January 2004
with the goal of becoming a national model for reducing recidivism
among drug-involved offenders and becoming the largest fully
dedicated state drug prison and re-entry program in the nation, with
a population of 1,300. The program offers intensive drug treatment
to all inmates at the facility and an extensive case management and
job preparedness program. The job preparedness program is the first
of its kind in Illinois, offering a sectoral-based job training
program with connections to actual employers, the development of a
new bridge education program for lower-skilled inmates, a job
preparedness training program for all inmates and community-based
job placement services to all parolees. Since opening, the
recidivism rate among Sheridan inmates is down by 50 percent.
A new meth facility would take the same steps to help meth
addicts. They would receive treatment, counseling and job training
-- giving them a better chance to leave prison without a drug
addiction that can destroy lives, families and communities.
* * *
To conclude his annual State of the State message, the governor
recounted the obstacles Illinois faced, both inherited and created
by the federal government, that could have kept the state from
achieving its goals of creating jobs, improving the quality of
education, expanding access to health care and reducing crime on
Illinois streets. And, although challenges remain, the governor
urged lawmakers to stand with him and create more opportunities for
working families.
"Some in Washington, and many of the skeptics here in Illinois,
may disagree with our priorities," the governor said. "But ask them
this: What child's education would they cut? What working family
would they raise taxes on? What child do they say should go without
health care? What senior citizen do they believe should be left out
in the cold?
"Leadership is about real choices. It's about real-life decisions
that affect people's lives. This isn't a game -- it's real life. And
I am proud of the causes we've taken on, of the progress we've made
and the people we've helped. Help them get access to health care.
Help them afford their medicine. Help them go to preschool. Help
them earn a decent wage. Help them collect more child support. Help
them go to college. Help them get ahead.
"During the time we've been gathered here today, the people of
our state have been living their lives. They've been changing
shifts. They've been picking their kids up from kindergarten.
They've been taking their mothers or fathers to the doctor. Working.
Saving. Caring for their families. That's what they do, every day.
They're counting on us.
"We can never allow ourselves to go back. And we can never just
settle for how far we've come. Yes, we inherited a mess. And yes,
we've made a lot of progress. But there's more to do. So here's the
challenge. Let's get to work."
