Wednesday, March 02, 2011
 
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New lawmakers not shy about ideas, topics

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[March 02, 2011]  SPRINGFIELD -- Seventeen new Illinois lawmakers have been busy since taking office in January, proposing 160 pieces of legislation in both chambers of the General Assembly.

Just what have these freshman legislators been up to? Now that the bill introduction deadline for each legislative chamber has passed, Illinois Statehouse News continues a look at those activities.

Government fiscal responsibility

Restraining government spending seems to be top on the agendas of new lawmakers, who aim to demonstrate fiscal responsibility by cutting their own pay first.

Three measures introduced by freshman lawmakers in both the House and Senate deal with cutting the pay of state legislators and administration employees by 10 percent.

"This is just a show of good faith to the people in the community that we, too, are doing something in terms of trying to live within our means and cut back," said state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris.

Another proposal -- backed by state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, in the House and Rezin in the Senate -- eliminates the state's fleet of airplanes and helicopters, leaving only one of each.

"Obviously it's not going to cover much of the gap," said Sosnowski, who estimates the measure will reduce spending about $20 million. "When you extrapolate that amount over decades, the cost to the taxpayers is large."

Although these initiatives might put only a small dent in the state's $11.5 billion budget deficit cited by Gov. Pat Quinn's administration, Rezin said every little bit counts.

"We cannot continue to increase the spending at this rate. You'll see many measures, hopefully, that will roll back up spending," Rezin said.

State pension system

Another popular issue among the new lawmakers is reforming the state's pension system, which has recently caught the eye of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Illinois lawmakers have said that the system is funded by only 50 percent, with liabilities around $136 billion.

State Rep. David Harris, R-Mount Prospect, is sponsoring a couple of bills that amend the Illinois Pension Code.

"Our state indeed does have a pension problem, in terms of our pension liabilities," said Harris, who previously served in the House chamber for 10 years about two decades ago. "And I don't think our financial problems will be resolved until we resolve the pension issue."

Job creation

Illinois' unemployment rate stood at 9.2 percent in December, the most recent month for which data is available, and lawmakers are working on bills that would create jobs.

State Rep. Thomas Morrison, R-Palatine, introduced a bill that creates a financial incentive for employers to hire additional workers. His measure would give businesses a $3,750 tax credit for every employee hired and retained for two years.

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Scholarships

General Assembly scholarships have long been seen as a way for legislators to give back to their community. Questions, however, have been raised about the program's legitimacy, as many lawmakers choose to nominate children of families, friends or campaign contributors to receive the tuition waivers.

While the House is considering legislation to eliminate General Assembly scholarships, Harris, the Republican from Mount Prospect, hopes to add a few limitations.

House Bill 3078 reduces the number of students -- from two to one -- legislators can nominate to receive General Assembly scholarships.

The Illinois School Code currently allows lawmakers to nominate two people from their district to receive four-year scholarships. Additionally, they can also choose to nominate two people for two-year scholarships or four people for one-year scholarships.

"The objective is to award the scholarships when it's not a financial burden on the universities, when we are paying our bills," Harris said.

Fellow freshman lawmaker state Sen. Christine Johnson, R-Sycamore, said the legislature should get rid of the program altogether.

"I think there's a place for them -- when you have the money -- but, unfortunately, right now we don't have the money," Johnson said.

Click here to read a previous Illinois Statehouse News article on the work being done by freshman lawmakers.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By MARY J. CRISTOBAL and MELISSA LEU]

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