State Lawmakers Talk Job Creation, State Budget and Casino Gaming with Residents

Local residents had a chance to get up-close and personal with 36th District State Rep. Kelly Burke and State Sen. Edward Maloney (D-18th District) at the Evergreen Park Senior Center on Thursday afternoon.

Hosted by the Senior Citizens' Council of Evergreen Park, the luncheon was an effort to put elected officials directly in touch with their constituents in the Village of Evergreen Park.

“It’s important that we have a chance to meet one-on-one with them so we are able to talk to them and have our voices heard," said Director of Citizens Services Jolene Churak.  

“Residents have a lot of questions. So this is their chance to get some direct answers about issues they are concerned about,” said Ann Dykstra, President of the Senior Citizens' Counsel.

Burk and Maloney answered as many questions as they could Thursday to continue to foster a connection with residents. “For State Senator Maloney and I, we feel it’s very important that we stay connected with the people in Evergreen Park. If we don’t take the time out to come to events and listen to the people then we won’t know what to support and what not to support.”

Taking on a tag-team format, Maloney and Burke informed residents about higher education, pension reform, job creation, efforts to balance the Illinois budget and the introduction of gaming to the state.

 Higher Education

One of the first issues Maloney tackled was the lack of college preparation high school kids are receiving.

“We are in a crisis in terms of kids being prepared to go to college. Many times they are not prepared to handle the course load and because of it they do not finish," said Maloney. "So we have passed the college and career readiness act, which is a program that will work with students in their senior year of high school to help get them up to speed. So when they do go off to college, they will be better prepared to handle the work, which will mean increased retention and graduation rates.”

Maloney, who is a former educator and chair of the senate Higher Education committee, felt that helping students with college preparation will not only mean that they lead a more productive life but will create a better society as a whole.

“It is a proven fact that college graduates go on to make more money, pay more taxes, tend to be bigger consumers and are overall more involved in their communities,” stated Maloney. “So the more college graduates we have the better off we will all be in the future.”

Budgeting for Results

Due to Illinois’ budget crisis, Maloney disclosed that this past session “was a particularly contentious and frustrating one.” However, now that the state is currently working on a results-based budgeting process, Burke expressed hope that this new way of budgeting will “help put the state on a path to restoring its financial situation.”

While Burke said that it will take the state a long time to get on top ot its $15 billion budget deficit, she did feel that “the state is closer to developing a more accountable budget.”

Pension Reform

In terms of pension reform, Burke said that the situation still remained unresolved, however, she did stress that it was an issue that would be dealt with sooner than later.

“Pensions are a big cost to the state, and we just can’t afford the system we currently have. However, the bill that was put forth this session didn’t get any traction. So we’re back to the drawing board. However, we hope to bring everyone to the table and listen to what everyone has to say in order to come up with a solution that will preserve the integrity of the system but doesn’t punish anyone.”

Job Creation

The biggest focus of this past House session has been creating more jobs in Illinois. One way the state planned to do that was by creating ways to make Illinois a more desirable location for companies to do business, according to Burke.

“One of the biggest complaints we heard from businesses is that Illinois’ worker compensation costs were astronomical and way out of line with other states,” said Burke. “So the House passed a pretty ground-breaking worker's compensation reform bill which will reduce the cost to employers by an estimated 500-700 million dollars annually. That’s money employers can use to hire people, to expand their businesses and make Illinois a better place to do business.”

Casino Gaming

One industry the house felt would help create more jobs and generate additional revenue for the state would be a downtown Chicago casino, along with the addition of slots  in airports and racing tracks.

“I am in support of the casino gaming bill because it will help create additional revenue for the state," said Burke. "If you ever go to Hammond or Gary casinos and look at the license plates in the parking lots, 70 percent of them are from Illinois. So people are taking their business to Indiana and they are getting all that gaming revenue. Instead, we would like to see all those folks come to Illinois and support our economy," explained Burke. However, she said, she doesn't think the casino gaming bill is a finished product.

Toward the end of the spring session, legislatures placed the spotlight on casino gaming. This bill would provide the city of Chicago with slots at Midway and O'Hare International Airports, racing tracks, and expand five additional casino licenses, one for the south suburbs.

Sharing Your Story

After listening to attendees inform him about personal struggles with provider bed taxes and state instuation allotments, Maloney encouraged attendees to let their position be known to their state lawmakers.

“When your advocating for a particular position, you don’t need to have a lot of numbers and statistics available. You just tell your story to your local state senator or representative," encouraged Maloney. "When someone tells me how something will impact them personally it leaves a bigger impression on me than numbers.”