A hopeful representation that Illinois residents have reached a mutual understanding for long-delayed investments in our state was evident yesterday. A bipartisan Illinois Senate Transportation and Appropriations Committees meeting at the SIU Edwardsville campus, the first of four public meetings across the state, discussing funding and projects for a capital bill.
Rather than taking the opportunity to improve critical conditions in our state by refusing to relinquish the understandable negative opinions and emotions that have grown to a level of a complete stalemate over the past four years, now is the time to move the state forward with discussions and responsible funding to reposition Illinois in a positive direction. The one thing we can count on by continuing the widely held, entrenched belief that Illinois lawmakers can’t get anything right is a further deterioration of all economic drivers.
Senator Rachelle Crowe-Glen Carbon thanked the senators for traveling to begin these discussions.
Crowe said, “We have met with our local mayors, education institutions and labor about the possibility of a capital bill and each of those conversations ended with the concern that Southern Illinois is not forgotten. So I give my sincere thanks for those who have travelled here today as evidence to all of us Southern Illinois has not been forgotten.”
Forging coalitions among sectors that reflect residents/taxpayers shouldn’t become filled with conflicting obstacles when polls and studies have proven there is shared support, nationwide and in Illinois, for large scale investments in infrastructure. “There’s a universal understanding that infrastructure is crumbling across the state — our roads and bridges, our water infrastructure. We need to invest in it,” Illinois Governor Pritzker said in an interview prior to being sworn-in. “We’re the supply chain hub of America and in order to maintain that status, in order to create jobs, we have to continue to invest in our infrastructure.”
Illinois last passed a capital spending bill over four years ago. Former Governor Rauner chose to block any progress, holding all school districts, higher education and infrastructure projects as hostage to satisfy his agenda of destroying organized labor.
Having a capital bill may help in bringing federal dollars back to Illinois, said U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois. “There have been federal dollars available to be spent for Illinois, but could not be because Illinois did not have a budget, and did not come up with our 30 percent of the match, so we lost out on 70 percent of the funding the federal government was willing to put forward, and that’s on infrastructure,” Duckworth said.
State Senator Martin A. Sandoval (D-Chicago), Chair of the Transportation Committee who was asked by Governor Pritzker to spearhead the public meetings said, “Illinois has not passed a capital bill in a decade. In 2018, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Illinois a C- grade, saying the state’s transportation infrastructure shows signs of deterioration and faces increasing vulnerability.”
The one issue all residents of Illinois can agree on is the need for fiscal responsibility…..and infrastructure investments. Senate Appropriations Committee chair state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill said the goal of the hearings is to "not just build a case for what we need, but also build the case for making sure it is paid for."
John Dunn, interim chancellor of the SIU-Carbondale campus told the Senators that the school has a backlog of about $700 million worth of “deferred maintenance” projects. “Visually, we need cranes on our campus,” he said. “Cranes on the campus send a powerful message to the public at-large that we’re alive and well, we’re working forward and we’re creating jobs.”
The education panel was composed of both SIU campuses, Lewis and Clark College and Southwest Illinois College (SWIC) The common thread in their presentations was the importance to keep our state competitive by investing in those innovations and employment growth areas of education but they offered no suggestions for funding their numerous building requests projects.
SIUE School of Nursing for example has submitted a new health science education building and the school of engineering impressed upon the panel the importance for keeping graduates in the state as economic contributors and increasing the state's revenue stream through programs like STEM.
Organized labor was invited as panel including recently appointed Totsie Bailey, Executive-Secretary of the Southwest Illinois Building Trades Council and Glyn Ramage, Southwest Illinois Labor (LIUNA) District Council. “We need a good strong capital bill. It’s urgently needed to begin investing in a strong middle class with good family supporting jobs. It doesn’t take long driving down 255 to recognize the need. Replacing the Merchants Bridge will improve rail freight accessibility as Illinois is a major transportation hub. It’s time to fix our state with fully funded projects,” said Ramage.
Jim Evans IBEW 309 in Collinsville expressed the topic that has reached a point of growing concern among economists and national lawmakers; vocational programs in our schools have largely been abandoned. “Unfortunately industrial arts has been taken out of too many schools. I chose to work with my hands like my father, said Evans. I rolled out of high school into an electrical apprentice program. These are good paying jobs.”
Furthering the manpower shortage in building trades topic, United Steelworkers Local 1899 President, Dan Simmons told the panel, “Our apprentice program is all developed within at U.S. Steel/Granite City Works. But we are starving for craftsmen.”
Simmons added another job creating component to a potential capital bill by requesting taxpayer dollars be spent on American workers who make the infrastructure building materials. “I would like to ask that when you have a capital bill in front of you, include language that requires all the commodities, steel, aluminum and all others in used in the projects, include Buy American provisions in the bill.”
The timing of these meetings couldn’t be better. Illinois has a new governor who is reaching out to labor, mayors and educators, including those in Southern Illinois, during the pothole season. The state has reached a critical point that requires more than another Rauner band aid.
Let’s hope residents and senators will support a major capital bill that contributes to economic growth, a smooth path, instead of another patch job due to years of weathering holes statewide.
A hopeful representation that Illinois residents have reached a mutual understanding for long-delayed infrastructure investments in our state was evident yesterday. A bipartisan Illinois Senate Transportation and Appropriations Committees meeting at the SIU Edwardsville campus, the first of four public meetings across the state, discussing funding and projects for a capital bill. 
A hopeful representation that Illinois residents have reached a mutual understanding for long-delayed infrastructure investments in our state was evident yesterday. A bipartisan Illinois Senate Transportation and Appropriations Committees meeting at the SIU Edwardsville campus, the first of four public meetings across the state, discussing funding and projects for a capital bill.