From the office of Illinois Republican House Leader, Tom Cross…
As the legislative session continues in Springfield, I wanted to take a quick moment to update you on some of the key legislation introduced by House Republican members.
House Republicans are committed to restoring fiscal responsibility and ending the reckless spending in Springfield. We are fighting for meaningful spending caps, researching opportunities to cut spending and working to substantial reforms to save significant taxpayer dollars.
Listed below are some of the measures we are working on and I would like your thought on these so please let us know if you support or oppose these measures.
Repeal the Democrat Income Tax
House Republicans unanimously opposed the Democrat’s 67% income tax increase and have filed legislation that would immediately repeal the historic tax hike. (HB 175)
TELL US: Do you oppose or support this measure?
Limit Government Spending
House Republicans advocated for a resolution that develops realistic revenue projections; setting the table for lawmakers to identify realistic cuts and prevent excessive borrowing. The legislation establishes a revenue estimate of $33.2 billion for next fiscal year, which is $700 million lower than the $33.9 billion projected by the Governor’s office. (HR 110)
TELL US: Do you oppose or support this measure?
Cutting Wasteful Spending
House Republicans have convened three teams of legislators within the caucus to identify areas of potential cost-savings in government. Already, House Republican members have filed legislation to reduce legislator pay by 10% and further reform Illinois’ Medicaid system. (HB 110)
TELL US: Do you oppose or support this measure?
Stabilizing Our Pension Systems
Illinois is facing a public employee pension system with $80 billion in unfunded liability, a debt so large that it threatens the viability of the entire retirement system. Over the next five years, Illinois’ payment to state pension funds is set to climb by almost 50%, an amount that is considered unsustainable without another massive tax increase. Legislation to stabilize the system and implement much-needed reforms to protect workers, retirees and taxpayers has been introduced in the Illinois House. (HB 149)
TELL US: Do you oppose or support this measure?
Creating Jobs in Illinois
House Republicans have introduced legislation to encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation in Illinois. Legislation to promote greater investment in emerging Illinois companies, start-up funding for new technology companies and job creation “seedbed” centers are part of the House Republican job creation initiatives. (HB 1874, HB 1876, HB 1381)
TELL US: Do you oppose or support this measure?
These outline just some of the legislative initiatives we are advancing this session. I will keep you updated on these initiatives as the session progresses.
Tom Cross
http://ilhro.com/