While normally the annual fall veto session lasts only two weeks, the General Assembly has been called back for an additional day of veto session today, Nov. 29. Several of the “hot button” issues were left for us to tackle in just one day.
I’m happy to report about one piece of legislation that failed to pass the Illinois Senate. Senate Bill 92 could have been the first step to eliminate township government. You and I know how important individual townships are to our communities; they are the closest form of government to our families and the fastest to respond. I was concerned that this could circumvent the tax cap and eventually undermine townships in the collar counties so I spoke against the bill on the Senate Floor. It didn’t get the necessary votes and therefore was defeated. Small, but meaningful victories such as this are what keep me coming back!
I am been back in Springfield this week and working through several “hot button” issues during the first week of veto session. Each fall the Illinois General Assembly meets for two weeks to take a look at what bills Governor Quinn may have vetoed over the summer.
One of the major issues that was vetoed was ComEd’s Smart Grid legislation. We must keep up with the times! Smart Grid will help us keep jobs in Illinois by maintaining reliability of service and by meeting the demands of a new 21st Century economy. Both the House and the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of this legislation.
Keeping with session tradition, I’ve recorded another edition of Connecting with Carole. Tune in to hear even more about what happened during the first week of veto session!
Pankau co-hosts the Mortgage Relief Project on Oct.15
The Mortgage Relief Project, an initiative led by Gov. Pat Quinn, will come to DuPage County on Oct. 15 to help struggling homeowners take advantage of programs that can help save them from foreclosure.
Sen. Carole Pankau (R-Roselle) and Rep. Dennis M. Reboletti (R-Addison) will co-host the event, which will be the 25th stop in a state-wide tour that began in the summer of 2009.
The Mortgage Relief Project provides property owners with free, on-site assistance to rework their mortgages in an effort to prevent foreclosure. Homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments can also obtain a 90-day grace period by entering housing counseling, according to the Homeowner Protection Act, which Quinn enacted two years ago.
The event will be held at Addison Trail High School, 213 N. Lombard Rd., Addison from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about the event, call the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s consumer hotline at (800) 532-8785 or visit www.idfpr.com.
Illinois Tollway Public Hearing
The tollway system in Chicago and the surrounding area is a system we can’t help but utilize. You may have heard about Illinois Tollway Authority's proposed changes with the Illinois Tollway System. If you haven’t, take a look at the Illinois Tollway website or click here to directly view facts about the proposals.
To gain even more information, I encourage you to attend the DuPage County public hearing:
August 18 from 7 to 9 p.m.
DuPage County Government Center
421 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL
If you can’t make that hearing and would like to attend another, click here for more information.
Connecting with Carole June 22
Thought you might find this interesting…
I am back in Springfield today for one, hopefully, final day of session.
If you remember back in May, Senate Democrats added $430 million in additional spending to the capital construction plan, thus holding it hostage as the House rejected the additional spending. The Senate Democrats were forced today to scale back their spending habits. We voted on the “cleaned up” version of the capital construction bill. If something wasn’t done to fix it, scheduled summer construction projects around the state may not have started on time.
I’ve filmed another edition of Connecting with Carole, take a look!
