Inside:
- ‘Megaprojects bill’ passes House
- Inspector General looking into hundreds of thousands in PPP fraud by state employees
- Special Olympics opening ceremony
- Veterans and Senior Fair a big success!
‘Megaprojects bill’ passes House
The House has passed House Bill 910, known as the ‘Megaprojects bill’ which would, among other things, offer incentives to help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. I voted No because this bill does not provide the kind of tax relief which all Illinoisans need.
This bill is the latest move in years-long drama which has played out in Chicago, in Springfield, and even in Indiana. Earlier this year Indiana enacted a law to assist the Bears in moving across the state line to lower-taxed Indiana. Illinois has been working on a competing proposal to keep the team here. The bill which passed the House last week was the latest step, but by no means the final one.
I would like to see Illinois reach an agreement with the Bears that would keep the team in the state. But such an agreement must be fair to all Illinois taxpayers. Instead of offering tax breaks to large special interests and leaving everyone else to make up the difference, we should have across-the-board tax relief that helps everyday Illinois farmers, homeowners and small businesses. When large developments pay less in taxes, the tax burden does not just go away – it shifts onto families and businesses who already pay some of the highest property taxes in the country.
With the bill passing the House, it now heads over to the Senate for more work. It is widely expected that the Senate will make changes to the bill before voting on it. So this story is far from concluded. We still have a month of session to go before scheduled adjournment on May 31. Expect many more twists and turns in the road ahead.
Inspector General looking into hundreds of thousands in PPP fraud by state employees
The Office of the Inspector General released the findings of a recent investigation into hundreds of thousands of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans which were fraudulently obtained by Illinois state employees.
PPP was a COVID-era program intended to help small businesses pay their employees while they were shut down due to the pandemic. But the Inspector General found that some state employees obtained loans by claiming to own small businesses which did not actually exist.
Many who were found to have committed fraud by the Inspector General were terminated or resigned. Some faced prosecution.
Special Olympics opening ceremony
This weekend I attended the Illinois Special Olympics competition at Galesburg High School.
The Special Olympics opening ceremony and lighting of the Olympic torch is always a highlight. I have developed so many friends and enjoy watching the athletes compete. Thank you to all the volunteers, coaches, parents and staff who make this such a great annual event. Also, thank you to Smithfield for preparing a tasty sandwich.
Veterans and Senior Fair a big success!
Thank you to the over 300 participants who came to our Veteran/Senior Fair in Galesburg on Wednesday!
My measure of success is the attendees walking out with bags of information from all the vendors. One veteran commented to me that it was going to take him over a week to read through all the materials. Additionally, thank you to everyone who brought canned good items for the Knox County Veterans Assistance Commission. We filled the pantry!
The free haircuts was a great success with over 20 veterans taking advantage of the free service. The Lions Club Vision and Hearing screening van was consistently enrolling and serving attendees. I can’t leave out the Carriage House for providing the sweets and coffee for everyone to enjoy. I look forward to our next Veteran/Senior Fair. We are exploring the possibility of offering more fairs throughout the district.
Lots of our neighbors stopped by to pick up helpful information, get a free health screening or just see some old friends.
My thanks to all our vendors and our event co-hosts, Seminary Village and the Kensington for all their hard work. We will hope to see everyone again next year!
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