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Property Tax Appeals Seminar for Wheeling Township
On April 12th, from 10:30 a.m. –
12:30 p.m., Senator Susan Garret and I will host a tax appeals seminar for
those who reside in Wheeling Township. The seminar will start with a 40-minute presentation by representatives
from the office of Commissioner Brendan Houlihan,
Cook County Board of Review. This will be followed by a question-and-answer
session, and then the Board of Review staff will be available to work
one-on-one with residents who have questions about their own assessments.
Attendees are
encouraged to bring their tax bills with them so that staff members can help
them fill out complaint forms. The seminar will be held at the Prospect
Heights Public Library at 12 N. Elm St. in the “Borland Meeting
Room.” Please feel free to
call my office with any questions.
Budget Hearing Wrap-Up
As some of you may already know, the House Democrats
have been holding budget hearings throughout the Chicagoland
area over the past few weeks. On
March 24th, over two hundred people representing various organizations
came to Northbrook Village Hall to testify in hopes of providing legislators
information so we can construct a well-balanced and fair budget. Rep. Julie Hamos,
Rep. Karen May, and I received much fruitful and sometimes shocking
information from different constituents.
One in particular that caught my attention was the fact that Illinois
is 51st in the nation overall in funding community based services
for developmental disabilities.
Representatives from Glenkirk and Anixter
Center, as well as parents of children with developmental disabilities
provided this information to our panel.
This statistic is unacceptable, and I plan to continue working with my
colleagues in Springfield to change.
My 100% Environmental Voting Record
Since taking office in 2003, the environment and
environmental policies have been a priority of mine. I am proud to say that I was recently
honored by the Illinois Environmental Council for my 100% voting record on
environmental issues in 2007. In
2007, the Illinois General Assembly had one of its most productive sessions
for environmental issues ever, passing legislation that impacted all four of
the IEC’s stated priorities for 2007 –
clean and affordable energy, open space acquisition and conservation,
protection against toxic pollution and the Great Lakes. I am one of 16 state senators and
representatives who voted consistently in favor of the environment in
2007.
Throughout the legislative session each year, the IEC
staff monitors the voting records of all members of the Illinois General
Assembly and issues its Environmental Scorecard, which evaluates votes on
environment-related bills as to whether it was for or against the
environment. I am honored to
receive this award and will continue to work on protecting the environment
and health in every way I can.
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