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Restoring Cuts Made by Governor Blagojevich
As you may already know, the House and Senate
reconvened a couple of weeks ago to vote on the Governor’s amendatory
veto of many appropriations that included funding for essential human
services.
You will be happy to know that both the House and
Senate voted to overturn some of the Governor’s vetoes and restored
cuts made to funding for those with developmental disabilities, mental illness,
and substance abuse treatment – just to name a few. I supported Senate Bill 790 (the Funds
Sweep Bill) that “swept” over $200 million to use towards human
services.
Now the bill goes back to the Governor for his
approval. I do not anticipate
that our work is over yet this year.
I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight for funding for
human services.
My Testimony Before Congress
As chair of the Illinois House Rail Committee, on Tuesday,
September 9th, I was pleased to testify before the full U.S. House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Under consideration was legislation to
assure that the federal government approved process for transactions
involving freight railroads takes local concerns into consideration. At the core of this debate is the
Canadian National Railway proposed purchase of the EJ&E line. While I do not oppose the intent of
the legislation, my goal was to assure that all impacts of a railroad transaction – both
positive and negative – are given a full and fair hearing. I hope to share the outcomes of this
hearing with you in a future Nekritz
News.
Walk & Bike to School Day
October 8th, 2008 is Walk and Bike to
School Day. I believe Walk and Bike to School Day is an opportunity for
local decision makers, school administrators, parents and students to
experience what walking and biking to school is all about. This year I
will be sending home mailings with children at Indian Grove Elementary School
in Mount Prospect to remind them of the importance of staying fit and using a
bike to help the environment. Hopefully, the children will be able to
get a sense that it can be fun to walk or bike to school instead of always
driving in a car.
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