Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee -
I am pleased to be here today to testify in support of the Governor's compromise reform proposals - specifically this morning on two important reforms to make Illinois more competitive so we can grow our economy and create more jobs.
I want to thank all members - from the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans - who participated in working group sessions for the last several weeks.
These were productive working groups. Important questions were asked. Specific concerns were raised. Constructive criticism was offered. And we believe that the compromise legislation before you today addresses most (if not all) of the concerns raised during the course of the working group sessions.
The bills before you are critical reforms we need to Turnaround Illinois - to grow our economy and make Illinois more competitive.
These reforms are fundamentally linked to our state budget. Taxpayers are fed up pouring more and more of their hard-earned money into a broken and broken system. Passing fundamental structural reform to grow our economy will have a lasting fiscal impact on our state's future.
I would note that while these key reforms are being considered by the Committee today, two other key pieces of the Governor's Turnaround Agenda have not been assigned to committee: a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on legislators and the executive; and a Fair Map constitutional amendment to end political gerrymandering.
We urge the Senate to bring those constitutional amendments to a vote as well.
I want to thank Leader Radogno for her leadership on the Turnaround Agenda and for being here today to carry these reforms.
Aaron Winters, the governor's deputy chief of staff for policy, and Jennifer Hammer, the governor's senior policy adviser, are joining me this morning along with Leader Radogno to help answer any technical questions on these bills.
And with that, I'll turn it back over to Leader Radogno. Thank you.
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