This May 25th letter from too few of Illinois’ federal legislators to General Assembly leaders and Governor Rod Blagojevich urges those officials to find the $2.1 billion needed to capture the $6.1 billion in federal transportation grants approved in 2005. In part, it reads:

We encourage you to enact state legislation to provide the needed state match for the federal transportation funds we secured in 2005. If the State of Illinois does not enact a capital bill and provide the non-federal match this year, as much as $6.1 billion in federal funding could be at risk.

Our state responded after Congress passed comprehensive transportation infrastructure legislation in the late 1990’s by passing Illinois FIRST. That capital bill ensured that all federal funding secured by the Illinois Congressional Delegation could be spent on highway and transit projects. In short, thanks to the state match, no federal funds were left behind.

We hope we can count on you to enact appropriated legislation that will provide the required state match to the federal funds available to our state.

So we know Illinois has two U.S. Senators.

How many U.S. Representatives are there?

Surely more that the six I am reproducing here.

Notice that most of them are Democrats. Maybe our Republican congressmen don’t think Republican state senators and representatives are relevant.

If so, they don’t know it takes a supermajority to pass a bond bill.

I see one of McHenry County’s congressmen—Don Manzullo. Missing in action is Democrat Melissa Bean.

And, where, oh where, is U.S. Senator Barack Obama?

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Manzullo and other area elected officials will hold a press conference at 11:45 Monday morning at the old Algonquin fire house/city hall at the southeast corner of Routes 31 and 62.