Craig Wilcox Reports

From State Senator Craig Wilcox:

Senate Week in Review: January 14 – 18, 2019

Springfield, IL — In the district, I met with Chamber of Commerce members in Marengo and visited with a local radio talk show host. In Springfield, a new Administration transitioned into power this week with Governor J.B. Pritzker taking the Oath of Office Jan. 14.

Minimum wage

Craig Wilcox

The Marengo Chamber of Commerce invited local and State officials to give a report on the state of the community. Business owners are interested in the minimum wage issue.

A $15 an hour minimum wage has been advocated by the new governor.

What will be the impact on small businesses?

Will this be a phased-in increase?

I suspect these questions, and others, will be discussed in Springfield in the coming weeks and months.

Government Consolidation

I also spoke about local government consolidation.

I favor consolidation but it must be done in a way that protects taxpayers.

Before he left office, Gov. Rauner amendatorily vetoed a consolidation bill (HB 4637) that directly impacts McHenry County.

The legislation was flawed but the good news is, the former governor’s action gives us another chance to bring a more comprehensive bill forward that better protects taxpayers.

The new Dorr Township Hall just southeast of Route 47 at 1035 Lake Avenue.

There are three key points I want to see in such legislation:

  1. Only within the dissolving township boundaries are responsible for paying any debt transferred to the county.
  2. All park and cemetery land, buildings and facilities within the geographic area of the dissolving township must be utilized for the primary benefit of the geographic area of the dissolving township. Furthermore, any proceeds from the sale of these assets after dissolution must be utilized for the sole benefit of the geographic area of the dissolving township.
  3. We must ensure counties will receive Motor Fuel Tax dollars that were dedicated to a dissolving township based on lane miles. Under the flawed HB 4367, a dissolved township’s lane mile Motor Fuel Tax funding would be redistributed state-wide and not to the county or municipality taking over the road responsibility.

Star 105.5 Radio interview

I touched on a number of topics during an interview with Stew Cohen of Star 105.5 (WZSR).

Star 105.5 logo.

The interview will air on Northwest Spectrum heard every Sunday morning at http://www.star105.com.

We discussed consolidation, homelessness, and big challenges facing state government such as pensions, public education and taxes.

I spoke about the atmosphere of bipartisanship at the State Capitol too.

There’s been a lot of talk, on both sides of the aisle, about working together.

I hope the actions match the words.

Time will tell.

One controversial issue Stew and I discussed was the legalization of marijuana.

Illinois has legalized medical marijuana but there’s a push to legalize marijuana for the broader population.

If you are more of a Libertarian person and want more personal freedom or personal privilege, it must come with an equal amount of personal accountability or responsibility.

There are a lot of unanswered questions about legalizing the drug.

There are legitimate concerns from law enforcement, the medical community and business owners.

The impact of legalizing marijuana will go beyond the individual user to encompass our communities.

We must be thoughtful in how the state proceeds.

If Illinois is solely focused on legalizing marijuana because it wants the tax revenue it would generate, I feel we will probably get it wrong.

We can’t let the desire for more tax dollars obscure the full ramifications of legalization.

Great turnout for Pioneer Center

I wanted to thank everyone for the great community turnout.

We had good discussions that the Continuum of Care group will further build upon moving forward.

The gaps in services available to the homeless population in our community was a big topic, and I support the efforts of Pioneer Center, and all providers to continue to expand their services.

However, it is also important that we provide an opportunity to the people of the community to come and learn about the situations, and have a voice in any possible expansion of services funded by taxpayer dollars.

The ultimate outcome of this effort will depend on the state grant the Pioneer Center has applied for, continued support of private donations, and the dedicated work of volunteers and all provider organizations working together.

Gun dealer licensing

The sign on the top of the OnTarget shooting range proclaimed, “Now Open,” as it opened for business in Crystal Lake.

During the week, Gov. Pritzker signed legislation creating another level of licensing for the state’s firearms dealers. Senate Bill 337 requires federally licensed gun dealers to also be licensed through the State Police and obtain a certificate.

While gun violence, especially in the suburbs, is a major concern, I don’t think making it more costly for Illinois gun stores to conduct business is the answer.

As federally-licensed dealers, Illinois gun stores are already required to meet strict regulations set forth by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).

We need tougher prosecution and stiffer sentences for gun crimes, and jail time for those who skirt firearm laws already on the books.

Pritzker assumes office

A new Administration took control of the Governor’s office this week with recently-elected Democrat Governor taking the Oath of Office on Jan. 14 and beginning his term in public office.

As Gov. Pritzker assumes office and prepares to deliver his first-ever budget address before the General Assembly on Feb. 20, Senate Republicans remain cautiously optimistic that compromise and bipartisanship will be encouraged.

However, as members of the super-minority in the Senate, we underscore the need for Illinois to embrace reforms, encourage economic prosperity and provide for a balanced spending plan that does not add to the burdens placed on the shoulders of Illinois’ taxpayers.

Lawmakers return to the State House on Jan. 29 to resume spring session.


Comments

Craig Wilcox Reports — 8 Comments

  1. Re: “all providers to continue to expand their services.”

    WTF!!!!

    Maybe Craig and ALL Springfield Legislators should go to this and observe how we are wasting our tax dollars!!

    https://www.facebook.com/events/1294629640676064/

    We used to count on GA at Townships to look after the poor and the indigent but they do very little anymore.

    Why? We have neutered Township GA by not increasing what you can dole out. Why? Townships verify legal residency by law – do any of these agencies you see at the Forum verify legal residency?

  2. I’m beginning to question Wilcox’s sanity about consolidation.

    Did the Township lobby buy him?

  3. Questioning, a township supervisor obviously, the ridiculously small amount of township general assistance given out at ridiculously high cost should be eliminated altogether.

  4. The administrative salaries at Pioneer Center are staggering; topping even School Supt. pay!

    Wilcox needs to be informed about PC’s ‘wonderful programs’!!!!

    The place is a huge slave labor camp.

    Why?

    The intellectually disabled are taken advantage of.

    How?

    They work their minimum wages hours until they hit the maximum they can to remain on Social Security disability.

    Then they work for free and the fatcats at Pioneer Ctr. pocket for the Center the extra week(s’) wages they collect from their customers on the piece work contracted for.

    The Pioneer Center worker bees’ parents/guardians don’t object bc they don’t want the social security disability checks to stop, and its like adult day care since the workers are picked up and brought back each day (funded by fed & state grants).

    So everybody’s happy.

    And the higher ups at PC make huge salaries!

    It’s a great scam.

    How do I know?

    My son was one of the slave laborers!

    We dropped out of PC in 2011 after my request that some of the money be put in programs (like speech therapy, Christmas play practices, sporting events, field trips)

    But since these programs would take the slaves from their money-making piece work, I was told “It just wasn’t feasible.

    “The Developmentally Disabled need to work.”

  5. Questioning (a township supervisor obviously) a ridiculously small amount of township general assistance given out at ridiculously high cost should be eliminated altogether.

    AP reported costs of $4 for every $1 of assistance given.

    Like everything else in township government…not a bargain!

  6. Townships are a complete waste in the modern era.

    Iowa got rid of them in the 1950s. But we’ve added generations more parasites on township pension system since the 1950s. Like the Miller Crime Syndicate.

    Thomas Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment. A scholar and a Deist, he believed that man’s Euclidean measurements could bring order to what was, at the time, America’s Wild West. After the Revolutionary War, Jefferson proposed that the Northwest Territories — today’s Upper Midwest — be subdivided into a grid of townships, six miles on each side, whose boundaries would be drawn without regard to natural features.

    Jefferson, who never crossed the Appalachians, unwittingly imposed an impractical form of government on the Midwest, Townships may have been useful in an agrarian society, when the county seat was a day’s journey by horse, but they’ve been obsolete for over a century. Yet they continue to burden us. Illinois’ 1,432 townships are the reason we have more governments than any other state. Cincinnati Township in Pike County has only 37 residents. Do those people really need their own government? Gov. Jim Edgar wanted townships abolished

    source: https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Support-Your-Local-Township-Road-Supervisor-119607824.html

  7. Investigate Bobby Miller!

    Investigate his pawns, Cas. Lutzow and Karen Lukasik!

    Investigate Pioneer Center!

    Investigate Nunda Township Road Dist!

    Investigate State’s Attorny Kenneally!

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