Legislative Visits Hope To Attract Attention To Carroll County Issues

By Tom Kocal

The Carroll County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CCCEDS) met with two of the four county legislators that represent Carroll County in Springfield last week. Meetings took place on Monday, Oct. 19 with Senator Tim Bivins, and Tuesday, Oct. 20 with Rep. Jim Sacia.

Lawrence Bruckner, CCCEDS representative from Thomson arranged the meeting, the first of several planned for the upcoming legislative session, and beyond. Bruckner said that Sen. Jacobs agreed to meet with CCCEDS representatives after the veto session, and Nina Cooper, CCCEDS President and Mt. Carroll Alderman and Bruckner will meet with Rep. Mike Boland in his district office within the next few weeks.

During Tuesday's visit with Rep. Sacia in the Carroll County Courthouse Conference Room, Cooper introduced the CCCEDS members to Sacia, saying "In the last year, we came to the conclusion that CCCEDS is a unique body, in that all the communities in the county send a representative to CCCEDS. We feel that there must be a way to encourage the communities to work together by taking on projects that are common to us all. We don't want to reinvent the wheel. We want to work more efficiently by discussing these issues as a county group, not just as individual communities.

"We also feel it will be helpful to reach out to our legislators to develop a relationship with them, and not just come to them when we have problems. We want you to have a better feel for what we are about," Cooper stated.

Sacia began by updating the group on initiatives and issues that the representative is currently working on. He has been the state rep for the 89th District for seven years.

"The only governor that I have worked with, besides Pat Quinn, was Rod Blagojevich," Sacia pointed out. "Being thrown into that situation, I had this burning question: This can't be how it is. I don't mean to make it sound like I'm taking pot-shots at him now that he is no longer in office. But Rod Blagojevich significantly hurt our state financially."

Sacia said when Blagojevich first entered the office, Illinois had a $52 billion budget, with a $5 billion hole in it, and an outstanding debt load )capital obligation) of approximately $7 billion. "He did take over at a difficult time." But during his tenure, the deficit evolved to a $59 billion budget, which was not all Blagojevich's fault, according to Sacia.

"But the State of Illinois right now has around a $40 billion capital obligation, and our current 'hole' in our $59 billion budget is anywhere between $4 and $11 billion."

Which leads to now-Governor Pat Quinn, who Sacia says calls himself the "accidental governor." In spite of the two of them being on "opposite philosophical planets," Sacia feels he can work with him.

"I can sit with him, and I have a great deal of respect and admiration, and appreciation for a man that sits with us, in groups of 20 to 30 at a time, just like we are here today. To paraphrase the Governor, he said '#1, I am not a partisan. #2, I inherited a monster. And #3, will you help me?' How can you not want to work with a guy who sits down with Democrats and Republicans alike, and has this attitude?"

Sacia said Quinn strongly supports a tax increase, whereas Sacia wants to get the state's financial house in order by keeping out-of-control state spending in check.

"If we pass Gov. Quinn's 50% tax increase, which will create roughly $4 billion a year in extra revenue, I guarantee you that we will waste away $4 billion a year. It's absolute craziness. I won't support a tax increase until we quit spending like drunken sailors."

Cooper told Sacia that Carroll County is desperate for job creation, and the prison holds the most immediate potential for that goal. But other economic development concerns need attention, such as Milledgeville's Business Park, and broadband development.

Sacia identified his #1 legislative priority as opening the Thomson Correctional Center. and #2 being the 4-lane highway on Rt. 20.

"But the new Port Authority legislation is a real hot-button item for me," he added. "It's a magnificent piece of legislation, in that the authors were very cognizant of insuring that we weren't creating a tax monster for the rest of the counties, or Carroll County, where it's located. You are now the 16th Port Authority in the State,and each of them is truly an economic engine, once they get their legs under them and get up and operating. We've created a positive tool for both Carroll and Jo Daviess Counties, and you can thank LRA Director Diane Komiskey for her hard work and input."

It was recommended to continue writing to Governor Quinn, and also to David Vaught, the Governor's Director of Management and Budget, Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and Michael P. Randle, the new Director of Corrections, urging them to open the Thomson prison as a cost-saving measure for the state. Sacia said the state has a $65 million DOC budget for overtime for guards the next FY, while it would take less than $50 million to fund the complete opening and operation of Thomson Correctional Center. "This budget is a runaway train. But I believe Director Randle has a grip on the situation, and can get this moving forward. The Thomson Prison debacle is an embarrassment."

Bruckner said both Sen. Bivens and Rep. Sacia were thanked for their opposition to Senate Bill 43, a measure that if approved, would kill many economic development efforts in Illinois by changing the meaning of public works to include all projects located in an Enterprise Zone or TIF district, other than on owner-occupied residences.

Galen Wirth, Milledgeville Village Board President, credits the threat of passage of this measure as resulting in a prospective tenant withdrawing his plans to locate in the newly created Milledgeville Business Park and costing the village thousands of dollars.

"That basically killed our deal," Wirth told Sacia. "Just with the bill being proposed, our prospective tenant was afraid that the bill would add another $170 to $180 thousand to the project. It's tied up all of our TIFmonies for the last four years."

"You've got to meet with Harry Osterman," Sacia told the group. Rep. Osterman is the Chairman of the House Labor Committee.

Komiskey added that the measure would affect any community with an Enterprise Zone and TIF District and was afraid of the potential effects on redevelopment of the Savanna Depot Park, nearly 3,000 acres at the former Savanna Army Depot. Wirth and Komiskey planned to meet with 14th District State Rep. Harry Osterman (D-Chicago) as recommended by Rep. Sacia, who said he would arrange the meeting.

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