I am excited to introduce myself and to be taking over as the Executive Director of the Illinois Chamber's Infrastructure Council. I am familiar with Illinois transportation issues and stakeholders through my previous work with the Transportation for Illinois Coalition and have been looking forward to expanding into other areas of Illinois' infrastructure.

For those who do not know me, I  have previously participated in policy, advocacy, grassroots communications, and media and internal communications with the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, as well as other clients in a variety of industries.

I look forward to working with all of you and plan to reach out individually, but please reach out in the meantime if you have a topic or update you want to discuss or are just eager to talk with me. My cell phone is 217-494-4724.

- Rebecca

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 

The 101st General Assembly was sworn in at noon January 9th. It's still very early in the session but all four legislative leaders and the Governor-elect expressed a desire to work in a bipartisan manner.

The spring session is gearing up to be a busy one. The possibility of a much needed Capital Bill looms large, but discussions around drinking water infrastructure have also begun. 

This week, during an otherwise mostly quiet time, the House and Senate took up and passed legislation to allow Governor-elect Pritzker to remove all of the members of the Tollway Board when he takes office. I expect we will be hearing about other changes soon as the Governor continues announcing his picks for agency heads.

The Transportation for Illinois Coalition, which the Chamber co-chairs, is organizing a petition designed to demonstrate to lawmakers the importance of infrastructure to Illinois' economy. Individual names will not be shared, but the Coalition is hopeful that they will be able to demonstrate significant numbers in support of investing in our infrastructure. Please review the petition here and consider signing and encouraging your friends, neighbors, or co-workers to sign as well.

 

If you did not get a chance to talk with Ben on our proposed infrastructure legislation, please reach out to me this week.  Also as a reminder, much of the language is based of HB 5468 (McDermed) from this past session. Don't delay, send those suggestions to us sooner than later.

 

ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROPOSED BRANDON ROAD PLAN

 

In November 2018 the Army Corps of Engineers released their Proposed Plan for Asian Carp Mitigation along the Illinois River. Comments on the Proposed Plan are due back to the Army Corps by February 22nd. I am currently drafting comments, so please reach out to me if you would like to weigh-in or review the draft. You can review the plan here .

TFIC LOBBY DAY

The Transportation for Illinois Coalition has scheduled its 2019 Lobby Day for Wednesday, April 3.

If you would like to attend the Lobby Day, please fill out the registration form here and return to Jennifer at TFIC or you can send to me. 2019 is shaping up to be a big year in infrastructure funding, and the TFIC Lobby Day is always a well-organized opportunity to interact with elected officials in Springfield.

 

OPPORTUNITIES IN ILLINOIS BUSINESS LEADER

 

The Illinois Business Leader is the comprehensive, must-have quarterly print publication by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.  This magazine provides cutting-edge information on the state's business community. It also keeps members up-to-date on movement in Springfield and Washington D.C. that affects you every day.

 

We're excited to offer Chamber members a discount to advertise in the Illinois Business Leader. In addition to the print magazine sent out to all members, each issue is posted online at www.ilchamber.org/illinois-business-leader and all ads are hot-linked for additional marketing value.

 

The media kit is available here or you can call Andrew Zielonka, Sales Manager, at 630-955-3592 or [email protected] . for more information on how your company can get in front of all Illinois Chamber of Commerce member businesses.