By DIANE ROSS

WHAT ARE the legislature's priorities this session — other than deciding the income tax question? Generally, economic development heads the list. What about specific issues? Look for action on lowering utility rates, repairing roads, reforming workers' compensation, legalizing collective bargaining, developing coal and alcohol fuels and requiring automobile insurance. These were singled out (in early May) by legislators who should know, the two-year-term senators who should face the stiffest competition for reelection next year. While all 118 members of the House will face the voters in 1984, only 20 of the 59 senators will (see box). (The other 39 will be up for reelection in 1986, when 20 will run for another four-year term and 19 for a two-year term.)

Only 10 of the current two-year term senators are likely to have battles for reelection next year. But each is from a "swing" district outside Chicago where one party does not clearly dominate. Illinois Issues polled these 10; Buzbee was not available. Politically, the results were not surprising. But a more interesting analysis stems from the senators' tenures and their districts. Those new to the Senate (Holmberg, Kustra, Luft and Watson) tended to cite specific issues in their districts. Veterans took a somewhat broader view, emphasizing the issues on which they have built their legislative records.

"Getting people back to work — that's got to be our No. 1 priority," said Jerome Joyce, whose district includes Kankakee, where unemployment runs among the highest in the nation. Holmberg agreed: "To best represent Rockford, I must do all I can to help Illinois get on its feet again." The economic development bills that Holmberg is pushing would retrain the unemployed for new jobs while they are still drawing benefits. "Everybody's getting into the act," Weaver said, referring to economic development plans offered by the governor, the House speaker and the Senate president. "But we need a state plan; we need to come to a consensus about what we can do," he said. Weaver, from Champaign-Urbana, is chairman of the legislature's Commission for Economic Development, which, in early May, was about to offer a plan of its own.

Demuzio said his constituents in south central Illinois are "more concerned about utility rates than they are about the income tax." In Luffs district around Pekin, however, deregulation of natural gas is the specific utilities issue. Kustra said his constituents in the northwestern Cook County suburbs want action — any action — to lower utility rates.

While some senators cited roads as an issue, much depends on passing increases in the state gas tax and other road user fees, all part of the governor's tax package. Those polled generally agreed that voters will support such tax hikes if the extra money is earmarked for roads.

Schuneman, a pro-business Republican from the area northwest of Peoria, believes that public employee collective bargaining "will come to a head" this year. He's against it. "The long-term effects [of the legalization of collective bargaining] on the cost of government could be greater than that of increasing the income tax," he said. Democrats, however, are generally for collective bargaining.

Watson, a Republican from southern Illinois, suggested that Republicans may be willing to increase the income tax if Democrats are willing to reform workers' compensation (WC). Since 1980, when the legislature made the last WC reforms, Republicans have pushed for more.

Luft puts alcohol fuels high on his list; he's pushing a bill that would exempt them from any hike in the state gas tax. There are three alcohol fuel plants in his district and a fourth company is considering locating there. Meanwhile, Geo-Karis continues to push for the synthesization of natural gas from coal.

Among other local issues, Kustra said suburban residents of Cook County are demanding rights they feel are unfairly denied them. He's sponsoring a package of bills designed to win two such rights. One would give them the same right to challenge property tax assessments as the rest of the state; currently residents of Cook County must, in effect, prove assessors guilty of fraud. Kustra's package would also make it easier for any voter, including suburbanites to vote absentee in-person, in all elections. At present, it's easiest to vote absentee in person for the local consolidated elections in odd-numbered years. The choice of place for voting absentee includes the board of election commission, county clerk, township clerk or municipal clerk. Kustra wants those choices available for all elections.

Of course other issues can suddenly take priority. In early May, for example, Jerome Joyce had to start figuring a new angle to an old fight in his district — a fight he thought he had won two years ago — the battle to keep Morris from becoming the nation's dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel. The U.S. Supreme Court, in effect, overturned his statute banning importation of the nuclear waste. The only alternative now, Joyce said, is to raise the fees so high that other states could not afford to store nuclear waste in Illinois.□

June 1983 | Illinois Issues | 19