Governor Jim Edgar announces his support of SJRCA 76 to the IML Board of Directors in Springfield.

R to L, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Frank Watson, IML Past President Jim Kingston, Mayor of Paxton, and IML Executive Director Kenneth A. Alderson prepare to testify before the Senate Executive Committee.

The Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment is gaming momentum by the hour! As we near the passage deadline of May 3, a tremendous amount of time and energy is being devoted by IML membership, staff, other local officials and associations from across the state to getting the Amendment approved by the General Assembly and placed on the November ballot.

I am pleased to inform you that Governor Jim Edgar, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and State Comptroller Loleta Didrickson have joined us in our effort and are in strong support of SJRCA 76.

Governor Edgar, in addressing the IML Board of Directors at the Spring Board Meeting, March 29, stated he is "100% in support of the Constitutional Amendment. We at the state level shouldn't pass our problems on to you," the Governor said. "I want to make it crystal clear I won't allow unfunded mandates in Illinois."

Mayor Daley, in a letter to members of the Senate Executive Committee, said "Unfunded mandates cannot be ignored ... I believe we now have to focus on this issue at the state and municipal and county levels of government. I think SJRCA 76 addresses the problem . . . .If the state is not going to pay for responsibilities it passes on to the City (my city and others), Cook County and other units of local government, an extraordinary majority for passage of a state cost enactment should be required .... I believe SJRCA 76 restores a needed constitutional state/local fiscal relationship."

At the IML's Unfunded Mandates Day legislative briefing, Comptroller Didrickson (see this month's "Comptroller's Corner" on page 9) told assembled municipal officials "Local government is in the best position to deliver services, but we must remember good ideas come with a price tag. As these regulations are being passed down, there is extra pressure being put on an already over-burdened property tax system. We need to limit legislating these good ideas to the local level without providing the funding and that's why I'm supporting SJRCA 76," she said.

The Municipal League is grateful to Governor Edgar, Mayor Daley and Comptroller Didrickson for their support and leadership. We look forward to their help during the upcoming critical weeks of Senate and House deliberation.

Since my last column, we have taken the unfunded mandate message to every corner of the state. We recently completed a series of news conferences in Carbondale, Edwardsville, Quincy, Jacksonville, Rock Island, Freeport, Decatur, Bloomington, Macomb and Peoria. Our sincere thanks to President Creg Sparrow and First Vice President Frank Clinton for sharing traveling duties. Also I want to express our gratitude to the following host mayors who delivered a crowd of local officials at each stop:

Carbondale — Carbondale Mayor Neil Dillard, Murphysboro Mayor David McDowell, Mt. Vernon Mayor Rolland Lewis and Salem Mayor Leonard Ferguson

Edwardsville — Edwardsville Mayor Gary Niebur and Swansea Village President Michael Buehlhorn

April 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5

Quincy - Quincy Mayor Charles Scholz, Pittsfield Mayor Rick Conner and Barry Mayor Ed Venicornbe

Jacksonville — Jacksonville Mayor Ron Tendick

Rock Island — Rock Island Mayor Mark Schwiebert, Hampton Village President Scott Newberg, Moline Mayor Stan Leach and East Moline Mayor Bill Ward

Freeport — Freeport Mayor Dick Weis, Galena Mayor Gary Bartell, Oregon Mayor Jim Barnes, Savanna Mayor Eugene Flack, Mt. Carroll Mayor Marilyn Magill, Lena Village President Willard Benninger and Stockton Village President Robert Hess Decatur — Decatur Mayor Terry Howley Bloomington — Bloomington Mayor Jesse Smart, Pontiac Mayor Michael Ingles and Lexington Mayor Frank Feigl "

Macomb — Macomb Mayor Tom Carper and Galesburg Mayor Fred Kimble

Peoria — Peoria Mayor James Maloof and Pekin Mayor David Tebben

I would like to thank all the municipal officials and officials from county and township government, park districts and school districts who took time off from their jobs to join us at the news conferences and make their voices heard.

In addition to the news conferences, IML representatives testified in March before the Senate Executive Committee in Springfield and Chicago on SJRCA 76. Our thanks to Assistant Senate Majority Leader Frank Watson, sponsor of our legislation, IML President Greg Sparrow and Past President James Kingston, Mayor of Paxton, for representing us so ably before the Committee.

Our Legislative Reception and Unfunded Mandates Day lobbying effort were a major success as hundreds of you gave up your time to come to Springfield and talk face-to-face with your legislators. I can't tell you how important your personal involvement is in securing passage of the Constitutional Amendment.

You have probably heard our radio ads which have been airing all over Illinois in recent weeks. From the number of calls we are receiving, it appears our message is getting across. As you read this our television ads should be airing in your community.

As we enter the remaining weeks of Session, much has been accomplished and much remains yet to be done. As you read this, SJRCA 76 will hopefully be out of the Senate Executive Committee and before the full Senate. It must pass in the Senate and then go through the same process in the Illinois House by May 3 to be placed on the November ballot.

We need your full participation now as we enter this critical stage. Please continue to call or write your legislators and urge them to support SJRCA 76. Ask your citizens to also contact their legislators. Don't forget to let your local media know how you feel about this important issue. Together, we will make the Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment a reality! •

Page 6 / Illinois Municipal Review / April 1996