PEORIA -- People who filled the room for a Town Hall Meeting, sponsored by state Sen. Dave Koehler and state Rep. Jehan Gordon, both Democrats from Peoria, had plenty of questions -- about jobs, tax increases, state spending on roads and schools, even civil unions.
More than 50 people appeared at the March 9 event, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 2903 W. Nebraska.
Koehler and Gordon answered questions from the audience for more than an hour, and spoke with people individually before and after the event. Toward the close of the meeting, a
young man stood and said he was new to Peoria. "This is a phenomenal meeting," he said.
Then he asked about civil unions.
Koehler and Gordon both support proposed the legislation, which they said would be a legal contract allowing people who live together in committed relationships to see each other in hospitals and streamline procedures for companies that provide domestic partner benefits, The unions would apply to both gay and non-gay relationships including elderly couples who would lose pension benefits if they married each other.
"This is a question of fairness, and "not telling churches what they ought to do," Gordon said, when someone in the audience seemed dubious about the proposal.
Again and again Koehler and Gordon stood up for common sense and ordinary people, and gently debunked questions that revealed the mainly blue-collar audience members may have been listening to right wing radio.
A couple of people expressed concern that illegal immigrants would take jobs in programs funded by federal stimulus funds, and that they do not pay taxes. Neither is true.
"We all got here," Koehler said, adding laws "should make sure immigrants are treated respectfully," and that paths to legal residency are available.
Koehler said he expects a state capital funding bill from the various funds, but expressed concern about the state's $9 billion deficit. How many of you oppose raising the income tax, he asked. Many raised their hands. But none wanted to cut education or health care when asked about that.
He said of the deficit, "I'm prepared to vote on an income tax increase. I don't see how else we can do it." He added, that's the fairest tax. "How big it will be I don't know."
He also hinted that he is working on devising state incentives to keep Caterpillar, Inc. from moving jobs out of state. He is asking Cat, "what do you need to keep workers here," he said.
Union members at the meeting from the United Auto Workers responded, "Every time (workers) give up something, (Cat) get(s) record profits," one said.
Another person commented, "who is going to buy cars at $8.50 an hour?"
Koehler responded, "what's at risk here is loss of the middle class."
Gordon said she has proposed that state agencies give preferences to American goods and services. "You wouldn't believe the push back from companies," she said. "We're all trying to figure out what to do to protect the middle class."
"Good wages pay taxes," someone commented.
The questions shifted to Peoria District 150, and Koehler noted "white flight" has reduced the numbers of pupils by 10,000, now down to 14,000, with a "high majority of minority and poverty population."
The district should be reconfigured, he said. "We cannot attract new families into the (inner) city. We've got to change that," Koehler said.
Someone asked about more charter schools, but Koehler and Gordon responded that these schools leave out other children. "why can't all schools run like charter schools?" Koehler asked.
Environmental activist Tom Edwards did not speak, but passed out a copy of an appeal he has filed with the Illinois Appellate Court against the Illinois Pollution Control Board, Peoria Disposal Co., and the Illinois and US Environmental Protection Agencies, regarding a recent PCB approval of an attempt by PDC to redefine the types of hazardous wastes it takes at its facility on the edge of Peoria.
Edwards' appeal lists a number of issues, and complains of a "secret process" PDC uses to treat the waste, from steel mills.
Edwards led the successful fight against the expansion of the hazardous waste landfill, but PDC's win in this case enables it to sidestep the PCB's earlier decision, which upheld Peoria County's refusal to allow the expansion.
I attended the meeting to ask the two legislators to work to expand the Open Meetings Act and the Open Records Act to all organizations that receive more than $25,000 a year in state funds.
These not-for-profit organizations, ranging from hospitals to the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, have no public oversight and operate in secret. They select their own boards of directors, and are not required to hold open meetings or furnish information such as minutes of their meetings to the public.
A federal law requires them to make available to the public their federal tax returns, but these often lag way behind the current date and don't carry information about board decision making as they spend tax funds. I provided the two legislators with a written request.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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