KOTOWSKI CALLS FOR TERM LIMITS FOR LEGISLATIVE LEADERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Dan Fights to Change Business as Usual in Springfield

10/1/2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mike Murray

(847) 830-2141

mike@dankotowski.com

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge), has filed a constitutional amendment that would place term limits on legislative leaders and committee chairs. The long term consolidation of legislative power is bad for the legislative process and harmful to the people Illinois.

“Illinois’ financial crisis is the result of decades of mismanagement and corruption by both political parties and we will never get Illinois back on track unless we change business as usual in Springfield,” said Senator Kotowski. “I am proud of the work I have done to reform Springfield, but more needs to be done, and I believe that term limits on legislative leaders and committee chairs is a key component to fixing Springfield and getting Illinois on the right track.”

The constitutional amendment filed by Senator Kotowski is modeled after the leadership term limits passed by U.S. House Republicans in the 1990s. It prohibits any legislator who has served 2 consecutive 2-year terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the Senate, or a committee chair from being re-elected to the same position for at least 4 years from the date of their last term.

“I am not afraid to use a good idea just because it came from the Republicans,” Said Kotowski. “Changing business as usual is not about political party, it’s about working together to get things done. I have a record of doing just that, and once re-elected, I will continue the fight to change Springfield and get Illinois back on track.

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The push for term limits on legislative leadership positions and committee chairs is the most recent example of Senator Kotowski’s effort to change business as usual in Springfield. Senator Kotowski’s record of changing business as usual in Springfield is provided below.

Spending Reform:

• Public Act 96-1529 (Chief Sponsor) Requires the state to live within its means and fund programs based upon performance. Prevents the automatic renewal of state grants, and prohibits the Governor and Executive branch from negotiating labor contracts in the last six months of their terms. 
• Public Act 96-1478 (Chief Sponsor) Opened up state contracts larger than $250,000 for competitive bidding.
• Public Act 96-0816: (Chief Sponsor) Reduced veto override threshold of the Cook County Board to allow the rollback of the Stroger sales tax increase.
• Public Act 96-0065 (Chief Sponsor) Requires DCFS to require performance based measurements for residential services.
• Public Act 97-0071 (Chief Sponsor) Cut legislative salaries.
• Public Act 97-0718 (Chief Sponsor) Cut legislative salaries.
• Public Act 97-0772 (Chief Co-Sponsor) Ended the much abused legislative scholarships program.
• Public Act 97-0691 (Chief Co-Sponsor) Enacted Medicaid payment reform.
• Public Act 97-0749: (Co-Sponsor) Edge Credit Transparency
• Public Act 97-0689 (Supported) Medicaid reform that ensures 1.6 billion in spending reductions, rate cuts, and cost controls.
• Public Act 97-0695: (Supported) Eliminated free healthcare for life benefits for politicians and state workers. Saves tax payers $200 million every year.

Anti-Corruption:

• Public Act 96-1019: (Chief Sponsor) Public Corruption Profit Forfeiture Act
• Public Act 95-0536: (Chief Sponsor) Requires real-time, online posting of all contracts awarded in Illinois
• Public Act 96-0006: (Sponsor) Bans gifts to pension board members and strengthens protections against conflicts of interest.
• Public Act 95-0971: (Sponsor) Prohibits people with state contracts from giving political contributions to government officials who award those same contracts.

Job Creation:

• Public Act 97-0197: (Chief Sponsor) Technology Development Account (TDA) II: doubles down on the highly successful TDA program that brought over $800 million in outside, private investment to Illinois and created 3,500 good paying jobs.
• Public Act 96-0937: (Chief Sponsor) Research & Development Tax Credit: provides a tax credit for companies that invested in R & D and promoted growth of emerging technological sectors of Illinois’s economy.
• Public Act 97-1097 (Chief Sponsor) Encourages continued investment in new businesses that create jobs and ensures appropriate oversight and expenditure of startup companies.
• Public Act 96-0888: (Co-Sponsor) Known as Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit. Provides small businesses with a $2500 tax credit for every new employed hired.
• Public Act 97-0905: (Supporter) Enterprise zone reform