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Dear
Neighbor,Now
thatthe
legislativesession
in
Springfield
is
over,I
wanted
to
takea
moment
to
giveyouan
update
on
some
of
the
highlights.Thiswasachallenging
year
to
produce
a
balanced
budget
aswefaceda
seriousdeficit
duetothe
severenationalrecession.
In
response,lawmakers
voted
to
approve
a
state
budget
that
reducesspending
byseveralbilliondollars
and
does
not
raiseincometaxes.Despiteadifficult
budget
year,wewere
able
to
makeprogressonseveralimportantissuesfacingIllinois.We
passed
sweeping
ethicsreformsaimed
at
cleaningupcorruption
in
Springfield.I
helped
advance
severalmeasures
tostrengthen
publicsafety,includingcrackingdownon
gangs,
stalkers
and
sexoffenders.There
is
stillalotmorework
to
do
to
get
our
state
backon
the
righttrack,
but
Iamas
committed
as
ever
to
fightingforyourinterests
and
makingsureourcommunities
get
theirfairshare
of
state
funding.Iwouldlike
to
hear
fromyou.
If
youhave
questionsor
concernsregarding
stategovernment,
or
if
you
need
anyassistanceaccessingservices,please
call
me
at
(630)372-3340.Yourfriend,
- = ; § ~
Fred
Crespo
StateRepresentative
0
44thDistrict
 
A
Balanced
BUdget
with
NO
Tax:
Increase
Likeallstates,Illinois
is
in
the
grips
of
aseriousrecession.Decreasedstaterevenuesresulting
fromtheeconomic
slowdownforcedlawmakers
to
make
difficult
decisions
about
how
to
balance
thebudget.
Somesuggestedweshouldincreasetaxes
as
away
to
produce
abalanced
budget,
but
RepresentativeCrespostronglyopposedany
effort
to
increaseyourincome
taxes.
In
these
difficult
times,
with
so
many
peopleout
of
work
andfamilies
struggling
to
makeendsmeet,
it
would
be
irresponsible
to
raise
income
taxes.Crespoalsobelieves
that
electedofficialsshould
do
withless
as
well.The
budget
thisyearincludesarejection
of
a
proposed
payincrease
for
legislators,andcutslawmakers'pay
by
mandating
12unpaidfurloughdays.
To
help
returningveterans,RepresentativeCrespo
helped
passlegislation
that
would
encourage
employers
to
hireveterans
who
served
in
Operations
DesertStorm,EnduringFreedom,
or
IraqiFreedom,by
providing
a10%tax
credit
(up
to
$1,200)on
the
wages
paid
to
veterans.For
moreinformation
onprograms
to
assistveterans,call1-800-437-9824.(SenateBill2046,signed
into
law)
Rep.
Crespovisits
withWilliamWurster,
a
constituent,WorldWar
II
U.S.
Army
AirForce
pilot,
and
highlydecorated
combat
veteran.
fVlr.
Wurster
was
recognized
by
the
Housewith
a
congratulatory
resolution
thanking
him
for
his
service
on
theoccasion
of
his
90thbirthday.
 
e a l f t j ~ l f t j g
S ~ a t e
G @ v e ~ l f t j m e l f t j t
In
the
wake
of
scandalsin
the
administrations
of
former
Governors
George
Ryan
and
RodBlagojevich,
the
GeneralAssernblypasseda
sweepingset
of
government
reform
bills-
themost
comprehensive
andfarreachingethicsoverhaul
in
statehistory.Representative
Crespobacked
measures
that:Give
voters
the
option
to
recalla
sitting
governor
(House
Joint
Resolution
Constitutional
Amendment
31,awaitsactioninSenate)
Make
it
harder
for
legislators
to
approvetheir
own
payincreases(SenateBill2090,
returned
byGovernorfor
additional
consideration
during
fallVetoSession)Strengthen
the
state's
Freedom
of
Information
Act
to
make
it
easier
for
citizensandjournalists
to
gainaccess
to
government
documents
anddiscover
wrongdoing
(SenateBill189,
signedinto
law)Reformstate
contractprocurement
process
to
endopportunities
for
pay-to-play
politics.(SenateBill
S1,
returnedby
Governor
for
additional
consideration
during
fallVetoSession)Broaden
the
stateEthics
Act
to
protect
whistleblowers,
impose
tougher
revolving-doorprohibitions,prevent
conflicts
of
interest,
providegreater
investigativepowers
to
inspectorsgeneral,
and
create
tougher
regulationand
disclosure
requirements
for
lobbyists
(SenateBill54,
signedinto
law)
of 00

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