A Note From Marti: August

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

July provided valuable opportunities to dig deeper into challenges faced both locally and in Springfield. We met with senior care providers to hear about the financial barriers families encounter when trying to secure home-based assistance for loved ones – issues raised by our Senior Advisory Group. Then we began researching new police reporting requirements and the associated demands placed on police departments. We continued to learn about potential ethics reforms through an informative discussion with representatives from Change Illinois, and I have remained focused in my role as a member of the House Property Tax Working Group.

We’ve continued canvassing to gather feedback so I can best represent you. Our four district office interns, Armando, Dylan, John and Josephine, and I enjoyed getting to know many of you as we walked throughout portions of Westmont, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Western Springs, Addison and Downers Grove.

Throughout July, our office received a significant number of phone calls and emails from residents expressing concerns about regional transit funding related to House Bill 3438. I want to assure you that this proposal, as it stands, has not been voted on in the Illinois House. In response to an anticipated fiscal cliff in regional transportation funding for Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), several ideas were introduced this spring, and the current version is not a final plan. I share your concerns about how funding could be distributed and what that might mean for our suburban communities. Any serious reform package must include meaningful input from all stakeholders – especially our suburbs. I also understand the frustration many taxpayers feel about years of inefficiency within the CTA and other agencies. Conversations are ongoing, and we’re focused on reform before considering funding mechanisms. We cannot ask taxpayers to further support a system that isn’t working. I will continue to seek a solution that represents the needs of our district.

I look forward to seeking and implementing solutions to these issues with help from the input you provide via email, calls, survey responses and in person.

Kind regards,

Marti

Marti surrounded by interns Armando, Josephine, John and Dylan