State Representative Kay Hatcher (R-Yorkville) presents “Property Taxes in Kendall County, Understanding the Assessment Process.”

“Wrestling plays an important role in Illinois communities and provides our youth the opportunity to learn valuable life skills through discipline, strength, and hard work,” said Cross. “I remain hopeful that the International Olympic Committee will reverse its decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics.”

“Wrestling is an Olympic tradition dating back to the very first Olympic Games. Today, hundreds of thousands of student athletes here and across the country wrestle, many with dreams of participating in the Olympics. The Olympic Committee needs to continue to inspire young athletes’ dreams, not stifle them,” Representative Hatcher said.

The IOC executive board’s has voted to phase out wrestling after the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2012, more than 280,000 high school students in the United States participated in the sport. It is considered to be one of the most diverse sports, with athletes from almost 200 countries around the world.  Illinois has the second most high school wrestlers in any state in the nation, with 17,112 high school boys and girls wrestling in the 2011-2012 year. Illinois is also active in college wrestling through 18 college programs.

The Seminar, Understanding and Appealing Your Property Tax Bill, will be held on Saturday, May 11th, 9:00am to Noon at the Yorkville Public Library located at 902 Game Farm Road in Yorkville. Presentations will include how the assessment process works, how property tax bills are compiled, and what steps homeowners can take to appeal if they believe they are being charged in error.

“Property taxes are a big part of every homeowner’s annual budget. It’s important to understand how local and county officials arrive at the figures on your bill, and what options you have to appeal if you believe a mistake has been made. That’s the focus of our seminar,” Representative Hatcher said.

“Property tax time can be a very stressful time for homeowners, especially with today’s economy,” said Representative Roth. “Understanding how the assessment process works and that there are ways to appeal can help relieve some of that stress, and in some cases may even save homeowners some money.”

No pre-registration is required to attend the seminar. For more information, contact Representative Roth’s office at 815-416-1475 or Rep. Hatcher’s office at 630-553-3223.

“The Fox Valley continues to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Our transportation infrastructure absolutely must keep pace with our growing communities,” Rep. Hatcher said. “These needed upgrade projects and the jobs they provide are all good news for local families.”

“Not only will this provide vital road and highway improvements, it will also create jobs in our communities,” added Cross. “These projects will ultimately improve the safety and quality of life of our residents.”

A full list of projects is available from the Illinois Department of Transportation at www.dot.il.gov. Some highlights in the Fox Valley include:
• Major interchange reconstruction at IL Route 47 and I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway);
• Congestion mitigation on US Route 30 West of Dugan Road to West of IL Route 47, and bridge work on the US Route 30 bridge over IL 47;
• Additional lane construction and bridge replacement on US Route 34 from east of Eldamain Road to Center Parkway in Yorkville;
• Additional lane construction and new storm sewers on US Route 34 from IL Route 47 to Orchard Road west of Oswego;
• Resurfacing of US 34 from the Fox River Bridge to IL Route 71 in Oswego;
• Congestion mitigation work on IL Route 47 and US Route 30 from the Kane County Line to Kennedy Road North of Yorkville;
• Intersection improvement and traffic light installation at IL Route 47 and Main Street South of Elburn;
• Bridge replacement on IL Route 56 at Hankes Road;
• Additional lane construction on IL Route 71 west of IL Route 47 to east of IL Route 126

IDOT’s six year plan also includes funding for passenger rail development in Kendall County, the purchase of new busses for service expansion into Kendall County and improvements at the Aurora Municipal Airport.

The total cost of the statewide construction program is $12.62 billion over the next six years, of which $7.2 billion comes from the federal government, $1.9 billion from state funds and the rest from local and other sources.

“The disruption to local businesses created by the recent improvement work at Routes 47 and 64 really highlighted the need for some new guidelines. I met and spoke with several local small business owners about the dramatic impact the construction was having on their businesses, and what we may be able to do to help. I also held hearings that allowed I-DOT to better understand local business frustration with the construction process,” Representative Hatcher said. “There’s no question that road repair and improvements are necessary especially in a growing area like ours; but we certainly need to take into account the disruption that will create for local businesses and do everything we can to minimize the impact.”

Representative Hatcher’s House Bill 2382 is poised for consideration in the Senate after garnering near-unanimous support last week in the Illinois House. The legislation requires that prior to commencement of a new construction project; the Illinois Department of Transportation (I-DOT) must work with affected businesses, residents and other community members to mitigate the project’s impact.

Some of the steps they may take to help lessen the impact on businesses and others include clearly marked detour routing, and the posting of signs letting potential customers know that the road is still open to limited local traffic. “This lets customers know that despite the construction, they can still get to their favorite local business,” Representative Hatcher stressed.

“I also want to note that I-DOT has been very understanding of our local business concerns and very willing to work with us to help lessen the disruption caused by needed improvement and repair projects,” Representative Hatcher said.

“Our state Constitution requires us to pass a ‘balanced’ state budget each and every year. But over the years some General Assemblies and Governors have employed creative accounting to make budgets appear balanced on paper when they really weren’t; and we’ve all seen the catastrophic results – skyrocketing debt and $9 billion in bills we can’t pay,” Hatcher said. “We need to get serious about passing budgets that are truly balanced by implementing serious consequences for failing to do so.”

House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 32 sponsored by Representative Hatcher (R-Yorkville) will put real “teeth” into the state’s balanced budget requirement. It demands that within 30 days of the enactment of a budget, the Auditor General’s Office must certify that the budget will be balanced with expenses not exceeding expected revenue. If the Auditor General declares that the budget is not balanced then the Comptroller will:

o Stop payment for the salary of General Assembly members and Constitutional Officers; and

o Stop all payments, besides those affecting public safety of the State, required by law, or required by the federal government

HJRCA 32 also requires that within 10 days of the Auditor General declaring the budget is not balanced, the General Assembly must convene to address the unbalanced budget. Upon passage of a new budget, the Auditor General must certify if it is balanced, and only then will the Comptroller be allowed to continue payments. If at any time the current fiscal year budget becomes unbalanced, the Comptroller must alert the General Assembly and Governor. The same protocol must then be followed as if the Auditor General declared the budget unbalanced.

If adopted by the General Assembly, the new constitutional balanced budget amendment would then be placed on the ballot for approval by voters statewide in 2014.

“In addition to introducing real consequences for legislators, this amendment also ensures we have an outside, independent office reviewing the budget and applying the same standards each year for what constitutes real ‘balance’,” Hatcher said. “I encourage everyone who agrees we need to truly balance our budget every year to fix our financial crisis to go to my website at www.hatcher.ilhousegop.org and add your name to this important balanced budget petition.”

Click to hear Representative Hatcher discussing HJRCA32….

House Bill 2372 would re-enact the fatal accident memorial marker program, which sunset on December 31, 2012. The Roadside Memorial Act raises awareness of the dangers of reckless driving while allowing families an opportunity to remember the victims of crashes involving reckless drivers.

The Act is named Adam’s Law after 5 year-old Adam Miller of Naperville who was tragically killed in a traffic accident in 2008.

“Families like Adam’s deserve the ability to honor the life of a loved one at the site of their tragic loss,” said Cross. “This simple yet important legislation would enable families to do so safely and legally.”

“Distracted and impaired driving shatters families and takes innocent lives,” added Rep. Hatcher. “Roadside memorials are a grave reminder to all of us to drive safely and always use caution regardless of the road or weather conditions.”

HB 2372 passed unanimously out of the Transportation Committee Wednesday. If approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor, the Act would apply to markers constructed on or after January 1, 2013.

Rep. Hatcher (R-Yorkville) said the Governor’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014 spends $1.9 billion more than the current year’s budget framework.

“As we did last year, the House has begun our budget process by setting a revenue total we expect to bring in. For 2014 we’re expecting about one billion dollars in new, additional revenue. We need to live within that framework, remembering that we also will have one billion dollars in additional pension obligations in the coming year,” Hatcher explained. “Today, the Governor proposed nearly two billion dollars in additional spending- that’s almost double the amount of new revenue that will be available.”

Representative Hatcher also noted that while the Governor has proposed “flat” funding for most areas of the budget, he today singled out schools and universities for deep cuts.

“The Governor has once again targeted school transportation funding, which is a cut aimed squarely at suburban and downstate schools that need to pay for busses to get most of their students to and from school every day. Once again, the governor is throwing our communities and our families ‘under the bus’.”

Representative Hatcher said she was also very disappointed with what she didn’t hear from the Governor in his address today.

“The Governor talks about the need for revenue. The best way to bring in new revenue is to get people back to work. Where is his comprehensive plan to grow and expand jobs?” Representative Hatcher asked. “When he signed into law the largest income tax increase in Illinois history, the Governor promised it would be temporary. I don’t know a soul who actually believes that tax is temporary.”

The buzz has begun about this spring’s Senior Spelling Bee, hosted by State Representative Kay Hatcher. This year’s Bee will on Friday, April 26^th at the Oswego Senior Center.

“Each year I host an event so mature adults in our area can show off their ‘spelling smarts’ and each year it gets more competitive and more fun,” Rep. Hatcher said. “We move the event throughout the district. Two years ago we were in Yorkville and last year we were in Sugar Grove. I’m hoping to find a great spot in Elburn next year.”

Hatcher said the local Senior Spelling Bee is open to everyone 50 and better. The event will begin with a 1 p.m. check-in at the Oswego Senior Center, located at 156 E. Washington Street. Those wishing to participate are asked to pre-register with her office by April 19^th.

“This is one of my favorite events because the participants have such a great time; some even bring their own cheering sections. And the two top spellers will go on to compete in the regional competition,” Hatcher added.

A list of some, but not all of the words contestants will be asked to spell will be posted on Representative Hatcher’s constituent website www.hatcher.ilhousegop.org.  Participants are encouraged to study by using a dictionary or by going to www.myspellit.com or www.spellingbee.com.  Rules will be provided upon registration.

For questions or to register for the Senior Spelling Bee, contact Representative Hatcher’s office at 630-553-3223.   E-mail Kay at:  info@kayhatcher.us.       

“With billions in unpaid bills, an unprecedented one billion dollar pension payment looming and families throughout the state looking for work, what we needed to hear today was the Governor’s vision for stabilizing our economy and creating opportunity. What we heard instead was his wish list on a variety of social issues,” Hatcher said.

In the address before a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate, Governor Quinn touched on a variety of social issues, rather than focusing on addressing the state’s ongoing financial crisis.

“To me, the Governor’s address today sounded like a campaign speech – a little something for everyone, including increasing spending again in areas we just worked so hard to reduce,” Hatcher said. “House Republicans have put forward a variety of proposals to promote jobs and economic growth. I hope that in the coming months the Governor will choose to work with us on creating economic stability for our families first,” Hatcher said.

Click to hear comments from Rep. Hatcher on the Governor’s address….