Rep. Coladipietro Votes NO Against Budget that Burdens Future Generations

Springfield … Today, the House passed a 2000 page budget where legislators were only given TWO minutes to ask questions of the Democrat House sponsor. “Most people can probably brush their teeth in two minutes but how many people do you know can thoroughly discuss and ask questions about even one important issue in a 2000 page, multi-billion dollar budget in TWO minutes,” said Rep. Coladipietro. “If you want to know what is wrong with the process in Springfield this is a good example. It is absolutely amazing that we have been in session for close to FIVE months and our budget experts only get TWO minutes worth of time to clarify the complex issues in a 2000 page, multi-billion dollar budget. We should have unlimited time to debate a budget bill of this importance. Considering the fact that the Governor and Democrat leadership have had no substantive meetings regarding the budget in the past five months they might consider just a little more time to explore our ideas and proposals on ways to fix this budget mess. The troublesome part is that they are in such a rush just to get something done and go home as opposed to working on ideas to get us out of our financial mess and to put Illinois on a path towards job growth and recovery.” Continue reading »

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Honorable Governor Pat Quinn
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Dear Governor,

Previously you should have received correspondence from members of the House and Senate Republican caucuses identifying key reform proposals we feel need to be enacted to restore fiscal responsibility to our state.  We have a number of additional ideas that collectively will add up to meaningful savings for taxpayers.  

Some of the ways we can begin to get state spending under control include:

Fiscal Reforms to Control Spending:

• HB 4095 Utilizes the same rules as the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to create a balanced budget that is consistent with accrual accounting 
• HB 6626 Requires the budget to be posted online for seven days prior to vote
• HJRCA 28 Requires 3/5^th supermajority vote on any legislation to raise taxes or fees on Illinois families or business
• HB 4836 Creates a Sunshine Commission made up of business leaders to review programs and services to eliminate duplicity and make government more efficient
• HB 5212 Adopts Truth-in-Accounting principals
• SB 1679 Requires Zero-Based Budgeting
• HB 4711 Allows school districts to suspend unfunded mandates of their choice
• No out of state travel for elected officials or state employees  
• Eliminate perk of free cars and cancel all gas cards with the exception of the Illinois State Police
• Sell ½ of the state automobile fleet
• No state office should be remodeled, no new furniture or carpet
• HB 6622 Prohibits legislative pay raise for FY11
• HB 6625 Institutes 12 furlough days for lawmakers
• HB 5488, HB 4800 Eliminates fleet of state aircraft   (Generate $25 million and save millions more each year to operate)
• HB 4888 Reduces number of license plates to one per car ($1 million annual savings)
• HJRCA 36 Eliminates LT  Governor office ($2 million in savings)
• HJRCA 49 Combines Comptroller/Treasurer  (up to $12 million in savings)
• HB 2657 Ends free rides for seniors ($37 million savings to state)
• HB 4633 Eliminates General Assembly Scholarships (Cost to universities over 2007-2008 $12.5 million)
• HB 4662 Offer Tax ‘Amnesty’ for delinquent taxpayers(COGFA estimates $104 million in new revenues)
• Impose hiring freeze and freeze state employees’ salaries
• Review entry level state employees’ salaries
• Sell Lincoln Developmental Center ($1 million savings)
• Sell eight state-owned prison warden’s homes  Continue reading »

Springfield … State Representative Franco Coladipietro (R-Bloomingdale) today questioned Governor Quinn’s budget proposal which included borrowing an additional $4 billion and pushing off the state’s unpaid bills to a new fiscal year.

“This state is billions in the red and the last thing we need to do is to continue to take out the credit card and charge our bills,” said Rep. Coladipietro.

Some of the proposals outlined in the Governor’s budget address include $1.3 billion in cuts to education, $240 million cuts in healthcare, $4 billion in new borrowing and pushing off nearly $6 billion in unpaid bills into FY12. Continue reading »

Bloomingdale, IL….State Representatives Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago), Franco Coladipietro (R-Bloomingdale), Sandy Pihos (R-Glen Ellyn), Darlene Senger (R-Naperville), Michael Connelly (R-Naperville), Patti Bellock (Westmont) and State Senator Randy Hultgren (R-Wheaton) will be hosting a Legislative Forum on Autism. This forum is free and open to the public. In addition to residents sharing their concerns with the representatives, there will be three guest speakers sharing information about existing programs available to local residents.

The information for the forum is as follows:

Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Monday, March 8 
Location: Wheaton Community Center, 1777 S. Blanchard Rd., Wheaton, IL

Speakers:
Ami Chambers, Parents Alliance Employment Project
TOPIC – “An Introduction to Adult Supported Employment Services”

Christopher M. Kennedy, Esq. Partner of Kennedy, Pierson & Strachan, LLP
TOPIC – Advocacy & Legislative Issues

Karen Sweeney, QMRP, Director of Community Services, PACT
TOPIC – “State Funded Community Services”

For more information contact Joyce at (630) 582-0045.

Springfield … “Common sense is one step to restoring fiscal discipline in this state,” said State Representative Franco Coladipietro (R-Bloomingdale) after expressing his frustration that “pay-as-you-go” legislation was blocked by House Democrats for a vote.

House Bill 3189, otherwise known as “pay-as-you-go” legislation, would require that any new spending or new program be offset with either budget cuts or a tax increase to offset the new spending. Continue reading »

Springfield… Today, State Representative Franco Coladipietro (R-Bloomingdale) rejects a campaign finance bill which does little to limit the influence of political parties and power brokers.

Despite Rep. Coladipietro and his House Republican colleagues’ efforts to require meaningful campaign contribution caps, House Democrats push through a watered-down campaign finance bill that is short on reforms.

Senate Bill 1466, sponsored by Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan, includes campaign contribution caps for individuals, corporations, unions and political action committees. However, the bill does not limit contributions from a political party or caucus PAC to a candidate. So parties and legislative leaders will remain free to give unlimited campaign cash to their preferred candidates.

“Eighty percent of this legislation is spot-on and does offer the beginning of campaign finance reform. However, this legislation does not go far enough and actually causes some unintentional consequences, including concentrating and giving the legislative leaders more power,” said Rep. Coladipietro. “This state is ripe for campaign finance reform and it would be an utter failure on our part if we didn’t get this legislation correct.” Continue reading »

Bloomingdale … State Representative Franco Coladipietro today announced the opening of his new district office and welcomes residents to stop on by to visit. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Rep. Coladpietro added that Joyce Hundhausen is his legislative aide and is responsible for directly assisting residents with any concerns or questions they have with state government.

“Whether a constituent has a concern with their state license or need help navigating state bureaucracy, Joyce is there to help get an answer to your problem,” said Rep. Coladipietro.

Rep. Coladipietro’s new district office information is as follows:

123 N. Rosedale Road
Suite 100
Bloomingdale, IL 60108
630.582.0045 (telephone)

Bloomingdale – Residents of the 45th House District have an opportunity to attend an informative, interactive senior health and lifestyle fair Tuesday, August 25. Admission to the fair is FREE and is being sponsored by State Senator Carole Pankau (R-Itasca) and State Representative Franco Coladipietro (R-Bloomingdale).

This educational event will be held at the St. Isidore’s Catholic School, 427 W. Army Trail Rd. Bloomingdale, Illinois from 9 a.m. to noon. Fair attendees can take advantage of free refreshments as they obtain information about prevalent senior topics such as photo ID cards, passports, nutrition, veteran’s affairs and retirement planning. A “rules of the road” course will be available to refresh attendees on crucial driving safety at 10 a.m.  Continue reading »