Jan 23

State Representative Patti Bellock of the 47th District and State Representative Sandy Pihos of the 42nd District would like to welcome you to a joint Town Hall Meeting to discuss important issues facing the General Assembly in the upcoming 2012 session.

Date: Tuesday

January 24, 2012

Time: 7pm – 9pm

Location: Downers Grove Park District

Recreation & Fitness Center

Lower Level

4500 Belmont Road

Downers Grove, IL 60515

For more information contact Rep. Bellock’s office at 630/852-8633.

Jan 19

I want to thank the 4th grade Cub Scouts from Clarendon Hills Pack 51 who came by my office for a visit. I had a great time and I believe they learned alot.

Jan 19

Dear Neighbor,

The legislature will begin the new spring session at the end of January and my top priorities are to continue the fight for a balanced budget and decreased spending. I have made this my main focus over the last two years by sponsoring two major Medicaid reform bills that can save our state at least a billion dollars. They have both passed, but the administration has been slow on the implementation of the reforms. These bills are HB5420 and HB2934.

Business Climate

The 67% corporate tax hike, which I opposed, and other economic factors over the last few years have had damaging effects on the Illinois economy as seen below:

• Unemployment in Illinois has risen in 2011 from 9.1% to 10% which translates to 60,000 more Illinoisans out of work.

• Bond rating downgrade by Moody’s from A1 to A2. They cited weak management practices, failure to implement pension funding reforms and non-payment of overdue bills as the reasons. S & P and Fitch have not downgraded but gave stern warnings of a possible downgrade later in the year.

• Illinois companies are threatening or actually moving out of Illinois to more business friendly states.

• Between 1995 and 2009 the state lost 806,000 people to out migration.

Illinois is home to some of the largest businesses in the world and we need to compete with our neighbors to attract and keep employers of all sizes who provide good jobs for our working families.

Here are a few components of a recent jobs package we passed that will provide real broad based relief for large and small employers:

1. Reinstatement of the R&D tax credit for five years, and allowing business to extend the credit an additional five years.
2. Reinstatement of the Net Operating Loss Deduction. This gives business the ability to carry their losses forward in a tough economy.
3. Increase of the Estate Tax Exemption from $2 million to $4 million over a two year period.

Electronics Disposal

A new law that took effect January 1st makes it unlawful for citizens to dispose of unwanted electronics in their regular trash. Discarded electronics, including computers, monitors, electronic keyboards, scanners, fax machines and other electronic devices, must now be taken to a registered recycler for proper management. It is illegal for the customers to dispose of them in normal roadside pick-up and it is illegal for Illinois landfills to accept them.

Old electronics contain a variety of potentially toxic contaminants. These contaminants must be kept out of Illinois’ 48 active landfills.

The Illinois EPA maintains a web site at: http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/electronic-waste-recycling/index.html, and additional information can be found at http://www.dupageco.org/recycling/.

Upcoming Events
• Bellock/Pihos Town Hall meeting Tuesday, January 24th

Rep. Patti Bellock of the 47th District and Rep. Sandy Pihos of the 42nd District will be hosting a joint Town Hall meeting to discuss important issues facing the General Assembly in the upcoming 2012 session.

Date: January 24, 2012
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Location: Downers Grove Park District Recreation & Fitness Center – Lower Level
4500 Belmont Road
Downers Grove, IL 60515
For more information contact Yvonne Kolling at 630/852-8633(Bellock)or Michelle Myers at 630/858-8855(Pihos).

• Governor State of the State Address – Wednesday, February 1st
• Go Red Day – Heart Awareness – in Springfield – Thursday, February 2nd
• Governor State of the Budget – Thursday, February 22nd
• Alzheimer’s Advocacy Day in Springfield – Tuesday, March 27th
• Autism Day in Springfield – Tuesday, April 24th

All of my best wishes for a safe, healthy and happy new year. I look forward to your comments and to keeping you updated on Springfield issues in the upcoming newsletters.

Best regards,
Patti

Jan 12

WESTMONT –Today marks the one year anniversary of the state’s largest income tax increase in history and State Rep. Patti Bellock (R-Hinsdale) is working hard to insure that Illinois businesses and corporations will soon be receiving a corporate tax reduction.

“We do not want to see additional businesses and jobs leave Illinois because of high taxes,” said Rep. Bellock. “Businesses, and the jobs they provide, are the backbone of the Illinois economy and my colleagues and I are sponsoring House Bill 3918 to encourage a business friendly environment.”

House Bill 3918 takes a two-tiered approach to reducing Illinois’ business taxes:

1. Accelerates the expiration of the temporary corporate income tax increase. For income earned during calendar 2013 the rate declines from 7% to 6% and for income earned during calendar 2014 the rate would further decline to 4.8%.

2. Effective immediately the corporate income tax would be reduced by 0.25% anytime the Illinois unemployment rate increases by .3% in a four month span. For example, if the unemployment rate in January was 10% and in April it was 10.3% then this provision would take effect. At no point would the corporate income tax be less than 4.8% (the tax before Public Act 96-1496).

“This roll back will help us keep the businesses we have and attract new companies to our state.” said Bellock, “The state shouldn’t lose any revenue with this legislation because any shortfall in tax receipts will be regained with new jobs and a broader tax base.”