Illinois Government Affairs Report
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce
By TODDMAISCH
president
and CEO
Illinois State
Chamber
of Commerce
With the 2014 General Election now less than a month away, and the general public starting to focus more closely on the key races around the state, the Chamber is now releasing our voting record for the 2013-14 session of the Illinois General Assembly.
We do so as part of a concerted effort with our federal partners to urge business leaders – and their fellow employees – to educated themselves on the records of our elected officials and to make sure that as many private sector employees as possible vote in the upcoming election.
The Chamber’s voting record is compiled from the key votes that impact employers and the economy in Illinois. The legislature bears a great responsibility for the current economic malaise in Illinois. We believe the Chamber’s voting record is a tremendous tool to help voters identify which legislators are working to turn things around and which are chained to status quo policies and political interests.
This year’s rating do demonstrate a shift, as many usual allies performed more poorly than in the past. The main reason for the shift is a frustrating reluctance to take on issues impacting public sector unions. Too many otherwise pro-business legislators aligned themselves with the unions against critical pension and benefit reforms. Employers must communicate that this state of affairs is unacceptable.
The Illinois Chamber was proud to have joined with the U.S. Chamber’s Vote for Jobs campaign and the Business-Industry Political Action Committee’s Employee Voter Registration Week, which was Sept. 22-26. Both campaigns are committed to getting private sector employers and employees as actively engaged as possible in the upcoming election. Both have tools to facilitate that process. Easy steps to participate include:
– Forward on the Chamber’s voting record to employees and colleagues;
– Encourage your employees to register to vote (you can simply forward them a link to any of these sites to do so: www.Illinoisprosperity.org; http://voteforjobs.com/voter-resources/; www.elections.il.gov);
– Communicate with your employees and colleagues about key issues that your business is facing and how elected officials are responding.
Surveys consistently show employees welcome reasoned information from their employer when it comes to elections. With encouragement and education, we can help maximize the impact of employers on this election.
See more at: http://ilchamber.org/government-affairs-2/government-affairs-home/