Rep. Dan Brady shares his views on the state budget, pension reform, higher education and more.

During "random questions" we learn his nickname, his frustrations with golf, and his love of fried chicken.

Reps. Bourne, McCombie, Hammond, Bryant and Winger
wear black to show solidarity and their commitment to ending
sexual harassment and discrimination. 

Yesterday for the State of the State address members of the Illinois General Assembly wore black to show their solidarity and renew their commitment to ending sexual harassment and discrimination.

Reps. Barb Wheeler and Christine Winger rose on the House Floor to speak about the alarming testimony they heard as part of the Sexual Harassment Task Force and urged support of HR 783 to launch an investigation into harassment allegations.

Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez shared the experiences of the first women Illinois legislator,  Rep. Lottie Holman O'Neil and spoke eloquently about creating an environment where "it is not riskier for women to speak-up than to remain silent."

Finally, Governor Rauner signed Executive Order 2018-02 strengthening state policies to ensure all government employees under his jurisdiction have reliable and responsive outlets for reporting acts of sexual misconduct. Among other things, the order creates a chief compliance office and requires the review of harassment allegations within 10 days or less. Read the entire Executive Order

House Republicans members will continue to take action against perpetrators of harassment and work to improve protections for women in the workplace.

Jobs
Illinois unemployment rate drops. The Illinois unemployment rate dropped from 4.9% to 4.8% in December 2017. The declining jobless rate to close out calendar year 2017 was another sign of a stable employment picture in the Land of Lincoln, with Illinois employers supporting an estimated 6,050,900 nonfarm payroll jobs. This marked an increase of 1,500 jobs from the previous month, and an increase of almost 30,000 jobs from December 2016. The new figures were published by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), which tracks and monitors Illinois employment and unemployment.

State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer has refiled his “Taxpayer’s Fiscal Charter” which he calls common-sense legislation in reforming the Illinois’ budget process by stopping wasteful spending, promoting a thirty-day payment cycle and requiring the State to make its full pension payment. We’ll talk about the legislation and his expectations of the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly.

We also hear about his time as a legislative assistant in Washington DC and what he has in common with the U.S Speaker of the House, the Pittsburg Steelers star quarterback, and Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.

Illinois is home to world class colleges and universities, yet more and more Illinois students choose to leave our state to continue their education. From 1991-2014, enrollment at Illinois public universities and community colleges has declined by 50,000 students. As the father of a college-age daughter, State Representative Dan Brady knows this ‘brain drain’ can’t continue. As Republican Spokesman on the House Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, Rep. Brady has been working on real solutions that will help us keep our best and brightest here to get their degree and, hopefully, to put their talents to work in our communities.

Rep. Brady has filed HB 4103 which would ensure Illinois high school student with a 3.0 cumulative grade point average or better will be guaranteed admission to a public university in our state. It will also establish a uniform admission process online, allowing Illinois students to apply to all Illinois public universities with one online submission.

We think helping students attain a quality higher education right here in Illinois is vital to our state. Kudos to Rep. Brady for continuing to find ways to make that happen.

JOBS
Chicago makes the cut to 20 in Amazon’s HQ2 search. Amazon.com and its owner-CEO, Jeff Bezos, have announced their intent to create a second headquarters in addition to Amazon’s current headquarters in Seattle. In late 2017, the firm asked cities in North America to submit plans and proposals for the global marketing firm to initiate a major expansion. Amazon’s stated criteria for selecting their location for potential expansion included a city within an urban area with more than 1 million people and within 45 minutes of an international airport. The presence of mass-transit infrastructure was described as strongly desirable but not essential. The firm stated that it was their intent to create a research, development, and logistics management complex that could support as many as 50,000 jobs.

Charles Dvorak at the St. Louis Olympic Games, 1904

 Next month Illinoisans will cheer on the athletes of Team USA as they represent our nation in the winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. In recent years the nation has pulled for Illinoisan Olympians like Naperville figure skater Evan Lysacek, Chicago basketball stars Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade, hockey stars like Cammi Granato-Ferraro of Downers Grove, and legends like East St. Louis track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Champaign figure skater Bonnie Blair. Most recently, during the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, more than 50 athletes with ties to Illinois competed; and they brought home 22 medals, including 11 golds.