PEORIA, Ill. – Local and state legislators converged in Peoria on Tuesday to address the city’s business leaders.
The Peoria Chamber of Commerce hosted a legislative luncheon session. The guest speakers were Illinois State Minority Leader John Curran (R-Lemont) and Senate Chief Budgeteer Elgie Sims (D-Chicago).
Topics at the session included discussions of civility in politics, the state budget, housing storages, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Chamber President Jessica Linder Gallo says the luncheon is part of an effort to help build bridges between its members and legislative leaders, and ramp up the organization’s legislative efforts.
“We are really putting time, energy, investment into that voice of the Chamber’s mission,” Gallo said.
After the luncheon, Sims and Curran were joined by Peoria Democratic legislators, State Senator Dave Koehler and State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth, to discuss topics ahead of the fall veto session.
One piece of legislation that is expected to be discussed is a proposed delivery tax. The $1.50 tax would apply on most deliveries in the state, with the measure proposed to help out with an about three-quarters of a billion dollar deficit in the Chicago transit system.
Last week, State Representative Bill Hauter (R-Morton) spoke out against the measure, saying he would like to see reforms in place instead of raising revenues.
Gordon-Booth says the bill is one of the top priorities of the veto session, and adds she is trying to ensure that revenues from the bill go towards bringing a needed form of transportation to the area.
“How can we make any conversation about a fix to RTA, CTA, etc., how can we look at this as an opportunity to advance the rail that is so desperately needed here in central Illinois?” Gordon-Booth said.
Gordon-Booth says it’s also important to give Chicago transit the support needed because of its role as an economic driver in the Midwest.
Gordon-Booth says the bill does not have the required 60 votes yet, and some issues still need to be addressed in the bill.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order on Tuesday regarding state agencies to reduce spending by 4% was also addressed. Sims says the move comes as more is known about President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
“When we passed the budget in May, we recognized the realities that existed at the time,” Sims said. “We have more information now. We know what the impacts of HR1 are going to have on the state.”
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