Cavaletto Votes for Crucial Capital Jobs Bill

May 29, 2009 on 7:39 am | In News Releases | No Comments

5/21/2009

Springfield, IL….State Rep. John Cavavletto (R – Salem) voted to create the first capital construction program in a decade in the state of Illinois. HB 312 establishes a spending plan that will create nearly 500,000 jobs statewide in coming years.

Cavaletto says the capital construction plan passed by the Illinois House late Thursday night will spark Illinois’ economy and shore up aging and crumbling infrastructure. “Today we voted to support a capital plan that will grow our economy and put people back to work,” Cavaletto said. “I feel fortunate as a freshman legislator to see my colleagues come together in a time of great economic need and pass a job creation bill. The people of southern Illinois have been waiting for this for a long, long time.”

Following a decade of stagnation on the issue of capital construction, the Illinois House unanimously approved new road, bridge, school, and infrastructure construction. “We voted today to make a major investment in our people and in our infrastructure. We will fix thousands of miles of bad roads, crumbling bridges, and build new schools. With unemployment over 9% in Illinois, this plan will put people back to work and get our economy going again,” Cavaletto said.

A study conducted by Southern Illinois University estimates a capital program of approximately that size ($25 billion) will create around 443,000 new full-time jobs, generate $23.7 billion in labor income and lead to $32.5 billion in economic activity and more than $2.4 billion in state and local tax revenues.

The capital bill that passed the Illinois House also addresses the list of 23 school districts that have been waiting since 2002 for $150 million in promised school construction funding.