Ill. signs hefty public works bill

The Illinois state legislature appears to be moving, even if it is at a snail’s pace. The Land of Lincoln still does not have an approved fiscal-year budget in hand, but Gov. Pat Quinn signed a $31 billion state construction program that will help improve roads, bridges and other infrastructure. It is the first public works bill in the state in more than a decade.

Increases in driver’s license, license plate and car-title transfer fees, the legalization of as many as 45,000 video gambling machines and the online sale of lottery tickets will help support the bill, which is expected to create more than 400,000 jobs over six years in a state that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Over $14 billion will go to road and bridge construction and another $7 billion will help feed other modes of transportation like mass transit.

“We know our economy needs a boost,” Quinn said at the bill-signing ceremony. “We have unemployment that is way too high, and we are not standing by the side of the road waiting for things to happen, we’re going to make things happen.”

The bill, however, is not free of scrutiny. The legislation contains $3 billion in pork-barrel projects, and some do not agree with the video gambling and online lottery angle. Quinn said local officials can still refuse video gambling and that voters will be able to ban it in local referendums.