SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) on Thursday helped pass a supplemental budget plan that will enable state agencies to meet existing obligations, appropriate most federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and provide nearly $450 million for statewide road and bridge projects, including more than $11 million for local road improvements.
 
“My priority for the people I represent is getting them back to work, which is the only way we are going to turn our economy around,” Yarbrough said.  “This package is a major step towards economic recovery and will lay the groundwork for the type of infrastructure that will grow our economy for decades to come.”
 
House Bill 210 appropriates $8.39 billion and allows the state to access $6.75 billion in federal stimulus funds.  Among the major funding areas is a plan to reduce the Medicaid payment cycle from its current 90+ days to 30 days, $1 billion for mass transit (including more than $400 million for Metra and PACE), $300 million for the CREATE freight rail modernization plan, and $160 million for workforce investment to help unemployed adults get job training and retraining.
 
The package also allows the state to make investments in renewable energy projects, energy efficiency, and modernization of the electric grid, moving our economy in a direction that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create thousands of jobs for residents of the Chicago metropolitan area.
 
“Tough times call for direct action, and this package is just the first step in our efforts to put people back to work and stimulate our economy,” Yarbrough said.  “This is the worst economic crisis in generations.  We have a lot of work to do, but legislators are working together in the spirit of cooperation to do what’s right for Illinois, and that is a positive change for the people we represent.”
 
For more information, please contact Yarbrough’s constituent service office at (708) 615-1747.