Unsafe Roads and Bridges, Crumbling Infrastructure, Unemployment Cited as Need for Comprehensive Plan by Labor-Business Coalition

The Illinois Safe Roads Alliance, a coalition of labor and business organizations from across the state, launched a significant statewide media campaign this week calling on members of the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pat Quinn to show political courage and pass the state’s first comprehensive capital bill in ten years. 

The group’s thirty-second ads will run on broadcast television in markets throughout the state (the ad can be viewed at www.investinillinois.org).  The group will spend as much as $1 million dollars between now and the May 31 General Assembly adjournment date to stress the need for legislative action on a capital bill to rebuild crumbling roads, bridges, schools and mass transit systems and to put people back to work.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 32 percent of the state’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and are in need of repair and 4,583 bridges are classified as functionally obsolete and/or structurally deficient. 

Investment in Illinois’ transportation infrastructure will keep the state competitive and rebuild its economy by putting men and women back to work.  Illinois currently faces 9.1 percent unemployment, the highest level since 1985.  According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, every $1.25 billion spent on transportation creates nearly 35,000 jobs.

Earlier this month, the General Assembly passed a $3 billion ‘jump-start’ bill to fund a limited number of shovel-ready road repair and transit projects, but a broad, multiyear plan is required in the coming weeks to make significant progress in addressing Illinois’ infrastructure needs.

“Working families across the state are suffering from the highest unemployment in decades,” said Dennis Gannon, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor.  “The ‘jump-start’ bill is welcome news for this construction season, but we need a comprehensive funding package in the neighborhood of $26 billion to put people back to work for years to come.  Legislators and the governor have the ability to create jobs and rebuild our economy, and we’re asking them to take those bold steps by funding a capital plan.”

Illinois FIRST was phased out in 2002, creating a six-year backlog of projects to improve our roads, bridges and transit systems. While in office, former Governor Rod Blagojevich raided more than $4 billion from the state’s road fund, causing a further setback to infrastructure improvements.

“We cannot lose sight of the real danger we all face if Illinois fails to follow through with a comprehensive transportation program. For too long we have ignored our roads, bridges, railways and transit systems. Continued neglect is costly: Illinois will remain less competitive, congestion will pollute our air and waste our time, more vehicles will be damaged, and lives will remain at risk,” said Tod Faerber, Chairman of the Board of the Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association. “The road and transportation industry is prepared to meet the challenge of a significant capital plan through a commitment to quality design and construction, competitive bidding, transparency in the process, and green practices.  The question for our leaders in Springfield now is whether Illinois deserves a serious investment that will finally fix our infrastructure through a thoughtful and meaningful multiyear capital program.”

            Working with groups such as the Transportation for Illinois Coalition and its 75 member organizations and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and its 3,500 members, the Illinois Safe Roads Alliance has engaged in a comprehensive campaign this year including a grassroots field program, participation in statewide hearings organized by the Illinois House of Representatives on capital needs, and visits to editorial boards to push for the state’s first significant capital bill in a decade.  During the General Assembly’s spring break, union members, transportation advocates and small business owners visited the district offices of State Senate and House members asking them to stimulate the economy through capital funding.

The Illinois Safe Roads Alliance is supported by the Chicago and Regional Council of Carpenters, Chicago Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, Chicago Laborers’ District Council LMCC, Excavators, Great Plains Laborers’ District Council, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, Iron Worker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), Midwest Region of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Teamsters Local 731, Three Rivers Construction Alliance and the Underground Contractors Association of Illinois.

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