Dear Neighbor:

The General Assembly was adjourned after approving an FY12 budget, reauthorizing capital construction projects, and passing important changes to workers compensation, education and gaming.

The state budget is the primary concern for many of my constituents - those who feel that the state did not cut enough from the budget and those upset over cuts to state services. There were tough decisions made all-around and unfortunately the FY12 budget leaves no one happy or satisfied. We face unprecedented circumstances and legislators had a responsibility to protect our state's most vulnerable citizens while also fulfilling our obligation to reduce spending and balance the state budget.

The very first order of business was cutting legislative pay and benefits; legislators must be willing to share in the sacrifice and lead by example during these difficult times. We passed legislation to again forego cost of living adjustments and take 12 unpaid furlough days. I co-sponsored legislation to reduce legislative salaries and district office budgets by 10% - both of which I will continue to push as the state brings its fiscal house in order.

This year's budget negotiations were far more transparent, bi-partisan and thorough than they have been for at least twenty years. For the first time in my tenure as a legislator, appropriations committees were given the primary responsibility of shaping their own budgets. Rather than giving the Governor an emergency lump sum budget as in past years, the legislature sent him a line-item budget that assumes low revenue estimates. These low revenue estimates allow us to dedicate surplus revenue the state brings in to paying down the state's backlog of past due bills.

As the chairperson of the House Human Services Appropriation Committee, I worked with my committee to make line-item cuts, examine individual state programs for effectiveness and cost-efficiency and craft a results-driven human services budget that will give Illinoisans the most for their money. Ultimately, this committee made over $1 billion in cuts in order to stay in line with House revenue estimates.

The legislature made a lot of progress, but our work is far from over. There are still lingering issues that have yet to be resolved; pension reform, education funding and other budget difficulties will continue to be prominent issues during this legislative recess and through the fall veto session.

To help me better represent my constituents as the legislature considers these important issues, I am spending the summer months visiting coffee shops, meeting with my citizen advisory committees, hosting informative seminars and going door to door to speak one-on-one with constituents about the issues affecting residents of the 12th district. I hope to see you this summer and discuss some of these issues with you. Please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of my staff if we can ever be of assistance to you.

Very truly yours,

Sara Feigenholtz
State Representative
12th District