The Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA) has urged the four legislative leaders and all of the Illinois General Assembly members to quickly enact passage of legislation to fix the Illinois Jobs Now!, the state’s Capital Program. The Supreme Court now must decide whether to uphold an Appellate Court decision that struck down the entire Capital Program.
In its letter to the legislature, the IRTBA notes that “investing in our roads and transit keeps us safe, increases energy efficiency, boosts economic development, and creates jobs.” The IRTBA further pointed out that “according to data from the Federal Highway Administration, a program of this magnitude would directly and indirectly create over 200,000 jobs over the life of the program.”
Finally, the IRTBA reminded the legislature that “Illinois is on the road to recovery, but construction unemployment remains stubbornly high. Illinois needs world class infrastructure to remain competitive.”
In deciding upon the Wirtz litigation, the Illinois Appellate Court has placed the $31 billion program in jeopardy. “While I appreciate that Rocky Wirtz is concerned about his distribution business, he should also be concerned about the 100,000 hockey fans and consumers of his product who are going to be unemployed when they lose their construction jobs this year due to lack of funding for these critical projects for our communities and our economy,” said Woodie Griffin, chairman of the IRTBA.
