Dear Members:

Last week your Chamber participated in our annual trip to Springfield and several Members in attendance commented that they were amazed at how often things seem to stay the same. It’s taken several years for our state’s finances to deteriorate to this point, but we cannot afford to have another session close without our officials acting. Our message to officials in Springfield has been simple over the past several years; fix the structural problems that threaten the long-term outlook of our state.

As leaders who care about our communities, we can continue to justify investing in Illinois, based on the promises that our elected officials will do their part, and enact real reform. We are optimistic that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Midday Friday, Governor Quinn unveiled his proposal to address the pension funding crisis – and we are reviewing the impact his proposal would offer. We applaud Gov. Quinn’s action on pension reform and agree with his assessment that we need to act, but we’ve got to pay attention to the details. The Chamber is very concerned that the proposal unveiled Friday will shift hundreds of millions of dollars in annual obligations to suburban property taxes.

As business leaders, when we take a few minutes away from our offices to organize and express ourselves, we have a tremendous influence on policies that improve the business climate. Your next major opportunity is just around the corner and we’re finalizing our plans.

Access D.C., May 21 through May 23, is held in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber’s America’s Business Summit. Located at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, this conference is one of the largest gatherings of chamber leaders and you have the opportunity to meet, network and learn new ideas from entrepreneurs from across the country.

In addition to valuable visits with our elected officials and their staffs, we spend the conference participating in the excellent conferences and discussions arranged by the U.S. Chamber. At this year’s summit we’ll hear from Ed Rensi, the retired president & CEO of McDonald’s USA, as well as Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corporation.

These two individuals have steered their employees and businesses to great success. I’ve always left Washington inspired by the outstanding business leaders I had the opportunity to learn from. Additionally, as a founding member, our delegation will join in a special celebration recognizing the U.S. Chamber’s centennial anniversary. Together as a business community we’ve being standing up for American free enterprise for 100 years.

I know we all struggle to balance our schedules in today’s business climate and taking time away from your office is an enormous sacrifice. We have to continue to encourage our officials to act boldly on the issues confronting our nation, economy and communities.

Sincerely,

John Schmitt
President & CEO