Marathon Pundit: Mark Kirk's agenda for Rockford

Last month I traveled to Rockford for a Tea Party Express rally. I knew the recession had hit the northern Illinois city hard, but I didn't expect to see so much urban devastation. There are many abandoned factories and storefronts. Too many.

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park) is running for the US Senate and leads in the polls. With the help of Rockford's congressman, Don Manzullo (R-Egan), he's prepared an agenda for the troubled city.

As for his Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, he favors anti-jobs endeavors such as renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. Well, his union cronies think that's a good idea. Does anyone else?

An editorial note: The center graphic comes from the Kirk campaign. The photographs were taken by me last month in Rockford.

Kirk Unveils Rockford Agenda

Kirk: With nearly 20 percent unemployment, our priority must be putting Rockford back to work

Rockford, Ill. – Congressman Mark Kirk joined Rockford business owner Jeff Kaney and community leaders to unveil his Rockford Agenda to highlight the priorities of Rockford-area citizens.

"Our next Senator should support innovative and specific Rockford efforts to increase employment like improving the operations of Chicago Rockford International Airport, revitalizing downtown Rockford and expanding the University of Illinois College of Medicine," Kirk said. "With unemployment near 20 percent, the best thing we can do for Rockford right now is support pro-growth, job creation policies that will put people back to work. I am committed to supporting Rockford's priorities to rebuild and revitalize their economy in the U.S. Senate."

According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the unemployment rate for the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Winnebago and Boone Counties, is 17.9 percent. The City of Rockford has an unemployment rate of 18.8 percent. The Rockford Agenda is an 8-point plan to put Rockford back to work. Congressman Kirk worked with Congressman Don Manzullo and community leaders to develop the agenda. Below is Congressman Kirk’s Rockford Agenda.

The Rockford Agenda
1. The Small Business Bill of Rights

At 18 percent, Rockford has the highest unemployment in the state. With so many unemployed, the number one priority in the Rockford area is promoting pro-growth policies to create jobs and put the people of Rockford back to work. Small businesses account for 98.4 percent of statewide employers and are the engine of our economy.

Congressman Kirk has announced a Small Business Bill of Rights to protect small businesses from higher taxes, rising health care and energy costs and increasing government red tape. The plan, which is endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business, would provide small business employers with capital gains, AMT and death tax relief, cut government red tape, lower health care costs and protect a worker’s right to a secret ballot in a union election.

The Small Business Bill of Rights will:

· Protect secret ballots in union elections

· Lower health costs with lawsuit reforms and interstate competition

· Lower energy costs with credits for efficient equipment and hybrids

· Permit children to continue business with low/no death tax

· Exempt small businesses from capital gains tax for 10 years

· Make immigration laws easy to comply with

· Create a Patent Office fast lane for small business innovation

· SBA (Small Business Administration) to limit federal paperwork for small businesses to 200 hours annually

· Prevent AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) from taxing the middle class

·Reduce deficit to encourage jobs and improve credit

2. Expand Chicago-Rockford International Airport

The Chicago-Rockford International Airport is an important economic engine that enhances the regional economy in northern Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the airport contributes $719 million annually to the local economy. Last March, more than 23,000 passengers flew through the airport. Capacity currently is at 95 percent, suggesting significant room for expansion.

Capable of landing any aircraft in the world, Chicago-Rockford International specializes in air cargo transportation and is ranked as a top 20 U.S. cargo airport based on landed weight, and the 215th largest passenger airport. It is a world-class airport that is ready to grow. With its geography and size, Chicago-Rockford is fully capable of being a partner to O'Hare to help relieve congestion at other metro airports.

Congressman Kirk will work closely with local officials to continue attracting both national and international cargo companies as well as assisting in the ongoing efforts to grow passenger service and fully utilize the airport's capacity, including support of the $5 million taxiway rehabilitation project. As a member of the Appropriations Committee and a former member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Kirk has worked to make major improvements to our aviation infrastructure.

Congressman Kirk also will work with Congressman Manzullo to continue to build international partnerships, such as the recent visit of the Japanese and Thai U.S. ambassadors to Rockford, as well as support infrastructure improvements. More than $183 million in infrastructure improvements have already been invested in the airport in recent years.

3. Boost Rockford Rail Access

Bolstering our mass transit systems, particularly commuter and high-speed rail, should be a top transportation priority for all of Illinois. These rail lines promote economic development, relieve traffic congestion and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

The Illinois General Assembly authorized $60 million to extend Amtrak service from Chicago to Dubuque, Iowa, including reinstating service to Rockford. Service is expected to start in 2012. Metra service along this route would improve Rockford’s ability to attract high-earners and reduce fuel costs. According to the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, Rockford-area residents spend at least 45 percent on their annual income on transportation and housing costs. Commuter rail service from Rockford to the northwest Chicago suburbs could carry more than 5,000 people every day. Nearly 43,000 Winnebago and Boone county residents commuted to work outside of the county. Many use I-90 for their commute.

Coupled with the completion of Metra's Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR) Line, Rockford would have easy access to the Chicagoland area. Congressman Kirk will build on his past success with Metra, including his efforts to fund and support the construction of Metra's North Central line - the first new commuter rail line in 50 years - in the U.S. Senate.

4. Revitalize Downtown Rockford

Downtown Revitalization is a priority to attract employers and private sector jobs to downtown Rockford and help combat the region’s ballooning unemployment problem.

We must work to expand incentives to bring business to the area, focusing on SBA HUB Zones to promote job growth, capital investment, and economic development to historically underutilized business zones. This includes reinvesting in existing infrastructure by cleaning up EPA Brownfield sites to build a strong downtown that can be a boon for the economy. Simultaneously, we must work to improve downtown transportation mechanisms including a public transportation hub and greater access to the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

As a congressman, Mark Kirk has worked to clean Waukegan Harbor to help energize the economic development of northeastern Illinois. Once complete, the corresponding development in Waukegan could generate up to $800 million in property values. Congressman Kirk will work with the local leaders of Rockford implement the community’s vision for a revitalized downtown to attract new businesses and create high-paying jobs, just as he has done for the 10th Congressional District.

5. Encourage Home Ownership

Rockford is ranked nationally for access to affordable housing. The Rockford Housing Authority owns and operates 1,921 public housing units and administers 2,100 Section 8 Housing Vouchers with an annual budget of $8.9 million. With the state’s highest unemployment rate, the demand on the community is considerable. In addition to creating new economic opportunities for Rockford residents, we must help Rockford area citizens off public assistance programs by promoting tenant ownership of public housing. We need to empower lower-income tenants to take direct control over their lives and financial futures.

Since 2000, the Rockford Housing Authority has placed 10 families in their own homes, with a goal of placing two families per year through their Housing Choice Voucher Program. While important, efforts must be made to accelerate more opportunities for public housing residents.

Local elected officials have worked toward a program called "Moving to Work" that will test the efficient use of and provide necessary federal funds to help residents find employment and become self-sufficient. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, "Moving to Work (MTW) is a demonstration program for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally-designed strategies that use Federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families. MTW gives PHAs exemptions from many existing public housing and voucher rules and more flexibility with how they use their Federal funds."

Congressman Kirk will work to bring Moving to Work to Rockford, and support policies that encourage home ownership and build economic opportunity for public housing residents.

6. Educate the Workforce

We must continue our efforts to keep Rockford's workforce competitive in our changing economy. In order to help existing employers looking to diversify their workforce as well as attract new employers, we must increase the number of Rockford-area citizens with technical training and higher education degrees.

Rockford College is the only four-year institution in Rockford and we must continue to support it with infrastructure upgrades to improving programs to help increase the quality of education in Rockford.

We must also continue to support the area's prized University of Illinois College of Medicine, which will soon be adding a pharmacy school to provide yet another training niche for Rockford, and the establishment of a National Rural Health Professions Education Center at the college. One-sixth of all physicians in Illinois come from the College of Medicine. The center specializes in training and placing physicians and health care professionals in rural communities. The college also is a major employer, with 1,017 employees, and by 2013, 525 students.

We should also work to make education more affordable. The 401(Kids) Family Savings Act of 2009, authored by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale) and cosponsored by Congressman Kirk, allows any individual – including a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle – to set aside a total of $2,000 annually per child in a 401(Kids) Savings Account. Like a Roth IRA, the money is contributed to the account after taxes, interest accumulates tax-free, and the balance can be used tax-free for approved purposes, including education expenses, the purchase of a first home or retirement.

7. Increase Export Markets for U.S. Goods

From machine parts to aerospace, Rockford's manufacturing sector represents 20 percent of the local economy.

From logistic services to soybeans, Illinois is well-positioned to capitalize on our comparative advantages, boost exports and create jobs here at home. As Senator, Mark Kirk will work with the Foreign Commercial Service, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Development Agency – key agencies that help Illinois employers establish export footholds in growing markets. By boosting the natural advantage of Rockford’s airport, new exporters can be attracted to northern Illinois. Congressman Kirk will continue to support and expand the city’s global trade park to attract manufacturers and other potential employers who would benefit from export benefits offered by the city.

8. Combat Gangs

According to the 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment, Illinois has more gang members per capita than any other state in the country. The same study estimates between 500 and 2,499 gang members operating out of Winnebago County. This year, the Rockford Police Department has seen a 54 percent increase in reported gunfire incidents from Jan. 1 to March 28, compared to last year. We need to ask ourselves why Illinois is leading the nation in gang activity, and what needs to be done to combat this trend. While law enforcement cannot be the only answer, we know that few things are more effective than when local, state and federal agencies share information and resources. We need to treat gangs as a national security threat – one that is not localized in any one community. The Anti-Gang Task Force Act of 2009 provides resources and coordination at the national level to help our local police and sheriff departments prevent gang violence

The interstate and international nature of gangs poses new challenges to law enforcement. Drugs like heroin and cocaine flow north from Mexico, providing the funds for gangs to acquire military-grade weaponry. Last year, members of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group confiscated a rocket launcher from an Outlaws motorcycle gang member in Antioch. Assault weapons are routinely used by Orchestra Albany gang members in northern Illinois.

The Anti-Gang Task Force Act establishes and provides $20 million in funds for a national gang task force with corresponding regional task forces to target gangs. The task force would include:

(1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(2) the Drug Enforcement Administration;

(3) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;

(4) the United States Marshals Service;

(5) the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security of the Department of Homeland Security;

(6) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(7) State and local law enforcement; and

(8) Federal, State, and local prosecutors.