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CURRENT ISSUES

2011 -

October - The BAC opposed the Tanaska Bill SB2485 for the 2nd time. The committee met with State Senator Christine Johnson in late October to discuss the Tanaska Bill that is again being proposed in Springfield. We informed her our position in writing and requested that she vote no on the bill. She was already opposed to the bill in its current form. This bill could have very possibly increased energy costs for area businesses.

Simply stated our local business' are constantly being challenged by increased costs, decreasing revenue and the ever present threat of higher state and local taxes. If this bill had passed in its original form it would have udoubtedly create even more burden for many in the form of higher energy costs. 

June - Reviewing the State's withholding of LGDF among communities in our district. The cut could be as high as $409,9444 for Sycamore and $1,026,370 for DeKalb.

May - Reviewing the Senate Bill 7, historic education-reform legislation pending in the General Assembly.

January - The BAC opposed the Tanaska Bill SB2485 before our State Legislators this past winter. We sent a letter to State Senator Brad Burzynski in early January to inform him our position and to request that he vote no on the bill. This bill could have very possibly increased energy costs for area businesses.
The bill eventually failed in its current form.

2010 -

November - The Sycamore Chamber supported Kishwaukee College's November 2nd referendum.

To view the letter of support click here.

August - The Chamber opposed the 1/2 % home rule tax increase proposed by Sycamore City Council.

October - Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. To review the Act in detail go to http://www.employerlawreport.com/uploads/file/Healthy%20Families%20Act.pdf

2009 

August - The Chamber supported an AMTRAK stop in Genoa. We believe it would provide service to much of DeKalb County, including the campus of Northern Illinois University, Western Kane County and parts of Boone County, and significantly impact all of our communities.
We understand that Amtrak / Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Feasibility Report determined in May, 2007 that the most direct route for inter-city service from Dubuque, Iowa and Northwest Illinois to Chicago was the Canadian National (CN) Railroad line running through Galena, Freeport, Rockford, and Genoa.

We believe that an inter-city Amtrak station would attract new visitors and tourists to travel to Genoa to reach destinations along the Blackhawk Line running from Dubuque to Chicago, exposing these visitors to Genoa businesses and generating retail and restaurant sales in Genoa, as well as other communities in DeKalb County.

We also believe that the this Amtrak Line would serve residents and businesses throughout DeKalb County and Northwest Illinois in traveling to job centers and business destinations located along the Blackhawk Line. For more information or to show your support go to www.directroute.org

May - The Chamber opposed the current proposed Healthcare Reform Act and is preparing a letter to go out to members and to our legislators. The rising cost of healthcare is slowly suffocating the business community, reducing our nation’s entrepreneurial spirit and eroding our ability to compete globally.  The Sycamore Chamber believes the healthcare reform proposals currently being considered by various congressional committees, however, will NOT reduce healthcare costs and further threaten to dismantle employer-sponsored coverage, erode the innovation of the market, and remove choice and flexibility in selecting a health plan that best meets the needs of the consumer.

August - The Chamber opposed the proposed “Employee Free Choice Act” – also known as the Card Check bill – a proposed law that would change how unions are allowed to organize workers in the United States. Letters were sent to Senator Roland Burris and Senator Dick Durbin.  Although the Employee Free Choice Act, or Card Check, (EFCA) is a federal issue, the legislation would fundamentally alter the way unions operate within the workforce, making it much easier for unions to conduct and win card check campaigns. Due to the tremendous ramifications the Card Check legislation has on Illinois businesses. The Sycamore Chamber is speaking out against a resolution and urging Congress to oppose the federal Card Check legislation.

September - The Sycamore Chamber of Commerce opposed H.R 1409, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and Senate (S. 560).  The bill consists of three provisions, each of which is unacceptable:

• Elimination of the Secret Ballot: Trading the secret ballot process for one that invites intimidation and coercion and leads to widespread disenfranchisement of workers is not a step in the right direction.
• Writing contracts through government imposed arbitration: Forced arbitration would impose unreasonable and inflexible terms and cause an employer to lose control over their operations, preventing them from growing their business.
• Unreasonable and one-sided penalty expansion: EFCA imposes dramatic new penalties on employers for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, but not a single new penalty on unions or labor organizers.

EFCA would have a particularly devastating impact on small employers who, as the primary source for new jobs, are counted on to reverse the current economic downturn. This bill is an awful idea in good economic times and a catastrophic idea in the difficult economic times now upon us.

For more information regarding this bill.

The Chamber chose preferred candidates for the April 09 election. These candidates’ philosophies most closely align with the mission and vision of the Sycamore Chamber.

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