News...from the Illinois House of Representatives: Speaker Madigan Announces Regional Budget Hearings to Begin Next Week

              NEWS
. . .from the Illinois House of Representatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION
March 3, 2008 Steve Brown
Pager: (800) 345-7256
Phone: (217) 782-0109
Speaker Madigan Announces Regional Budget Hearings to Begin Next Week
Nineteen Forums Planned as Lawmakers Seek Citizen Participation in State Budget Process
SPRINGFIELD, IL --- Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced Monday that the Illinois House of
Representatives would begin a series of regional hearings on the state budget starting next Monday,
March 10 in Decatur and Marion.
The hearings are designed to give community leaders, business owners, labor officials, service
providers, advocacy organizations, health care facilities, school districts, colleges and local residents
an opportunity to share their views about state budget funding priorities, ways to reduce costs and
means to improve government efficiency.
“Lawmakers are very interested in learning from the past and taking a new approach to crafting the
state budget,” Madigan said. “They have found similar hearings held in recent years to be helpful
when tackling challenging issues of statewide significance. Our hope is that these forums will
increase the transparency of the budget-making process, complement the work of standing House
appropriations committees and perhaps provide a new model for us to follow in the future.”
A total of 19 hearings are planned in cities throughout the state in the coming weeks (please see
accompanying schedule for more details on dates, times and locations).
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