United to Restore Freedom (U.R.F.) Political Action Committee recently released its fifth annual voting scorecard for the Illinois General Assembly.  Senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) was recognized as a “L.I.F.T.” leader with a lifetime voting score of 75% and a 2011 score of 85%.

The U.R.F. scorecard rates Illinois state legislators based on the “L.I.F.T.” principles of Limited government, Individual liberty, Free enterprise, and Traditional values.  Dennis LaComb, Executive Director of U.R.F. Action, said, “With Illinois facing fiscal crisis and social upheaval…the U.R.F. scorecard offers citizens a conservative perspective on how their state legislators vote.”

“I am proud to receive U.R.F.’s ‘L.I.F.T. Leader’ designation,” Lauzen said. “Although my score is not 100%, I have a solid record of consistently supporting reasonable conservative political positions and traditional values that I share with my constituents.”

This is the Governor’s fourth annual budget.  He is not new to this process and this one is another disaster.

As he has for the past three years, Governor Quinn claims that he is “cutting state spending” when the truth is that year-over-year spending again increases.

When the Governor tell citizens of Illinois that his 2013 budget proposal is less than 2008 spending, he is misleading people because he is not includingpensions, debt service and transfers to local governments.  It is like a homeowner saying, “My household expenses have gone down”, but not including the mortgage payments, groceries, etc.  Year-over-year spending, comparing apples to apples with the 2008 budget, the 2013 budget is $3.4 billion more.

This budget proposal anticipates spending 99.5% of all revenue to be collected, so there is next to no provision for paying down unpaid bills of $8.2 billion.  There are $2.7 billion in Medicaid entitlement obligations that will be postponed into next year, if cuts are not implemented this year.  Enrollment has doubled in the last ten years and now 3 million people (one out of every four Illinoisans) is covered by taxpayer paid health care.

Governor Quinn and his enablers have taken nearly $7 billion in more taxes from Illinois residents, but the spending problems and deficit are even worse than before.

St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 will be the recipient of more than $7.6 million in state funding for already-completed school construction projects, according to State Senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora). The funding for St. Charles was part of more than $623 million in school funding projects that Governor Pat Quinn announced on Thursday, February 16^th.

“This funding relives pressure on property tax payers by reimbursing construction cost for school facilities,” Lauzen said.

Across the State of Illinois, 31 school districts were able to get funding from the 2009 capital construction program.

“It is important that our schools are safe, secure and well maintained for students and educators,” Lauzen said. “By receiving this funding, District 303 property taxpayers will be less burdened by these already-completed construction projects.”

Children of Illinois veterans who are enrolled or have been accepted to any University of Illinois campus (Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield) can now apply of the “Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver” according to State Senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora). The completed applications must be returned by March, 1.

“The U of I ‘Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver’ is a great way to recognize not only the sacrifice of our military veterans, but also the sacrifices that their families make,” Lauzen said. “With the price of higher education continuing to rise, students need to take advantage of all available assistance.”

The waiver covers the cost of tuition for four consecutive years. The waiver is available to any natural or adopted child of a veteran who served in World War II, Korean Conflict, Vietnam Conflict, Southeast Asia Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. One tuition waiver per war/conflict per county will be awarded.