Jobs plan will help rebuild Illinois

In November the Illinois unemployment rate remained at 7.3 percent, which leaves nearly half a million people unemployed in Illinois. Throughout 2008, our state has lost over 50,400 jobs.

The construction industry has especially been hit hard losing 18,400 jobs, more than any other sector. On top of that, our state's infrastructure continues to crumble and fall further into disrepair. There are roads and bridges and highways across Illinois that need to be built and need to be fixed.

We need to build new schools and help commuters who rely on mass transit. We must build an infrastructure that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We need to create jobs now. Plainly, we need to rebuild our state and give people the opportunity to go back to work.

We have come very close to succeeding. The Illinois Senate last year came together in a bipartisan fashion and passed a $25 billion capital plan called Illinois Works. The $25 billion plan would have created over 440,000 new full-time jobs and lead to $32 billion in economic activity. Also, President-elect Obama is making it a top priority to implement a much needed infrastructure-jobs plan. Illinois must be in a position to take advantage of President-elect Obama's plan. We cannot let this opportunity pass us by.

We are facing very difficult economic times. As a result of President-elect Obama's infrastructure plan, we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring billions of dollars into Illinois which will create economic opportunity. However, simply relying on the largesse of the Federal Government is not enough. We must pass a comprehensive state infrastructure jobs bill that will augment and enhance the Federal plan. The cost of these projects will continue to climb and we simply cannot afford to wait. We must put people back to work and pass a jobs plan now.

State Rep. Jay C. Hoffman

Chairman, Illinois House Transportation & Motor Vehicles Committee State