Crespo: We’ve Done Our Part to Lift Up Middle-Class Families, Governor Must Meet Us Halfway

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, worked to ease the tax burden on middle-class families, protect access to health care for Illinois’ most at-risk children and seniors, provide $350 million in new funding for local schools and pass monumental government transparency legislation which revealed billions of dollars in fiscal mismanagement by Gov. Bruce Rauner during the spring legislative session.

“At a time when access to health care is being threatened by out-of-touch politicians in Washington and skyrocketing property taxes are devastating middle-class families, we should be working together to find real solutions,” Crespo said. “Time and time again, Governor Rauner has chosen to play partisan games rather than work with us on solving the issues facing our families.”

Crespo worked to lessen the tax burden on middle-class families by voting to pass Senate Bill 1437, which extends a $2,175 personal income tax exemption that was scheduled to sunset at the end of the fiscal year. As part of the budget working group, he worked to ensure the budget plan cut wasteful bureaucracy and had no new taxes put in place. Crespo voted to pass an overwhelmingly bipartisan, balanced budget that will pay down the state debt, which was tripled during the Rauner budget crisis.

Crespo passed House Bill 4736, which will ensure that children with severe medical conditions continue can be covered by Medicaid, and not moved into programs with decreased care and high denial rates. He also supported legislation to address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs by supporting House Bill 4900, which would ensure big pharmaceutical companies do not price gouge seniors living on fixed incomes.

He also worked tirelessly to provide millions in additional state funds to local schools, lessening the property tax burden on middle-class families. As chairman of the Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee, Crespo was focused on putting children’s education and well-being above all else. He passed legislation to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing No Child Left Behind and providing greater accountability and supports to struggling schools.

Crespo led the effort to pass the Debt Transparency Act, House Bill 3649, which transformed the way state agencies manage their finances. This monumental measure revealed that Illinois incurred more than $1 billion in late payment interest fees, and $2.3 billion in unappropriated debt during the governor’s two-year budget crisis. Crespo’s bill has been labeled the top-rated reform of the year by the Better Government Association, as it is assisting legislators as they work to put the state’s finances back on track. Additionally, he was the lead sponsor of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act, which will ensure that all state grants are subject to the same regulation and scrutiny of federal ones.

“These reforms and a bipartisan budget that holds government accountable, will bring about much needed stability to our state,” Crespo said. “More work remains to be done to move Illinois forward, but this compromise budget shows yet again that when Governor Rauner’s extreme demands are not preconditions to negotiation, Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature get the job done on time.”