Costa Howard Responds to State of the State Address; Pledges Work on Healthcare, Property Tax Relief, Ethics Reform

SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, issued the following statement in response to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s State of the State address Wednesday morning:

“I am committed to working with Democrats, Republicans, and the Governor to pass important reforms that will move Illinois forward and lift up middle-class families. Last year, we passed important measures to pay down old bills, invest in public schools across Illinois, create new job training programs to prepare workers for successful careers, and make basic healthcare more affordable. We made historic progress, but we still have a lot of work left to do.

“This year, we must take concrete steps to root out corruption by cracking down on unscrupulous lobbying practices. We also need to take stronger steps to hold elected officials accountable. For example, we need to look at the possibility of requiring a ‘cooling off’ period for lawmakers, so they can’t retire from public office one day and then start lobbying their former colleagues the very next day.

“As we move ahead, I will continue my work to bring real property tax relief to DuPage County families while building a more fiscally stable future for Illinois.”