The Illinois Auditor General released a comprehensive audit of public transportation in Northeastern Illinois this spring. Many months of hearings, reports and negotiations indicated that the 25-year-old RTA Act needs to be revisited. I am supporting Senate Bill 572, which offers several benefits for ensuring that our mass transit system functions in a truly integrated way and has the resources needed to keep operating and growing.

Among the changes that will increase funding for Metra and PACE suburban bus service, the measure will drastically reduce much of the frivolous spending by the CTA that has drained resources for decades. The RTA will be given more authority to coordinate the activities of the CTA, PACE and Metra and will be required to develop strategic plans in coordination with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).

The Auditor General report indicated that if all systems operated at peak efficiency there is not enough money to operate the system with the existing funding formula of the .25% sales tax from the collar counties and 1% from Cook County. The city of Chicago will decide how it wishes to fund the city portion of the funding formula. The state does not need to dictate the source of income.

Senate Bill 572 includes an additional quarter-percent increase in the entire RTA region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties). An additional quarter-percent sales tax in the collar counties will be distributed to the county boards to address their transportation needs as they determine. This will bring Lake County nearly $28 million annually to invest in road improvements and widening projects. Additionally, I am working with the Illinois Department of Transportation to implement a five-year, $71 million road plan that includes funding for sound barriers and extra lanes on I-94, among dozens of other projects slated for our area.

I am very supportive of the need to fund our area mass transit and have advocated that Senate Bill 572 must be called for a vote. It may be called as early as September 4. Thanks to all of you who wrote to voice your support.

On Monday, the Governor signed into law three of my legislative measures that will help improve air quality in public schools, reduce mercury contamination in our food sources and address the growing concern of aging adults with autism. These are important bills for the health, safety, and well-being of our children and the families of Illinois. House Bills 895, 943, and 1535 all took effect immediately after the governor signed them.

I introduced legislation last spring aimed at improving the health and development of children, including House Bill 895, the Green Cleaning Schools Act, and House Bill 943, the Mercury-Added Product Prohibition Act. The Green Cleaning Schools Act will require all elementary and secondary schools in Illinois to purchase environmentally sensitive cleaning supplies that do not expose students and teachers to harmful chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that half of all students, teachers and school staff are exposed to polluted indoor air that may be five to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. The chemicals found in everyday cleaning supplies cause much of this pollution. (I have been trying environmentally friendly laundry soap and cleaning supplies and find them very effective.)

House Bill 943 expands on current laws limiting mercury from coal plants and auto switches by banning the sale or distribution of medical devices that contain mercury, including blood pressure cuffs. Such devices account for twenty-eight percent of the mercury pollution created each year. This law will move Illinois into position to have the strictest mercury pollution laws in the United States. It is expected that this ban will cause medical device manufacturers to reach a tipping point whereby it is more economically feasible to manufacture mercury free products for use in the United States.

Years ago, we had the wisdom to ban lead-based paints because of their potential to impair a child's mental abilities. This was painfully evident in the past few weeks when millions of toys were pulled off the shelf because they contained lead-based paints. Given the fact that children spend hours every day in a classroom and that effective, non-toxic cleaning supplies are readily available, this is the next logical step toward making sure that our children grow up in a healthy environment.

House Bill 1535 requires the state to research further funding sources to implement services for adults with autism spectrum disorders. Many individuals with autism require daily assistance for normal functioning and activity from childhood into adulthood. As parents of children and adults with autism age, there is growing concern over how daily service needs will be delivered when their parents are no longer able to provide such care. I co-sponsored this measure to begin addressing this concern at the state level.