Coalition to Make Substantial Investment in Push for Safe Roads Amendment


A coalition of business, labor and construction groups is launching a statewide public education campaign for a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot that will protect Illinois’ investment in its critical transportation infrastructure.

Citizens to Protect Transportation Funding today announced it already has raised nearly $1.2 million for an aggressive advocacy campaign to educate Illinois voters about the need to support the Safe Roads Amendment. The group has a new website for voters to learn about the campaign and join the effort: http://www.saferoadsamendment.com/.

Lawmakers in the Illinois House and Senate in May approved House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 36, which calls for Illinois to put transportation funding in a lockbox. A study by the advocacy group Transportation for Illinois Coalition, whose members are driving this ballot initiative campaign, found more than $6.8 billion in funds earmarked for transportation were swept out of the state’s Road Fund and used for non-transportation spending over more than a dozen years – including more than $500 million in transportation dollars just last year.

The constitutional amendment will appear as the first question Illinois voters see when they go to the polls this fall and is the only constitutional amendment approved by the Legislature this spring. It needs 60 percent of voters approving the question, or more than a majority of those voting in the election, to become part of the Illinois Constitution and prevent lawmakers from shifting these funds again.

Coalition leaders say the campaign – featuring the website and online advocacy, grassroots organizing and television and radio advertising – will revolve around a clear message: Protecting Illinois’ transportation funding with the Amendment means safer roads, a stronger economy and is the only way to hold Springfield accountable for future spending. Illinois’ infrastructure is aging and decaying, while the money to fix it is being spent elsewhere. Supporting this Amendment will ensure money collected for transportation is spent on transportation.

“Investing in transportation infrastructure has both immediate and long-term positive effects on the Illinois economy,” added Marc Poulos, Executive Director of the Indiana-Illinois-Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. “Construction projects create and sustain employment for Illinois workers. Raiding transportation funding has cost Illinois nearly 5,000 jobs over the last decade, and it’s costing the average driver $441 every year in vehicle repairs, as well as wasted time and fuel costs because of congestion on our roads.”

“This is an unusual campaign because polls consistently show overwhelming public support for the idea that user fees collected for roads should be used for roads. If the ballot language was that simple, there would be no need for a major educational campaign,” said Michael Sturino, President and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. “Unfortunately, what will appear on the ballot is confusing and complex legalese. Transportation advocates want to cut through the noise so that voters will be prepared to vote ‘yes’ on the amendment without having to parse the technical language while in the voting booth.”

“There is strong public support for making sure the money government collects for our roads and bridges goes to our roads and bridges,” said Todd Maisch, co-chair of TFIC and president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “Our coalition is running the campaign these three months leading into the Nov. 8 election to clearly explain how a lack of transportation funding has put our safety and economy in jeopardy, and why an easy solution is to support this amendment to put these funds in a lockbox.”

“The key to improving our economy is investing in our transportation system,” said Michael Kleinik, co-chair of TFIC and executive director of the Chicago Laborers District Council-LMCC. “By voting yes on the amendment, we can end the dangerous practice that has put our roads and bridges at risk and move our state forward. We look forward to reaching voters in many ways to build support in the coming weeks.”