West Central Municipal Conference
I was glad to attend the West Central Municipal Conference Springfield Drive down with Mayor Rory Hoskins - Forest Park and my village council members and colleagues where we met and discussed our local government priorities with several key representatives including Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and Representative La Shawn K Ford. Representative Ford has always made our trips to Springfield particularly meaningful, this time including us in a meeting with Illinois Secretary of Transportation Omer Osman, where we discussed local transportation and IDOT coordination projects and upcoming work in our area.
We saw Senate President Don Harmon later in the day, which is always a distinct pleasure, and in particular Commissioner Jessica Voogd and I attended the Environment and Energy Committee to hear Mayor Katrina Thompson testify about the local work on C4 and hear legislators questioning about how state government can achieve greater impact to transmit the effects of local climate action. It was a powerful example of how local government could work together with state government to achieve sustainable solutions.
It was also an outstanding opportunity to network with regional mayors and community partners as we spent significant time with leaders from Berwyn, Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, Representative Norma E Hernandez and Crystal E. Gardner from Housing Forward and SEIU.
