Thank you to the people of the 38th Representative District for returning me to Springfield for the fifth time. You have again said, loudly and clearly, that trust, knowledge, experience and leadership are the personal traits that you want representing you in Springfield.
Good public policy is not driven by cliché. Rather it is driven by hard work, a sense of purpose, a spirit of egalitarianism and having a plan for the future. All of the things that we have accomplished were based on my sense that equitable public policy and funding to actualize it never was evident in the South Suburbs. We were “Forgottonia”.
The leadership that has come from this region in the last ten years has shown that we are a force to be reckoned with, and that close to a million people that live here matter. They have something to say. Not only do we have something to say, we’ve had much to contribute.
We have developed many projects and initiatives: Intermodal development, business expansion, job training, the Illiana Expressway, the South Suburban Airport, the Metra SouthEast Service Line Commission, work on roads and bridges, assistance to local communities, ensuring that the RTA and the Service Boards operate more equitably to this region, and the new I-294/57 interchange. All of these things were planned by us a long time ago. Planning with a purpose. But we knew that these were basic needs that would just begin to even the playing field between the Southland and all the other regions in the Chicago metropolitan area. What we wanted and needed were things that other regions take for granted. Well, not any more.
The job is not over. We will continue to fight for equity. We will also continue to make sure that the allegiances that we have set up with Will and Kankakee Counties continue, making the larger region even stronger. Again, thank you so much for your support, but this campaign was bigger than my candidacy. It was a campaign for this great region that we call the Southland. Challenge orthodoxy.
Thank you.
