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“When it comes to the return we receive on the federal motor fuel dollar, Illinois is currently ranked 47th out of the 50 states. The Caucus and the Ground Transportation Task Force seek a fairer share when Congress considers the next reauthorization bill.”
-- Jeffery D. Schielke, Mayor, City of Batavia, and Chair, Mayors Caucus Ground Transportation Task Force
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The Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century, a.k.a., TEA 21 – the enabling law for a myriad of greatly needed funding programs – is up for reauthorization in 2003. As members of the Caucus, we strongly believe that state and local leaders need to develop a joint strategy that will result in an increased share of federal funds to the State of Illinois. Currently, Illinois does not receive its fair share of the billions of dollars generated. We currently receive only 90 cents on every dollar in federal motor fuel taxes collected in our state, which labels us a “donor” state versus a “donee.”
Where transportation funding is concerned, the time has come to shift into high gear and work together as a team to reverse this trend. Toward this end, the Caucus has created a Ground Transportation Task Force charged with developing a proactive funding strategy that will be used in discussions in Washington in 2003. Part of this strategy will be to identify projects of regional importance that can be used as motivating reasons to adjust the formulas in the enabling legislation so that the State as well as our region receives added funds.
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