Today Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) joined his colleagues in the House of Representatives in approving a budget blueprint for fiscal year 2013 that includes spending that is significantly less than what Governor Pat Quinn proposed in his budget address, and puts Illinois back onto a path toward financial stability.

House Resolution 706 was approved Thursday in a 91-16 vote, with three additional members voting present. “This appropriations plan allows us to pay off at least $1.5 billion in overdue bills while still making a full pension payment next year of $5.1 billion,” said Tryon. “While the steps we took today are difficult, they are necessary if we are to stop the practice of living beyond our means and of mortgaging our state’s future on the backs of our children.

The plan calls for $32.9 billion in spending, which is a decrease in spending of $300 million from what is projected for spending for the current fiscal year. “This is a necessary step if we are going to make the ‘temporary’ tax increase truly temporary,” Tryon said.

With today’s approval, members of the appropriations committees will begin the process of going through the budget line by line and cutting an agreed-upon 5.4 percent. A separate committee will also look at ways to reduce the Medicaid liability by an additional $2.7 billion.

“If we fully implement this plan, we will, for the first time in many years, operate with more revenues than expenditures in Illinois,” said Tryon. “The fact of the matter is, we need to do this. This will be as difficult of a year as we’ve ever had if we do this properly, but years of mismanagement and overspending have created a situation where we have no choice.”

Earlier this month legislators agreed to a salary reduction equal to 12 days of pay and no cost of living adjustment for 2013, and Representative Tryon on Thursday renewed his call for the Governor to freeze salaries for state employees and other elected officials. “In fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012 and now for 2013, legislators have led by example by voluntarily agreeing to frozen and/or reduced wages and to no cost of living adjustments,” said Tryon. “The Governor needs to follow our lead and impose a wage freeze for all of Illinois’ elected officials and state employees.”

Click to hear Representative Tryon discuss HR706……

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Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) has filed a bill to increase transparency on property tax bills.

House Bill 3936 would amend the Illinois Property Tax Code by mandating that any taxing district which pays a percentage of its employees’ contributions to a public pension fund include on tax bills the dollar amount of tax due that would be used to for that purpose

“For the last 30-plus years, units of government have had to list on tax bills the amount of taxes due that represent the employer’s portion of pension benefits,” said Tryon. “What many people don’t know is that many units of government also pick up a portion of the employee’s share of pension costs.

According to Tryon, his goal is to see that all pension systems are treated equally with regard to disclosure. He added that if successful, taxpayers would have a greater understanding of how their tax dollars are being used. “Employers picking up a portion of employee share of pensions is not an uncommon occurrence, but most people aren’t aware that it’s happening,” Tryon said. “I think taxpayers have a right to know when their local units of government have negotiated agreements which have them paying for a portion of their employees’ share of pension costs.”

Tryon said he is hopeful the bill will be allowed to be debated on the House floor and that it will ultimately gain wide, bipartisan support.

Tryon talks about House Bill 3936

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State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) has released results of a recent constituent survey. The survey was offered to residents through an insert in a local newspaper in the fall.

“Each year I survey my stakeholders about issues that affect Illinois,” Tryon said. “The results are a great tool that helps me better represent the 64th District when I’m in Springfield.”

The results are as follows: (not all items add up to 100% due to responses outside of listed choices)

Question #1: Do you support borrowing or additional taxes to help balance the state’s budget, pay overdue bills and fund state services?

Support Borrowing: YES = 22% NO = 77%

Support Additional Taxes: YES = 25% NO = 74%

Questions #2: Which would you support in order to generate more revenue to help balance the state’s budget: cutting all new spending, freezing state employees’ salaries, cutting 10% from all state agencies, pension reform, or gambling expansion in Illinois?

Cut All New Spending Out of the Budget: YES = 31% NO =68%

Freeze State Employees’ Salaries: YES = 77% NO = 22%

Cut 10% From All State Agencies: YES = 76% NO = 23%

Pension Reform: YES = 80% NO = 20%

Gaming Expansion: YES = 30% NO = 69%

Question #3: List the top three issues that are currently important in your municipality.

(listed in the order of frequency listed on surveys)

• Taxes/Fees
• Economy
• Illinois Finances
• Public Services
• Transportation/Roads
• Political Issues (special interests, corruption, redistricting, term limits, partisanship, transparency)
• Other

Question #4: Would you support medical marijuana for people diagnosed with severe illness?

YES = 50%

CONDITIONAL YES = 24%

NO – 25%

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Impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced in Federal Court Wednesday to 14 years in prison, for guilty verdicts on 18 different counts of corruption. He will report Federal prison on February 16, 2012 to begin serving at a minimum 85% of his sentence, or at least 11 years 9 months.

State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) said he felt the judge’s decision was fair . “I think this sentence sends a strong message that corruption will not be tolerated in the State of Illinois,” he said. “While I do feel bad for his children, it is important that justice was done, so that all elected officials know that abuses of office come with stiff penalties.”

As a participant in the actions taken by the General Assembly last year to remove Blagojevich from office, Tryon said he hopes that with Wednesday’s sentencing, Rod Blagojevich and the shame he has brought on the State of Illinois can finally be put in the past. “Now that this case is finally behind us, we need to look to the future and concentrate our efforts on the real issues that we need to be discussing in the legislature,” Tryon said. “While we need to do what we can to make sure that abuses like those for which the former governor was convicted never occur again, our focus needs to be on putting Illinoisans back to work and getting the State’s finances under control.”

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Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) has been named “Legislator of the Year” by the Staffing Services Association of Illinois.

Tryon received the award this week at an SSAI meeting at the River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst. According to SSAI President Jeff Kubas, Tryon was chosen because of his sponsorship and support of numerous pieces of legislation that protects Illinois workers. “Representative Tryon goes to great efforts to reach out to staffing agencies and does his best to make sure their needs are met,” said Kubas. “He is a true champion in the state legislature. He is fair and honest and always takes time to hear our concerns.”

SSAI is made up of 25 light industrial staffing agencies that are registered with the Illinois department of labor in the Chicagoland area. The agencies employ over 200,000 temporary employees annually.

“SSAI is proud to give this award to Representative Tryon for his excellent service to our association and we look forward to collaborating with him in the future.”

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The Illinois Policy Institute has given State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) a perfect rating of 100% for votes cast during the first half of 2011 in the General Assembly.

The Illinois Policy Institute is a conservative think tank which promotes fiscal responsibility, job creation and free enterprise. Institute officials follow individual lawmakers’ votes in the areas of budgets, taxes, education, business climate and government transparency.

Tryon received his perfect score in the institute’s 2011 mid-year Legislative Vote Card. The vote card is issued twice each year with the first issue released following the conclusion of the Spring legislative session, and the second after the conclusion of the General Assembly’s fall veto session.

Tryon’s score was achieved through his votes (shown in parentheses) on the following bills:

• Senate Bill 2505: Lame Duck Session Income Tax Hike (N)
• House Bill 3659: Lame Duck Session Online Affiliate Tax (N)
• House Bill 111: PAYGO (Y)
• Senate Bill 79: Charter Schools (Y)
• Senate Bill 7: Performance Counts (Y)
• House Bill 2987: Project Labor Agreements (N)
• Senate Bill 43: Tax Transparency (Y)
• House Bill 1079: Higher Ed Transparency (Y)
• House Bill 1512: Sunshine (Y)

“Everyone in Springfield talks about responsible spending, job creation, the importance of good schools and of how we must restore integrity to Illinois government,” said Tryon. “My votes on these issues illustrate my true commitment toward making these ideas a reality in Illinois.”

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Ingleside, IL…..State Representative Michael W. Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) and Senator Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry) took a tour this month of a special camp which blends good old fashioned summer fun with diabetes education and support for kids suffering from diabetes.

On August 2, Tryon and Althoff, who are both members of the Illinois General Assembly Diabetes Caucus, visited the Triangle D Camp at the YMCA’s Camp Duncan in Ingleside, and while visiting they got a firsthand look at how area preteens are learning to better understand and manage their diabetes. “I really enjoyed visiting this camp,” said Tryon. “It’s clear that Camp Duncan provides a great environment where kids can learn from other kids and see that they are not alone with their diabetes struggles.”

According to Sue Apsey, Program Director for the Chicago Office of the American Diabetes Association, the six-day overnight camp brought 138 Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana kids between the ages of 9-13 together for the program which challenges each child to reach their potential both mentally and physically. “We provide an opportunity for kids to feel just like everyone else,” Apsey said. “They enjoy swimming, rope climbing, campfires and other traditional summer camp activities, but the common denominator among them is diabetes.”

Campers come to the Triangle D Camp with varying levels of ability to self-manage their symptoms, and Apsey said activities are planned for the interest and skill level of each child. “Overall program goals include improved self-esteem, taking responsibility for diabetes management and social adjustment in a setting away from home,” she said.

Tryon, who was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2006, said he was pleased to see kids taking charge of the management of their symptoms. “For some of these kids this was probably the first time they were in a setting where their parents were not completely in charge of the diabetes management, “ he said. “Physicians, nurses and dietitians were truly helping to create self-care independence for these children.”

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With a much more simplified and focused case to consider regarding the conduct of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, jurors on Monday convicted Blagojevich on 17 counts of wire fraud, extortion and bribery, found him not guilty on one count, and were unable to reach a unanimous decision on two other counts.

State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) said he was not at all surprised to hear the verdicts. “The former governor has had his day in court and this time his own words helped jurors convict him on 17 of the counts against him,” he said. “From attempting to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President Obama for personal gain, to trying to trade his signature on legislation for campaign contributions, corruption by this Democrat Governor was unlike anything we have ever seen in Illinois.”

As a participant in the actions taken by the General Assembly last year to remove Blagojevich from office, Tryon said he hopes that with Monday’s verdicts, Rod Blagojevich and the shame he has brought on the State of Illinois can finally be put in the past. “Now that the jurors have spoken, we need to begin the process of restoring Illinoisans’ faith in their elected officials,” Tryon said. “We all need to do everything possible to make sure that abuses like those for which the former governor was convicted never occur again.”

Monday’s 17 guilty verdicts will accompany the one guilty verdict of lying to the FBI that came out of Blagojevich’s first corruption trial.

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State Representative Mike Tryon has once again been named a Champion of Free Enterprise by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

Each year the Illinois Chamber recognizes those legislators whose voting records most support the business community with their Champions of Free Enterprise Awards. “If employers are to change the culture in Springfield, they must educate themselves on the record of their representatives and hold them accountable for it,” said Doug Whitley, the Illinois Chamber’s President and CEO. “We believe the Chamber’s legislative ratings are an effective tool in this endeavor, and legislators whose defense of free enterprise and the furtherance of economic opportunities for Illinoisans deserve our recognition. Representative Mike Tryon knows what it takes for employers to be successful and he is working to address the number one problem in our state, which is creating more jobs.”

The Chamber’s ratings are based on legislators’ votes on the key business legislation in the General Assembly. The votes in the Senate and House are selected based on their impact on the business community and, to a lesser extent, the gap between opposing views on the issue. The votes are weighted accordingly. In cases where more than one roll call was taken on a bill, the most significant vote impacting the resolution of the issue has been selected.

Legislators with Illinois Chamber ratings averaging 85% or better over the previous three General Assemblies have demonstrated their commitment to legislation that frees the entrepreneurial spirit and therefore qualify for the award.

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McHenry County’s two State Representatives are working together to make sure that a county board is never again left on the hook for hefty legal bills associated with an investigation and trial of a public official.

House Bill 2558, which passed through the House on Friday, would correct many of the perceived financial issues that arose during the recent corruption trial of McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi. Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) is the bill’s chief sponsor and Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) is the bill’s chief co-sponsor.

The bill was filed by Tryon as a result of $312,259 thus far in legal bills that the McHenry County Board is under a court order to pay in association with the Bianchi investigation and trial. The county board unsuccessfully appealed the amount of the bills, and was ordered to pay them in full.

“The passage of House Bill 2558 would prohibit unanticipated legal bills like this from ever happening again in McHenry or any other Illinois county,” said Tryon. “It would certainly minimize the cost to taxpayers by forcing counties to look at using less expensive avenues for gathering forensic evidence and for attorney fees.”

The bill would mandate that when a sitting public official is investigated and tried on charges, the courts would look to other public prosecutors to do the work so costs could remain manageable. The bill would also require that the scope of the investigation be well-defined and that county boards be given estimates on costs so they could plan for the expense. The bill would also allow county boards to receive itemized bills for the fees.

“The forensic costs were more than what was anticipated in this ongoing McHenry County case,” said Tryon. “We need to put a process in place that minimizes the financial impact and allows county boards to prepare. County board members are the custodians of the taxpayers’ money, the current method by which the they must blindly pay these bills is unacceptable.”

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