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Community Corner

Rep. Sandack Receives Unanimous House Support for Bills to Improve Efficiency and Access to Government

 State Representative Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), has gained unanimous House support for two measures that would improve efficiency and access to Illinois government.

HB4612 seeks to help school districts save money through shared bussing agreements between districts with contiguous borders. The bill would amend the Transportation Article of the Illinois School Code by requiring the State Board of Education to study shared services contracts in current student transportation as well as the opportunity for increased savings for future shared services contracts. “By combining transportation routes, there is a real opportunity here for a variety of economic, environmental and traffic safety benefits,” said Sandack. “I hope the bill is well-received in the Senate and that the study can get underway very soon.”

According to the provisions of the bill, the study would focus on districts that have entered into shared services contracts to offset transportation costs. The State Board of Education would report its findings to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2015.

HB5623 would require local governments and school districts that have a website and are serving fewer than 1,000,000 in population, to provide a mechanism for members of the public to electronically communicate with their elected officials. The electronic communication could include a single email address for use by multiple officials or individual email addresses for officials.

“This is an effort toward more direct, electronic, access to public officials,” said Sandack. “It would be an especially useful tool for members of the public who are unable to attend local government meetings but have opinions or concerns to share.”

Both bills are headed to the Illinois Senate for consideration.

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