Thanks in Advance

I strongly urge you to check out “This is My Illinois: Thanks in Advance” at www.ThisIsMyIllinois.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/ThisisMyIllinois.

We want to help you understand the most urgent issue facing our great state. It is the public pension squeeze, and it impacts the future of our workers, taxpayers and our children.

Unfortunately, the most urgent issue facing our great state is not easy to comprehend. The process in which a pension system works can be complicated. The problem has been seven decades in the making. It affects our citizens in every aspect of their daily lives yet in ways that are difficult to see and grasp.

Before we can tackle the pension problem, we think it's critical for everyone to understand its nature and the magnitude of its impact. We need to raise awareness and show people how the problem affects them. It is a complicated subject, but you don’t have to be an accountant to understand the issues, nor do you need to be a politician in order to change the system for the better.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to check out "This is My Illinois: Thanks in Advance" to get more information and learn how you can make a difference. It is a public information initiative through the website ThisIsMyIllinois.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This website has broken down the pension squeeze into clear, simple, language that explains the problem with examples that everyone can relate to. And here, you can learn how to help raise awareness and get involved.

This problem will not go away. And it is one of those problems where, the longer we wait to solve it, the bigger the problem grows, and our challenge becomes even more difficult.

All of us have a responsibility to make our government work for the people of Illinois - for ourselves, our neighbors and our children and grandchildren. For our state, most of us agree this means living within our means, adequately funding public programs that protect our most vulnerable citizens, investing in our future to provide every generation the opportunity to succeed, and to ensure that those who rely on public pensions have a secure retirement.

Our state has faced serious challenges before, and we have persevered. This experience reminds us that no challenge is too great, and no problem is unsolvable. However, the pension problem will not solve itself. We must act. With your help, we can rise to the occasion and solve this problem. We will solve this problem.

Thanks in advance