ACEC/Illinois to Use Minuteman Fund Grant to Pass Sustainable Transportation Funding

Advocacy / Member Organizations

April 5, 2019

ACEC/Illinois to Use Minuteman Fund Grant to Pass Sustainable Transportation Funding

ACEC/Illinois has been awarded an ACEC Minuteman Fund grant for a comprehensive advocacy campaign to win sustainable transportation funding.
 
Illinois is in critical need of major transportation funding legislation. The state has gone without a gas tax increase for almost 30 years, and from 2003 to 2015, the state government withdrew $7.8 billion from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund to cover expenses other than transportation. That withdrawal is equivalent to almost four years of funding for the Illinois DOT’s maintenance construction budget.  
 
To address this challenge, ACEC/IL strengthened its role as a founding member of Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC), a group of statewide and regional business, organized labor, industry, governmental, and nonprofit organizations that joined together to support a strong transportation alliance for Illinois.  
 
“This grant could not come at a better time,” said ACEC/IL President/CEO Dave Bender, who serves as TFIC co-chair. “We have been watching other states pass sizable sustainable infrastructure funding bills only to have our hopes dashed year after year. However, thanks to ACEC’s Minuteman Fund, we are better positioned to join our fellow MO’s in a successful campaign this year.”
 
The advocacy campaign will include engaging contractual lobbyists, PR firms and campaign consultants; hiring digital marketing specialists; and a wide array of lobbying activities.
 
Click here for more information on the Minuteman Fund.

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