Kendall County Times

Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) wants Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reinstate the Blue Collar Jobs Act and help Illinoisans get good-paying jobs.

"We have great concerns about the Illinois economy as House Republicans and one of the things we are concerned about is how Illinois will emerge economically from the COVID-19 pandemic," Wheeler said during a recent news conference. "We obviously need to create jobs and opportunity that will truly lift up families in Chicago, the suburbs and our amazingly diverse downstate economies."

Wheeler said in 2019 House Republicans successfully negotiated a series of economic reforms that helped spur the creation of good-paying middle-class jobs and new employer investment in Illinois. Pritzker signed those bills.

"But, unfortunately, some of those are being undermined just two short years later," Wheeler said. "The Blue Collar Jobs Act is an innovative tool for Illinois to incentivize construction projects in our state by basing a credit on the construction work actually done by Illinois’ incredible labor force. Helping middle-class families is a pretty common talking point for elected officials all across the United States and there are a lot of proposals to do that, but nothing else helps more than good-paying jobs and that’s precisely what the Blue Collar Jobs Act does."

Wheeler said the act sends a message that Illinois is already open for business by putting highly skilled construction workers to work.

"This is an important piece because it was supported by both labor and business groups and the tax rates only become available after the work has been fully completed, so there's no risk to the state, there's no dollars going out of the state that haven’t come in in the first place."

Wheeler said unfortunately just days after the act went into effect, Pritzker announced he was putting an indefinite freeze on it.

"So, earlier today I, along with assistant Majority Leader Jay Hoffman, sent a letter to Gov. Pritzker requesting that the Blue Collar Jobs Act be reinstated," Wheeler said. "And that they will resume accepting applications for the tax credit."

Wheeler said they don't want to miss the summer construction season for the many families who will directly benefit from the Blue Collar Jobs Act.

"We all know we can accomplish a lot when we work together in good faith like we did two years ago," Wheeler said.