Progress Illinois

Here’s a reminder that, while Illinois may be synonymous with corruption these days, the state is also home to some solid, progressive policymakers.

In it’s annual list of “The Best of Public Policy,” the Drum Major Institute -- a New York-based think-tank -- nominated two proposals offered by members of Congress from Illinois. The first was Sen. Dick Durbin’s measure that sought to aid struggling homeowners by allowing the terms of their mortgages to be revised in bankruptcy court. The other was the Second Chance Act, legislation authored by Rep. Danny Davis that provides access to educational and job training programs for ex-offenders.

Both pieces of legislation deserve the honor, however it’s unfortunate that neither has been fully implemented. The mortgage industry lobbied hard to defeat Durbin’s proposal on multiple occasions, threatening to raise interest rates and require larger down-payments if it was turned into law. “If banks were unable to pass on the entire cost,” the Washington Post noted in February, “they could be forced to trim their profits.”

As for Davis’s measure, despite being signed by President Bush in April, Congress never appropriated the money for the bill, leaving many state officials anxious for the federal dollar in these gloomy economic times. Stateline has more:

“States are very anxious for the Second Chance dollars because of how high a priority reentry and recidivism is,” said Jessica Nickel, director of government affairs with the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments. She said the nation’s economic slide —which has battered state budgets and threatens funding for anti-recidivism initiatives—makes the need for these dollars a little more pressing.”

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden were strong supporters of the bill in the Senate, so it’s conceivable that it would be included in a spending measure as early as January.