Ryan, Daley Promote Joint City-State Agenda in Washington

CHICAGO -- Governor George H. Ryan and Mayor Richard M. Daley will be in Washington, D.C. Wednesday and Thursday to meet with the Illinois Congressional delegation and other federal officials on behalf of federal initiatives benefiting the city and state.

It will be their third annual trip on behalf of a unified federal agenda. The increased cooperation of the Governor and Mayor, and within the Illinois Congressional Delegation, helped produce a $2.2 billion increase in federal support for the people of Illinois during Fiscal Year 1999 and an additional $3.4 billion increase during Fiscal Year 2000, to a historic high of more than $60 billion.

Last year, the collective effort resulted in substantial federal assistance for the CTA, Metra and Metrolink; the Chicago Shoreline Protection Project; public schools throughout Illinois; and affordable housing programs. The Illinois delegation also helped pass legislation authorizing and funding the Abraham Lincoln Library; funding the Stevenson Expressway and Wacker Drive reconstruction projects; and authorizing and funding RIVERS 2020.

This year's joint state-city agenda includes increasing the state's federal Medicaid reimbursement rate, federal funding for the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation, affordable housing programs, school aid, continued support for Illinois Rivers 2020 and the Shoreline Protection Project, and additional aid for mass transit, highways and bridges.

"What's important about this joint priority list is that it represents priorities that Mayor Daley and I believe will benefit the entire state," Governor Ryan said. "I want to warmly thank Speaker Denny Hastert, Sen. Dick Durbin and the entire Illinois delegation for their outstanding commitment to working in a bipartisan fashion to deliver additional federal resources to people throughout Illinois."

"Governor Ryan and I agree on many more issues than we disagree on," Daley said, "and that is also true of the members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. By working together in the many areas where we agree, we've been able to accomplish a great deal for the people of Chicago and Illinois."

The mayor and governor plan to have dinner with the delegation Wednesday night and hold meetings with federal officials on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by lunch Thursday with the delegation.

The Mayor will be accompanied by Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools; Miguel D'Escoto, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation; Terry Peterson, chief executive officer of the Chicago Housing Authority; and Frank Kruesi, president of the Chicago Transit Authority.

Joining Governor Ryan for meetings with Bush administration cabinet officials will be members of his senior staff as well as Public Aid Director Jackie Garner and Department of Commerce and Community Affairs Director Pam McDonough.

(Note to reporters: The governor, mayor and members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation will hold a media availability at 1 p.m. (EST) Thursday in the hallway adjacent to the Speaker's Conference Room on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol.)