Illinois Congressional Hopefuls, Lawmakers React to Jobs Plan

(With additional reporting from Illinois Public Radio)

President Barack Obama urged a joint session of Congress Thursday night to pass a job creation scheme valued at around $450 billion. The plan is getting support from several possible contenders in the newly drawn 13th Congressional District race, which includes Champaign, Decatur, Bloomington, Springfield, and the Metro East area near St. Louis.

President Obama describes the jobs legislations as a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts and modest adjustments to health care programs, like Medicare. That worries David Gill, an emergency room doctor in Bloomington who is the only Democrat to officially enter the race in the 13th Congressional District.

"I certainly would not weaken Medicare and I wouldn't make it more difficult to become a Medicare recipient," Gill said.

Congressman Tim Johnson (R-Urbana), who plans to run for re-election, said he likes the President's plan on the surface, but he said he isn't ready to come out at support it just yet. Johnson said he want to know more about how the legislation would impact the economy.

"What meat is structured on the bones over the course of the next few weeks is critical to the success or the lack of success of this program, and how that will play out in the economic future success of America," he said.

The President said he will ask a newly-formed congressional "super committee" to come up with a plan to pay for the proposals that are outlined in the jobs legislations.

The measure would offer different types of tax credits to businesses that hire new workers. Collinsville Democrat Jay Hoffman is considering a run in the 13th Congressional District. The former Illinois House Representative said those tax credits should focus more on companies that create additional jobs, rather than simply bringing on new employees

"Incentives should be geared toward providing incentives for businesses that actually add people to their payroll," Hoffman said. "Give employers an incentive to put them to work."

Truck driver Sam Spradlin, a Springfield Republican, is also considering a run for the 13th Congressional seat. He said he wouldn't support the measure. One of his objections to the jobs bill is that it looks at cutting the Social Security payroll tax for tens of millions of workers and employers.

"Cutting the payroll tax period is a big mistake," Spradlin said. "It's a continual source of revenue for the government. That's one thing they should not be cutting right now."

The President also talked about pumping money into infrastructure projects. That excited Greene County State's Attorney Matthew Goetten, a Democrat, who recently expressed interest in the Congressional seat.

"I would add projects utilizing our District's strong agri-business heritage." Goetten said. "From the Mississippi and Illinois rivers near my home to the cutting-edge agricultural research of my alma mater, and every farm in between, we have a resource rich area with a hardworking labor force ready for further economic growth with the right investment."

Meanwhile, the president's plan is getting bipartisan support from the Illinois congressional delegation, but several lawmakers are concerned over the details of the plan and how it will be funded.

Rep. Randy Hultgren (R- Winfield) said he likes the president's plans to encourage small business growth and hire more veterans. But he said he does not like Obama's plan to pay for the measure.

"You know, spend this now, and then we'll figure out over the next ten years, you know, where we could make cuts to pay for it," Hultgren said. "I think people are tired of that. They've seen through that game of 'Trust us - we're gonna pay it now, and then we'll find it somewhere else, you know, 10 years down the line.'"

Representative Danny Davis (D-Chicago) said he doesn't see much room for debate in the proposal. He said the speech was designed to bring politicians together, not draw partisan lines in the sand.

"When you consider that it focuses around rebuilding our infrastructure - roads and bridges and highways, things you can't really do without - it's pretty often difficult to argue about that."

Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Manteno) said he agrees with Obama's plan to reduce taxes, but he, too, is skeptical about how the president wants to pay for it.

"The president made a mistake in saying, you know, for forty minutes, 'This is paid for, let me tell you how,'" he said. "Then when he finally reveals it, it's just by adding $400 billion on to the target of the super committee - so in essence, spending the money up front, with the promise of cuts later."

Representative Dan Lipinski (D- Chicago) said he thinks the president should have focused on jobs earlier. He said he is most interested in seeing how much money the president wants to devote to transportation infrastructure.

"I think that the president took his eye off the ball on jobs, but now we look forward and hopefully we can come together and get something done," Lipinski said.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk said the president's call for free trade agreements with Panama, Columbia and South Korea would help some major Illinois businesses, such as Boeing and Caterpillar. But he said he's been told the bill is at least a week away from being ready.

"If I had counseled the president, I would've said that, 'If you're going to do a big, high-profile speech before a joint session of Congress, the bill should be on the podium.'"

Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in his chamber, said the plan should stimulate economic growth without adding to the country's deficit. But Durbin said he doesn't like how Republicans acted cool to the president's $450 billion proposal.

"If (Republicans) don't believe that we need to be serious, focused and make a substantial investment in America, then this economy is not going to get back on its feet.