Critical State Issues: A Series of Dialogues with State Rep. Daniel Biss

State Representative Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) will be hosting a series of monthly public forums at the Glenview Park District’s Wagner Farm on the third Thursday of the month from July through December 2012. All are invited to discuss and learn about critical issues that are affecting the 17th District and the State of Illinois as a whole. Each forum will highlight a particular topic and several will host guest speakers from across the state. Additional speakers will be announced as that information becomes available.

Where:           Wagner Farm, located at 1510 Wagner Road in Glenview

Time:             7:00pm

Dates:           Third Thursday of the month from July through December

• July 19 - Medicaid in Illinois: Recent Reforms and the New Federal Landscape

            Guest: Julie Hamos, Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

• August 16 - The Long Road to Pension Reform: What is "Cost Shift" and Why Does it Matter?

 Guests: Erika Lindley, Executive Director of ED-RED

Richard Ingram, Executive Director of the Teachers' Retirement System

                Louis Kosiba, Executive Director of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

• September 20 - Illinois' Budget Challenges: How Did We Get Here and Where Do We Go?

            Guests: Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

                Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation

• October 18 - Why is Your Property Tax Bill so Long: Illinois and its Many Local Governments

Guests: Christopher Berry, Assistant Professor in the Harris School of Public Policy Studies

                Patrick Carey, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development

• November 15 - Where We Stand: How Illinois Really Compares to Other States

• December 13 - Environmental Fair: Quick Tips on Reducing Your Footprint

Guests: Mary Allen, Recycling and Education Director, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County

Debra Shore, Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

For more information about this six-part series, please contact Representative Biss’s office at 847.568.1250, repbiss@gmail.com or visit 3706 Dempster in Skokie.