mmm 



OF VITAL 



TO nmm 



by PAUl E. MATHIAS 



Secretory, Illinois Agricultural Association 



MANY measures affecting farmers 

 are before the present session 

 of the Illinois legislature, but 

 the General Assembly has been 

 very slow to act upon them. 

 Very little was accomplished 

 during the first three months of the 

 current legislative session. Members of 

 both parties seemed content to let the 

 work of the session drift in order that 

 time might be devoted to the mayoralty 

 election in Chicago. Returning after 

 this election early in April, the mem- 

 bers began to give serious attention to 

 the work of the session. 



Farm to Highway Roads 



Of high interest to farmers is the 

 report filed recently by the Farm to 

 Market Road Commission which was 

 appointed under 1945 legislation to 

 study farm to highway road problems. 



Reporting that 40,000 of the state's 

 75,000 miles of township and road dis- 

 trict roads are of a primitive dirt road 

 type, the Commission recommends: 



That the state assume permanent 

 responsibility for assistance to the 

 township and road districts in provid- 

 ing all-weather surface highways from 

 the farms to the main highways in 

 Illinois. 



That at least $15,000,000 be pro- 



vided annually from a permanent 

 source to effect a proper rural road 

 assistance program. 



The Commission stated that the most 

 logical and defensible source of perma- 

 nent revenue would be provided from a 

 one-cent increase in the motor fuel or 

 gasoline tax restricted to use on these 

 roads. It proposes that the money be al- 

 located among the township and road 

 districts in the proportion that the 

 mileage of township and road district 

 highways in any township bears to the 

 total mileage of this class of roads in 

 the state. 



As a requisite to state assistance, the 

 Commission proposes that each town- 

 ship or road district be required to 

 levy local taxes in the amount of the 

 regular legal limit (.125 per cent of 

 the full fair cash value). 



This road program would be ad- 

 ministered by the local highway com- 

 missioner and the county superintend- 

 ent of highways. In general, the recom- 

 mendations of the Commission follow 

 the broad outlines of the legislation 

 sponsored by the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association in the 1945 legislative ses- 

 sion under which the state first as- 

 sumed responsibility for assistance in 

 the construction of these local roads. 



The Commission also recognized the 



serious problem in connection with 

 bridges and has recommended that a 

 survey be made in order that facts may 

 be available upon which a program for 

 assistance can be based. The Com- 

 mission also would permit two or more 

 road administrative units within a 

 county to unite, upon referendum, for 

 road administrative purposes. 



School Legislation 



There is an urgent demand that the 

 legislature provide additional state as- 

 sistance for schools. The School Finance 

 and Tax Commission, also appointed 

 pursuant to legislation enacted in the 

 1945 session, has recommended addi- 

 tional emergency state aid and also an 

 increase in the general state assistance 

 to schools. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 is supporting measures for additional 

 state assistance. However, it is not 

 proposed that school districts shall be 

 entitled to continue to receive these ad- 

 ditional state funds unless they are 

 efficiently organized. Now, school dis- 

 tricts having an average daily attend- 

 ance of less than seven pupils may not 

 receive state funds unless the continued 

 operation of the school is certified to 

 be necessary by the county superintend- 

 ent of schools. 



It is proposed to raise this minimum 

 attendance figure from seven to 10 in 

 1942, to 12 in 1951 and to 15 in 1953. 

 Likewise, small high schools having an 

 average enrollment of less than 10 

 pupils per grade would not be entitled 

 to receive state aid. These proposals 

 are in accordance with the recommen- 

 dations of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation State School Committee and 

 the Association is supporting them. 



There are several proposals for sim- 

 plifying reorganization procedure for 

 schools. A number of the County Sur- 

 vey Committee would like to make 

 their reports based upon the anticipated 

 simplified reorganization procedure. 

 Accordingly, it is proposed to postpone 

 the date for the filing of the tentative 

 reports of the survey committee from 

 June 1 to Dec. 1, 1947 and the date for 

 filing their final reports from Jan. 1 to 

 June 1, 1948. 



Home Economics Building 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 and the Illinois Home Bureau Federa- 

 tion are sponsoring legislation appro- 

 priating $2,000,000 to the University 

 of Illinois for the construction and 

 equipment of a home economics' build- 

 ing. The present facilities are out- 

 moded and inadequate. i 



Tax and Appropriation Increases 



There are many demands for addi- 

 tional appropriations from the state. 

 Many of these demands are merited. 







-7 



I 



4 » 



( • 



* ' 



-r\ 



o » 



10 



L A. A. RECORD 



