Jehan Gordon Takes Constituent Accessibility to New Level

She turned heads as a member of the Pleasant Hill District 69 School Board and garnered respect as a retention program coordinator at Illinois Central College. Now Jehan Gordon is making her mark in Springfield’s General Assembly, earning a reputation as the people’s State Representative of the 92^nd District.

 The life-long Peoria resident basked in her full victory on Election Night after a year and a half of grueling campaign work. But she didn’t celebrate for long. The former Peoria Promise chair and AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) quickly got down to business, signing up for numerous committees and acquainting herself with both Democrats and Republicans during January orientation in Springfield.

 “I represent constituents from both parties,” Representative Gordon (D-Peoria) told The Community Word in December. “I’m going to work in a bipartisan way and let Republicans know that I’m planning on spending a lot of time over on their side of the aisle.”

 Representative Gordon attended Limestone High School in Bartonville before attending Parkland Community College and receiving a BA in Business Administration from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Her service has encompassed work at Bradley University’s Small Business Development Center where she helped provide assistance to local entrepreneurs. She also served as Director/Developer of Peoria’s Emerging Leaders program.

Gordon’s present focus?

Excellent constituent service.

 “We have to really begin to build bridges and find areas where we agree,” she says. “Only then can we best serve our constituents.”  

 Sponsoring numerous bills and enhancing committee productivity with the fresh ideas and spirited optimism of a young woman in her twenties, Gordon said in December she aims to become “the very best legislator the district has ever had.” 

Penning Legislation

 Agile in committee and gregarious on the House floor, Gordon is nothing less than studious behind her desk, penning legislation to bring heart and hope to both leaders and average citizens in her district.

 “One of the bills I sponsored that I am most proud of is the CPPRT Bill, which stands for Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes,” says Gordon. “My inspiration for the bill came from the possible school closings threatening my district due to the economic downturn. Originally, closures were being considered because of the decrease to the CPPRT in our area.”

 Gordon claims public schools are funded by three things: CPPRT, Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV), and students’ Average Daily Attendance (ADA). House Bill (HB) 3673, which passed both chambers, changes the year of CPPRT which is to be used in the General State Aid (GSA) formula for funding schools. 

 “Public schools receive their dollars from EAV of the previous year but receive dollars from CPPRT from the previous two years,” says Gordon.

 Gordon’s legislation amends the GSA formula provisions of the School Code. The bill provides that the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes paid to each school district during one calendar year—instead of two calendar years—before the calendar year in which a school year begins, divided by the Average Daily Attendance figure for that district, shall be added to the local property tax revenues per student.

 Here is an example of the change the House Bill would create: CPPRT paid in 2006 currently is used in the 2008/2009 school year. Under HB 3673, CPPRT paid in 2006 would be used in the 2007/2008 school year.

 “My bill speeds up schools’ ability to receive funds from the state by changing the way CPPRT are paid out to the schools,” says Gordon. “A two-year formula does not give a fair assessment. There’s no reason not to change the formula so that schools can receive more state funding.”

 As a former school board member, Gordon empathizes with the teachers and students who suffer when schools close.

 “My background sitting on the Peoria Valley School Board and working at ICC gives me a more accurate picture of what my local education leaders need from me,” she says. “I’m really excited about the way this bill will be able to help the schools in my district who are struggling.”

 The bill will become effective July 1, 2009.

 Gordon is also proud of her support of Senate Bill 2271, a bill that will give consideration to families with egregious medical expenses by helping them qualify for a program that will assist them in paying utility bills, such as bills to cover the high cost of maintaining life support equipment. Sponsored by Sen. David Koehler (D-Peoria), the bill allows the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)—a department that provides a wide array of programs and services designed to help Illinois businesses thrive in the global economy—to take a family’s medical bills into account when determining whether a family will receive assistance paying its energy bills.

 When determining household benefits, DCEO is legally obligated to consider utility expenses, the number of people in a family, and the area of the state in which the family resides as the primer for whether or not a household qualifies for assistance. Until the bill was introduced, medical bills did not factor into the equation.

 “Some people have an exorbitant number of medical bills, and they have no healthcare,” says Gordon. “They’re paying out-of-pocket. This legislation will help families stay afloat in our current economic situation and survive.”

 The bill, supported by AARP Illinois, passed in the Senate by a vote of 47-10. It has been assigned to the House Committee on Human Services for further consideration.

 HB 3630, which passed both houses and which Gordon claims is currently sitting on the governor’s desk, is another piece of legislation Representative Gordon is proud to have sponsored on behalf of her District 92 constituents.

 “This bill will greatly help my constituents who are dealing with developmental disabilities,” says Gordon.

 The legislation, sponsored by Representative Gordon, amends the County Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act and provides that the county board of any county with a 3-member county board for the care and treatment of people with a developmental disability shall consist of 5 members. The bill, if signed into law, will be effective immediately.

 “When a board has only three members, if there’s ever one member who does not come to a meeting, you don’t have forum,” says Gordon. “There is no tiebreaker for a vote. More members will eliminate this problem, enabling the board to accomplish its duty more effectively on behalf of constituents.”

Greater Transparency

 Rumors among constituents regarding cost-of-living increases for legislators can inflict serious damage on politicians—especially during campaigns when opponents wave pay-for-play tactics like red flags hoping to sway undecided voters by blinding them in a fog of dirty politics. In an effort to create greater transparency in the political arena, Representative Gordon co–sponsored HB 4445 with House Speaker Michael Madigan. The legislation is written to suspend a cost-of-living increase for lawmakers.

 “In a way, the Compensation Review Board did the dirty work by recommending cost- of-living increases for legislators and elected state officials,” says Gordon. “These pay raises automatically take effect unless the legislature stops them from being implemented. My bill requires pay raises to receive both House and Senate approval as well as the governor’s signature before they can go into effect. The bill also eliminates a pay raise this year.”

 Gordon claims that given the current economic upheaval, she is “adamantly against” cost-of-living increases for anyone in legislation. She also believes that as state employees may be required to take days without pay in order to save the state money, furlough days should also be mandatory for legislators.

 “If legislators receive pay raises, I think that they should have to go to their constituents who are hurting and out of work and explain to them why they are receiving an increase in salary when so many in their district are losing their jobs,” says Gordon.

A Part of the Process

 When she’s not drafting legislation, Representative Gordon may be found in committee, deliberating with city fathers behind closed doors.

 “I selected my own committees based upon what I thought was important for my district,” she says.

 Aiming to stay busy, Gordon is a member of committees on Access to Federal Funding; Appropriations for Elementary and Secondary Education; Appropriations for Human Services; Health and Healthcare Disparities; Infrastructure; and Veteran’s Affairs.

 “The Appropriations Committee is where I find out how the money flows and where it goes,” says Gordon. “This is a really tight budget year. Some I’ve spoken with have told me this is the worst year they’ve ever seen.”

 Gordon claims Appropriation Committee members for Elementary and Secondary Education were asked to do an exercise that involved prioritizing the needs of schools in their district. Reaching out to the superintendents in her district, Gordon gave each of them the “priority sheet” she was given in committee. 

 “My purpose was to make the superintendents as much a part of the exercise—of the process—as I am,” she says. “I’ll ask my superintendents: What resources do we need, what tools do we need to protect your budget and decrease your deficit? I want my superintendents to know that I am down there with them working for the students. The superintendents were so grateful. They told me they had never been made to feel so much a part of the process in this way before.”     

 Gordon’s passion for meeting the needs of the people in her district extends to helping veterans, an opportunity she considers “one of the greatest privileges” of her job.

 “I’ve been privileged to reach out to the veterans in my district,” she says. “We hosted an event down at the Peoria veteran’s home, with the Director of Veterans Affairs, Dan Grant, who is an Iraqi war veteran in his 20s. They are all very special people who we must do our best to uphold the promise that we made to them and their families when they stepped up to the plate.”

 During a meeting with local veterans, one man requested to have an additional veterans’ hospital located in Peoria, Illinois. This request prompted Gordon to introduce HR 0413, a resolution to create a new hospital for those who have served the country.

 “Right now, veterans have to go to Danville, which encompasses spending money for an overnight stay at a hotel and getting someone to travel down with them, which can sometimes be an inconvenience,” says Gordon. “It is our duty and our responsibility to ensure that we fulfill the promises our government made to our veterans for service to their country.”

 HR 0413 was referred to the rules committee on May 19^th.

Keeping People Healthy

 Gordon’s work on the committee for health and healthcare disparities has been monumental.

 “When I look at some of the disparities in my district and in the state of Illinois, I’m reminded how much this country truly needs viable healthcare coverage,” she says.

 “Right now, my main task is Obama’s healthcare plan and how we’ll get it done.”

 Gordon claims that part of the current discrepancy with America’s healthcare system lies in the fact that healthcare is available to individuals after they become sick.

 “Healthcare should be focussed on keeping people healthy,” she says.

 The Peoria democrat claims the healthcare disparities give her the opportunity to speak out about certain health issues, such as breast cancer awareness and the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women.

 “I’m hosting a summer event with Oprah’s cardiologist, Dr. Annabelle Volgman, to talk about the need to take care of our health,” she says.

 The local legislator expresses concern for those in her district who are suffering physically either due to a lack of financial resources or because of a general torpor toward healthful living.

 “The economy has a bigger impact on individual health than most people realize,” she says. “One of my constituents told me she goes without dinner some nights in order to have enough food to feed her children. I want to ensure that people are taking care of their health and not putting themselves on the back burner.”

A Capital Idea

 It’s Springfield’s biggest brouhaha of the year since former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment and all the talk on the floor of the General Assembly. The nearly $30B capital bill that currently awaits the governor’s signature was a bipartisan effort enabling Democrats and the GOP to get their hands on a much-anticipated public works construction program.

 Gordon, who favors the bill as a member of the House committee on Infrastructure, says the capital program is a necessity for Illinois as well as her constituents in the 92^nd.

 The legislation hinges on other bills to help fuel the program, namely HB 255, designed to raise revenue for the project, and HB 312, the project list. The former legalizes video gambling machines outside of casinos, allows a private firm to manage the Illinois Lottery, and allows lottery tickets to be sold via the Internet. It also places a sales tax on items previously exempt. The latter bill lists the creation of parks, schools, universities, and other projects including road construction as some of the items on which the revenue will be spent. HB 2400 authorizes $3.6 billion in borrowing for the capital plan.

 Although some community leaders consider the legalization of gambling machines and the online sale of lottery tickets a couple of gaffes on behalf of the General Assembly, most others—including Gordon—remain optimistic about the benefits of the capital plan. 

 “We need to have this bill in order to create real jobs—not makeshift jobs but jobs that pay good benefits and involve lasting, beneficial projects,” Gordon says.

 House Bill 208, which Gordon co-sponsored, creates an opportunity for the Heartland Healthcare Clinic and similar clinics throughout Illinois to partake in the capital bill. Heartland as well as other clinics will receive $50 million dollars from the capital bill, a bill the Infrastructure committee worked with initially.

 The legislation creates the new Community Health Center Construction Act that requires the Capital Development Board, in consultation with the Illinois Department of Public Health, to establish a construction grant program for community health centers. The bill also gives the Board authority to make related grants to eligible community providers. The grants must be used for the creation and upkeep of existing community health center sites as well as for purchasing equipment to provide healthcare to under served and uninsured populations.

 “The money will fund additions to healthcare clinics so they can accommodate more people,” says Gordon. “More of my constituents will receive primary healthcare.”

People’s Representative

 Gordon’s job allows her to do a little bit of everything.

 “Basically, if there’s any major event in the paper, I go,” laughs Gordon. “I keep a very busy schedule. I go to neighborhood association meetings. I visit nursing homes. I read to students during class. I tour police departments and fire stations and factories in the Peoria area. I try to be as accessible as much as I possibly, possibly can.”

 In addition to extended office hours for families who work 9-5pm, Gordon keeps satellite office hours. She has held meetings at Manual High School and West Peoria Township Hall, Peoria Heights Township Hall, and Kickapoo Township Hall.

 “I try to make it as convenient as possible for my constituents to meet with me,” says Gordon. “Sometimes people are intimidated by going to a state office. I want to be the people’s representative, so I’ll go to them. It’s all about taking care of your constituents. People want to know their concerns are being addressed, and that’s what I do for them everyday.”

The Cutting Edge

 The Peoria Democrat claims her most rewarding experience representing her district is being able to connect with people and “talk with them exactly where they are at—not where we expect them to be,” although she is first to admit that Peoria’s diverse population sometimes convolutes her efforts to pinpoint and meet constituent needs.

 “When you hear people talk about Peoria, they say it is the most diverse district in the state,” says Gordon. “Diversity is the American way. We’re a melting pot. But sometimes this makes it challenging to find out what each individual’s need is and to meet that need.”

 Challenges notwithstanding, Gordon is excited to have the opportunity to be on what she calls “the cutting edge.”

 “I’ve had the opportunity to connect with a woman with four children who is concerned about earning enough money; the entrepreneur looking to start a business; the man who lost his job,” she says. “All you can do is your best. Always put your constituents first, and you’ll go far.”

For more information, contact State Representative Jehan Gordon’s full-time constituent service office at (309) 681-1992 or visit repjehangordon@gmail.com.