Local lawmakers highlight approach to getting the job done for constituents

Lawmakers from two states that border the Mississippi River, Illinois and Iowa legislators discussed their different approaches to getting the job done. 

Held at Bally's Quad Cities Casino & Hotel, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce hosted a legislative forum Friday, Jan. 20. Lawmakers representing the Quad-Cities participated in the hour forum, being asked questions about business and economic growth, attracting and retaining people, and building a community where people want to live and work.

In one of his first public speaking events in the Quad-Cities since taking office, U.S. Democratic Representative of Illinois' 17th Congressional District Eric Sorensen said even with differing opinions and perspectives on both sides of the aisle, he hopes to come together with lawmakers to bring results and solutions to their constituents who depend on them to get the job done. 

"So many people have told me that they feel this disconnect between their local community and Washington D.C.," Sorensen said. 

Sorensen, a former WQAD meteorologist, hopes to build upon the trust he has gained from people over the past 20 years. When the weather was at its worst, he said, people trusted and relied on him to provide answers and help. 

Sorensen, along with U.S. Republican Representative of Iowa's 1st Congressional District Marianette Miller-Meeks, both hope to address the ever-changing needs of energy and climate. 

Miller-Meeks said addressing climate needs should be done in a thoughtful manner that wasn't detrimental to agriculture and needed flexibility among states to figure out the different climate needs and ways to address them.

"All of us want a cleaner and healthier planet for our children and grandchildren," Miller-Meeks said. 

Tying his answer to stimulating economic growth, Sorensen wants to invest more in electric vehicles, saying they are healthier for the planet and that creates more jobs and can attract businesses to the region when the government is investing in the energy and climate sector. 

Iowa State Republican Sen. Scott Webster, a former Bettendorf alderman, said his strategy to help with economic growth was listening and befriending senior lawmakers to help promote and bring those ideas to committees to help get them across the finish line. 

A freshman state lawmaker, Webster emphasized the importance of needing to befriend the longtime lawmakers, sharing the story of when he first joined Bettendorf City Council and thought on Day One he was going to do "everything the way I wanted to do it.' By Day Two, Webster said, Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn shared that he can't do everything on his own and needed to find three friends to get things done. 

"As a freshman person, you have to build relationships with people to the point where they trust you and they understand that you're not just standing up for every little issue all the time," Webster said. 

Another freshman lawmaker in the Iowa Statehouse, Rep. Mike Vondran said his priority is helping further economic and workforce development. Vondran said he planned on doing "a lot of listening" from colleagues and constituents to understand what challenges they were facing and how lawmakers could help address those issues. 

"We need to open ourselves up to some new ideas and some new thoughts and new tools," Vondran said. 

Illinois State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Moline, said he planned to continue what he accomplished while serving in the Illinois House of Representatives. Halpin said his priorities were making sure to provide a stable environment and the tools needed to invest back into infrastructure, education and higher education. Other Illinois lawmakers who highlighted wanting to invest in higher education included Illinois House Republican Dan Swanson, who now represents portions of Rock Island County that includes Moline, East Moline, Coal Valley, Colona and Silvis, and Illinois House Democrat Gregg Johnson. 

Other lawmakers participating in the forum were Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie and Republican Reps. Norine Hammond and Travis Weaver. Iowa lawmakers included Republican Sen. Chris Cournoyer, Republican Reps. Gary Mohr and Norlin Mommsen, and Democrat Rep. Monica Kurth. Iowa GOP Rep. Luana Stoltenberg was not able to attend. 

The chamber plans to hold another forum with the mayors from the Quad-Cities on Friday, Feb. 10.