b'CONNECTINGHighlightsThe Illinois Chamber of Commercecommunity to stimulate job growth held their eighth Annual Chamberand attract new enterprises to Illi-Day on Wednesday, March 19th atnois. Curran emphasized the inher-from Chamberthe Abraham Lincoln Hotel. It was aent assets of the state and the need great crowd matched with plenty offor policies that facilitate economic Day 2025 informative programming and mean- advancement, while McCombie ingful visits at the Capitol. pointed out constructive proposals A special thank you goes tofrom her caucus and expressed her all four legislative leaders and thereadiness to collaborate across party Attorney General for taking time outlines.of their busy schedules to speak withPresident Harmon addressed us: House Speaker Emanuel Chrisseveral critical issues, underscoring Welch, Senate President Don Har- the significance of fiscal stability mon, House Minority Leader Tonyfor businesses, the ramifications of McCombie, Senate Leader John Cur- recent federal policies, and the ne-ran, and Attorney General Kwamecessity to avoid political contention. Raoul. It is always a pleasure to haveHe expressed his determination to you at our events! collaborate with the business com-As part of our Chamber Daymunity on practical solutions and programming, we were honored toaffirmed that maintaining a respon-hear brief remarks from all four legis- sible, balanced budget constitutes lative leaders aimed to the State andthe primary objective of the General House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welchwhat we can expect this legislativeAssembly. session.Attorney General Raoul provid-We would also like to thanked updates regarding his initiatives Senator Ram Villivalam and Senatorto combat organized retail theft, Donald P. DeWitte for addressingemphasizing the importance of the issue of the public transit fiscalcollaboration with law enforcement. cliff, and Ryan Gleason from the U.S.He outlined his objective of achiev-Chamber of Commerce for providinging a balance among protections for a crucial federal update. consumers, workers, and businesses. Illinois House Speaker EmanuelState Senator Ram Villivalam Chris Welch expressed an inter- and Senator Don DeWitte sat down est in gaming and energy omnibusfor a panel discussion with Illinois legislation, though it is still too earlyChamber President and CEO Lou House Minority Leader Tony McCombie to determine specific details. He alsoSandoval to discuss the RTA Region emphasized the strong relationshipFiscal Cliff. he has built with the Chamber overWe want to thank everyone who recent years. participated in our 2025 Chamber Republican Leaders CurranDay event. We look forward to seeing and McCombie, both of whom havewhat 2026 brings!been long-standing supporters of the Chamber, reiterated their commit-ment to partnering with the business 8ILLINOIS BUSINESS LEADER'