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FACT SHEET: PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE (unknown chars)S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Illinois

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                PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE?S
                        ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Illinois




EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

?    Unemployment Down to 4.4%: The unemployment rate in Illinois has
declined from 7.2% to 4.4% since 1993.
?    744,100 New Jobs: 744,100 new jobs have been created in Illinois since
1993 -- an average of 94,991 jobs per year, compared to an average of just
26,800 jobs per year in the previous administration.
?    685,400 New Private Sector Jobs: Since 1993, 685,400 new private
sector jobs have been created in Illinois?an average of 87,498 jobs per
year, compared to an average of just 18,700 private sector jobs per year in
the previous administration.
?    20,700 New Manufacturing Jobs: 20,700 new manufacturing jobs have been
created in Illinois since 1993 -- an average of 2,643 jobs per year.  In
contrast, an average of 12,900 jobs were lost each year under the previous
administration.
?    58,400 New Construction Jobs: 58,400 construction jobs have been
created in Illinois since 1993 -- an average of 7,535 jobs per year.  In
contrast, an average of 2,725 construction jobs were lost each year during
the previous administration.
?    430,000 Have Received a Raise: Approximately 158,000 Illinois workers
benefited from an increase in the minimum wage?from $4.25 to $4.75 -- on
October 1, 1996.  They, along with about 272,000 more, received an
additional raise?from $4.75 to $5.15 -- on September 1, 1997. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore have called on Congress to raise the
minimum wage by an additional $1.00 over two years.
?    Homeownership Has Increased in Illinois: Homeownership in Illinois has
increased from 62.3% to 67.1% since 1993.
?    Home Building Up 3.2%: Home building in Illinois has increased by an
average of 3.2% per year since 1993, after falling by over 4.8% per year
during the previous administration.
?    Poverty Has Fallen: Nationally, the poverty rate has fallen from 15.1%
in 1993 to 11.8% in 1999, the lowest level since 1979.  In Illinois, the
poverty rate has fallen from 13.6% in 1993 to 10.0% in 1999. [Census
Bureau]
?    A $500 Child Tax Credit to Help Families Raising Children: To help
make it easier for families to raise their children, the balanced budget
included a $500 per-child tax credit for children under 17. Thanks to
President Clinton, the balanced budget delivers a child tax credit to
1,163,000 families in Illinois.
?    Illinois' Families Reap Benefits of Deficit Reduction: Public debt is
on track to be $2.4 trillion lower in 2000 than was projected in 1993.
Debt reduction brings real benefits for the American people -- a family in
Illinois with a home mortgage of $100,000 might expect to save roughly
$2,000 per year in mortgage payments.  Reduced debt also means lower
interest rates and reduced payments on car loans and student loans.
?    7.7% Growth in Total Bank Loans and Leases: Illinois has seen a 7.7%
average growth rate in total bank loans and leases per year since 1993.  In
contrast total bank loans and leases fell over 3.1% during the previous
administration.
?    7.5% Growth in Commercial and Industrial Loans and Leases: Since 1993,
Illinois has experienced a 7.5% annual growth rate in commercial and
industrial loans and leases.  In contrast, commercial and industrial loans
and leases fell over 7.0% during the previous administration.


EXPANDING ACCESS TO EDUCATION

?    Over 35,200 Children in Head Start: 35,211 Illinois children were
enrolled in Head Start in 1999.  In FY00, Illinois will receive $214.1
million in Head Start funding, an increase of $95.7 million over 1993.
?    More High-Quality Teachers With Smaller Classes for Illinois? Schools:
Thanks to the Class Size Reduction Initiative, Illinois received $50.1
million in 1999 to hire about 1,289 new, well-prepared public school
teachers and reduce class size in the early grades.  President Clinton
secured funding for a second installment of the plan, giving Illinois an
additional $54.3 million in 2000.
?    $19.4 Million in Goals 2000 Funding: This year [FY00], Illinois
receives $19.4 million in Goals 2000 funding.  This money is used to raise
academic achievement by raising academic standards, increasing parental and
community involvement in education, expanding the use of computers and
technology in classrooms, and supporting high-quality teacher professional
development. [Education Department, 12/3/99]
?    $17.3 Million for Technology Literacy: This year [FY00], Illinois
receives over $17.3 million for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund
which helps communities and the private sector ensure that every student is
equipped with the computer literacy skills needed for the 21st century.
?    $332.9 Million for Students Most in Need: Illinois will receive $332.9
million in Title I Grants (to Local Educational Agencies) providing extra
help in the basics for students most in need, particularly communities and
schools with high concentrations of children in low-income families [FY00].
This includes $5.6 million in accountability grants, to help states and
school districts turn around the worst performing schools and hold them
accountable for results.
?    $290.2 Million in Pell Grants: This year [FY00], Illinois will receive
$290.2 million in Pell Grants for low-income students going to college,
benefiting 142,600 Illinois students.
?    Expanded Work-Study To Help More Students Work Their Way Through
College: The FY00 budget includes a significant expansion of the Federal
Work Study program.  Illinois will receive $44.5 million in Work-Study
funding in 2000 to help Illinois students work their way through college.
?    Over 3,600 Have Served in Illinois through AmeriCorps: Since the
National Service program began in 1993, 3,663 AmeriCorps participants have
earned money for college while working in Illinois?s schools, hospitals,
neighborhoods or parks. [through 2/00]
?    Tuition Tax Credits in Balanced Budget Open the Doors of College and
Promote Lifelong Learning: The balanced budget included both President
Clinton?s $1,500 HOPE Scholarship to help make the first two years of
college as universal as a high school diploma and a Lifetime Learning Tax
Credit for college juniors, seniors, graduate students and working
Americans pursuing lifelong learning to upgrade their skills.  This 20% tax
credit will be applied to the first $5,000 of tuition and fees through 2002
and to the first $10,000 thereafter. 296,000 students in Illinois will
receive a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500.  363,000 students in
Illinois will receive the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. [fully phased-in
FY2000 estimate]
?    Expanded Job Training to Illinois? Dislocated Workers: President
Clinton's FY 2001 budget would triple funding for the dislocated workers
program over 1992 levels.  Illinois received $39.7 million in 1999 to help
23,530 dislocated workers get the training and reemployment services they
need to return to work as quickly as possible.  In FY 2000, Illinois will
receive over $38.7 million to provide job training services for dislocated
workers.


FIGHTING CRIME AND VIOLENCE

?    Crime Falls 9% in Illinois: Under the Clinton-Gore Administration,
America has experienced the longest continuous drop in crime on record.
Since 1992, serious crime in Illinois has fallen by 9%.  Violent crime and
property crime have also declined 10% and 9% respectively.  In Illinois?
cities, robbery has fallen 34% in Chicago and 28% in Springfield. Murder
has fallen by 19% in Chicago. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports]
?    Juvenile Arrests Down in Illinois: Illinois?s juvenile property crime
arrests have decreased 45% between 1992 and 1997. [FBI, Uniform Crime
Report, 1992 and 1997]
?    5,463 More Police: The President?s 1994 Crime Bill has funded 5,463
new police officers to date in communities across Illinois. [through 7/00]
?    Chicago Will Receive Targeted Funding to Hire More Community Police:
Chicago was selected as a pilot city for the President?s new effort to
target high crime neighborhoods.  The pilot program will provide full
funding for new officers by waiving the usual matching requirements.
Chicago will deploy new officers to help meet the unique needs of its
community, such as combating gangs or targeting drug ?hot spots.?
?    Reducing Crime with Drug Courts: Working to reduce drug-related crime
in Illinois, the Clinton Administration has awarded Drug Court grants to
the communities of Night, Kankakee, Peoria, Rockford, Chicago, and Cook
County.  The Administration had previously awarded grants to a number of
Illinois communities including: Decatur, Joliet, Wheaton, Bloomington, St.
Charles, Markham and Woodstock.  Drug courts use the coercive power of the
criminal justice system to combine drug testing, sanctions, supervision and
treatment to push nonviolent, drug-abusing offenders to stop using drugs
and committing crimes.
?    $54.4 Million to Combat Domestic Violence: Through the Violence
Against Women Act, Illinois has received approximately $54.4 million in
federal funds to establish more women?s shelters and bolster law
enforcement, prosecution and victims? services.  [through 9/2000]
?    Nearly $2.6 Million in Grants for Battered Women: In FY99, Illinois
received nearly $2.6 million in HHS?s Family Violence Prevention Program
grants to assist women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
?    $18.4 Million to Keep Drugs & Violence Out of Illinois Schools:
Illinois receives $18.4 million in FY00 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools
Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.



MOVING ILLINOIS RESIDENTS FROM WELFARE TO WORK

?    344,320 Fewer People on Welfare: There are 341,188 fewer people on
welfare in Illinois now than there were at the beginning of 1993 -- a 50%
decrease. [through 6/99]
?    Child Support Collections Up 62%: Child support collections have been
increased by over $114 million?or nearly 62% -- in Illinois since FY92.
[through FY98]
?    Encouraging Responsible Choices?Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Illinois:
Since 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have supported
innovative and promising teen pregnancy prevention strategies, with
significant components of the strategy becoming law in the 1996 Personal
Responsibility Act.  The law requires unmarried minor parents to stay in
school and live at home or in a supervised setting; encourages ?second
chance homes? to provide teen parents with the skills and support they
need; and provides $50 million a year in new funding for state abstinence
education activities.  Efforts are making a difference, adolescent
pregnancy rates and teen abortion rates are declining.  And between 1991
and 1997 teen birth rates declined 15.6% in Illinois.
?    $167.5 Million for Illinois Welfare-to-Work: In 1998 and 1999,
Illinois received a total of $93.9 million in Federal welfare-to-work state
formula grants, helping Illinois welfare recipients get and keep jobs.  In
addition, in 1999 and 1998 a total of $73.6 million in competitive grants
were awarded to Illinois localities to support innovative welfare-to-work
strategies.  Part of the President?s comprehensive efforts to move
recipients from welfare to work, this funding was included in the $3
billion welfare to work fund in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
?    Helping People Get to Work: Through the Access to Jobs initiative, the
Clinton-Gore Administration is working with communities across the country
to design transportation solutions to help welfare recipients and other
low-income workers get to and from work.  Chicago, Dupage County, and
Rosiclare have received a total of $2.3 million this year to fund
innovative transit projects.


INVESTING IN ILLINOIS?S HEALTH

?    Health Care for Nearly 43,000 Uninsured Illinois Children: In 1997,
President Clinton passed the largest single investment in health care for
children since 1965 -- an unprecedented $24 billion over five years to
cover as many as five million children throughout the nation.  This
investment guarantees the full range of benefits that children need to grow
up strong and healthy.  Two million children nationwide have health care
coverage thanks to the President's plan, including 42,699 in Illinois.
[HHS, Health Care Financing Administration, FY99 SCHIP enrollment data]
?    Helping Over 240,000 Illinois Women and Children with WIC: The Clinton
Administration is committed to full funding in the Special Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).  In FY99, Illinois received
$145.1 million in total WIC grant funding, helping 240,789 women, infants
and children in need receive health and food assistance, 14,900 more than
in 1994. [through 8/99]? More Toddlers Are Being Immunized: As a result of
the President?s 1993 Childhood Immunization Initiative, childhood
immunization rates have reached an historic high. According to the CDC, 90%
or more of America?s toddlers received the most critical doses of each of
the routinely recommended vaccines in 1996, 1997, and again in 1998
?surpassing the President?s 1993 goal. In Illinois in 1998, 94% of two-year
olds received the vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis; 91% received
the vaccine for polio; 91% received the vaccine for measles, and 93%
received the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacteria causing a
form of meningitis.
?    Funding for HIV/AIDS Assistance Programs: In FY 2000, Illinois will
receive over $7.3 million in Ryan White Title II formula grants. This
funding provides people living with HIV and AIDS medical and support
services.  Also through the Ryan White Act, Illinois will receive nearly
$16.4 million for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), which help
those without insurance obtain much needed prescription drugs.  There has
been a tenfold increase in ADAP funding in the last four years, up from $52
million in 1996 to $528 million in 2000. [HHS, Health Resources and
Services Administration, 4/7/00]
?    Tobacco Plan Will Cut Smoking and Premature Deaths by 41% in Illinois:
The Clinton Administration?s tobacco proposal, combined with the recently
enacted state tobacco settlements, will cut youth smoking and resulting
premature deaths 41% in Illinois by 2004.  Between 2000 and 2004, 156,700
of Illinois?s youth will be kept from smoking and 50,100 will be spared a
premature tobacco-related death. [Treasury Dept., 2/99]
?    6,220,000 Americans in Illinois Cannot Be Assured They Have Patient
Protections: Even if Illinois enacted all the protections in the Patients?
Bill of Rights, 6,220,000 people in Illinois cannot be assured they have
the comprehensive patient protections recommended by the President?s
Advisory Commission.  This is because the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) may preempt state-enacted protections.  That is why
the President has called on Congress to pass a federally enforceable
patients? bill of rights so that everyone enrolled in managed care may have
a basic set of protections.  Notably, 3,120,000 Illinois women are in ERISA
health plans and are therefore not necessarily protected.  Women are
particularly vulnerable without these protections because they are greater
users of health care services, they make three-quarters of the health care
decisions for their families, and they have specific health care needs
addressed by a patients? bill of rights.


PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

?    10 Toxic Waste Sites Cleaned Up: Since 1993, the EPA has completed 10
Superfund toxic waste cleanups in Illinois. The sites are located in
Taylorville, Pembroke Township, Winnebago, LaSalle, Quincy, Marshall,
Warrenville, East Cape Girardeau, Rockford and Wauconda. This two and a
half times the number of sites cleaned up in Illinois during the previous
two administrations combined. [through 3/1/00]
?    $27 Million in Safe Drinking Water Funding: This year [FY00], thanks
to President Clinton, Illinois will receive $27 million for the Drinking
Water State Revolving Funds to provide low-interest loans to municipalities
to build, improve, and prevent pollution of drinking water systems.
?    Revitalizing Brownfields in Illinois: As part of the Clinton-Gore
Administration?s efforts to clean up Brownfields, the EPA has awarded
grants to counties and communities in Illinois?Chicago, East St. Louis,
Calumet City, Canton, East Moline, Waukegan, and Cook County?for
environmental clean-up and economic revitalization.  In addition,
Brownfields grants will go to West Central Municipal Conference and the
State of Illinois, which will select sites for further action.  These
projects are intended to jump-start local clean-up efforts by providing
funds to return unproductive, abandoned, contaminated urban properties to
productive use.
?    Protecting the Illinois River Watershed: Illinois is receiving $220
million through the USDA's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP),
as well as $48 million from State and non-federal sources, to help preserve
thousands of acres along waterways throughout the Illinois River watershed.
CREP is a new voluntary initiative where the Agriculture Department
partners with State governments and local interests to address local
environmental problems related to agriculture.


CARING FOR OUR VETERANS

?    Invested Nearly $1.5 Billion in Illinois' Veterans: President Clinton
and Vice President Gore are committed to caring for Illinois' one million
veterans.  The Veterans Administration invested nearly $1.5 billion in
Illinois in 1999 alone.  In 1999, 80,829 Illinois veterans received
disability compensation or pension payments, more than 14,553 went to
college on the GI Bill, and 11,196 bought a home using VA loan guarantees.
?    Providing Health Care for Illinois' Veterans: Since 1993, the VA
health system has increased the number of patients treated every year by
over 29 percent; treated 83 percent more homeless patients; organized
approximately 1,300 sites of care delivery under 22 Veterans Integrated
Service Networks; and established more than 250 new community-based
outpatient clinics. VA medical facilities in Illinois include the Danville,
Marion, and North Chicago medical centers, Hines VA Hospital, and the VA
Chicago Health Care System. Additionally, Illinois has 16 outpatient
clinics that provide a full array of primary care for veterans in the
communities where they live and work.  In 1999, 120,197 veterans received
health care in Illinois' VA facilities.



SPEARHEADING URBAN RENEWAL EFFORTS

?    Revitalizing Illinois? Communities: Chicago was designated an
Empowerment Zone in December 1994 and was awarded $100 million to create
more jobs, housing, and economic opportunity for city residents.  As part
of this project, First Chicago has initiated a $100,000 pilot program to
help 75 to 100 qualified families buy their first homes.  Additionally,
East St. Louis and Springfield were both designated Enterprise Communities,
and were awarded $3 million each for similar job creation efforts. In 1999,
East St. Louis was designated a New Urban Empowerment Zone and Ullin was
named a New Rural Empowerment Zone.
?    Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Will Help Develop 5,800 To
7,000 New Affordable Housing Units in Illinois Over the Next 5 Years: Last
year, the President and Vice President pushed for a 40-percent expansion in
the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.  This year, the President and Vice
President will try again to enact tax incentives to develop affordable
housing.  In Illinois alone, this proposal would mean an additional 5,800 -
7,000 quality rental housing units for low-income American families during
the next five years.


PROVIDING DISASTER RELIEF

?    $646.3 Million in Federal Emergency Assistance: Since 1993, Illinois
has received $646.3 million in disaster relief.  This includes $33.6
million in assistance after severe winter storms in 1999.  [FEMA, 2/29/00]


EXPANDING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT

?    Over $3.6 Billion in Federal Highway Aid: Since 1993, Illinois has
received over $3.6 billion in federal highway aid, including $42.1 million
for emergency relief in response to natural disasters and $1.6 million for
scenic byways.  These funds have helped generate 148,326 jobs. [through
FY99]
?    Over $569.7 Million in Aviation Funds: From FY93-FY99 Illinois
received over $569.7 million in Airport Improvement Program funds to help
build and renovate airports, and, when necessary, to provide funds for
noise abatement to improve the quality of life for residents who live near
airports.
?    Over $2.2 Billion in Transit Funds: Since 1993, Illinois has received
over $2.2 billion in Federal Transit Funding.  Major projects include: $77
million to Metra (the commuter rail division of the Northeaster Illinois
Regional Transportation Authority) for the North Central Commuter Rail
project.  This project, the first new commuter rail service in the Chicago
area since the 1920s, opened on August 18, 1996; a $2.8 million Livable
Communities grant to the CTA approved in May 1995 to assist in the
rehabilitation of the Tech/35th Street station on the CTA?s Green Line.
The station is located in Chicago?s Empowerment Zone.
?    Saving Lives and Property: In 1999, the United States Coast Guard
saved 18 lives and over $9.2 million in property in Illinois.

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