Springfield, IL – In response to news last week of the Governor’s intent to move the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Safety from Springfield, Representatives Poe and Brauer have started a petition drive to show local support for keeping the Traffic Safety jobs here in Springfield. Copies of the petition may be obtained through the offices of Representatives Poe & Brauer, and through a number of local groups including: AFSCME, The Springfield Chamber and Downtown Springfield Inc..

“We are asking the Springfield area community to join us in our fight to keep IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety here in Springfield by passing this petition,” said Poe. “Under this Governor’s watch we have witnessed state government cut to bare bones, we have witnessed state government moved to Chicago, now we are witnessing an attempt to move state government to southern Illinois. Enough is enough.”

Last week, the State Department of Transportation announced that it was relocating its traffic safety division to southern Illinois to potentially save millions of dollars and boost their economy. While no specific location has been announced, Benton, IL has been rumored to be the front runner.

“We encourage all area residents to sign this petition,” said Brauer. “This administration talks about saving millions of dollars and boosting the southern Illinois economy with this move. It’s absurd to think that this move will save the state money when we have vacant space in several of the buildings that currently house state offices, including the Illinois Department of Transportation building. If the Governor wants to boost the economy in southern Illinois, then he needs to create a business friendly climate in Illinois, not shift state government from one region of the state to another.”