Raise Your Voter Voice

The Kankakee River Valley Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business.  Each year members of our government affairs committee participate in lobby days and business summits in Springfield.  Key business issues inflaming the state are brought home to the Kankakee region for discussion, analysis and action. 

One key tool that our government affairs committee uses to communicate with legislators is the Illinois Chamber’s Grassroots Action Center. We are encouraging all Chamber members to get involved and have their legislative concerns voiced too. 

Rod Goodall, Government Affairs Committee member and Grassroots advocate, says, “Building relationships with our legislators is huge. Critical issues arise and our legislators need to know what is important to us as members of the business community.”  Goodall also stated that, “Our elected officials can fall prey to partisan pressure because of lack of knowledge on our positions on impacting issues.  Grassroots (Action Center) eliminates the gray areas for our legislators that represent us in Springfield because our voices are heard.”

The Grassroots Action Center is an online advocacy tool that makes access to our State legislators quick and easy because its so user friendly. 

When you enter the Grassroots page (accessible at www.kankakee.org by following the Voter Voice link) President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber Doug Whitely writes, “We know that running a business takes a lot of time.  When you’re serving your customers, meeting a payroll, and dealing with the daily challenges associated with business, you don’t always have the time to track legislation.  That is why we track the legislation for you, provide you with the background materials you need, and provide the key contact information for legislators that need to hear from you.”

Within minutes you can be signed on to receive legislative alerts on red hot issues, keep current on present issues and communicate with the State’s elected officials.  Legislative alerts come to you by electronic mail, and your response is then forwarded to the key legislators related to the issue.  What makes Grassroots so user friendly is that it’s simple to use and the research on the target issues is already provided for you.  All you need to do as a conscientious business person is add a personal note of comment or concern, if you so desire, to a pre-populated message that has been prepared for transit to the correct legislators (see above).

Goodall said, “I’ve had legislators respond to my emails. They represent us in Springfield. They need to address our concerns and furthermore, the want to address our concerns.”

To contact your legislators, please follow the Voter Voice link to the Grassroots Action Center. Your voice can make a difference if you’re willing to be heard.
voter voice
  Grassroots Action Center