Sangamon Sun

In the shadow of the 16th president, Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that will bring more state jobs to Springfield.

“It is a matter of state pride,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said. “It promotes Lincoln’s hometown and his vision as one of the original lawmakers who advocated for making Springfield the capital of Illinois.”

House Bill 4295 will make Springfield and Sangamon County the default locations for most state jobs as opposed to the jobs going to Chicago, the state’s largest city. The bill will also require the director of Central Management Services (CMS) to work with the directors of other agencies to relocate all state positions under the Personnel Code, including new positions, to Sangamon County with some exceptions.

Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez

Legislative and judicial branches, offices of the state’s constitutional officers, and those employed directly by the governor's office are among the exemptions, the State-Journal Register stated.

Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (R-Leland Grove) was the chief legislative sponsor of the bill.

“For all of my time as state representative, I have made it a priority to push state agencies to identify positions within state government that can and should be located in Sangamon County,” Jimenez said. “A recent report identified nearly 400 jobs that could potentially be relocated to the capital city.”

In addition to moving jobs to Sangamon County, CMS would also be required to provide reasons explaining why a job would need to be located outside of the county line.

“Returning state positions to the state capital is not only about jobs here in Sangamon County, but also about improving efficiency and generating cost savings for taxpayers statewide,” Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) said.