Here are some ways that you can influence your legislators and the public to support either the elimination of the tax cap or restoration for bonding authority for park and forest preserve districts. Please check each item upon completion.

___ Attend March 10, 1993, Reception for New Legislators at the IAPD headquarters.

___ Attend April 28, 1993, Legislative Conference.

___ Forward letters, telephone calls and faxes to your state legislators and the Governor's office on the property tax
      cap and how it affects your agency and the constituents that you serve.

___ Send letters to the editor from individual employees, park board members, relatives and businesses concerned
      with the negative effect property tax caps will have on parks, schools, fire and police protection.

___ Print articles in your agency's newsletters or program brochures delineating how the property tax cap will affect
      the community and services of the agency and urging that individuals write to the Governor in opposition of the
      property tax caps.

___ Schedule visits with your local editorial boards to discuss the negative effects of property tax caps.

___ Visit with your legislators or invite them to your meetings to express your disagreement with the property tax caps
      in general and specifically the bonding authority.

___ Contact businesses and civic groups to join the efforts to stop the property tax caps.
      Businesses should especially be solicited. Contact vendors that do business
      with your agency and inform them about the impact the property tax cap will have
      on their businesses.

___ Contact the realtors and inform them that services offered by park and forest preserve districts and schools
       will be much more limited to individuals buying homes in your particular area.

___ Send resolutions addressed by your board urging to defeat property tax caps to your legislators
       and the Governor's office.

___ Send letters of appreciation to the legislators who stated that they opposed the property tax caps.

___ Join with other groups and get private funds or contributions to take out large newspaper ads in opposition
      to the property tax caps and/or our bonding authority restrictions.

___ Monitor newspaper, radio and television stories on property tax caps and have people to counteract
      stories that don't portray an accurate situation.

___ Organize local focal groups by regions and invite legislators and other local officials to debate
      the property tax caps.

___ But most of all, you should inform the public that you serve of the drastic cuts that will have to be made
       in the future of recreation and park land programs and services.

The easiest thing for legislators to do is to vote for a statewide tax cap if they don't hear from you and if they don't receive sound reasons not to vote for the cap.