Working for Illinois Caucus

Plainfield-Oswego State Representative Harry Benton says the upcoming spring legislative session is going to be a busy time for lawmakers, as the new General Assembly begins introducing new legislation and continuing discussions on ongoing legislative topics. Benton says he is looking forward to being back in Springfield and putting together effective policy to help his constituents.

One piece of legislation Benton has been working on is House Bill 5882, which would amend the state’s vehicle code to increase the weight limit on vehicles that run on alternative fuels. He says one company in his district is looking at rolling out a hydrogen-powered vehicle as a transport between their facilities in Plainfield.

"Working with Diageo, that happens to be in my district, and they wanna put a quieter, nicer, better truck on the road just to go 1.8 miles. So they wanna go from their facility to their warehouse right down the street. So it’s gonna be quieter for all the residents when they run all the time And then, you know, the future once they start getting this range figured out, they wanna start putting these on the road. And it’s kind of a great concept because you don’t have that lag time. It gets traffic moving faster. I mean they’re ready to go."

Benton says he has other legislation currently in the works, but he also hopes to do some work on policy cleanup and clarification. The spring legislative session will begin in January following the swearing-in of the 104th General Assembly.