61st Annual Meeting of the
Midwestern Legislative Conference
August 20 - 23, 2006
Chicago, Illinois

Thank you for joining us in Chicago!
At 2006's record-setting MLC Annual Meeting in Chicago, legislators from the Midwest elected a new slate of officers, honored a longtime leader and finalized plans to return to Canada.

More than 750 people attended the four-day event — the highest attendance ever in its 61-year history. Attendees participated in an array of policy sessions, networked with colleagues, and exchanged ideas and information on key issues impacting this region.

They also completed some important MLC business. On the final day of the meeting, Michigan Sen. Patricia Birkholz was elected to serve as conference chair in 2007. Among her duties will be coordinating next year’s MLC Annual Meeting in Traverse City, Mich.

Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter will serve as immediate past chair in 2007; the other officers will be South Dakota Sen. Tom Dempster (first vice chair) and Kansas Sen. Jay Emler (second vice chair).

Also at the meeting, two-time MLC chair Fred Risser was honored for his distinguished career. The Wisconsin senator soon will be the nation’s longest-serving state legislator. He was presented with a plaque at the meeting’s Monday luncheon. Later, the MLC passed a resolution recognizing Risser’s contributions to the organization and state government.

Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter presents Wisconsin Sen. Fred Risser with a plaque from the MLC honoring Risser’s 50 years of distinguished legislative service.

During the Wednesday business session, legislators approved plans to hold the 2010 meeting in Toronto. The provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan are affiliate members of the 11-state MLC, which held its 2005 meeting in Regina, Sask.

Below are other highlights from the event:

• The MLC passed 18 resolutions.
• Participants took part in policy sessions on immigration trends, disaster preparedness, student performance and education standards, the uninsured, the region’s future transportation needs, and the impact of recent and upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

  Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga asks a question of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin during the closing session of the MLC Annual Meeting as Iowa Rep. Linda Upmeyer looks on.

• Regional economist Diane Swonk spoke about the future of the Midwest economy, while other speakers and sessions focused on revitalizing the region’s cities, exploring how the region can respond to rising energy prices, and adjusting to changes in the manufacturing sector.
• Well-known broadcaster Bill Kurtis spoke about the importance of saving small-town America, including in his home state of Kansas, while political commentators Donna Brazile and Rich Galen gave a preview of the 2006 fall elections.
• Former state legislative leaders Roger Moe (Minnesota) and Lana Oleen (Kansas) led a session on "From Conflict to Consensus: Leading Through Collaboration."
• Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin closed this year’s meeting with a speech on Abraham Lincoln.

For more information, contact:
Laura Kliewer

last updated: April 29, 2008