Springfield, Ill.-Agriculture interests are welcoming appointment of Assistant Director Tom Jennings as acting director of the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture if the reaction from the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Assn. (IFCA) is any indication. It’s not clear if Jennings will become the full-fledged director. But IFCA Pres. Jean Payne remarked, “We are very supportive of Tom Jennings being named acting director and we hope he has a long stint in this capacity. Tom has long experience with IDA and has been supportive and fair in dealing with issues impacting the ag input supply and grain industries. He is a friend of the IFCA and a very fair and thoughtful person with a strong streak of common sense. We wish him the best in these challenging times of budget cuts.” Jennings, who has been with the department for approximately 20 years and has been assistant director since 2003, replaces Chuck Hartke, who is retiring after a long tenure. A Springfield native, Jennings has been with the IDA since 1978, serving in a number of positions. He is a board member of the Illinois Propane Education and Research Council, a past member of the agri-business committee of the Illinois CPA Society, and current chairman of the Fertilizer Research and Education Council. Payne indicated that state budget issues may mean Jennings will be dealing soon with increasing fees for agriculture programs, including pesticide and fertilizer tonnage tax. “Illinois is $750 million in debt and revenues are not meeting budget projections,” she reported “We will also not be surprised if the administration again tries to apply the state sales tax to agricultural inputs which has been attempted three times in the last five years only to be turned back by Illinois agricultural groups like IFCA.”
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