EDITORIAL: Get right to work on other issues

The intense focus and scorched-earth tactics by both sides on the right-to-work issue in the Indiana General Assembly have delayed action on proposals that could bring more immediate economic benefit to Northwest Indiana and the state.

State Rep. Charlie Brown is trying for the sixth time to get Indiana to finally enact a statewide smoking ban. He even got strong Republican support for the legislation, a virtual necessity this year.

Enact that legislation, and businesses would know their health care costs likely would be less because their employees would be healthier. A ban on smoking in public places is good for tourism, too — something that could and should be stressed with so much media attention on Indianapolis for next month's Super Bowl.

The Cline Avenue Bridge needs to be replaced. Building a private toll bridge would cut through a lot of red tape, but the Legislature should tackle any remaining questions related to the bridge and express its strong sentiment in favor of replacing the bridge.

Replacing the bridge would not create immediate construction jobs but also reduce pollution and increase commerce by making traffic flow more smoothly between Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson has talked of waiting until next year to seek the Legislature's blessing for a land-based casino in Gary, but state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, is savvy about the Legislature's fickle attitudes. If the timing is right this year, move quickly on authorization for that license.

A land-based casino in Gary, beyond bringing additional jobs to the region, also could provide the funding necessary for important local needs such as a teaching hospital and a trauma center.

Also left undone is the provision of funding for maintenance of the Little Calumet River levees. If those levees fail because of neglect, it would be a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs as well as a disaster for the individual homeowners and businesses subjected to flooding.

Public transportation funding, too, is on the ropes. Time is running out for a solution just to keep the buses running, let alone to complete the regional bus system envisioned by the Legislature when the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority was created.

If those bus lines fail, not only would the drivers' jobs be lost, but also the passengers' access to jobs and shopping would be severed. It is a serious economic issue.

That's just a few of the issues that demand immediate attention by the Legislature.

Now that the right-to-work battle is over, get to work on those proposals. There is little time.

Tuesday is the deadline to complete work on bills in the chamber of origin. The Legislature has no right not to work on these other proposals in the meantime.