Illinois House Floor Debate — February 24, 2017

"Members are asked to be at their seats. We shall be led in prayer today by Wayne Padget, the Assistant Doorkeeper. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones, and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance."

"We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Walsh."

"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie."

"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Beiser, Evans, Jones, McAsey, and Williams are excused today."

"Representative Demmer."

Speaker Turner: "With 108 Members present, a quorum is established. Representative Wehrli, for what reason do you seek recognition?" 10000020.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Please proceed, Sir."

"Happy birthday, Representative. Representative Olsen, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please, proceed."

"Thank you, Representative. And welcome to your Capitol. Representative McDermed, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please proceed, Representative."

"Representative Lang."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. I heard the comments of the former speaker. I don’t know how to respond to any of this. Everyone in this Body knows that if the Governor of the State of Illinois did his job and went into a room, we would have a budget done in two or three days. This has never been about the willingness of Legislators to accomplish a budget, but the unwillingness of the Governor to simply do the job he was elected to do by the citizens of the State of Illinois. We hear about Turnaround Agendas. We hear about the problems with AFSCME that the Governor can't complete. We hear about him going skiing. We hear about him sipping wine with the Koch brothers. But what we don’t hear about is the Governor saying, let's do the job we were elected to do and sit down and get the budget accomplished. If the Governor were to do that, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If the Governor were to do that, kids with Autism would be getting services. People with mental illness 10000020.docx 3  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 would be getting services. Our college students would be getting their MAP grants. Our state universities would not be crumbling before our very eyes and on down the line. It's great to make these speeches, not too many people are listening, but we're listening over here. We hear you. And maybe you should direct these comments to the person who's the problem. Maybe you should take a little break, walk down to the second floor, and have a conversation with the Governor of the State of Illinois, should he be here and should he be willing to engage in the process of having the conversation, and he would be very surprised. I know you wouldn't, Members on the other side of the aisle, because you know the facts. But he might be surprised to learn that all 118 of us in this chamber would like to take care of the needs and the budget for the people of the State of Illinois. There are millions of citizens, not only indirectly, but directly being hurt by the fact that our Governor will not sit down and do his job. And I would simply respond to this by saying, Governor, do your job."

"Representative Nekritz, for what reason do you rise?"

"Point of personal privilege."

"Please proceed, Representative."

"We had a very interesting hearing in the Revenue Committee this morning at which I was privileged to sit in. We heard from Moody's Analytics speaking about the future of the Illinois economy. They issued a very interesting report on… that was commissioned by COGFA not that long ago. And to the subject that the two previous speakers were addressing, 10000020.docx 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 I would like to quote from the Moody's Analytics report that Illinois's business climate outshines its regional rivals. I'd like to say that again. Illinois's business climate outshines its regional rivals, but the state's shaky finances have some firms questioning whether they want to expand in the state or elsewhere. So, it's pretty clear what Moody's thinks about the need for a budget versus the need for 'business reforms'. They're pretty… they're pretty clear and this is not a partisan issue. This is Moody's Analytics saying we need a budget. Thank you."

"Representative Brady, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please proceed, Sir."

"Representative Batinick, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please proceed, Sir." 10000020.docx 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Representative Slaughter, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."

"Please proceed, Sir."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the Black Caucus, we'd like to say thank you to all the Members of this chamber for recognizing, honoring, and celebrating Black History Month with us. A special thanks goes to all those who were able to get to the Joint Black Caucus Soirée event last week. And a big thank you for allowing us to indulge you this month in Session as we shared with you important parts of Black History. As we close out this month of February together, I rise today to shed light on a leader that is most recognized as the creator and innovator of Black History Month and that’s Dr. Carter G. Wilson… Woodson. As a renowned educator, historian, author, and journalist, Carter G. Woodson is known as the Father of Black History. Throughout his dedicated career, Woodson effectively utilized Black History and culture as a force and means to fight for racial equality and justice. Convinced that the role of African American History and the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented amongst scholars, Woodson saw a need for research into the neglected past of African-Americans. This led him to form the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in 1950. The Association is still used today 10000020.docx 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 to prominently promote and publish scientific history that transforms race relations, and dispels the widespread falsehoods about the achievements of African Americans and peoples of African descent. Under the auspices of the Association, Woodson founded The Journal of Negro History, which began publication in 1916 and established the Association Publisher's Press in 1921, the published works of Black History where he would go on to write more than a dozen books over the years. The Journal of Negro History, which Woodson edited until his death, served as the center piece of his research program, not only to provide black scholars with a medium in which to publish their research, but also serving as an outlet for publications of articles written by white scholars when their interpretations of such subjects as slavery and black culture differed from mainstream historians. Woodson formulated an editorial policy that was extremely inclusive. Topically, the Journal provided coverage and various aspects of the black experience: slavery, the slave trade, black culture, the family, religion, antislavery, abolitionism. It included biographical articles on prominent African Americans. Scholars as well as interested amateurs published important historical articles in the Journal and Woodson kept the balance between professional and nonspecial contributors. Among the major objectives of Woodson's research was to counteract the racism promoted in works published by the scholars. Woodson pioneered in writing the social history of black Americans using news sources and methods such as census data, slave testimony, and oral history. As a scholar, Woodson moved away 10000020.docx 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 from interpreting blacks solely as victims of white oppression and racism and moved toward a view that depicted blacks as a major actor… as major actors and figures in American History. In 1926, Woodson was the sole individual responsible for pioneering and creating the celebration of Negro History Week. He created this celebratory occasion to increase awareness and interest in Black History among both blacks and whites. He chose the second week of February to commemorate the birthdays of the great Frederick Douglass and Illinois's very own Abraham Lincoln. Keep in mind, there was no social media apps out in 1926, so each year Woodson sent promotional brochures and pamphlets to State Boards of Education, elementary and secondary schools, colleges, black clubs, black newspapers, periodicals, and scholarly journals suggesting ways to celebrate. He also produced bibliographies, photographs, books, pamphlets and other promotional literature to assist the black community in commemoration. Negro History Week celebrations often include parades of costumed characters depicting the lives of famous blacks and reenacting lectures, poetry readings, speeches, displaying exhibits, and other special presentations. By the end of Woodson's lifetime, which is 1950, Negro History Week celebrated week… celebration reached every state and several foreign countries. It will be 50 years after the celebration of Negro History Week that in 1976, which marked the Bicentennial of the United States, President Gerald Ford officially recognized and expanded Black History Week into a full month. He said the country needed to seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments 10000020.docx 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 of African Americans in every endeavor throughout the… throughout our history. So, we've had Black History Month since 1976. It's my hope that we all use this month to remember the important contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout nations… throughout our nation's history. Please understand that for some of us in this chamber, Black History is what ignites us. It drives us and motivates us to serve our districts with pride and passion. I believe it's important to celebrate Black History because it helps us to be better stewards of the privileges we've gained. As we tell and pass on the valuable stories of our ancestors it's extremely important that we don't take for granted the rights that many people before us sweated, bled, and died to secure. Apart from awareness of the past, we can never appreciate the blessings we enjoy in the present. For me, February always gives me a break away from the negativity that is often associated with African Americans. February provides an uplifting and encouraging time for African Americans to highlight the best of Black History and culture. All too often we hear about the terrible poverty rates, incarceration rates, and high school dropout rates associated with the black population. We are inundated with negative images of the black community. I would rather listen to Representative Riley about his hero… talk about his hero Ralph Bunche or Representative Stratton highlight the achievements of the great Shirley Chisholm or Representative Harper expound on the contributions of Ida B. Wells. Black History Month provides that awesome opportunity to focus on different aspects of our narrative and pushes us to seek… seek out and 10000020.docx 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 lift up the best in our accomplishments. Celebrating Black History Month is not only… does not only create awareness for African Americans. Hopefully, this month has created awareness for all people. When we observe Black History Month, we give citizens of all races and backgrounds the opportunity to learn about a past and a people of which we may have live…in which we may have little awareness. And finally, recognizing Black History Month, reminds us all that Black History is our history. It's American history. The impact of African Americans have made on this country is part of our overall collective consciousness. Reflecting on Black History draws people of all races into the grand and diverse story of this great nation. Once again, thank you for listening. Thank you for honoring and celebrating our history. I thank you in advance for continuing to recognize our history and contributions beyond just this month."

Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Slaughter."

"Mr. Speaker, while I have the privilege? I would like the Body to recognize two outstanding young men that are in the gallery today, Travis Washington and Ryan Gougis. Travis is a senior at SIU-C. He's a current recipient of the Alexander Lane scholar… internship. And Ryan Gougis who is actually on Speaker's staff, was the recipient of the Gene Callahan internship last year. Please give them a hand."

"Thank you, Representative. And welcome to your Capitol. Representative Andersson, for what reason do you seek recognition?" 10000020.docx 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Please proceed, Sir."

"Representative Wallace, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise for a point of personal privilege." 10000020.docx 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Please proceed, Representative."

"Thank you. There's a quite… quite a bit of discussion here, obviously, today about the budget and whose responsibility it is and how that might work out. And I'm sure that my esteemed Leader has probably already referred to Article VIII, Section 2, paragraph (a) which comes before (b). And in paragraph (a) it states the budget… the Governor shall prepare and submit to the General Assembly, at a time prescribed by law, a state budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The budget shall set forth the estimated balance of funds available for appropriation at the beginning of the fiscal year, the estimated receipts and a plan for expenditure and obligations during the fiscal year of every department, authority, public corporation and quasi-public corporation of the state, every state college and university, and every other public agency created by the state, but not units of local government or schools districts. The budget shall also set forth the indebtedness and the contingent liabilities of the state and such other information as may be required by law. Proposed expenditures shall not exceed funds estimated to be available for the fiscal year as shown in the budget. So, to… a week ago, our Governor did come forth with a proposal that, in his own admission, is $4.6 billion short in revenue, but what I think is most disturbing about what was presented and what has been proposed is the fact that that budget is a direct assault on women and people of color. When you look at the things that have been completely zeroed out and eliminated or drastically cut, it is things like $3 million less for early screenings for breast and cervical cancer. You will see 10000020.docx 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 that there is a lack of funding for programs in higher education that are directed towards students of color who are traditionally marginalized not just on campuses, but in their ability to function in our society. So, you see things such as a diversifying higher education faculty program completely zeroed out, one that helped me complete my own doctoral studies. You see the program created by our late Esther Golar. Representative Esther Golar, the Grow Your Own Program completely zeroed out. And then you see the fact that there's not funding there for anti-violence programs or violence intervention programs and then once those individuals do die from gun violence, if they live in poverty, there's no money there to bury them because the funeral and burial services have been zeroed out. We are going to leave people on the street because the homelessness programs have been zeroed out. We say we don’t care about teen parents because the services to them, so that they can hopefully raise well- adjusted children, that’s been zeroed out. Addiction prevention, zeroed out. Epilepsy services, zeroed out. Autism services, zeroed out. After school programs, zeroed out. You have case management services for migrant workers, who are the backbone of the farming industries that we have in the State of Illinois, zeroed out. The welcome centers for our immigrants, no funding for that. No immigrant integration services. But we will go ahead and we'll increase corrections funding by five and half percent because when you decimate, destroy, and completely implode the human services and education infrastructures, you will very well increase your prison population. That is exactly what happens. So, what I 10000020.docx 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 would like for our Governor to do is to fulfill the obligations of Section 2 in Article VIII letter (a), which comes before (b), and do so in a way that is humanistic and then my colleagues and I, which is everyone here, will go forth to letter (b) and the General Assembly will by law, make appropriations for expenditures for public funds by the state. And the appropriations can then be part of a fiscal year that does not exceed the estimates. But if we don’t have an estimate from letter (a) that is balanced, then how do we do that? So, I will close by simply saying that we have to… we have a moral obligation to put the people of our constituency first. And I think we also have a moral obligation to make sure that our budget, things that we propose and support and appropriate for actually help individuals from marginalized communities. What we received last week does not do that. So, I look… I stand ready to work with whomever and I appreciate the time. Thank you."

"Members, on page 2 of the Calendar, we're going to start with Bills on Second Reading, House Bills on Second Reading. First up we have House Bill 40, Representative Feigenholtz. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 619, Representative Walsh. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 680, Representative Davidsmeyer. Out of the record. House Bill 685, Representative Moeller. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 791, Representative Demmer. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 1783, Representative Demmer. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 1809, Representative Davidsmeyer. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 2379, Representative Scherer. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. House Bill 2407, Representative Kifowit. Representative Kifowit. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Members, we're moving on to Third Readings. First up, we have House Bill 278, Representative DeLuca. Out of the record. House Bill 350, Representative McSweeney. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative McSweeney."

"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 350 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 108 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 350, having received the 10000020.docx 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 470, Representative Davidsmeyer. Out of the record. House Bill 684, Representative Yingling. Representative Yingling, would you like to move House Bill 684? Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Yingling."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill just further outlines that in the event of a consolidation initiative that taxpayer money cannot be used by an elected official against taxpayers to try and interfere with a consolidation initiative. I'm happy to answer any questions."

"The Chair recognizes Representative Andersson."

"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"Sure. The intention of this is ballot initiatives. So, initiatives started by residents of a unit of government who wish to put a question on the ballot."

"Correct."

"Correct."

"Right. There were… there's been a couple court cases where that has not been clear. We're… the munici… a government body was allowed to use taxpayer money to… to knock something off the ballot, a consolidation effort off the ballot. So, this just reaffirms… and reaffirms for, you know, for future court rulings that this is what the… the position is."

"Sure."

"Chair recognizes Representative Ammons."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"The Sponsor will yield."

"Thank you. Representative Yingling, can you please go a little further on… on examples of why this would be needed, first question? Second question is, in response to what you may perceive to be the need, why is this a violation that’s a Class 4 felony with a 1- to 3-year prison sentence?"

"The first… to answer the first part of your question. So, there's been an increased amount of interest across the state to initiate government consolidation. As somebody who's worked on these issues before, what I often find and what many people often find is that the people who are most opposed to government consolidation are the elected officials who could potentially lose their elected position from consolidation. So, it's to… to prevent an elected official 10000020.docx 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 from using taxpayer money against taxpayers who have an interest in voting for something on the ballot."

"So, I…"

"Go ahead."

"…I thought that already existed though. How would a elected official access taxpayer dollars to be used on the initiative they may object to?"

"What…can you say that last part of that again?"

"How would an elected official access taxpayer dollars that would be used to fight an initiative?"

"You… well, through the… through legal proceedings to try and knock something off a ballot."

"No, but how would they use taxpayer dollars though?"

"Through the… through the governmental body's treasury."

"I'm sorry. I missed that last part."

"Through the governmental body's treasury. So…

"But…"

"Tax dollars that being paid into the governmental body… the treasury itself."

"But every person doesn’t have access to the… I can't walk into my treasurer's office for my city and say give me a check so I can fight an initiative."

"Right."

"I mean, I don’t understand what this is doing?"

"So, if… let's say you had in a case of a board. They could vote to say, hey, listen, we want to intercede on this and use… you know, hire our own attorneys to go and fight something in court for a ballot initiative." 10000020.docx 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"I think this… unfortunately, this has two concerns for me."

"Sure."

"It's kind of broad."

"Okay."

"And kind of inconspicuous. So, I can't even determine what would be an initiative where an elected official would then take taxpayer dollars to fight an initiative that they may be opposed to. So, that’s a little bit too broad in its scope."

"Okay."

"And I'm also concerned about turning another action into a felony charge that creates more felonies and we have no data to support whether this is a… or unless you do. Do you have data that this is widespread and this is a need?"

"One second, Representative. I want to get the answers to that."

"Thank you so much."

"Okay. Representative, are you reading this off the analysis you have in front of you with the felony conviction?"

"Actually, I'm not… well, yes, I am reading it from the…"

"Okay."

"…analysis there."

"Right. So, this does not fall under a felony conviction. What… what is going on… what you see here in your analysis are just current issues that do fall under a felony conviction."

"I'm sorry. Say it one more time 'cause it's too loud." 10000020.docx 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Sure. So, this… a violation of this does not fall under a felony conviction. What you're seeing on your analysis right now are existing offenses that do fall under a felony conviction."

"But this particular action taken by this Body would not add this to the felony offenses?"

"Correct. It will not add it."

"It will not add it to the felony offenses?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Thank you so much for indulging me."

"Sure."

"Representative David Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question of the Sponsor."

"The Sponsor will yield." Harris, D.: "Representative, I think your… your legislation is well intended, but let's think through it a second. As, I read the law… the Bill, it says that public official shall not use public resources or public funds to obstruct, fight, or challenge initiatives to consolidate, merge, or eliminate any unit of local government. Well, what if they're using the resources to promote the initiative?"

"Well, I would… that would… I would imagine that would fall under election… existing Election Code violations as well." Harris, D.: "Well, and the reason I ask that… let me give you an example. Let's assume you have local government A and local government B. And they say we're going to have an initiative to merge those two units of local government, A and B. Maybe there's an official on local government A that would benefit 10000020.docx 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 from that merger because that official might be able… have a better chance of keeping his or her position than the officials in local government B that might lose their position. Okay? So, that local official in government A would say, hey, I want to use whatever resources I can to promote the initiative because in the end, it's going to benefit me. So, I think there's… I think there's a double edge here that I don’t know how you handle that, but something to look at, I think."

"That… I appreciate that, Representative. That’s a very valid point. Actually, Mr. Speaker, I want to pull this out of the record for now."

"Mr. Clerk, can you please pull this Bill from the record? House Bill 786, Representative Andrade. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Andrade."

"Thank you, Chairman… Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, House Bill 786 came from the idea from my district due to a volunteer that gained the trust of some young ladies and he molested them because he gained their trust because he was a volunteer. So, House Bill 786 amends the Park District Code. Prohibits a park district from knowingly engaging a volunteer who has been convicted of or found to be a child sex offender. Provides that every park district shall require a volunteer to complete an application, prior to beginning work as a volunteer, which shall include a question concerning whether they have been convicted or found to be a child sex offender. 10000020.docx 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 Provides that if a current volunteer is convicted or found to be a child sex offender, the volunteer should immediately disclose a conviction or finding to the park district. This does not create a mandate where the park district must do a background check. This is an additional screen. The child sex offender already legally cannot be there, so this prevents and gives the child sex offender a moment of pause… a moment of pause to reflect and says, I should not be here 'cause if I'm here I'm breaking the law. So, this prevents him from actually breaking the law and it gives him a chance to step away and say I should not be here. If there's no questions, I respectively request an 'aye' vote."

"Members, can we please bring the noise level down a bit? Some Members are having a hard time hearing. Thank you. Representative Andersson is recognized."

"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"The park… all this requires… all this requires is that any volunteer who is directly… directly supervised by the park district must just present on an application a check box that says yes or no, I have been convicted."

"That's it."

"We won't necessarily know." 10000020.docx 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"The Park district… most park districts go far and beyond what is required by this. A Member called his park district, while I was in his office and they actually do background checks. So, they go further."

"This just… this gives a moment of pause and actually probably prevents them… the sex offender from going to jail."

"Yes."

"No financial implication."

"This just… this is a little… just accountability for… they need to be responsible for their volunteers."

"Representative Guzzardi."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks, Representative Andrade for bringing this. Quick question about the definition of volunteer. So, you say that everybody that comes to the park to volunteer has to fill out an application. So, let's say there's a park cleanup day and I want to show up for 20 minutes and pick up some trash. Do I have to then do some paperwork before I do that?"

"The… it's specifically the volunteers directly supervised by the park district. So, they would… this is… 10000020.docx 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 this is brought up, so it probably would not fall within it because it's… they're not directly supervising them and they're not in their scheduled activity. More likely as like a basketball tournament or something. So, it's not… it's… it's unrealistic that 500 volunteers will be doing it. So, it's more of a scheduled volunteer. A volunteer that learning… I mean, I do have a definition for volunteer, but it's an unpaid individual who reports and is under direct supervision of a park district administrative staff and provides personal services to a park district program that is offered to children."

"Okay. Thank you, Representative."

"Chair recognizes Representative Nekritz."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"The Sponsor will yield."

"Representative, I was just trying to look up the definition of child sex offender. Can you tell me what offenses are included in that definition?"

"So, here they have a child sex offender means any person who has been charged under Illinois law or any substantially similar Federal or State Law with a sex offense or the attempt to commit an included sex offense and the victim is under 18 at the time of the offense."

"So, this is… this would be anything including… sorry… including a Romeo and Juliet situation or a consensual sex situation, that person would be… I mean, they're already prohibited from being in parks. I understand that, but we're adding yet… wait a minute… I just want to try to understand that this is a broad swath of people who are not just 10000020.docx 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 molesters, but they are also people who have engaged in a wide range of behaviors?"

"Yes, as they are already under the list and they are already illegally there; unfortunately, due to that circumstances… under a Romeo and Juliet circumstance… they would still be breaking the law and this, actually would probably prevent them from being prosecuted and going back to jail. So, yes, it would include it. But it… this is actually, a prevention from having them being convicted of breaking the law."

"And I appreciate that, Representative. But this Body has continually gone down the path of sweeping in a broad range of behaviors and calling them all child sex offenders whether or not that person… the perpetrator is a dangerous individual to small children or whether they, you know, did something that was wrong and were punished for it, but now we have continued to punish them for the rest of their lives. To the Bill. I… the Representative is exactly right that these individuals who are convicted child sex offenders are already prohibited from being in parks. And so, this does nothing to further punish them, but I just would like the Body to be aware. I don’t know if the chairman's going to speak of this or not that we do have a task force established to look at our sex offender registry and to determine whether or not we are actually providing public safety with all of the sex offender laws that we have or whether we are just being punitive and forcing these individuals into an ever… an ever smaller environment where they… and forcing them, frankly, to live in tents because they can't live anywhere. They can't go 10000020.docx 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 anywhere. You know, folks who have children and might want to go pick up their child at the park, can't do that. And so, we've created all these levels of restrictions and our hope is that the task force is to look and see whether there are better and more effective ways to protect public safety and to keep these heinous behaviors away from children and from the public, but also not create a situation where someone cannot rehabilitate and can no longer be a productive member of society no matter how much they have redeemed their lives and turned their lives around. So, I just… you know, I would hope that the Body will not just do what we have done a million times before when we see the word sex offender up on the board and just… and just vote 'yes', but be cognizant of the public safety effects that we are having with all these Bills. Thank you."

"Representative Wehrli is recognized."

"Representative Ford is recognized." 10000020.docx 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"Thank you. So, Representative, I think that your intent is very good and you want to protect young people. I just have one idea that could take care of the problem. Let's say we change the application and just add to the application that you are prohibited from volunteering if you are a child sex offender, instead of forcing people to check a box?"

"So, it's already prohibited. I believe the action for that person to say that if you would ha… the idea of him checking the box or signing that he's never been convicted makes it more personal and actually won't… forces him to pause and says I'm actually going to say no, when I have been. And so, unfortunately, in the past that has not worked because it's already prohibited and he should have never been there. And so…"

"Right. Does the application now say that you're prohibited from doing volunteer work if you are a child sex offender?"

"I cannot say. I don’t know. Each park district has… what I do know is some park districts go far and beyond that."

"Right."

"I cannot speak for every park district. What I'm looking at is, is creating a moment of pause to prevent that person from…"

"So, I want to support your Bill, but I will not be able to support it. So, I'm going to offer… I don't know if I made it clear. If you could just make the application clear that Illinois's law prevents you from being around kids if you're a child sex offender. And once they fill out that application 10000020.docx 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 they will then know… I mean, they already know that they shouldn't be around kids, but if we make it explicitly stated on all applications then the applicant will read that and then they'll walk away because they know that they will be breaking a law. It’s a friendly reminder without causing them embarrassment for any reason. That’s all."

"Representative Stratton is recognized."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"The Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"Thank you. I had a question as to whether or not this applies to juvenile sex offenders?"

"This applies to any volunteer that is convicted as a sex offender."

"So, this would include youth that have been convicted or have been adjudicated as a sex offender?"

"It may."

"All right. So, to the Bill. I would just want to express my concern about continuing to add penalties to young people in particular, by either a… with their failure to disclose, which according to subsection (d) indicates that they would be required to serve a minimum of 7 days confinement in the local county jail and imposing a minimum fine of $500."

"Hello? They are already not even allowed to be there. They are already breaking the law. And they… this… this here… it's not a penalty enhancement. This is exactly what would happen to them if they're there in the first place."

"My point is that, it says a failure to vol… for a volunteer to disclose. So, that’s an affirmative duty on the 10000020.docx 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 part of the… in this case, that I'm asking about a youth a failure to disclose would lead to these additional… this additional penalty. Am I correct?"

"Right. And what I'm saying it's already illegal for them to be there, so they're already under violation of their current obligation of not to be there. So, they're already breaking the law."

"And so, I… I guess, again I'm just… it's to the Bill, expressing my concern that for juvenile offenders in particular that this would add an additional… regardless of how it happens, its assigning an affirmative duty to a young person to volunteer this information and I believe it's something that would be another penalty that's on top of a young person who may be in the position of trying to rehabilitate his or her life. Thank you."

"Chair recognizes Representative Sims."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative… Will Sponsor yield for a question?"

"The Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"Representative, you indicated that under current law the activities that we are… we are trying to bar with this Bill are already illegal. Is that what you said?"

"Yes, they're already illegal."

"So, then what's the purpose for having the Bill?"

"The purpose of having the Bill is to create a moment of pause for that person when they're already breaking the law again. This is… that law has not prohibited people from actually going there. So, this creates a moment of pause and reflection to say, I should not be here. Why am I here? And 10000020.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 why am I even volunteering? So, that’s what's the purpose of it is creating other screen to protect our youth at our parks that were not protected from my constituents because two of their daughters were molested."

"So, it would give them a moment to pause. So, how are they noted… how are they provided with notice, that they're required to fill out the application?"

"When they go to the park district and they apply to be a volunteer, which they shouldn't even be at that park district for applying for to volunteer, which says for a district program that is offered to children."

"Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. The reason that we have gotten to where we are in terms of our… the problem with our… with mass incarceration and our current sentencing structure is because we passed individual Bills to deal with broad problems. We pass Bills to paint with a broad stroke these issues. This Body, in its wisdom, passed a task force to address these types of concerns. To focus on sentencing… sex offender sentencing, registry issues, this Body has allowed… has performed… has allowed that task force to start. That task force is working. That task force is examining these types of issues. Why are we continuing to do this in a piecemeal fashion? If we have… if we're… if we put in place a policy and a strategy to allow us to put policies in place that are going to address these issues in totality, let's let those processes work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

"Chair recognizes Representative Demmer."

"Thank you, Representative. Chair recognizes Representative Thapedi."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."

"Jaime, I think that you heard from the chair of the Judiciary-Criminal Committee. How do you respond to that?"

"What I respond is that this is more of a technical human resource procedural application. What should be looked at at the task force, the task force should look at removing the Romeo and Juliet from child offenders, removing the sexting, and looking at the whole object of sex offenders. This is a procedural requirement of a park district. It is not a looking at what should be filed as a sex offender or not. This is a procedural requirement for an application under human resources process not a judicial."

"I certainly understand your testimony, but the testimony that I heard from one previous Member, as well as, the chairman of the Judicial-Criminal Committee is that this is more than just a procedure. This is, in fact, a penalty enhancement. Would you not agree with that?"

"A penalty enhancement, what I understood would be if it's felony… a misdemeanor and you go to a felony."

"Or creating a crime period. Anything… a penalty enhancement is anything that incarcerates an individual or extends the amount of time in which an individual would be incarcerated. Would you not agree with that?"

"I don't know if that’s the definition of penalty enhancement, but I… what I… what…" 10000020.docx 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Well, what's your understanding of what a penalty enhancement is?"

"A penalty enhancement goes from misdemeanor to a felony."

"All right, well what about if something is… that you only get a fine for something and then we pass a piece of legislation that if you create that same offense that prior to the legislation that’s being created that you would get a monetary fine that you end up going to jail. Would you consider that to be a penalty enhancement?"

"This is… this is no monetary fine."

"Yes? No?"

"There's no monetary fine in there. This is already breaking…"

"All right. Well, Representative, I would… I would respectfully request that you pull this Bill out of the record and you work with the chairman of the Judicial-Criminal Committee to address the concerns that you want to address, but at the same token not having a deleterious impact on the youth and other people in this state. Thank you."

"Representative Andrade to close."

"I am more than willing to look at a trailer Bill or to look at the… when it goes over to the Senate, to… I did not want to create a penalty enhancement. That’s the latest… that’s the last thing I want to do. So, what I'm… I don’t want to create a penalty enhancement. What I do want to create is a screen to protect our children. So, I will… we still have time; it's March 31. So, I'll pull it right now. I'm going to talk to Elgie Sims. And what I'm going to do is work 10000020.docx 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 on that, but I will bring it up. I don't promise that I'm not going to call it again. All right. So, I will bring it up, but I will speak to Elgie, to the Chairman, and to you, but I… I'm not promising that I'm not going to call this Bill again. Thank you."

"Mr. Clerk, please remove this Bill from the record. House Bill 817, Representative Breen. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Breen."

"Representative Demmer is recognized."

"Thank you. Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 817 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 105 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 817, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."

"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of Agreed Resolution. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Representative Gordon-Booth, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"A moment of personal privilege, please, Mr. Speaker."

"Please proceed."

"If I could please have the attention of the Body. I want to take a moment to recognize a man who passed away February 17, 2017. His name was Robert Henry Michel, better known to some of you as Congressman Bob Michel. Congressman Michel was born March 2, 1923 and died February 17, 2017, both in Peoria, Illinois. He went to Peoria Public Schools where he met his lovely wife, Corrine. He also graduated from Bradley University. Mr. Michel joined the Army after the U.S. entered World War II. He went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge and the Invasion of Normandy. He received bronze medals for his service. Congressman Michel was a Minority 10000020.docx 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 Leader for seven terms, longer than anyone in House history. His amiable manner often led to his erroneous labeling as an ideological moderate. Although, by temperament he was a pragmatic in a House that was democratically controlled by the vast majority of his career. His critics said that he was too nice, too accommodating, and not partisan enough. He was a better practitioner of governance than politics. He may have encouraged some of those perceptions by his favorite pastimes. He was a devoted gardener, who loved music, golf, and the Chicago Cubs. I always thought it was funny that his favorite song was Send in the Clowns. Well, thank God, the Cubs won and he got to see that before he died. I share this story because Congressman Michel just wasn’t the Congressman from the area that I represent, but he also was the employer of my grandmother-in-law for most of her adult life. And the bipartisan cooperation that you oftentimes see from Peoria Legislators is in large part a legacy that was set in stone by Congressman Michel. Oftentimes rather, it was former Representative Leitch who I would often be seen over there talking to, or him over here coming to support some of my legislation. To the newer Members that we have here, like Representative Spain, Representative Unes, Representative Butler, we try to work together as much as possible and I do believe that Peoria has a reputation for having bipartisan cooperation when it comes to legislation. And I think that it's more important now than ever that we have the spirit of bipartisanship that was often displayed by Congressman Michel, but also his predecessor, Secretary Ray LaHood. Thank you." 10000020.docx 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017

"Representative Butler is recognized."

"Representative Spain is recognized."

"Representative Riley is recognized."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Leader Gordon-Booth, it's just something about those people who play in Peoria, I guess. I went to Bradley University. I was down there between 1969 and '71 and got a chance to know Ray LaHood and Bob Michel. I remember seeing Bob Michel, for those of you who know a little bit about Peoria back at that time, it’s a place called Braves Wash on Main Street. And you know, it’s a cleaners, and you know a laundry mat and all that type of thing. And I saw Bob Michel coming out of it, you know, as I was going in. That’s the kind of guy he was. He helped a lot of people. One thing about Bob Michel, he saw one's potential and he helped you develop that potential. And I have numerous friends that share my political ideology that Bob Michel helped. Plain and 10000020.docx 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 20th Legislative Day 2/24/2017 simple. That’s the kind of guy he was and that’s the man I remember. So, rest in peace Congressman Michel."

"Representative Unes is recognized."

"Representative Davidsmeyer is recognized."

"The Body will pause for a moment of silence. Thank you, Members. And rest in peace, Bob Michel. And now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that House adjourn until Tuesday, March 7 at noon, Tuesday, March 7 at noon. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House is adjourned."