Illinois House Floor Debate — April 6, 2017

"The House will be in order. We shall be led in prayer today by Lee Crawford, the Pastor of the Cathedral of Praise Christian Center in Springfield. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off cell phones and rise for the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Crawford."

"Be led in the Pledge by Mr. Long."

"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie." 10000035.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Jones and Soto are excused today."

"Mr. Demmer."

"Please take the record, Mr. Clerk. We have 114 Members present and we do have a quorum. Mr. Sauer, for what reason do you rise, Sir?"

"Go right ahead."

"Thank you, Mr. Sauer. Chair recognizes Mr. Butler." 10000035.docx 2  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Please proceed."

"Mr. Demmer."

"Please proceed."

"Mr. Swanson."

"Go right ahead, Sir." 10000035.docx 3  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Welcome. Thank you for being with us today. Representative Bourne."

"Welcome to the House Floor. Thank you very much. Representative Stratton."

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

"Proceed, please."

"I'd like to welcome two friends and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Doctor Teresa Cordova is the Director of the Great Cities Institute and is joining us here in the gallery today. As well as, Marty Gutirrez, who is over the Public and Govern… Senior Director in Public and Government Affairs for the University. I'd like the Body to welcome them both today." 10000035.docx 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Welcome. Thank you. Enjoy your day here. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Flowers is recognized." 10000035.docx 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

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

"You may proceed."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank LRU for putting together this wonderful booklet on African-American men and women in the Science. And the staff that worked on this well put together booklet is Sara Barlow, Robert Bayless, Tom Basin, Melissa Kate and Ashley Mossler. And these booklets are available to all of us to pass out in our communities. They're excellent for the kids in the schools. So, once again, I would like to thank LRU for doing a fantastic job of putting to… this booklet together. Thank you."

"Thank you, Representative. Representative Burke is recognized." Burke, K.: "Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."

"Proceed." Burke, K.: "I'd like to direct your attention to the Republican side of the gallery where a group of 5th and 6th graders from Saint John Fischer School in Chicago are visiting in… are visiting Springfield, including my nephew Sean McGuire. So, if we could have a warm Springfield welcome for them."

Speaker Lang: "Welcome. Enjoy your day here. Thank you. Representative Hurley is recognized."

"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."

"Proceed."

"I would also like to welcome the Fischer Falcons from Chicago, as they walk out of the room. Bye, guys."

"Thank you, Representative. Page 30 of the Calendar, House Resolution 276, Mr. Meier. Mr. Clerk." 10000035.docx 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Mr. Meier.

"Representative Stuart."

"Thank you. I just wanted to add that the… the baby in question who was saved was a resident along with six younger siblings of my district, who luckily survived what Representative Meier alluded to was a tragic day in which they lost their parents. And I just wanted to thank all of the Highland Officers for their heroic acts and like Representative Meier said, it was a bright spot on a very sad day. So, from… from the Edwardsville and Glen Carbon community, thank you for your service."

"Mr. Cavaletto."

"Those in favor of the Resolution will say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Thank you to all of you for serving the public and for doing the jobs you do every day. Representative Williams is recognized."

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

"Please proceed."

"I just wanted to announce that today in the Capitol we will be seeing advocates from the MS Society. Some have joined us up here in the gallery. They're here every year fighting for the issues that are going to impact the lives of them and 10000035.docx 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 their families. Seeing John raise… standing now to greet us all. Thank you for being here. And welcome."

"Thank you. And thank you for joining us. Mr. Meier, did I leave you too soon earlier? I apologize."

"Welcome. Thank you for joining us. House Resolution 35, Representative Bourne. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Bourne."

"Mr. Davis, regarding chili." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative, as I would probably consider myself to be a chili connoisseur of sorts, would you mind pulling this from the record until I taste the chili that you have back there?"

Speaker Lang: "Are there special shirts? Never mind. Mr. Andersson."

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Ives."

"Those in favor of the Resolution will say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Congratulations to Taylorville. Ladies and Gentlemen, an announcement from the Chair. The Democrats will caucus immediately in Room 114. Are the Republicans caucusing, Mr. Demmer? The Republicans will caucus in Room 118. The House will be at ease in recess 'til the Call of the Chair. The House will be in order. House Bill 156. Please read the Bill, Mr. Clerk." 10000035.docx 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Representative Mussman on Amendment 1."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Amendment becomes the Bill and makes the number of changes. Do we just want to debate that after moving it?"

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Same, Representative?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Please read the Bill."

"Representative Mussman."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. So, House Bill 156 is a package of proposals to provide modest modifications to a variety of property tax exemptions throughout Illinois. Across our state, property tax remains 10000035.docx 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 the #1 concern among residents. We pay the highest… second highest property tax burden of all the states. And due to the ongoing budget stalemate, talks of a pension swap, talk of reducing LGDF, potential changes to school funding and the potential for an indefinite property tax freeze, taxing bodies are starting to maximize their levies to put themselves in the strongest possible positions and shore up reserves to prepare for any combination of those things occurring. The residents targeted in this relief package are those least able to absorb these increases. The Governor is aggressively supporting a property tax freeze, and while I think that is an important discussion to have, I also think this package offers these residents the possibility of what they really want, which is a lower property tax. Many of these proposals have been introduced in Bills by my colleagues from both sides of the aisle over the last few years. In this one, these are bipartisan solutions to provide some measure of relief to our most vulnerable residents. What this is actually going to do is make about six strong changes. The General Homestead Exemption will increase to $8 thousand and be applied to all counties. The Senior Homestead Exemption, the maximum exemption will increase to $6 thousand statewide. For the first time we are going to create a Disabled Persons Freeze, allowing people who receive Social Security disability, but make $55 thousand or less to have access to the same freeze our seniors are already getting. It also enhances the Senior Citizen Tax Deferral Program and it increases that amount of deferral to $6 thousand. We're also going to make a couple of changes to the Veterans Homestead Exemption. We're going to 10000035.docx 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 extend the lowest level exemption, the $2500 to veterans with a 20 to 30 percent disability. We're going to allow veterans over the age of 75 without a disability to qualify for that low level $2500 exemption. We're going to allow surviving spouses to receive the exemption if they're eligible veteran had applied, but not yet received their disability rating but otherwise does qualify. And we're also going to clarify that the disability rating can come from either the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. We are also, and this is one of the strongest things I want to highlight, creating for the first time a Long Time Homeowner Occupant Exemption that can be applied statewide. Currently, there is a version that is only available in Cook County and is so narrowly drafted that very few people can actually participate in this program. This one is going to allow a household making under $100 thousand to access an exemption based on the years of… the years that they've lived in their house. That way we're rewarding and incenting people who make long-time investments to stay in their community and helping making it a little easier for them to stay in their community to raise their families and support the state. I'm very proud of this bipartisan effort we've created here. And I'm happy to answer any questions."

"Mr. Yingling."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I would like to thank Representative Mussman, Chairman Zalewski and Members of the Revenue Committee for working with me on this issue and helping bring this incredibly important comprehensive property tax reform package to the floor. The constituents in 10000035.docx 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 my district, the 62nd District in Lake County, have experienced year after year of property tax increases and for far too long, here in Springfield, we have done nothing to help them. And I'm glad to say that that changes today. All property owners will get tax relief from this package with the average family in my district saving several hundred dollars on their property tax bill next year. Seniors and veterans and people with disability… disabilities, people who are more likely to be living on a fixed income making it harder to afford ever increasing property taxes will even see more relief. We have to move our state away from its reliance on our aggressively, regressive local property tax system. We have to bring relief to working families and seniors who are already pulling out all the stops to make ends meet. This Bill lowers property tax bills for my constituents; it will lower them for yours. And I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it. Thank you very much."

"Mr. Zalewski."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I'd like to commend Representative Mussman on the legislation that she's presenting here today. Over the course of the last several weeks in the Revenue & Finance Committee we've heard from a wide variety of Members, Democrat and Republican, downstate and suburban, city, and non-city about the desire to provide property tax relief to our residents. By no means is this the end of the conversation or the… probably the… the holistic approach that everyone would desire, but it's a significant first step. It's an important first step and it'll… it'll… if it's enacted, it will mean real reform and real relief for 10000035.docx 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 many of the residents that we come down here to serve. I commend Representative Mussman. I thank her for her hard work on this. And I would urge an 'aye' vote."

"Mr. Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Questions of the Sponsor."

"Sponsor yields." Harris, D.: "Representative, if I may, just a couple of questions. And I know we heard this in… in committee. So, we are in essence giving property tax exemptions to certain individuals, right?"

"Yes." Harris, D.: "Right. How do you answer the… the observation that, you know, the property tax system which we know is complicated, if you push on one side, the other side pushes out? That you make a… a change here that… that eventually the same amount of tax is going to be collected, it's just somebody else has to pay the tax? How do you… how do you answer that?"

"So, I think until we find a way to alleviate pressure overall, as we still operate under the existing property tax structure, the focus of this Bill is to provide relief to those residents we can demonstrate have the least amount of flexibility to absorb these changes." Harris, D.: "Okay. The one… the exemption, the standard homestead exemption that now applies for veterans with disabilities also applies now under this Bill to veterans who are 75 years of age or older. Is there any other limitation on that exemption other than their age? Is there an income, a 10000035.docx 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 disability? Simply if they hit 75 years of age, they are eligible for this exemption?"

"Yes." Harris, D.: "Okay. Well… to the Bill, just briefly, Mr. Speaker. I suppose if you vote against this Bill, you're voting against old people. You're voting against veterans. You're voting against those with disabilities. So, I don't think there'll be a whole heck of a lot of folks who want to vote 'no' on this Bill. But I would simply like to say this. One of the previous speakers says, this will give relief to all property owners… to all property taxpayers. No, it won't. It will give relief just to those folks who are specified. The elderly, those folks long-time occupants, the veterans, disabled veterans, other disabled individuals who are collecting SSI. Yes, it will give benefit to them, but it pushes that tax burden to let's say that growing family that just had a new baby. That guess what, their property taxes are just as much of a burden, they're going to have to make up the difference. The commercial properties and the industrial property taxpayers, they're going to have to make up the difference. So, I know we're not going to vote against this because it's like voting against all those interest groups that we don't want to have against us, but we need true, meaningful property tax reform not just individual exemptions. Individually, these may make some sense, but as a whole, the system really does need to do one of two things: either be totally reform or frozen, frozen. Because it is the taxing bodies that levy… that extend their levies and collect all the… the tax dollars. And they never collect less. They always collect more. And 10000035.docx 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 that's why property owners have to pay more; that's why a freeze makes sense. Thank you."

"Mr. Olsen."

"Mr. Reick."

"Sponsor yields."

"If they're capped, then they cannot go above their cap. And certainly they understand that this is coming; they represent the same residents that we do. And I think that this is incumbent upon them to think very hard about what it is they're asking their residents to contribute. Again, I… I… I cannot reiterate enough that I think that we need to be focusing on well (a) the vulnerable people adjusted for in this… in these changes. As you're colleague had pointed out, we have seniors that are staying in their homes longer. And one of the reasons for that is, there's not enough in-between housing available for them. There's no step down between living in their own home and then going to a nursing home. There's not enough affordable options, which means they're going to stay in their homes longer. And if we push them out, again, there is no where for them to go. So, I think that we need to focus on that. And… and in response to my other colleagues comments about this only helping a select number of people, I will remind you the general homestead exemption is going to be available to that young family that he just highlighted. And as that family stays in their community longer and puts down roots and sends their children to school, they'll qualify for the long-term homeowners exemption too. As he illustrated, it's those individual taxing bodies making decisions about what their levy is going to be that's putting pressure on those increasing costs. Therefore, it is 10000035.docx 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 incumbent upon them to make serious decisions about what that money needs to be."

"Representative Ives."

"Sponsor yields."

"My Bill does not freeze property taxes."

"That is not the subject that is on the table, Representative."

"So, I have no interest in increasing taxes on my middle- and my low-income earners. So, aside from that I need to understand what kind of discussion we're having and what all the options are that are on the table?"

"So, I need to see an actual plan. So, that's… that's… what I would say."

"I'm not going to support a tax that would unduly raise the cost on my middle-and my low-income earners. So, as long as we're talking about intangibles, I'm not going to be able to answer the question in the way that you would like."

"Representative Kifowit."

"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" 10000035.docx 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Mussman, does your Bill change any of the existing economic or financial disclosure that has to be done to get some of these exemptions for property tax freezes?"

"It does not."

"So, a lot of these programs do… are income-based, so what the previous speaker said is a falsehood, which we've heard before. The number one reason why property taxes are so high is because of funding of schools. And to the Bill, Mr. Speaker. We need to be honest about what the babble is about freezing the property taxes. A permanent freeze on property taxes will bankrupt our K-12 schools. A permanent freeze on property taxes will bankrupt our community colleges. And what it will do, honestly talk to any assessor, is… it still might have individual property taxes go up. The bottom line is, this is the most effective and efficient way to give true property tax relief to the people in the district without destroying our educational system, which seems to be the Governor's plan to do. What we need to do to lower property taxes is to start talking about the real issue which is how we fund education as this system, instead of tag lines and bylines and commercials about a bogus plan to bankrupt our schools. We need to look at the 10-year backlog of the school construction grants and pay our schools. We need to look at the backlog of the categoricals and properly pay our schools. This is true property tax relief, not political babble. Thank you."

"Representative Mayfield." 10000035.docx 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Thank you so much. I'd like to thank the speaker for bringing this piece of legislation. Individuals in my district are suffering from very high tax rates. I live in Lake County. Lake County is number 18 for the highest taxes in the United States, number 18. That is high. Think about that. The entire country and my district has the highest tax rate. I have seniors who are being taxed out of their homes. I have veterans who cannot afford to stay in their homes after coming back from serving their country. Does this Bill do everything that we would like it to do? Absolutely not. But is it a good start? Yes. There's been conversations on tax freeze. You know, I've supported that in the past. However, it is not the best way to go. I think the more transparent process where you're taking those tax increases to the public in the form of a… a referendum as opposed to automatic levying may be a better route than totally freezing them across the board. We still want to give taxpayers an opportunity to have a voice. So, I stand in support of this legislation. And in support of our seniors, our veterans and our disabled. And I urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you."

"Representative Jesiel."

"Mr. Meier."

"Representative Kifowit, you spoke in debate, for what reason do you rise?"

"My name was used in debate."

"Proceed."

"I… I… I just have to say that the previous owner… or the previous speaker talked about my remarks. And the truth of the matter is, is that these programs are already in effect today. They… a lot of these programs help disabled veterans; they do help struggling seniors. They do have income requirements, so the… the falsity of the other side is… is just astounding. And… and to be quite honest, to give true property tax relief instead of the bogus freeze, to provide 10000035.docx 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 true funding for education, how about we start working and the Governor comes and negotiates a true balanced budget and starts doing his job? That would make it a whole lot better. Is to make sure that we actually get the job done and have a true balanced budget and start looking at how to fund schools property, to pay down and to make sure the property taxes go down. I'm not about freezing it; I'm about getting the property taxes down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

"Mr. Breen."

"Mr. Thapedi, does not wish to speak. Representative Mussman to close."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the robust debate that we've had on the floor. I think it's a clear indicator of how complex this property tax system is to try and navigate and improve upon and make more fair for all of us. I appreciate the bipartisan support my Bill has received. I want to remind people that until we resolve the other issues with education and with everything else, this is an opportunity to provide relief that goes beyond a freeze. This is actually a lowering of the tax bill for many of our most vulnerable and really for all homeowners across the state as we increase the General Homestead Exemption. And I'm really excited to have the support. I hope that the Senate acts on 10000035.docx 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 this very quickly and sends it to the Governor and he makes a good decision on behalf of our residents. Thank you."

"Those in favor of the Lady's Bill will vote ‘yes’; opposed ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please record yourselves. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are… are 108… excuse me, 108 voting ‘yes’, 1 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 19, Mr. Costello. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Chair recognizes Mr. Costello."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask that the notes be held inapplicable. I think it's a situation that if this Bill is not implemented, it could cost the state much more money due to the substandard care that Wexford has performed, the numerous times that they have been sued and the current suits that they are in."

"Gentleman's moved that the note he held… the note requests be held inapplicable. Mr. Andersson is recognized on the Motion."

"Mr. Costello, does your Motion apply to all three notes?" 10000035.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Yes, please."

"Mr. Andersson."

"Sponsor yields."

"I believe the… in the correctional note, wasn't it found that… give me one second."

"I said, one second, please."

"So, I… I believe it doesn't impact the population of the Corrections."

"It…"

"…so, it wouldn't have anything to do with inmate population is why I believe it should be held inapplicable."

"It's too…"

"That is what corrections said yesterday in testimony."

"So, well… Members of your committee in Public Appropriations were there."

"So, they… they heard the same thing."

"So, in… in my opinion not implementing Senate Bill 19 would cost the state more money than the supposed $8 million of savings."

"So, Sir, I would believe that that's not necessary. And that we should hold the note inapplicable."

"So, at… at the… Yeah, it's not going to be any different than the fiscal note."

"And respectfully, Sir, what I'm talking about at the end of the day, 1) is the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment. I believe when you look at Wexford, the situation, the substandard care 10000035.docx 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 that they provide that plays into all of the situation as well. As well as the fact, at the end of the day, this is about protecting jobs in the State of Illinois, 124 nurses that do a terrific job. So, at the end of the day, I believe it should be held inapplicable."

"Representative Ives."

"Sponsor yields."

"So, Representative, that's not the case. As a matter of fact, what I thought and what I believe was… was heard in committee is the fact that it may cost the state more money than the alleged $8 million of savings. A couple of the things that were talked about is oversight, people that would have to be hired from the state, IDOC, for oversight if this particular situation with Wexford was enacted." 10000035.docx 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"So, what I would say is at the end of the day this does not require spending any more money than the state is currently spending."

"The Gentleman's moved that the notes be held inapplicable. Those in favor of the Gentleman's Motion will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Crespo, McAsey, Nekritz. Please take the record. There are 64 voting 'yes', 46 voting 'no'. The Gentleman's Motion prevails. And the notes are held inapplicable. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Chair recognizes Mr. Demmer for an announcement." 10000035.docx 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Thank you, Sir. Representative David Harris." Harris, D.: "Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Would you please let the record reflect that on House Bill 156 that it was my intention to vote 'yes', and unfortunately, apparently I thought I pushed my switch, but apparently I did not."

"Thank you. The record will reflect that. Mr. Clerk, please read Senate Bill 19."

"Mr. Costello."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. On Senate Bill 19, in reference to the Bill, on March 18, 2016, Illinois Department of Corrections notified the Illinois Nurses Association that it intended to layoff 124 nurses. The reason given was due to a material change in duties and due to subcontracting of these services. The effective layoff date given was June 15 of 2017. Currently, the Illinois Nurses Association has four unfair labor practice charges against the Department of Corrections and CMS. These charges were filed in response to DOC's refusal to negotiate in good faith with the INA. Based on the first of these four charges, the Labor Relations Board has already issued a complaint against IDOC and CMS. Senate Bill 19 seeks to ensure the Illinois Department of Corrections cannot reduce the number of department employees whose employment is related to the provision of medical or mental health services. The number cannot go below the number of these professionals employed as 10000035.docx 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 of January 1, 2016. Currently, nursing is a highly competitive field. Nurses are being hired away from the public sector into the private sector. They're being hired away for higher pay and for better benefits. The department has notified the nurses being laid off that they would have a possibility of being hired back for less money and less benefits. Lastly, but very much central to this issue, is the reputation and the performance of Wexford, a Pennsylvania company that the Illinois Department of Corrections is advocating to take over the management of these jobs. I will read some examples, and I've got some articles here, but I… I think it's important that everybody realizes that under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution we have a duty to make sure that there is not cruel or unusual punishment that is bestowed upon inmates in the Department of Corrections. So, this would apply to quality of care, standard of care, also the timing of care given to these inmates. The first article is from the Lake County Daily Herald. The article said, the company overseeing health care at Lake County's Jail and Juvenile Detention Center will be fired for not promptly examining and treating inmates. The problems include delayed prisoner examination, delayed treatments for both physical and mental health issues. It's important to note in this one specific issue there was a laws… lawsuit in which $1.95 million, almost $2 million was paid over two deaths in the county jail. The next thing that I would like to cite is an Illinois Times article and it refers to a six-figure settlement in a prison lawsuit. This settlement was given to Alfonso Franco's family and it was against Wexford for the amount of $800 thousand. In the 10000035.docx 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 prison system in Florida, Wexford currently has 1,092 malpractice claims against it. In the State of Mississippi, a joint legislative committee criticized Wexford and the Department of Corrections for failing to ensure that inmates receive timely access to quality care. I would also point that currently Wexford is being sued by the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi. Wexford is being sued for bribery, kickbacks, unfair and deceptive practice, misrepresentation, fraud, concealment, money laundering and wrongful conduct. They're being sued for defrauding the State of Mississippi. Secondly, I would like to point everybody's attention to the fact that a Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, Donald Snyder, served two years in prison for receiving kickbacks from Wexford. Arizona, Wexford in the state's correction department agreed in January to terminate Wexford's medical contract in the wake of accusations that the company improperly dis… dispensed medicine to inmates and wasted… wasted state resources, according to the Arizona Republic. Other states that have had issues with Wexford, both current and past: State of Alabama Department of Corrections, Florida Department of Corrections, New Mexico Department of Corrections, Maryland Department of Corrections, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Wyoming Department of Corrections. A few counties that have had issues: Broward County Florida, Clark County Washington, St. Clair County Illinois. Senate Bill 19 does not… does not cost the state any more money. In fact, in my opinion it would save the state money. When you're talking about these lawsuits, they can add up to millions and millions and 10000035.docx 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 millions of dollars, tens of millions. This is about a standard of care. It's about human medical treatment and it should not be just giving a contract to the lowest bidder when we're talking about human beings. We have a constitutional duty to provide a standard of care. I ask for your 'yes' vote."

"Mr. Andersson."

"Sponsor yields."

"No, I would disagree, Sir, because the nurses that we're talking about are supposedly going to be replaced by Wexford. As a matter of fact, Wexford currently has billboards along the highways claiming to be hiring. And it's believed to be for the purpose of trying to replace these jobs."

"I would agree, Sir. And if you look at the fact that currently right now the staffing level for nurses in prisons is about 70 percent. So, if we reduce the population by 25 percent, which the Governor claims to do over the next five years, we would only need to add 5 more percent in nurses."

"So, what I would say is we are…"

"…we are not actually functioning very well at all. So, that's probably where we would disagree. I would point you to the fact that in Menard Penitentiary right now there are 3700 inmates. There are 3 slots for doctors, none of them are filled. There's a nurse practitioner who is the person performing medical attention to 3700 prisoners. Three spots for doctors, not one of them filled. In Pinckneyville Correctional facility, there is not a doctor. We are… what we are doing is performing substandard care. And the problem is Wexford has a financial interest in performing substandard care versus the proper care, both from a timing standpoint and the standard of care."

"Sir, what I would tell you, number 1, I spoke to a couple of settlements. One was for $2 million, it was actually 1.95 million with Lake County against Wexford. The other one was about a million dollars, it was actually 800,000…" Andersson: "Eight hundred, right."

"Correct… which was a Wexford situation in the Illinois prison system. So, that would be the first side of it. Secondly, when you look at Wexford one of the issues that I think people don't understand and it's very important to understand, the Department of Corrections signed a contract with them. We have no control over how many full-time, part- time nurses are in fact hired. And there's not an oversight process for that."

"I… I would totally agree with you. And I had an issue with Governor Quinn over it."

"Mr. Phelps."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Sponsor yields."

"Hey, Jerry, wasn't this Quinn's lame brain idea to bring in Wexford 10 years and I think what was it $1.3 billion contract?"

"I… I believe so. And I think the contract is 10 years, but we do have an opt out after 5 years."

"Don't you think that was a very bad initiative on his part?"

"I… I said it was when it happened. Like I told Mr. Andersson here just a few minutes ago. I didn't agree…"

"So…"

"…with it when it occurred."

"…so, Jerry, by voting 'no' on this Bill don't you think that you're agreeing with Quinn and you're expanding this bad decision and making it worse?"

"I would agree."

"So, also to your… and I… I try so hard to reach across the aisle and I pride myself, probably to my side of the 10000035.docx 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 aisle's fault, about trying to work with the Republicans and that's the way I am. And I pride myself on that. And I'm never going to change. But we beat up Quinn before and what he did to our prisons down in southern Illinois and help them close. And I don't want to beat up on Governor Rauner, but Governor Rauner has a philosophy to get top-notch talent he wants to pay them well. Am I right?"

"I believe actually when he hired the top 10 people on his staff, he paid 36 percent more than Governor Quinn paid."

"Well, you know, and I think this goes against his own philosophy and I wish he would rethink this because we need those good nurses and they need to be paid well because they're putting their lives on the line every single day as well. Don't you agree?"

"I absolutely agree."

"And Jerry, what about… don't… the general thought that I'm hearing around the state is that, do you think this might be a little bit of retaliation because of the breakdown of negotiations as well?"

"I… I can tell you that I know that the INA feels that… that this is a result of breakdown in the negotiations."

"And don't you think also, too, with… with the amount of overtime that we're spending on the nurses that we could actually… Governor Rauner could hire even more nurses and even make our… give our inmates even better treatment? Or make it even better for them to hire more people for our economy?"

"So, that's a terrific point. And… and one of the issues that the costs are as high as they are is because people 10000035.docx 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 haven't been hired and there's only a 70 percent level of staffing, roughly 70 percent level. So, these nurses are mandated to perform overtime."

"So, to the Bill, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Jerry. And I appreciate you putting me on as a cosponsor on this Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, we need to throw politics aside. I know you're tired of it just like me. Let's do the right thing on this. This was a bad initiative by Governor Quinn; I hate to even call him Governor. It's a bad initiative by Quinn. Let's do the right thing and vote 'aye' on this Bill."

"Representative Ives."

"Sponsor yields."

"Yes, there is."

"I would."

"I… I would say so, most likely." 10000035.docx 43  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Correct."

"So, as I mentioned earlier, the staffing level of nurses is currently at about 70 percent. So, if we are able to reduce the prison population by the goal of 25 percent over, I believe, it's 5 years, we would still be understaffed by a level of 5 percent in 5 to 6, 7 years. Secondly, and I think you're aware of this, actually you and I and a couple other Members on your side of the aisle talked about this. I offered to make it a ratio, if you… if that would change your vote and we could move forward. And that was something that I don't believe was agreed upon. So, that's why we're staying with the 124."

"I… I believe so. I believe that there are numerous nurses that are mandated because of the fact that we don't have enough."

"Yes, it does."

"Right. And… and…"

"…and Jeanne, this is no way prohibits IDOC from contracting with anyone else in any way, shape or form. Secondly, as was testified to in committee yesterday, the Department of Corrections has said that they hired Wexford, entered into a contract. They have no control over how many nurses are full-time, how many are part-time. It's the oversight of this contract is really an issue as well."

"Mr. Demmer for an announcement."

"Thank you very much. Representative Cassidy."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of things have come up in debate that… that I want to address first and foremost. You know, the… the previous speaker talked about this company being brought in by… by our previous Governor and that we were all in on it. And the reality is, this is something that I have been talking about and many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle have been talking about for quite some time because Wexford's reputation has been so disastrous. And ultimately, you know, to… to a prior speaker who talked about this being an unfair intrusion on the Executive Branch, frankly that is… our job is to set policy for the state. We are doing our job here. We are… we are expressing the will of 10000035.docx 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 this Body that the care of the people in our custody must come before cost. These are human beings that we're talking about. And we are responsible for their care. And it is wholly irresponsible to put more of those people in the care of a company that is being sued repeatedly all over the country for providing such substandard and atrocious care. In our appropriations hearing, the director of the Department of Corrections was presenting his budget and we… we talked about this. I shared that I had seen the billboards. Wexford is clearly very confident in their ability to expand their prog… their contract. And I questioned what went into the decision to… to lay off these nurses and… and put more under… under the Wexford contract. And I asked if quality of care was… was a component in the decision-making process? And he flat out said, no. This is all about saving money. And when we are talking about the health of people whose lives are in our hands that is dead wrong. It is the wrong way to go about it. We are responsible for providing adequate care. We're on the hook when… when we don't. It will cost us more and if… frankly, these savings that the department has talked about don't add up. The… it… it doesn't make… their… their numbers are hugely inflated. We've asked about it in Labor Committee and in Approps and the math doesn't make sense. So, this isn't even gonna bring about the savings that they say it will. And it will likely lead to worse care for our… for the inmates in our custody and more liability on our part. So, I urge a 'yes' vote on this Bill."

"Representative Willis."

"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?" 10000035.docx 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Costello, are you familiar with last year when these nurses first were informed that there was a possibility of privatizing when they came before us in the Human Services Committee?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And one of the things that they brought up was that they actually were trying to be proactive to cut down on their overtime costs. They knew that that was a problem. Part of it was because of a lack of manning; they hadn't… a number of openings that the state was unable to fill or unwilling to fill. And wasn't one of the solutions that they brought forward was to look at a 12-hour day?"

"I believe it was."

"Right. And… to the Bill. That is one of the things that I think, you know, the reason that we're at the impasse or were at the impasse with the nurses' contract was the Governor was not willing to listen to them. These nurses know their jobs; they've worked hard for what they're doing. They are dedicated. These are not your nurses that are in your typical hospitals or… or in your doctor's offices that are taking care of runny noses. They are taking care of sometimes a very hardened criminal. And they're willing to work in these situations and work hard for people that don't always get people that listen to them compassionately. And these nurses instead have compassion. They're willing to work above and beyond. They want to stay in their jobs. Other people don't want the jobs. The nurses that (Wexler sic-Wexford) is going to hire are nurses that nobody else took in. These nurses 10000035.docx 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 here have showed that they want to be there. I think this is a wonderful Bill, Mr. Costello. I am proud to be a cosponsor on this Bill and I urge the rest of this Body to vote 'yes'."

"Mr. Arroyo."

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

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Costello, whose idea was it to get rid of these nurses? Was it Wexford or was it Corrections?"

"Corrections."

"So, 'cause what I'm hearing is that Corrections is making a lot of decisions… I mean, (Wexler sic-Wexford) is making a lot of decisions on what goes on in Corrections. I believe that this idea was Wexford to try to privatize what goes on in Corrections. If we let this happen, if we let Corrections get rid of all these nurses, we're… what's next? What's going to go next? First, they don't have no doctors there. I think that there should be 2 or 3 doctors in every prison. They don't have no doctors. If we let this happen, they're going to continue to roll. The other question I have for you, Representative, does Wexford have any other prisons that they control in the United States or just Illinois?"

"No, they… I believe they're in several states and… and I mentioned a number of them earlier that have had issues with Wexford."

"What state are they from?"

"They're from Pennsylvania."

"Do they have any kind of offices here in Illinois?"

"I… not that I'm aware of, but I couldn't answer that question, honestly." 10000035.docx 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Okay. So, again, I… I think that… Ladies and Gentlemen, I think this is the first step in privatization in this administration and they're going to start with Wexford. With Corrections is going to go, it's going to keep going and rolling and rolling. And it's going to snowball into a three p, I hear this word a lot, a lot of three p's that want to go into this private partnership agreements here in this state. I don't think we can stand for that. If this Bill doesn't pass, there's going to be a lot of other things they're going to want to privatize. So, let's say no and vote 'yes' on this Bill. Costello, I think this is a really good Bill. I want to get… I want you to put me on as a cosponsor to this Bill. I applaud you for what you're doing. We cannot let go of these 124 nurses. They should hire another 124 nurses, plus 2 or 3 doctors to every prison in the… in the State of Illinois. Thank you. I applaud what you're doing."

"Thank you."

"Representative Drury."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. A couple years ago I was sitting at my desk in my law firm and an e-mail came through to me from the northern district of Illinois saying I'd been appointed to represent an inmate in a local jail. The inmate had filed a Section 1983 claim against the prison doctors. He… Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The inmate had filed a claim against the prison doctors saying that his civil rights had been violated. This young man, while he committed a crime and was serving his time, was born with half a heart. He only had two valves. He had been… he had been to this jail before; they had his records. They had treated him with the 10000035.docx 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 appropriate medicine for the two-valve heart. And he was released. Two years later he was arrested again and brought back to the jail. They refused to give him his medicine as if his heart had grown two more valves in the two years. We fought and fought and fought with this prison company… with the medical company. It wasn't Wexford, but it's the same thing; it was correctional health care services. But I had a very front row view of what these companies do. And the fact is, they're butchers. They get a contract and then they try to squeeze whatever money they can out of that contract by providing less and less services. So, we can sit here and we can talk about whether the 124 nurses that got laid off are the best nurses or not, but what we do know… what we absolutely know is that the quality of care that these people will get with Wexford Correctional Healthcare Services, whatever company it's going to be, is going to be atrocious. While I was sitting here listening to the debate, I quickly went on Westlaw, which is a legal database, and just typed in for the Seventh Circuit, Wexford, just for Illinois because we've been talking about these cases all over the country. Just typing in Wexford for the Seventh Circuit of Ill… the Seventh Circuit, nets you 611 federal cases against Wexford Health Services, 611. Now, they're not all going to be winners, but some of them are going to be winners. Now, a speaker said, well, this is a… an issue of separation of power. It's the Legislative Branch versus the Executive Branch, but what we're forgetting about is the Judicial Branch. And I can tell you from looking at these 611 cases here on my screen, from my personal experience of judges 10000035.docx 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 dealing with these cases, the judges want the Wexfords of the world to go away. So, if the Legislature wants it to go away and the judges do, that's 2 to 1. So, we just need to be real about the facts. And one final thing I want to say because we hear a lot about the Criminal Commission, the commission the Governor set up to reduce the prison population. I sat on that commission for two years and we did a lot of very hard work on that commission and made a lot of really great recommendations. But right now, there seems to be no political will on that side of the aisle to pass any of those recommendations. We had a Bill yesterday that should have passed. It did not because there's not the political will. So, until you're actually willing to stand up and say you… you're going to vote to reduce the prison population by 25 percent by 2025, I just wish you would stop talking about it. Thank you."

"Representative Ammons."

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

"Sponsor yields."

"I just wanted to clarify a couple of things about this piece of legislation. Representative, do the folks who are sick or injured… or the injured inmates in the Department of Corrections, do they currently receive health care?"

"Yes, they do."

"I wasn't sure…"

"I wasn't sure you were done with your question. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. And prior to this contract firing of these nurses, how did they receive that health care?" 10000035.docx 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"So, they receive health care both from INA nurses and then there are also Wexford nurses as well."

"And is there any evidence that you can point me to that would suggest that firing the nurses would equal huge cost savings for the State of Illinois?"

"Oh, I… I think I could point you in the other direction and I think it will cost the state more money due to legal situations, lawsuits, what have you."

"And I think a few speakers have asked or spoken to the question of lawsuits in relationship to the company being proposed. Are you aware of the number of lawsuits that are in relationship to this?"

"I am aware of thousands."

"You're aware of thousands. Thank you. And just finally, is there any evidence that you've seen as you've worked on this Bill that suggest that private health care is in some way safer than public services by state workers?"

"No. And again, I would say it's the opposite. I would say a company like Wexford they're worried about the bottom line, the bottom dollar. They are actually financially incentivized to provide less service and… and fewer people employed… fewer nurses employed."

"Thank you. Thank you. To the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I've listened to the debate here on the floor. And this is an interesting discussion because as we know there are incentives in… certainly in these kind of industries to provide the least possible service, to… on the front of a contract to demonstrate supposed cost savings that will ultimately balloon at the end of that contract period. But 10000035.docx 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 we've also seen huge numbers of lawsuits for poor medical treatment and in some cases death in our departments as a result of poor treatment. I don't believe as I suggest here that outsourcing health care to private prison health care companies, which are predicated on cost-cutting models to boost profits. They may sound appealing to the other side of the aisle as our government is cash strapped right now, but in the long-term it results in lawsuits that are ultimately paid out, again, by this cash-strapped government. Those contracts in every single area tend to provide less service, less reliability and certainly an incentive to do even less than our state workers have done. Let us be clear. Firing people in the state has become the hallmark of this administration. Releasing people and leaving jobs on the table for Illinoisans has become the hallmark of this Governor. Working against our unions and union contracts and union staff members has become the hallmark of this administration. And anyone who believes otherwise is pretending and in some kind of fairy tale. This is truly about simply breaking the union and laying off workers where you have the opportunity to do it. We are opposed to that and I thank this Member of our Body here for bringing forth this legislation to really bring good, sensible protections to workers. And thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this effort. And I do urge an 'aye' vote."

"Mr. Andersson for an announcement."

"Thank you. Mr. Wheeler." 10000035.docx 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Sponsor yields." Wheeler, K.: "Representative, I have a couple of quick questions for you."

"Sure." Wheeler, K.: "Are the nurses that would be hired in this other situation, would it be required to be licensed?"

"They would be required to be licensed, but it's important to note that they have other protocols that they fall under besides the nurses from the INA." Wheeler, K.: "Okay. That's fine. And then the second question I have for you is, does that employer currently have a collective bargaining agreement with that… the nurses at… in that entity?"

"I believe they're under the old agreement while they're working through the process." Wheeler, K.: "I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you?"

"I believe they're under the old agreement while they're working through the process." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. To the Bill. We're hearing a lot of talk about a company that seems to have its share of issues in court and there may be management issues at that entity. I know we all want to have the highest end of care for every inmate, but I… I know a lot of nurses in my family and around me and they're all caring, giving people, committed to helping others. So, I hope we wouldn't continue to unfairly characterize any nurses, no matter who their employer or direct employer is, on either side of this aisle. Thank you."

"Representative McCombie." 10000035.docx 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Sponsor yields."

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Mr. Thapedi."

"Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question." 10000035.docx 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"No need, you were the last speaker. Mr. Costello to close."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly. What I think we all need to be aware of is this action in… in my opinion, if Senate Bill 19 doesn't pass we're moving in a very dangerous direction. I… I… I think what this would do if Senate Bill 19 would not pass, we're putting costs over lives. We're putting costs over the value of humanity. This is about a standard of care to make sure that… that inmates who the vast majority maybe 80, 90 percent of them are going to come back out into the population of the State of Illinois and into the country. Making sure that they get the proper care, making sure that the communicable diseases that go on in… in the prison system that less of those are brought out into the population of the State of Illinois. And I would also like to remind everyone here that under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, we all have to guard against cruel and unusual punishment. And… and when people who are in these prisons do not receive the proper care and when they don’t receive it timely, that is in fact cruel and unusual punishment. I think all of our mothers at one point in time warned us about being pennywise and pound foolish. And at the end of the day, I think the other thing that saying is true, sometimes you get what you pay for. And… and there are times when it's more important to make sure that you have people that are producing quality results. We're not talking about cutting grass, trimming trees, whatever those cases may be. We're talking about people who have human beings lives in their hands. I'd ask for a 'yes' vote." 10000035.docx 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Those in favor of the Bill will vote ‘yes’; opposed ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please record yourselves. Cavaletto. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 68 voting ‘yes’, 42 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 109, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Harris. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. Harris." Harris, G.: "Mr. Speaker, I'd like to move to adopt the Amendment and then debate the Bill on Third."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. Harris." Harris, G.: "Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Like a lot of you, you know, I start my day down here in Springfield reading Capital Fax to see what the news is that Rich Miller has printed for the day 'cause it's often very informative. This morning I learned some things I did not… did not know on 10000035.docx 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Mr. Miller's blog. He was discussing a United Way of Illinois report and as I… as I read this, you know, while I knew the situation for Human Services in the State of Illinois are certainly dire, there are certain facts that jumped out at me 'cause I've just not seen this level of detail. And I think as we discuss a lifeline budget today, it's very important to keep these pieces of information in mind. According to the United Way of Illinois, 69 percent of our human service agencies have received no or only partial payments in FY17, most have received none. Less than 3 months since the stopgap budget ended at the end of 2016, 46 percent of all agencies surveyed have reduced the number of clients they serve. Those are things I think I knew, but what really stood out to me was the result of so many discussions that have taken place on this floor, a discussion that took place at our inauguration about the plague of drug abuse, mental illness and violence that is an epidemic in so many of our communities. And how important it was for us as Members of the General Assembly to address the issues of violence prevention and to fund and support those programs that prevent violence in our streets and that interrupt violence in our streets. Yet when you look at the what the United Way of Illinois has said, the programs that have received the 3 largest number of declines in service and in many cases have closed are the very agencies we rely on to interrupt youth and help them on a better path, get them a job, get them an education, make them productive members of society. Over 30 percent of the employment and job training programs in Illinois have reduced their clientele. Over a third of the 10000035.docx 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 community mental health centers in our state have reduced the number of people they serve. Well over 30 percent of the youth development organizations, the after school programs, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Ys, the first line of defense for kids when they get out of school, they have reduced their hours. If you look at the number of agencies that have just totally eliminated their programs because of lack of funding, just gone out of business, they've closed up shop and stopped serving people. The three largest categories are those who do criminal justice prevention, 35 percent of those programs have just shut for lack of funding. If you look at the agencies that provide employment and job training to youth, to get them off the streets and into a productive career, 20 percent of those agencies have closed. Those that provide youth development, 18 percent have closed. So Ladies and Gentlemen, you know, this is not only a crisis for the providers, for those that work for the providers, this is rapidly, you know, becoming a crisis in our communities and we're seeing the fruits of that in so many of the cases of drug abuse, addiction and violence that we're seeing on our streets. And these issues… violence prevention are addressed in this lifeline as are other human service programs and higher ed. And in the higher ed arena in the last week or so we've seen particularly dire news from our colleges, universities and community colleges in the State of Illinois. Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, President Randy Dunn announced on March 28th a declaration of financial emergency. They… the board allowed unrestricted borrowing from SIU-E. They announced program cuts in Carbondale of 25 10000035.docx 60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 to 30 million dollars. In Bloomington, at Illinois State University, President Larry Dietz said, we can continue indefinitely, but if you ask how long you can go before we are severely, perhaps permanently damaged, President Dietz said, that time has already come. In Eastern Illinois University of Charleston, President David Glassman has announced 413 trimmed positions, 24 percent of their headcount. At Western Illinois University in Macomb, President Jack Thomas has cut faculty pay after they gave up a earlier pay increase to keep the university open. At Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago about 300 student employees have had to be furloughed so that the full-time employees can keep their jobs. So Ladies and Gentlemen, while this… the Bill I'm presenting you today is not a complete solution it is a solution that spends money that is right… that is currently available. That is sitting in accounts, essentially just waiting to be spent, but needs an appropriation from this General Assembly in order to go out to the violence prevention folks, to go out to the human service agencies and to go out to our institutions of higher learning. These are not bills that will wait, if this Bill passes and becomes law. These are not payments that will wait in line behind the 12 billion other dollars that are at the Comptroller's. These are funds that are in segregated funds, the Commitment to Human Services Fund and the Educational Activities Fund where, when the bills are received and processed, checks can be written and money can go out the door into our communities right away. I'll tell you briefly what the Bill does, I'll be happy to answer questions. So, in 10000035.docx 61  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 the area of human services, House Bill 109 appropriates $258 million for social service agencies who are currently not being paid through consent decrees or a stopgap budget. It adds domestic violence shelters and Safe From the Start to the lines that were appropriated in our previous stopgap. It also contains language for certain agencies that were not able to execute their full contracts for the previous stopgap because of contract problems at DHS. It will allow a look- back period for programs such as the Autism Program, Homeless Youth, Immigrant Integration, Welcoming Centers to still spend from the approp authority we gave them in the previous stopgap Bill. So, to give you just a sample of the human service categories that are included in the stopgap, we are talking about senior meal program, grandparents raising grandchildren, grants areas on agencing, CCP Program. That's among those in the Department of Aging. In human services we are talking about the Immigrant Integration Program, we're talking about psych grants for psychiatric leadership and other mental health services, the project for Autism, epilepsy services, addiction treatment, the Emergency Food Program, Homelessness Prevention, Children's Place, Infant Mortality Prevention Program, Supportive Housing Services, services for homeless youth, after school programs and youth programming and a summer youth jobs program. In the area of public health and that… that was not an exhaustive list, but a sample. And again, in public health we are funding the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, the U of I Sickle Cell Clinic. We are funding the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Department and we are funding the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer 10000035.docx 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Program. In the Criminal Justice Information Authority for Violence Prevention and Interruption, we would fund both youth and adult redeploy and diversion programs and Operation CeaseFire. In higher education, the appropriation is $559 million for higher education purposes. This is $287 million for MAP, which is approximately one and half semesters of MAP funding that would go to families and then go directly to universities in our state. You will also see in the Community College Program, we've appropriated the appropriate percentage of the community college funding to be distributed according to their grant formula. But you will also see $50.3 million for career and technical education, a very important category for a lot of our community colleges also. And this is particularly important because if we do not appropriate this money, we run the risk of being in violation of a federal Maintenance of Effort agreement which would cost us potentially $41 million that would have to be refunded to the feds and the loss of federal funds moving forward. We also provide funding to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for a variety of scholarship programs, some of which incentivize Illinois residents to get medical degrees if they come back and work in our veterans homes. There's a similar program to incentivize teachers to get an education degree and then return to the State of Illinois and teach in under… underserved areas. We fund the alternative schools network and Lincoln's Challenge Program for youth who are going through troubled times and need additional assistance to complete their education. And we do pro rata distributions to the public universities of the State of Illinois. Ladies and 10000035.docx 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Gentlemen, that is a quick summary of the Bill. I would be happy to answer any questions."

"Mr. Andersson."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we still have 10 speakers on this Bill. So, the Chair… 11… 12… so, the Chair is asking for restraint. Mr. Olsen."

"Mr. Harris." 10000035.docx 67  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, wow. How do you vote against universities, community colleges, MAP grants, mental illness, Autism, epilepsy, Emergency Food Program, Infant Mortality, addition… addition… addiction prevention, domestic violence shelter, area agencies on aging, Community Care Program? All of us have screamed for months about lack of a budget. And… and how in the world. We've screamed about higher ed, we've screamed social services, all those priorities that need a budget. So, how do we vote against this? Well, what does it do? You know what it does, it gives crumbs… it gives crumbs to those institutions and organizations that rely on us. Now, they say, well, Harris, how can you say that $800 million to higher ed is crumbs? Eight hundred million dollars if you… if you combine the previous stopgap with what's contained in here. How can you call that crumbs? If you look at FY15, the last time higher ed got a full budget, their budget was $2 billion. This… if you take the previous 22 months, when we haven't had a budget, we're now going to have roughly 50 percent of that, about a billion dollars in each of two fiscal years for higher ed. No, 800 million isn't crumbs, but basically it's not being funded properly. Now look, when someone is starving, which is really what's happening with higher ed and social services, that person will accept crumbs. But this Legislature has a responsibility to pass a full budget and that is a responsibility that we have failed. You know, our Constitution states very clearly that the General Assembly shall by law make appropriations for the expenditure of all public funds. It doesn't say, we'll make expenditures only 10000035.docx 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 for those other state funds but not general revenue. It doesn't say we'll make expenditures for just federal funds, but not general revenue. And of course, we know we have the constitutional requirement that appropriations shall not exceed revenue estimates. So, we don't have a full budget. Now, the Democrats will say, well, it's the Governor's fault. He won't sign a budget without his agenda items. And my colleagues on the other side may stay… stand up and say, well, Harris, you're just a tool of the Governor. Well, I disagree. I'll stand here and tell the Governor that, no, Governor, you know what term limits have nothing to do with a budget. Doesn't bring in any money, doesn't cut any money. Now, the Republicans will say, well, it's the Speaker's fault. Speaker won't give on anything; he won't do anything on workers compensation. And the Speaker says, workers' compensation will destroy the middle class. Oh, horse feathers. It's not going to destroy the middle class and it's justified that maybe we can talk about workers' compensation to get a budget. What we need, in my estimation, I'm not a very bright guy. But what we need in my estimation is a true crisis. A true crisis. The previous speaker kind of made reference to this. What we have is like a closed tea kettle in which steam is building up. And if there is not some relief in that building up steam, there's going to be an explosion. And this is what we've done with these stopgaps. We are giving relief valves to this steam that has been building up. It's been done in several areas; and in my estimation, it's wrong. We fund elementary and secondary education, we fund Medicaid, we fund state employees salaries, now we're going to fund a bit more 10000035.docx 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 to higher education and social services. All of those are relief valves to the steam that's building up. Let me tell you this. My opinion is this, if we didn't fund elementary and secondary education, if we didn't fund Medicaid, if we didn't fund salaries for state employees, if we don’t fund House Bill 109, we'd have a budget. Because the crisis would be so great the people of the State of Illinois simply wouldn't tolerate it. And the pressure would be so great on us, we'd have to pass a full budget. No matter what the Governor, no matter what the Speaker said, they'd feel the same pressure. But as long… as long as we continue to… to open up these relief valves and give crumbs to those organizations that need the dollars to stay alive, as long as we continue to do that, this budget stalemate is going to continue. Now, look, I am not unsympathetic to the needs of higher education and social services, but it doesn't give them the funding that they truly deserve. That they had after FY15 or when they have the FY15 budget, whether it's higer education or social services. It doesn't give them the funding they deserve. It simply says, we know there's a problem. That's a recognition here. There's a recognition that there's a problem and we're not going to solve the problem entirely, we're just going to feed out a little bit. So, you know, we're going to keep you going… we're going to keep you going, but we're not going to solve the problem. That's what we need to do. Solve this problem and you solve this problem, quite frankly, perhaps with a crisis that's even bigger than the crisis that we have. But that's the only way that we're going 10000035.docx 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 to get a budget. And this is not going to do it. I recommend a 'no' vote."

"Mr. Pritchard."

"We now have 15 speakers prepared to speak, please be brief. Representative Gabel."

"Thank you… thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the… to the Bill. To the Bill. First, I would like to thank you for bringing this Bill forward. We… we have… we know that these are special funds. They are in a separate… it's not part of General Revenue Funds. These are separate funds that are to be used in Fiscal Year 2017. By voting 'no' and not funding these programs, we know that people will suffer. We know that students will not be able to go to school. We know that universities will be closer… closer to closing. I strongly disagree with the theory that building up steam and getting things to be worse is the way we want to go. You know, I've 10000035.docx 72  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 heard that story before when I was fighting to get kid care and health care coverage for uninsured children. I… I was attacked for that. I was attacked from the left and there were… Doctor Quinten Young said, well, you know, we shouldn't expand health coverage for children. We shouldn't cover children until we can get universal health care coverage for everyone. So, therefore, we shouldn't cover children. And you know, I… I'm here to help people any way that I can. I think that voting for this Bill, getting some money into the hands of social service agencies and universities, will help them. And that doesn't mean that we still don't need to pass a full budget, of course we do. But we need to do this as well. And I encourage everyone to vote for this today because it is our job to help the people in the State of Illinois. Thank you."

"Mr. Demmer."

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Fortner."

"Representative Bellock." 10000035.docx 78  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Willis."

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

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Harris, we had some robust discussions yesterday in committee and one of things that I asked you was, would this Bill stop us from continuing to work on a full budget?" Harris, G.: "No. What this legislation I hope will do will allow agencies and universities and violence centers to continue to exist, to not layoff their employees, to not close up their shop, not to release their clients. That's what I hope this Bill will do and I would welcome a conversation and discussion of a full budget in a bipartisan way. And I will just mention to folks on the other side who brought up that you were not invited to participate. As I will remind you, that when we 10000035.docx 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 had a similar discussion back in January of this year the same comment was made. Oh goodness, you know, you were not invited to participate. And at the time, I had the letter with me signed by all the Members of the Democratic budget working group on our side to the House Republicans, also to the Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans, inviting people to come and work with us in a bipartisan way. There was not a response from the House Republicans. I have a letter from Leader Radogno saying they chose not to participate. The Senate did appoint Democratic Members. But… so, the offer was extended to you. The offer was extended to you. It's… the offer is still open. I would love to work with you, but I feel it's very important to correct that record."

"All right. And let me continue on. To this Bill. We have seen, unfortunately, what has happened over on the Senate side when they were working bipartisanly on a budget that was going through. And we saw the Republicans and the Democrats work towards a great scheme. In fact, the Governor himself took credit for this grand scheme of what was going to fix us. And then, at the last hour put a brick on it and killed it. So, this is something that I feel that the Governor is not going to be working with us in his best interests. And I would hate to see us stop and not pay some of these vital programs that we have in here. I have heard today numerous speakers from the other side of the aisle, I heard it yesterday in committee, I have heard it for the last few months on how much they care for our human service agencies. How much they want to help those human service agencies, how much they are concerned and want to help our universities 10000035.docx 83  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 keep their doors open and help the students be part of their grand… get their education and have their MAP grants. One of my colleagues just said that he doesn't want to have to vote 'no' to universities or vote 'no' to the domestic violence shelters, vote 'no' for any of these things that we have in this Bill. We know it's not the perfect Bill. We know this is just a lifeline that is why it's not called a full budget. But if you truly care about these agencies, if you truly care about the students that are going to be affected when we don't give them MAP grants so that they can continue with their education, when they have to get laid off from their school jobs, when we have to cut more staffing at various places, when we have to cut… close the doors at our homeless shelters and have people be out on the street because there's no safe place to be there. Well, then you're not going to be voting for this Bill. But I would urge you instead to say that you do care. And that you do vote for this Bill. I urge an 'aye' vote from everyone. Those on the other side of the aisle, too, as we will continue to work with you on a full budget. But this is a lifeline budget that is necessary and we need to vote 'yes' on it now. Thank you."

"Mr. Guzzardi."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I think this… we all know that we need a budget, guys. We all understand that. None of us is sitting here saying that this is sufficient or adequate or that this is how we should do budgets. Everybody understands that this is not the way this ought to be done. Democrats don't think that stopgaps and lifelines are the way that we should budget, I promise you. That's not the view on 10000035.docx 84  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 this side of the aisle. But this is a really simple issue in this Bill. There is money sitting around, sitting in bank accounts being unspent. It's just sitting there and by voting against this Bill it's just going to keep sitting there. This isn't about a tax increase. The Governor was on Facebook yesterday saying that this is going to massively increase the debt in the state. This Bill will not do that. It's just taking the money that is sitting around in bank accounts and spending it on agencies that are dying, spending it on universities that desperately need it. I promise you we want to work in good faith with you on a full budget. I promise you we all want that. And we intend to work on that. But in the interim, please, just help us get this money out of a bank account that's just sitting there doing nothing and help us put it in the hands of the service providers who need it. Yeah, it's crumbs. Yeah, it's not a full appropriation. Yeah, it's not the full year. We know. We want to do proper, fiscally responsible budgeting, we really do. But in the interim this money is sitting around and if we let this Bill die, if we vote against this Bill, we're saying we just want the money to keep accumulating in a pile while our agencies suffer. I really don't think that's what any of us wants. I urge you, please join us in supporting this Bill. Thank you."

"Representative Ives."

"Mr. Davidsmeyer."

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Stratton."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. My first time speaking in this chamber as a new Legislator was saying the names of three children ages 12, 11 and 2 that were victims 10000035.docx 88  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 of senseless gun violence. So, it offends me when I hear the words we need a true crisis. As if that crisis has not already reared its ugly head. In 2016 in the City of Chicago, we had 4,331 shooting victims. Some of those in my district. And so again, I ask if you think that we're still waiting for the steam to blow the top off the tea kettle, well, that water is already boiling. And it's not just in Chicago. It's in communities all over this state that are hurting. And right now we need to do something to help communities which are starving and communities which by the way, to reference a statement earlier, would do anything to just even have the crumbs. So, we have to ask ourselves as a state, who are we? And ask ourselves as a state, what do we value? And we have to ask ourselves, are we here to represent ourselves and our own interests or are we here to represent the interests of those that we serve? So, I strongly urge an 'aye' vote on House Bill 109. I strongly urge that we not let the perfect become the enemy of the good. The previous speaker said that we first have to identify a revenue number. Well, if the Governor presented one then perhaps we would have the perfect, but right now, we don't. So, today the best we can do is use the funds that we have currently available and serve the organizations that need a lifeline. We need to make sure that seniors continue to get meals because we value our elders. We need to make sure we continue to divert people from the justice system and allow them to get community based services because we value reducing mass incarceration and giving people a second chance. We need to provide cancer screenings and addiction prevention services because we value health and 10000035.docx 89  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 wellness for our residents. And we need to help universities and community colleges keep their doors open and give students the opportunity to advance their education through MAP grants because we're a state that says we value education and opening up doors of opportunity. So, again, we need to provide violence prevention programs because we want our children to have the opportunities that Kanari, Takiya and Lavontay never had and that was to be able to grow up and be adults. So again, I strongly urge an 'aye' vote on House Bill 109."

"Representative Ammons."

"Thank you. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. This is not the perfect Bill, as we have already heard from both sides of the aisle. But so that we are working with the same definition of what a lifeline is I decided to look it up. A lifeline is simply a rope or a line used to save a life, typically one thrown to rescue someone in difficult waters. A thing on which someone or something depends or which provides a means of escape from a difficult situation. That's the meaning of a lifeline. For the last, now our third year, we have had many conversations in this room about having to cut. And for decades people like me who came from the human service field, we experienced decades of cuts, year after year after year, to the point that our current full budget if we begin to continue to cut by virtue of this audience here, we will simply be cutting out that which has been cut for 20 to 30 years. Underfunding higher ed, underfunding K-12, underfunding human services and every other segment of the budget. And I've heard that we need a full budget in this chamber today, which I don't believe anyone disagrees with, 10000035.docx 90  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 but… but the catch, public, the catch is in order to get one our great Governor said you can't have a budget unless you give me my few Turnaround Agenda items that would get rid of those darn Democrats that we don't want to deal with. And he also says that we won't give you a budget unless you redraw these maps so that I can control it with my $100 million. That is why we don't have a budget. That is the only reason why we don't have a budget. And we have to be honest about that. The State of Illinois has had a budget for 190-plus years with Democrats and Republicans operating in this same chamber. But yet, in the last 2 years, we've been unable to pass a budget because the terms of getting the budget literally decimates certain communities. It is about timing. Agencies have been struggling for the last 2 years and we all know it. And we've not done the thing necessary because you all, frankly, refuse to stand against the Governor holding us hostage with his non-budgetary items. And that's why we do not have a budget. So, this good faith effort on the part of this good Representative is truly to do something that my husband taught me a long time ago. It's quoted as a slow be to no. It's a colloquial term used in some urban areas that I've learned over the years that are slow be to no. They would rather have the money now to pay those back bills than to have no money to pay any bills. And some of those agencies that you named that have closed, you closed them. You closed them by standing with this Governor who refuses to simply pass a budget. That's why they're not here anymore. Not because we don't like them or we don't want to fund them. It's because you closed them. You allowed them to sink. This 10000035.docx 91  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 is a lifeline. A lifeline is designed to save a life. And we are calling on you today to step away from the Governor's agenda. Step away from his proposition that we can't get a budget unless we give him that which he decides is the most important thing in Illinois. But the people know that they need a budget to save their children's lives. And that is what this Bill will do, is give you an opportunity to step in the gap where there is a true gap in service in our communities. And this is not an excuse to vote 'no'. Cause it was not given at your time or you didn't respond to our letter which we sent to you months ago to work on this very thing and you refused to respond. So, we gave you ample opportunity to join us in this affair, but you didn't because you want to stand today and suggest that it is unfair that we do this because you weren't at the table, but you refused to be there. So, I suggest that you think twice about denying the life raft to these people. Think twice about denying that his money cannot protect you from everything. And today is the day that you're going to be responsible. I urge an 'aye' vote."

"Mr. Batinick."

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Brady."

"Sponsor yields. I'm sure there's more questions he hasn't answered."

"Sponsor yields."

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Mitchell." Mitchell, C.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll go right to the Bill. So, there were a couple of questions asked that I'd like to answer. The Gentleman from Jacksonville asked a question, name the last time we passed a budget, Democratic only, that got signed. The answer is that the only reason we have a K-12 budget is despite the fact that you all voted against it, the Governor signed it. So, for everyone who laughed at the Green Eggs and Ham joke, we have a whole generation of students that might not understand rhythm and meter if we hadn't passed that Bill without your help. So, that's question number 1. The second portion was a conversation and I counted actually, so we've got… we had 9 Republicans speak. And not one Republican mentioned a permanent property tax freeze. Now, I bring that up because I saw a video yesterday with a lot of dropped gees, and if we had a million for every one of those we might be halfway home, but after watching that… that video it said that if there was a permanent property tax freeze, the guy on the second floor would be willing to sign a stopgap budget. So, apparently this isn't actually a policy issue whereby folks think, hey, we shouldn't have stopgap 10000035.docx 95  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 budgets. It is… the sugar daddy of the Republican Party says, I am unwilling to sign this budget unless I get my campaign promise. Now, if that's where you are, that's fine, but I would like some intellectual honesty. There was a question sort of asserted, I want to say by another Gentleman friend of mine from Dixon, about why weren't Republicans asked about programs that they would like in this budget? Now, Mr. Harris is significantly nicer than I am because my answer to that question would have been, I don't know if you would have voted for it anyway. And if you weren't going to vote for it anyway, then understand… help us understand why we should negotiate against ourselves when the reason there is K-12 money in this state right now is because of the Democratic side of the aisle. Now, I would love to work together with everyone on the other side of the aisle, but we need to be honest. Someone mentioned crumbs and higher education. Higher education has seen about a 62 and half percent cut. This is a cut to the critical universities programs like MAP grants that allow kids like me to go to college and have a chance to be in this General Assembly. And the bottom line is, if you add all the Governor's budgets together the documents he would have passed and signed if he had the supermajority he wants and is trying to get with his Turnaround Agenda, we'd be at a 60 percent cut. So, if you say we don't like with… how higher education's been treated and we don't think we should be here, we need more money. Understand that the guy you are implicitly supporting would have us in the place we're in right now. And that in the same budget that was just reintroduced, programs in this Bill like youth summer jobs and Teen REACH were lined 10000035.docx 96  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 out by the Governor, reduced to zero dollars. So, there may be things in this budget that you don't like. There may be things in this budget that you say, we're underfunding and should fund more. But understand, that what we are trying to do is keep hope alive for a whole bunch of universities and social service agencies that otherwise would not have it. Now, I would like a full budget. And I believe that if the… if the two sides here were negotiating, we'd have one tomorrow. But when someone's spending a million dollars in television ads and ties a budget… a stopgap lifeline budget to a campaign promise rather than revenue because most of this Bill is funded, that is dishonesty. And what I respected from the general was that when he stood up he said, you know what, I'm willing to create a crisis because I believe we need a full budget right now. That is intellectual courage. I disagree; I'm not willing to necessarily go that far. I'm not willing to let, sort of, victims die on the table. But that is an intellectually honest position. And I don't think that's what he's advocating for either in terms of suffering. But that's not the honesty I heard from the rest of that side of the aisle. It was, we want this funded. We want this funded. But we're not actually willing to take the tough vote. So, you should vote 'yes' on this Bill. If you believe in human services and you believe in higher education. And if you don't, and you believe that we need to have non-budget items that are campaign promises before we pass a budget, then vote 'no'. But don't accuse us of not trying to do the right thing. Because the only reason our schools K-12 are open right now is because of this side of aisle. Vote 'yes'." 10000035.docx 97  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"Mr. Breen."

"Mr. Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. I'd like to remind my Gentleman boxing friend here that… that actually in the last stopgap negotiated Bill Republicans did vote for education spending for K-12. All but three of us, I believe, voted for that. On the floor today we've heard from Representatives on both sides of the aisle that we need to work hard and pass a comprehensive, balanced budget. The first step in the budget process, which is actually required by law, is to pass a revenue estimate. I know it's been spoken of before and that's why I'm bringing it up today. We only have 6 Session days left in the month of April. We're required to get our budget done by the end of May. I urge this Body to take up an actual authentic budget process. We have not done that since I've been in office. Step 1, adopt a revenue estimate and put our actual Appropriation Committees to work together. Thank you."

"Mr. Reick."

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Yingling."

"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Harris, I just… I need… I have… I need some points of clarification here. Do any of these funds come from General Revenue Funds?" Harris, G.: "These are funds that are… come from a portion of the income tax as it is collected at… at… a separate portion goes to each fund. Then the Educational Assistance Fund also has some gaming revenue that flows to it." 10000035.docx 100  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"So, it's my understanding that under law these funds cannot be used for anything that is other than what they are prescribed for under law. Is that correct?" Harris, G.: "For… our Commitment to Human Services Fund can only be used for expenditures on human service items. The Educational Assistance Fund can only be spent on items related to education."

"Okay. And will this add to our backlog of bills?" Harris, G.: "Absolutely not. And this is why this money is so important. This is money where, cash exists in these accounts, which can be expended. It does not add at all to the backlog of bills in the Comptroller's Office."

"So, we're dealing with real dollars here? Not pretend dollars?" Harris, G.: "Yes."

"It's real money sitting in the account that's waiting to be appropriated?" Harris, G.: "Yes."

"Okay. Okay. To… to the Bill. I'm looking at the list here of all the different programs that will be funded by this lifeline budget. And what I notice here specifically is the higher education. This… I'm looking at all of these universities here. I do have one university in my district in Lake County that will receive a small amount of money from this lifeline budget that will keep them going. But one thing that I'm really surprised by is as I go through the list of universities I see universities here like Eastern University, Illinois State, Northern, Southern, U of I, Western University. And I am just shocked that anyone could oppose 10000035.docx 101  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 funding these… these… higher education, not only because it would take away the benefit of providing an education to a young person, but because if these universities shut down it will decimate the economic infrastructure of a lot of these communities. So, it would be really easy for me to vote 'no' on this Bill. I could easily vote 'no' on this Bill. And I'm not going to vote 'no'. And the reason I'm not going to vote 'no' is because it would be wrong. It would be wrong to vote 'no' on this Bill. I am not going to quantify someone's life and the value of a person's life over political games and over this budget… this budgetary game and the system. So, for those of you who are not willing to fund your universities, I will vote 'yes'. I will vote 'yes' and send a lifeline to your universities because you won't. So, I… I encourage everyone in this room to please vote 'aye'."

"Representative Scherer."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Very quickly, I stand in support of this Bill. And I stand to protect working class families and those people who are desperate to try to find work. I care about the people of my district. I'm not pointing fingers, not saying you don't care. I'm just saying I do care. And that's why I'm urging everyone to do your job. You were elected to come here and vote for a budget. Thank goodness Representative Harris has given us the opportunity to do just that. I'm going home tomorrow and you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to say I voted for a lifeline budget. Because the right thing isn't always the easy thing to do. I urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you."

"Representative Kifowit." 10000035.docx 102  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

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

"Sponsor yields."

"Representative Harris, on this Bill it talks about funeral and burial expenses and we are providing some funding for that. Is that for only Democrat areas? Will this money only go to the funeral and burial expenses for the poor in Democratic districts?" Harris, G.: "That's a statewide program, Representative."

"It's a statewide program. Some of these other programs, can you give an idea on… on who has been affected by this budget impasse? Is it… I know that north of 80 and south of 80 seems to be a good dividing line in the state. Can you give us an idea on geographically where this budget impasse… where I think people would appreciate crumbs, on how that has split out within the need of our state?" Harris, G.: "Representative, the need is statewide. The harm is statewide. The people who are suffering are statewide. The folks who are not getting services are statewide. The students who are not able to complete their education because we cannot fund MAP grants come from each of Illinois's counties. Our universities, north, south, east and west, the University of Illinois, all are suffering because of lack of appropriation. So, Representative, each and every one of these programs, you know, affects the area in which they're located. But as a sum total it's a statewide issue."

"So, this is a statewide budget. This is a statewide lifeline that goes to statewide programs. It's not a… it… it is a Bill that is generated from a Democratic individual, but it is a statewide lifeline for individuals. To the Bill, Mr. 10000035.docx 103  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Speaker. A previous speaker… I had math at a good public university, Northern Illinois University, and when the MAP grant funding goes from 0… 0 MAP grants have been awarded to then getting funding for MAP grant in the amount of 287 million, that's an increase. It's not a cut. So, my public education from Northern Illinois University realizes the fallacy that spewed from the individual trying to make it look like something that it profoundly is not. What it is, is MAP grants help veterans. The Illinois Veterans Grant has money in this as well. Statewide veterans will help… be helped from this. Statewide students will be helped from this. Statewide individuals that need help will be beneficial from this lifeline Bill. It is not a budget. Nobody said it's a budget. Everybody realizes there are only two funds that we are talking about. And the bottom line is this is an emergency program. I do not believe that the veterans who might have to drop out of school 'cause of the MAP grant funding problem appreciate being labeled by a fellow veteran as a pressure point. As something that… that is of a negotiating chip. That is reducing an individual's worth to a pressure point. To something to create crisis. So, I am… I am almost speechless in the fact that nowadays I guess they look at objects, political philosophies as things that they love, they can't get rid of, but they look at people as something to be used, especially by a fellow veteran which is very disheartening to me. Somebody who is starving would appreciate some crumbs. Would appreciate… somebody who is… is parched would appreciate even a drop of water. And to reduce individuals, especially our veterans, to inanimate pressure points is 10000035.docx 104  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 disrespectful and is beneath the dignity. I think that we need to have a budget. And I have been open and available to anybody who wants to come forward and go line item by line item and look at the $7 billion that GOMB has testified in committee is out of balance on the Governor's proposal and look at cuts and look as ways to fund our programs. Nobody has… has addressed… nobody has come to me. I have… I am… and I know a lot of people on this side of the aisle want a balanced budget. But to deny individuals throughout this state is just plain inhumane. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

"Mr. Drury."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I… I try to be the one in the chamber that… that calls it like… like it is. And I have to say, listening to the debate from the Republican side today is just grotesque. It is just absolutely grotesque. And let me tell you why. First of all, there is no Republican plan. Right. So, I… I'm going to talk about what the… what the 'plan' in quotes is, but there's no Republican plan. So, to say the Democrats have a plan to burn it down and you have a path to prosperity, well, last year there was one person in this chamber who was talking about pressure cookers and letting things boil over and I'll tell you what, it wasn't on that side of the aisle. It was me. And the votes were 115 to 1, 116 to 1, but your Leader who none of you are willing to stand up to, said today you should vote this way. And now, your Leader has changed his position. And he says, hey, that pressure cooker thing sounds good; let's try it. So, it's wonderful that you want to come here and pretend that you have some plan and pretend that you have a backbone, but there 10000035.docx 105  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 is no one on that side of the aisle… no one on that side of the aisle in the last two years has shown the spine to stand up to your Leader. All right. There's one person on this side who has and I can commensurate with you, I can tell you what it's like if you want to know what's going to happen. But in a lot of ways it's like the shackles being off. So, I encourage at least one of you instead of talking about all the nonsense that you're talking about to grow a spine, do what you think is the right thing. But to stop sitting here and pretend that you have some sort of plan and that the Democrats don't. Do what you think is right. Just do what you think it right. And maybe it'll come back and shine on you. But as long as you have these… these lame excuses, I just don't know how you sleep at night. I really don't."

"Representative Flowers."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I am confused about a few things and I… I just don't understand the Governor and I don't understand what's going on. I was recently reading a quote that the Governor had made at an event that he was at. And the Governor was quoted as saying that some people think that the problem is the budget. Now, this is what the Governor said. He said, 'some people think that the problem is the budget'. 'It's partly about the budget', said the Governor, 'but it's really about our future prosperity'. The Governor said, 'it's really about our future prosperity'. It's partly about the budget. He said, 'it's really about our future prosperity'. And the future prosperity according to the Governor it's not the working people of this state, it's not the children, it's not the 10000035.docx 106  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 senior citizen, it's not funding education, it's not keeping the roads and bridges safe for us to travel, it's not about the university. No. That's not what it's about. According to the Governor, he said, 'it's not really about the budget, partly it is'. But what the Governor said this is all about, it's about 8 Republicans that are needed to unseat the Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives. Now, that is appalling. That is insulting. It's insulting to any senior citizen that's being denied their medication. It's insulting to any child that cannot go to college to… to further and better their lives and get out of this state as soon as possible. It's insulting to anyone who's trying to go to work every day, expecting to get paid and is not doing so. The Governor need to stop playing games with the people of the State of Illinois, do his job. And if it's not about the budget, you need to do your job. The Governor is putting you on notice that we are all being used as pawns in this game. Let him no longer play with us and surely no longer play with the people of the State of Illinois. I urge an 'aye' vote."

"Representative Stratton, you spoke in debate but I believe your name was mentioned in debate. Please proceed."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yes, my name was mentioned by Representative Reick and I just have a very… rookie… that was a Rookie mistake. However, I… in… in response… in response, I just simply wanted to very briefly read to you, I know we both were inaugurated on the same day, but Illinois State Con… I briefly wanted to read Illinois State Constitution, Article VIII, Section 2, subsection (a), which reads, the Governor shall prepare and submit to the General 10000035.docx 107  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 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 expenditures 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 of units of local government or school districts. So, I say that in response to the statement regarding the need to understand the revenue and the funds."

"Mr. Reick in response. Please mention nobody's name, Sir."

"Mr. Phillips."

"Mr. Butler."

"Representative Harris to close." Harris, G.: "Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I was looking forward to what excuses we might hear for those who wanted to vote 'no' today. We heard some really extraordinary ones. I was actually very impressed. I was very impressed. We heard the… we need a bigger crisis before I could vote excuse. We heard the… we love you so much we won't help you excuse. We heard the… Dr. Seuss made me do it excuse. And then there was one where I think we should offer a scholarship to the Illinois Math and Science Academy because I didn't even understand the arithmetic excuse. But none of that changes the fact that we have a major decision before us today. We have an opportunity to take money that is sitting unused and unspent in accounts that can only be used for the purpose of human services or higher education. And we can decide to send over $800 million out into our communities to help our friends, our neighbors, our towns, our schools, our parents, our students, our human service agencies, to interrupt and reduce violence in our communities. That's all within our power. We can do it today. You can vote 'yes' or you can vote 'no'. And I think it's just important to remember the… the significance of this week and… and next. I mean, next week is Good Friday, which is the anniversary of what is commonly known in Illinois as 'The Good Friday Massacre' when the Governor eliminated so many of these programs from the budget the first time. And decided we were going to stop serving folks with Autism, that we were going to stop providing services to immigrants and refugees, 10000035.docx 110  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 that we were going to stop burying those who died indigent. That we were going to stop providing money that would allow mental health providers to hire psychiatrists. That we were going to stop drug treatment programs. That we were going to stop after school programming for our kids. All of that was stopped in 2015 on Good Friday. You know, I think it would send a wonderful message if this year the General Assembly started the process to show that we value these programs, we want to fund them and we want you to have a chance to survive. I urge an 'aye' vote."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as a reminder, Mr. Demmer has moved for a verification of the vote. So, Members will be at their chairs, will vote their own switches. Staff will retire to the rear of the chamber. Those in favor of the Bill will vote ‘yes’; opposed ‘no’. 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 this question, there are 64 voting ‘yes’, 45 voting ‘no’, 1 voting 'present’. Mr. Demmer, do you persist? Gentleman wishes to persist in his verification. Mr. Clerk, please… There will be quiet in the chamber while this takes place. Mr. Clerk, please read the affirmative."

"Excuse me, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Demmer withdraws his verification request. 64 voting 'yes', 45 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present. This Bill, having received the 10000035.docx 111  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Pritchard is recognized."

"The record will reflect your intentions, Sir. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."

"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Mr. Clerk, the Adjournment Resolution, please."

"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Adjournment Resolution. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Adjournment Resolution is adopted. Mr. Clerk, committee announcements. Members, please pay attention to the Clerk." 10000035.docx 112  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 35th Legislative Day 4/6/2017

"And now, leaving perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that the House stand adjourned until Friday, April 7 at the hour of 9 a.m. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the House stands adjourned 'til Friday, April 7 at the hour of 9 a.m."