"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Committee Reports. Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted, referred to the floor is Floor Amendment 2 to House Bill 126, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 4278, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 4368, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 4583, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 4650, Floor Amendment 3 to House Bill 4774, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 4888, Floor Amendment 2 to House Bill 4907, Floor Amendment 2 to House Bill 5054, Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 5675; approved for consideration, referred to Second Reading is House Bill 175."
"The House will be in order. We shall be led in prayer today by Pastor Philip Sheets who is with First United Methodist Church in Lockport. Pastor Sheets is the guest of Representative Connor. 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 Sheets."
"God of the universe, the planet and of the State of Illinois, we gather on this most ordinary of days, a cloudy Tuesday in late April. Other people are going or have gone to work in nursing homes, schools, hospitals, offices, trucking companies, many other places here in our state as in any other state. And the odds are strong we feel mostly like they feel that this is finally just a job. Just like any other job except instead of dealing with meal trays or steering wheels, we are dealing with laws and regulations and registered 10000122.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 voters, but that is the difference. We can, we do make a difference for the better or not in those other places in the lives of those registered voters. We decide what rules and laws are needful and helpful. We decide which special interests we will accommodate and which ones we will shut the door to. Doing our job is difficult and frustrating. We have to work with people we'd rather not work with. We have to find the lines and weigh the balances between our integrity, our own self-interest, and the interests of the people of the State of Illinois. We can forget that most of us came here with good motives that we wanted to help people who really needed help and not just those with the most money or power. Grant that on this ordinary Tuesday, we will rediscover within ourselves those good clean motives which brought us… or which should have brought us, here to this chamber. Grant that we will not concern ourselves with the rich and the powerful. They can procure their own help; they don't need ours. Grant that we will instead concern ourselves with the people throughout this state who depend on our help: the struggling single mothers, the vets down on their luck, the homeless, the elderly, the working poor, and ones who are wearied by endless struggle. Now, on this day, we honor the park districts here in Springfield. Help us support and promote the park districts which provide communal recreational space for all our citizens. We are painfully mindful that millions of our fellow citizens have given up on us and on government overall. They are convinced the government is just another corporation out for itself, out to soak those on the bottom for all they're worth. Grant that we will have the chutzpah 10000122.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 today to prove them wrong, that our actions and decisions will show that it does make a difference that we are here and not someone else, that our actions will show the Illinois House of Representatives is here to serve the powerless and not the powerful. Amen."
"Be led in the Pledge by Mr. Morrison." Morrison – et al: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record reflect the excused absences of Representatives Conyears-Ervin, Gabel, and Hernandez."
"Mr. Demmer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representative Sosnowski and Representative Stewart are excused for the day."
"Mr. Clerk, please take the record. We have 113 Members answering the roll and we do have a quorum. The Chair recognizes Mr. Smith."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to take a point of personal privilege, please."
"Proceed, Sir."
"I'd just like… before we get into the heavy lifting today, I'd like to acknowledge my friend and now colleague who is 38 years old today, Representative Justin Slaughter. Please join me in giving him a happy birthday." 10000122.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Happy birthday, Representative. I'm sure the cake is… will follow immediately. Mr. Morrison."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"Proceed, Sir."
"I want to welcome my Page for the day, Brady Seaburg. He is a sixth grader at Quest Academy in Palatine. And he's joined by his father who's up in the gallery who's a teacher at Kerry Grove High School. So, please give them a warm Springfield welcome."
"Thank you. Thanks for joining us. Have a wonderful day here. Mr. Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"You may proceed." Harris, D.: "Mr. Speaker, I'd like to point out that just last month, Leyden High School District 212 in Franklin Park was one of three grand prize winners of the annual Magna program sponsored by the National School Board Association. And this program recognizes school districts and their leaders for their efforts to bring educational equity to their students. Teatro Leyden is a high school theater program that produces plays in both English and Spanish. And it gives the pro… the program gives Spanish speaking students at Leyden a chance to highlight their talents and become more involved in school and community. That's one of three schools in the nation to recognize that reward… that award. Thank you."
"Thank you, Representative. Mr. Demmer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"Proceed, Sir." 10000122.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"I'd just like to invite all Members behind the chamber today in Room 314, we have lunch… Saputo's provided by the Village of Rosemont. Please help yourself."
"Thank you. Mr. Wehrli."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"Proceed."
"So, every day the General gets up and he talks about a positive thing about Illinois. And I would just like to for everyone's enjoyment… in Naperville we have a newspaper, it's a monthly called Positively Naperville. And every month it had positive stories about great things happening in my hometown, Naperville. If you'd like to have some casual reading, I'd be more than happy to provide you with a copy of Positively Naperville. All good things, Naperville, all the time."
"Mr. Clerk, House Resolution 947. Mr. Meier."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'd like to recognize my hometown basketball team, the Okawville Rockets. For many years, our Rockets were coached by Senator Dave Luechtefeld. We never could get a championship. Three of our present coaches are students of Senator Dave Luechtefeld and this past February we won the state championship for 1A basketball by beating Annawan, my fellow seatmate's hometown team, 59 to 48. We… semifinal game we beat Goreville 48-33 and in the super-sectional, there wasn't a fingernail left in Okawville 'cause everybody kept biting them as we went into double overtime to beat Peoria Quest 65-64. This is a team that has worked hard together all year. When you read about a lot of basketball teams, you read the different stories and they 10000122.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 talk about their star. When you read about this team's wins, that star was a different player every game. This team worked together. They had a mission. They were going to win the state tournament and by working together they've done that. Our schedule is one of the hardest schedules for a Class 1A school. We play 2A schools. We play 3A schools. And we are an independent school. Our cheering section won the state championship also. Our supporters are… there's hardly anybody left in Okawville. And when this team came back to our town of 1300, there was a thousand people in the gym waiting for them on a snowy day. So, here with us today we have our team members: Payten Harre, Lucas Frederking, Caleb Frederking, Will Aubel, Jordan Green, Wyatt Krohne, Luke Hensler, Carter Killion, Drew Riechmann, Tyler Parsley, Tyler Roesener, Payton Riechmann, Lane Schilling, Tom Segelhorst, and Jason (sic-Jackson) Heckert. They're coached by Jon Kraus, Ryan Heck, Jackie Smith, Mike Frederking, Connor (sic-Cameron) Obermeier. Our school colors are blue and orange. We have managers Jared Barnes and Nathan Linker. We have cheerleaders: Tiffany Thompson, Emily Bening, Lauryn Cepepda, Jordyn Curtis, Alyssa Jenkins, Kathy Kinzel, Caryssa Kennelly, Bryleigh Prest, Abby Schmersahl, Anna Schmersahl, and Erin Wiedwilt, and Taylor Bleisch. So, we have an enrollment of 180 students in Okawville. We have a brand new school with no State of Illinois funds to help build it. And we are a couple years ahead on paying off our bonds on that. So, I'd like you to congratulate the Class 1A State Championship Okawville Rockets. Thank you." 10000122.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Congratulations. Congratulations on your victory and welcome to the House chamber. This Resolution has already been adopted. Thank you, Mr. Meier. The Chair recognizes Mr. Cabello."
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A point of personal privilege."
"Proceed, Sir."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, today there is a Cop for a Day reception at 840 S. Spring Street put on by the PBPA and many other law enforcement agencies. Today, you could learn how the scenario-based police opportunities. There's firearms training simulators. There's shoot and don't shoot scenarios. There's a great taser demonstration, I think Representative Guzzardi's going to help with that. There is some training on use of force continuum. And there's some traffic stop scenarios and what you can see what the police look for, what happens at a traffic stop, and what might happen at a traffic stop. Again, this is from 4 to 8 today. I'd appreciate everybody stopping out especially if you have many questions for them. They will take all of the opportunity they can to explain how we do our job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Cabello. Mr. Morrison."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One more point of personal privilege."
"Proceed."
"Today is my daughter's 10th birthday. So, I just wanted to wish my daughter, Susanna, a happy 10th birthday. Thank you."
"Thank you. And while we're at it, it's my mother's 90th birthday today. Just thought I'd mention that. We're 10000122.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 going to… back to the Order of Priority Bills. We're going to be starting with Bills on Second Reading. And we're going to start on the Republican side at the bottom of the alphabet. House Bill 4340, Representative Barbara Wheeler. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4340, a Bill for an Act concerning human rights. Second Reading of this House Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Barbara Wheeler."
"Representative Wheeler." Wheeler, B.: "What a great day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Your… your retirement can be complete now." Wheeler, B.: "Well, are you only going to do it one time? I'm not… I'm not… I'm just so grateful. Forget… forget that last question."
"Do not look a gift horse in the mouth." Wheeler, B.: "I know that. I will not. I do have an Amendment that I have to adopt, but I would like to… and it's the definition of massage establishment. And I do want to let the committee know that originally we discussed doing this in committee and tomorrow I will be in committee to further explain. But it is an agreed Amendment with the massage therapists… massage therapists."
"Mr. Andersson on an agreed Amendment."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of Representatives Ammons, Andersson, Andrade, Arroyo, Batinick, Bellock, Bennett, Bourne, Brady, Breen, Bristow and Bryant, we are in favor of the alphabet. The alphabet that God gave to us, laid 10000122.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 down in the earliest of days and object to this… you object… and more. Thank you, Sir."
"The good news is God is not in control of this chamber, I am. Those in… Mr. Zalewski."
"A point of order, Mr. Speaker. There's no lower name in the alphabet than Zalewski. I don't know what's going on around here."
"I started with the Minority Party, Sir."
"Oh, all right. I understand."
"All right. Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4368, Mr. Halbrook. Please read the Bill. Mr. Halbrook we'll have to wait until 11:40 to be able to do your Amendment because it just came out of Rules. House Bill 5212, Mr. Demmer. Mr. Demmer. Out of the record. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5212, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Second Reading of this House Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5054, Mr. Breen. Mr. Breen, running. Does that mean you want to move the Bill, Sir? Please read the Bill. This was on the Rules Report. It will require waiting 'til 11:40, Sir. House Bill 5627, Mr. Bennett. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5627, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee 10000122.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Bennett."
"Mr. Bennett."
"I'm sorry… thought we already approved of this in committee, I believe. Okay. The committee… the Amendment has to do with leasing and providing… helping substitute teachers, full-time teachers to find it easier to teach in Illinois whether it's coming from other states or also people that are here trying to become substitute teachers. We have a crisis in the education area, so we're trying to address that issue."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 2063, Representative Bellock. Out of the record. Moving to the Democratic side starting at the bottom of the alphabet. House Bill 4811, Mr. Zalewski. Please read the Bill. Your Amendment's in Rules, Sir. So, you made all that noise really for no reason at all. Out of the record. House Bill 5777, Mr. Yingling. Mr. Yingling. Out of the record. House Bill 4433, Mr. Rita. Mr. Rita. Out of the record. House Bill 4724, Representative Phelps Finnie. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4724, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5752, Representative Phelps Finnie. Two in a row. Please read the Bill." 10000122.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"House Bill 5752, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Finnie."
"Representative Phelps Finnie."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Amendment just clarifies language, some definitions and intent of the Bill to remove opposition."
"Those in favor of the Amendment will say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4234, Representative Harper. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4234, a Bill for an Act concerning agriculture. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Two Floor Amendments have been approved for consideration. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Harper."
"Representative Harper on Amendment 1."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4234 is simply a Bill that will require the Department of Ag to include socially disadvantaged farmers in the development, adoption, and implementation and enforcement of food and ag laws, policies, and programs. I would like to say that we are continuing to work with the Department of Agriculture on this Bill. They believe that it requires a new position to be created. But I just met with all the directors yesterday, and we are going to be making some Amendments in the Senate that will clear up 10000122.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 their opposition to the Bill. After all, this Bill is simply making sure that we are disseminating information to all of the farmers throughout the entire State of Illinois. And again, we have been speaking and working with the Department of Agriculture on this."
"Those in fa…"
"I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Sorry to interrupt, Representative. Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Harper."
"Representative Harper. Did you already explain Amendment 2?"
"I did."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. But a state mandates note has been requested on the Bill, as amended, has not been filed."
"Please hold the Bill on the Order of Second Reading pending the note. House Bill 1439, Representative Gordon- Booth. Representative Gordon-Booth. Out of the record. House Bill 5757, Representative Bristow. Out of the record. House Bill 1469, Mr. Burke. Mr. Burke. Out of the record. Moving to Third Readings starting with House Bill 4828, Representative Cassidy. Representative Cassidy. Out of the record. House Bill 5155, Representative Feigenholtz. Please read the Bill." 10000122.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"House Bill 5155, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Feigenholtz."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. This Bill is a Chicago Bar Association initiative around the issue of consents and designated surrenders for adoption. It is related to private agencies. There are only a handful of cases known where identified adoptive parents do not adopt when a birth parent has designated them. This addresses circumstances around those few cases so that everyone is notified and honored. I'm happy to answer any questions."
"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. Cassidy, Conroy, Currie, Fine. Please take the record. There are 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 5157, Representative Feigenholtz. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5157, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Feigenholtz."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We talked a little bit about the Amendment that went into this Bill the other day. This is an initiative of the Public Guardian in… who has worked very close with… closely with DCFS to amend the Juvenile Court Act authorizing a minor's temporary custodian to serve only with the court's approval as a surrogate decision maker during that minor's incapacity. I'm happy to answer any questions." 10000122.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Mr. Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"And Representative, I… I may have asked you this question the other day, but I just want to confirm as to the final Bill that we are not changing the order of surrogate decision makers. We are merely adding someone to the end of the line behind parents, behind an actual guardian, behind other relatives. It's only if none of those folks step forward that we then go to the temporary guardian that is provided for in your Bill?"
"Correct. And that would be with… in… in court… in the juvenile court. All of that takes place, but this sort of lays a path as to why we have to do it. So, these are very, very difficult and complex decisions. I wor… I pushed the Guardian to work with DCFS to address the issues that you articulated and that is the final solution here for this Bill. I'd appreciate your support, Representative."
"Right. And it's… it's just that, you know, even if the court orders this temporary guardian this ability just ensuring that they are not jumping the line, that's the big… that's the big concern that folks had. So, I just want to make sure it's clear. Even if the court orders a temporary guardian the ability, they still can't jump the parents and others who are ahead of them in line."
"That is correct."
"Thank you. It's a good Bill."
"Those in favor of the Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all 10000122.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please take the record. There are 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4265, Representative Flowers. Flowers. Out of the record. House Bill 4364, Mr. Davidsmeyer. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4364, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Mr. Davidsmeyer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill just allows the Department of Corrections to push people into work camp programs and other alternative programs that can benefit from them without having to go through the courts. The courts have the ability to say an individual should not be in this program, but it allows them to better use their assets."
"Those in favor of the Gentleman'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 take the record, Mr. Clerk. On this issue… on this Bill, there are 112 voting 'yes', 1 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Wallace, for what reason do you rise?"
"Mr. Speaker, I actually had a question on the previous Bill, but that's okay. Thank you."
Speaker Lang: "Thank you, Representative. House Bill 5195, Representative Greenwood. Representative Greenwood. Out of the record. House Bill 3418, Representative Harper. Please read the Bill. Representative, you have a Floor Amendment. 10000122.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 You wish the Bill go back to Second Reading to handle your Amendment?"
"Yes."
"Please move the Bill to Second Reading, Mr. Clerk. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 3418, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. Floor Amendment #1 has been adopted. Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Harper."
"Representative Harper."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask that the Amendment be adopted. The Amendment clears up any opposition from the Department of Agriculture as well as the Illinois Farm Bureau."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5612, Mr. Harris. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5612, a Bill for an Act concerning liquor. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Mr. Harris." Harris, G.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This Bill contains three exemptions to the 100 foot limit regarding liquor establishments: one in my district, one in Majority Leader Currie's district, and another in Representative Laura Fine's district. The appropriate letters from the different facilities and from the local government 10000122.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 leadership have been filed. I would be happy to answer any questions and would ask for your support."
"Mr. Breen."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, help… help us out here because there are different rules on liquor in Chicago as against the rest of the state. And so, it's my understanding that… in the rest of the state a bar can't be within a hundred feet of a church, what have you. But in Chicago, you can't have any establishment that serves liquor in any capacity even restaurants or the grocery stores, whatever, within a hundred feet of a church which is why we continue to have to deal with these things on the legislative side. So, your… you've got three items here. One is the Treasure Island Foods in Wilmette. Is that within a hundred feet of the Chicago border?" Harris, G.: "That is within a hundred feet of, I believe, a school. And Treasure Island, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is a family-owned business for… some 40 years in existence has locations throughout the Chicagoland area. They have many, many stores and this one, I believe, they need an exemption in order to sell liquor in their grocery store."
"And Representative, I just wanted to check on that because I didn't think that we needed to exempt it with… at least in the suburbs when it's within a hundred feet as long as it's not an actual bar." 10000122.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Harris, G.: "I… I believe the hundred foot exemption applies statewide, Representative. There are some differences in Chicago, but for… in this case there would need to be an exemption from the General Assembly for this location in the Village of Wilmette."
"I… I literally believe if this is not within a hundred feet of something in Chicago, that you don't actually have to write Treasure Island into State Law in Wilmette at least. If it's in Chicago, I understand." Harris, G.: "Our… our… there seems to be a disagreement among lawyers here, of which I am not one, but…"
"Okay. I've… I've litigated the issue. That's our… part of why I'm… I'm… you know, I know your other two are in Chicago…" Harris, G.: "Yes, they are."
"…but the Treasure Islands… I know the Treasure Island is not a place that it exists solely to sell alcohol unless you've got a very unique grocery store there in Wilmette, which I wouldn't expect. So, I'm just… I might urge your staff to maybe look at that again, that that doesn't appear to actually be required unless the Village of Wilmette… or the City of Wilmette… I'm not sure which it is, restricts the Treasure Island then we're overruling the local ordinances on that front." Harris, G.: "Yeah. I could just say that our legal staff believe it is necessary for this particular circumstance."
"As well, you've got the Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club. What is the Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club? Is that a bar or is it a…" Harris, G.: "It is a breakfast…"
"…a restaurant?" 10000122.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Harris, G.: "…it is a breakfast club. It is a restaurant. This one's actually in my district."
"Okay." Harris, G.: "So I'm very familiar with it. It is a… a restaurant business which has existed for many years on this location. And recently, you know, as they've see more competition coming into the neighborhood, they realize they're at a disadvantage on their brunch businesses because they do not have an incidental liquor license. And they would like to be able to sell alcoholic beverages during their Sunday brunch service… services and such."
"But they're not. Okay. So, this is a restaurant. So, in…" Harris, G.: "This is a restaurant."
"…in the rest of the state, this establishment would not need an exemption in the statute? It's only because it's in Chicago?" Harris, G.: "And again, I think there's a disagreement among lawyers. Our staff would say that because it is within a hundred feet of a property line it would require an exemption elsewhere."
"I would respectfully contend that if that were true the only thing this Legislature would do would be consider exemptions to this Act all day if we were in every municipality or city or county. If that were actually true, we would not do anything. Every single day on this floor, we'd be considering exemptions to this liquor ordinance." Harris, G.: "Yeah. But this year we have three and we're doing them in one Bill to save floor time." 10000122.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Okay. And then, on the third one, Bibliophile. Sounds very… I see it's in Leader Currie's district. I'm assuming it has something to do with the University of Chicago. But what is that establishment?" Harris, G.: "It is a new business that is opening up. It's going to have a coffee shop. It's going to have a wine bar. It's going to have retail sales of materials. It's going to be a community gathering spot."
"Is it a… is it a bookstore? What… what is it?" Harris, G.: "It is a… let's see how it's described here… it will be a bookstore with also a, you know, café, an internet area, and such along with it. It's a new business."
"But not a bar? It's not a…" Harris, G.: "It's not a bar. No, not a bar."
"It's not a bar. All right. To… to the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, the… we have… we have two paths open before us. One is to continue to do this over and over and over, every time a business in Chicago wants to locate within a hundred feet of a church, school, hospital, home for the aged or indigent or were for veterans, et cetera. Or we can just change the law to have Chicago treated the same way the rest of the state is treated. That's the easier way to do it. I got a Bill to do it, if you would so choose. I know the Senate is sending over… at least may send over a Bill to just wipe the whole thing off. I'm not necessarily in favor of that. But as to this particular Bill, while the two establishments in Chicago don't appear to be bars so they really… there's no reason to subject them to different regulations than the rest of the state. I would say the Treasure Island in Wilmette has 10000122.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 no impediments opening and serving alcohol. That is… it's absolutely wrong. There's no need to legislate that and to pollute our Code any further. But again, this issue needs to be cared for in a broader way, in a bipartisan way. Again, I would just make Chicago subject to the same rule… same rules as the rest of the state. That seems like the easiest solution. But otherwise, you know, those are the facts in front of you. So, make the decision that you're going to make. I know some folks have just decided they're not going to support these things and for whatever reasons including because really we should just have Chicago be in the same rules as the rest of the state. Thank you."
"Representative Fine."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to speak on behalf of the Treasure Island in Wilmette. The reason that they need to go through the process is because, yes, they do need to do it by law unless they could get an agreement with the school. And they… although they have been working on that. They just want to be forthright in going through the process. And this is really impacting the bottom line of the company because consumers go into their shop thinking they'll get everything that they need and find out that they can't purchase alcohol there. So, they are losing customers as a result of it. And so, this would just put them on a level playing field with the others grocers in the area."
"Mr. Harris to close." Harris, G.: "Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. I know… you know, how we do this… the process by which we do this is something that some people, you know, think they should change and we 10000122.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 should all probably take a look at. In the meantime, you know, we have three businesses who are looking to, you know, survive and grow and expand and keep employing people. And I would hate for these small businesses to, you know, accidentally get caught up in a policy and process discussion in Springfield. So, on behalf of these businesses and the people that work there, I would ask for an 'aye' vote."
"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, Members. Rita, Chapa LaVia. Please take the record. On this question, there are 59 voting 'yes', 51 voting 'no'. And the Gentleman moves for Postponed Consideration. House Bill 1265, Mr. Hoffman. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 1265, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Mr. Hoffman."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is a local initiative to help out the Wolf Branch School District. The Wolf Branch Middle School is suffering from terrible mine subsidence. And currently, they're not able to even go to school in their school building. They're currently grouting the building in order to stabilize it. They're going to have to take on some unforeseen expenses to make sure they rebuild about a half of the Wolf Branch School. In order to do this, we are asking here today to extend their debt limitation. They believe that it's going to cost about 17 and a half million dollars to make the necessary repairs. And we would extend their debt limitation to whatev… seventeen 10000122.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 and a half million dollars minus… minus whatever they would receive from the Capital Development Board or the State Board of Education to help for this purpose."
"Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I typically oppose Bills that… debt limitation over what is currently put in statute; however, in this case, I stand in support of Representative Hoffman's Bill for his district. He gave a very good presentation in committee. And when I requested that he file an Amendment that asks that the debt limitation only be that abo… beyond which is not covered by the Capital Development Board or any other ISBE grant, he did as I asked him. I appreciate him doing that. I think this is a reasonable Bill considering the life safety issues that surround this sinking school. I'd also like to point out that this particular school district is actually in a decent debt position having not exceeded their debt limit and still having about 60 percent of it left. So, I actually will be voting in favor of this Bill. Thank you."
"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? Members, please record yourselves. Chapa LaVia. Rita. Please take the record. On this question, there are 90 voting 'yes', 21 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 1292, Mr. Hoffman. Please read the Bill. Out of the record. Mr. Hoffman is recognized." 10000122.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Yes. I didn't get a chance to close. But I would like to publicly thank Representative Ives for her statement and her support. I'll be writing this in my diary as a day that will live in infamy."
"Well said, Sir. Now, that 11:40 has come and gone, we're going to go back to a few Bills that were waiting for that hour. On Second Reading, House Bill 5054, Mr. Breen. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5054, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Breen."
"Mr. Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This was a Bill negotiated with the… or the Amendment negotiated with the Trial Lawyers. We were just trying to address some concerns with the tollway in that if they were going to be raising the tollways to 70 miles an hour, they were worried about getting sued more frequently. This language is a cleanup on that to ensure that they… they don't get sued for us telling them to get their speed limits to a reasonable level."
"Mr. Thapedi."
"Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Peter, could you clarify a little bit about what the Amendment actually does? 'Cause I know we did talk about this in committee and there were some concerns that the Trial Lawyers had pointed out. So, what exactly have you done to cure their concerns?" 10000122.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Well, we had… we had added a new Section or subsection (c) in the first Amendment to try to address the concerns of the tollway. And the Trial Lawyers didn't quite like the way we had framed that. And so, they proposed language that didn't add a whole new Section but added a sentence instead to the end of the subsection (b). And so, that was… that was their language. We just adopted it as an Amendment. And so, that was… that was part of it. I think the idea is that there… there's a little bit of a… a little bit of a disconnect. You know, we're taught, you know, duty, breach, causation, damage. And if the General Assembly says, hey, get your speed limits to 70 miles an hour, which is where everyone's driving anyway, yeah, they shouldn't be liable then for doing what we told them to do. And so, I think the language… we're just having… we just had a difference of opinion as to how exactly to craft that language."
"Okay. Thank you for the clarification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4368, Mr. Halbrook. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4368, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Halbrook"
"Mr. Halbrook." 10000122.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. The Floor Amendment 1 becomes the Bill, amends the School Code. This allows the school district to take into consideration the classroom placement of twins or higher order of multiples in kindergarten through fifth grade requested by the children's parent or guardian upon registration. We've worked with the opponents, the School Management Alliance to alleviate their concerns. Several other parties are neutral."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5675, Mr. Wehrli. Mr. Wehrli. Mr. Wehrli. That's you, Sir. Please read the Bill. No running, Sir."
"House Bill 5675, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Wehrli."
"Mr. Wehrli."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The amount… the Amendment is a House Clerk suggestion. Move its passage… or adoption."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Back to Third Reading Bills, House Bill 4888, Mr. Bennett. Mr. Bennett. Mr. Bennett, you have a 10000122.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Floor Amendment. Mr. Clerk, please put the Bill on the Order of Second Reading and please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4888, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Bennett."
"Mr. Bennett."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you for your patience, Sir. What this deals with… we all want to make sure the staff and inmates in our prison institutions are safe and that order is maintained. This Bill requires IDOC or the Department of Corrections to collect data necessary for everyone to have a factual basis from which to ensure that we're constantly working toward a safer environment. Surveys of both inmates and staff in the prisons indicate there's a significant gap in perception in the number and severity of assaults. Yet, the Department of Corrections, policymakers, and the public have no data from which to make determinations. And so, this Bill requires the Department of Corrections to collect the data that'll allow the Department of Corrections, policymakers, and others a necessary foundation from which to make sound policy choices. And the Department of Corrections is neutral on this Amendment."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed." 10000122.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Third Reading. House Bill 4583, Mr. Halbrook. Please put this Bill on the Order of Second Reading and read the Bill."
"House Bill 4583, a Bill for an Act concerning government. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Halbrook."
"Mr. Halbrook."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This Floor Amendment adds to the Bill… reinserts a stricken provision and allows for some changes in what we… was voiced on the opposition to the Bill as far as attorney free… fees and the likes."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5141, Representative Jimenez. Representative Jimenez. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5141, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Jimenez."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 5141 is an initiative of IDFPR. It simply changes a wait period for the secretary of that agency from three years to one year in the Currency Exchange Act, this would be needed after the closure of one of these exchanges that the unclaimed assets debts would go to the Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Office after 10000122.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 one year rather than three years as is current law. I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Those in favor of the Amendment say… or excuse me. Those in favor of the Bill vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Ammons. Please take the record. On this question, there are 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4345, Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4345, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Mr. Jones."
"Sorry, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4345 is a Bill that's similar to House Joint Resolu… Joint Resolution 56 that passed last year. It amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. It designates the third Friday of each year as the First Responders Mental Health Day. This is to honor firefighters, policemen, and officers who have committed suicide. According to the Firefighter Behavioral Act. It's estimated that 113 firefighters and paramedics have committed suicide in 2015. I know of no opposition to this Bill. This Bill's an initiative of local firefighters. So, I ask for your support and I'm available for any questions."
"Those in favor of the Bill vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Andrade. Guzzardi. Olsen. Please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having 10000122.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4346, Mr. Jones. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4346, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Mr. Jones."
"Give me a minute, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4346 is a Bill that we passed last year. And this Bill designates the School Code, which was into statute already. It says that African- American history must be taught in the elementary schools. The current law provides that the schools… that's currently in state statute that schools have to provide Black History Month… African-American History Month. However, the changes that this Bill seeks is to add community colleges, universities, and it also provides an online section. The issue has become that schools are now saying that there's a unit of instruction and schools are not requiring and not mandating that black history be taught in schools. I would just like to briefly point out and thank Representative Flowers and Representative Lang. Going to debate back in 1990 it said, and Representative Lang stated that this requires that some people… the secretary to write down on a piece of paper, the Board of Education, that these classes are actually taught. And we already mandate that it be taught. And some 28 years later, schools are still not teaching black history in our schools. And it's my intention to move this Bill out and work with the Senate Sponsor to make the requirement and look at ways to… the enforcement in this Bill. I'm available for any questions, but I ask for the passage of this Bill."
"Mr. Breen." 10000122.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"And Representative, just so that we're all clear about what we're doing here. You're doing two things… one is for the existing black history requirements for public elementary school and high school, you are adding an explicit allowance to the school to allow them to meet the criteria the requirements of the Section using an online resource, not merely a, you know, published… I guess a paper resource or what have you. So, you're giving a little more flexibility to the local schools on this. And then, as to the universities, you are adding a requirement that at least a course be offered, not mandated, but offered…"
"Yes."
"…at the school, at each of our public universities, and at each of the community colleges, correct?"
"Correct."
"Right. And they're… I mean, let's see. After you made your Amendment, is… are there any opponents to your legislation?"
"To my knowledge, there are no opponents to the Amendment. The goal was to remove that opposition. The opponents issue was requiring that in order to graduate high school that you had to take this curriculum. We removed that requirement. And now, we… as I stated, I want to work with the Senate Sponsor looking at the enforcement of the school, the administration, as teaching this in schools."
"And then, just so that I'm clear about your Amendment. Because your Amendment that… on page… page 1, line 21, the 10000122.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 deleted, in no event, and then page 1, line 22 and 23, and it just deleted those lines. To what… what exactly did that Amendment do? 'Cause it looks… it doesn't… I don't understand how it fits with the introduced Bill."
"The… the Amendment that you're speaking of just removed the requirement that I just spoke about which said that you couldn't graduate. It was a technical Amendment that said you couldn't graduate from high school if you didn't take African- American history. It removed that requirement. Now, that's why the online portion is there as well."
"Fair enough. Thank you… thank you for the answers to my questions."
"You're welcome."
"Mr. Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, do you know how many colleges and universities already offer such a course in African-American history?"
"No. Representative, we don't have that information. Our research just went towards the elementary schools. We contacted 167 elementary schools and only 7 had the curriculum… current curriculum on statute in their schools. So, we didn't reach out to the community colleges and the universities. They did approach me and said it was a great idea to do. So, they didn't have a problem with adding that portion to the Bill." 10000122.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"So, isn't it already part of the School Code that such courses must be included or such information must be included in social studies courses in K-12 schools?"
"You are correct. My Bill not only does K through 12. As I stated, we're going to look with the Senate Sponsor to look at the enforcement mechanism, because as Leader Lang said in 1990, all it takes is that we had to have a secretary or someone to look at and tell us who's teaching it and who's not teaching it, but that still hasn't been done some 28 years later. As to the community colleges, they don't have data that they're teaching this or it's required. That's why the online option was available."
"So, would the regional office of education be the logical person to evaluate the courses and give us a recommendation of whether a school district is complying?"
"Well, in the current statute, it does say the state superintendent may make available to schools material; however, it doesn't say that the state superintendent is the one who's going to enforce schools that are not teaching black history. And it's important that schools teach black history if it's in the State Code. It's already in the state statute, but they're either by intentional or unintentionally not doing it."
"So, your Bill has been amended to deal now only with higher education not the K-12 that we've been speaking about? It…"
"Well, it's not affect… it's not affecting the statute that deals with the K… with K through 12. It is requiring community colleges and universities to teach it. As I said, 10000122.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 they have no problem with… with going that route. So, that's the change that the… this Bill is seeking."
"So, is it a requirement that they teach it or that they offer the course?"
"That they teach it."
"Okay. I thought that your Amendment said that it could be handled through online as well as courses and that they needed to offer it, not necessarily a requirement that every student take it?"
"And my Amendments sought to deal with the part of the statute that says that the curriculum or unit of instruction, as opposed to a university that may just offer a course, we want a curriculum around black history because it's important. If students don't get black history in elementary school, at least they have opportunity in community college or at the university level to take the course online but get some form of black history."
"Okay. So, have you also been concerned about other racial groups that might have information they would like to have taught in higher education?"
"You know, Representative, that's a great question. You know, I would like to confine myself to this Bill because I think Black History is important and we've… that's what happens sometimes in a discussion. We mix, you know, other cultures who want to, you know, have the same rights and this is in statute already. So, it's in statute, but schools are choosing not to follow statute and they're breaking the law by not offering or doing a curriculum. They will have an assembly and call it a curriculum and I think that's wrong." 10000122.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Well, certainly, it would be hopeful that community colleges and universities would look at a comprehensive social studies program that would look at the contributions and histories of lots of races, ethnicity, and national groups. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Mr. Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative Jones, I want to thank you for such a important piece of legislation. I mean, during this time in our society, could you tell me why this is more important now than ever that we reinforce a law such as this?"
"Thank you, Representative. I think we've gotten away from what's important especially black history and the contributions that African Americans have made through our society. We have some people that don't even know the first black State Rep that was in the General Assembly. We… we've gotten away from having diversity dinners where, you know, blacks and whites had come together to talk about their different cultures and their different challenges. And I think it's time that we get back to that, but we need the enforcement mechanism that was… as was stated in 1990. We need to know that these classes are being taught and that schools are not unilaterally deciding not to teach black history or have it in as a part of their curriculum."
"And this is… your Bill only directs it to higher ed. Is that right?" 10000122.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"No, it… the Bill keeps what's in current statute that Representative Flowers and Representative Lang and Representative Shaw fought for. It keeps what's in current statute. It adds elementary school… I mean, high… community colleges or colleges and universities."
"Because some of the students may not have been taught in grammar school. So, you want to make sure that they… when they go to higher ed learning that they are taught this."
"Correct."
"Is there a curriculum for African-American history now?"
"You know, I went online and I saw that Harvard had a curriculum online. There's many professors… we had a professor at South Suburban College that taught online African-American history. So, there's many forms of African- American histories that can be… can be taught online. It's up to the colleges and universities to incorporate it if they want to have an online portion at their school."
"And my final question and you can answer it or not, but when you think about racism in society, what do you think permeates that?"
"I'm sorry, Representative."
"When you think about racism, why do you think there's racism in the world today? Is it because people don't know the other person? They don't know the history. They don't know… what's the… why do you think we have racism in our society?"
"You know, Representative, I wish I could provide the answer to that, but I think people have to look in their heart and decide if they want to take the time to learn about each 10000122.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 other. And that's… that's key and that's key with Members of the General Assembly as well. They have to learn about each other. Members of society as well. We have to learn about each other and learn about the struggles and the challenges that every culture has went through particularly African- American community. We have to learn, number 1, to have the contributions that we've done to society to make sure that we're fighting against racism and standing together."
"And when you think about higher learning, I don't think anyone should leave an institution of higher learning with a racist bone in their body. Because they're supposed to be taught at a higher level, they're supposed to be well- educated, they're supposed to be well rounded. And so, our colleges are places where people find out about different cultures and different ways of life. So, I think it's excellent that we have this race conversation on a Bill like this."
"Well, I appreciate it, Representative. And I… let me commend the colleges and universities for stepping up and not only agreeing with this but also taking the step to provide it online because they see that… the struggles and the racism on the community colleges and the campuses. And I believe that they want to like stand together with us as well to help combat it."
"And I said it was the final question, but this is the final question. How do we make sure that this becomes a part of real activities happening at the colleges? How can we work together to make sure we encourage the universities, the 10000122.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 colleges, and the elementary schools to do what the law is requiring them to do?"
"Well, I think the first step is we can have the best way to do it, our young people. I can tell you that I have to thank Crete student Alexander Wilson and NIU student Glenita Williams because they reached out to almost 5 thousand people regarding this Bill about Black History and its importance. And using their, their classmates at the community college level to talk about the lessons that they had learned for Black History and how they want to make this incorporated in the elementary schools and at their community… at their campuses. And I think our young people are the best way that we can use the tools to stop racism and get to learn more about each other."
"Well, thank you so much for sponsoring this Bill. And I urge an 'aye' vote."
"Representative McCombie."
"Thank you. Question of the Sponsor?"
"Sponsor will yield."
"Does this Bill… we already are teaching the black history, does the… this Bill just make it easier by offering the online component to it?"
"Representative, I wouldn't say it makes it easier because schools should do it already. But it…"
"Right. But I'm saying this opens it up so they can have the online capability, correct?"
"Yes, it does. Yes, it does."
"Okay. Great. Thank you."
"Mr. Jones to close." 10000122.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Mr. Speaker, let me… I did want to start by thanking you and thanking Representative Flowers, Representative Shaw… former Representative Shaw and Senator who put this Bill in statute. And it's incumbent on our schools and universities to follow statute and not break the law and make sure that they're teaching African-American history. I would ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Those in favor of the Gentleman'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, Members. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 108 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Leader Currie in the Chair."
"Thank you. Representative Currie in the Chair. And it is my pleasure and honor today to introduce to you John Saville, who is the Consul General in Chicago. He's held this post since last year and we are very happy to have him with us today. He earned his master's degree with honors from Oxford and he's been a member of the Diplomatic Corps ever since. He's done postings in Indonesia and Poland, in Austria and not long ago he served as Deputy Minister to Cuba. And then, he was the Ambassador for the United Kingdom to Venezuela. So, it is my pleasure to introduce to him… introduce you to him today. And I'm not going to use any foreign languages because his language is just like ours, he's English. He is joined by his lovely wife, Fabiola Moreno de Alboran. They have one daughter which they did not bring 10000122.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 with them to Springfield. So, please join me in welcoming John Saville, the Consul General of the United Kingdom."
"Well, thank you very much, Representative Currie. And as you kindly mentioned, I'm honored to serve as the British Consul General in Chicago, where I'm responsible for leading the UK Government's work in promoting the UK's political reputation and trade and investment interests across 14 states at the heart of this great country including this great State of Illinois. This part of the world is a huge priority for my country. The U.S. is our greatest ally, largest trading partner and biggest export market. And it's a relationship that I'm extremely keen to help grow in scale and scope. As a career diplomat and two-time former Ambassador, I've been really proud to work alongside U.S. colleagues across the world on our shared interests and values. So, I'm delighted now to be directly working to deepen the longstanding ties between our two countries and honored to address you today, accompanied by my wife, Fabiola and my colleague, Eric, a born and bred Illinoisan. Our countries enjoy a special relationship, as you know, built on our shared beliefs and the deep connection between our peoples. Again and again, through our shared history, Americans and Brits have stood in solidarity with one another often against overwhelming opposition. As far back as 1862, cotton mill workers in Lancashire, England, organized demonstrations to support one of the Illinois's most famous sons, President Lincoln. When some politicians argued that the UK should break the Union barricade and trade with the Confederacy, those British workers protested because they knew that the cotton 10000122.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 they processed would be picked by slaves. Across on this side of the Atlantic, President Lincoln heard about the brave actions of the cotton mill workers and he wrote them an open letter in 1863, which read, 'whatever misfortune made before your country or my own, the peace and friendship which now exists between our two nations will be as it shall be my desire to make them perpetual.' And today, of course, matching statues of President Lincoln stand in London's Parliament Square in Chicago's Lincoln Park and at Lincoln's resting place here in Springfield, a permanent memorial to our connection to the Land of Lincoln. And a century and a half later, our countries are still as connected as Lincoln described. From World War I to today's fight against ISIL, the U.S. and UK defense partnership has been a bastion of democracy and global security across the decades. We fought side by side in World War I, both making incredible sacrifices to perfect… protect our freedom. Permit me, today, to salute the over 350 thousand Illinoisans who served in the Great War whose end, of course, we will commemorate this November, as well as the nearly 1 million who served in World War II in uniform. Later in the 20th century, our relationship was instrumental in defeating fascism of course and pulling back the Iron Curtain. I was in Warsaw with my wife when the wall came down and the rustic fist of Soviet-backed Communism was backed… was replaced by a democratic solidarity led government. I worked extremely closely with the U.S. head of mission in Caracas in support of Venezuelan democratic institutions over my three years there, which ended last autumn. And if you search the Wikileaks database, I'm rather 10000122.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 proud to say you will find a telegram from… to Washington from the then U.S. Ambassador to Brunei recording some happily rather innocuous consultations he had with me over something I've long since forgotten. So, together we do more today than any two countries in the world. And our mutually supported collaboration and cooperation enable us… enables us to operate together and in wider alliances around the world in the interest of global security. Our troops equip, train, fight and recuperate together. Hundreds of UK personnel are stationed in this great country across 34 states of the U.S. And this cooperation is not just instrumental for the security of our two nations, but also to fortifying international order under rule of law. As close allies in NATO, permanent members of the Security Council and leading nuclear powers, our partnership is vital to international peace and security. And the strength of that relationship can be seen in the shared recent response to the illegal and reckless attack that took place in my country in a town called Salisbury quite recently. We witnessed, in that attack, the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. One person, a Russian national, who stood up bravely to share the truth about his country, remains in hospital and many others were put in danger. And given the target and the agent used, the only conclusion we could reach supported by international institutions was that the Russian state was culpable. In response, the UK and our partners around the world have expelled dozen of Russian diplomats in response to the attack. And we were most grateful for the robust support of the administration in expelling 60 Russian officials from the 10000122.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 U.S. Of course, the U.S.-UK relationship is not just about security and defense. Much of what we do together, especially here in the Midwest, is based on a strong common interest in growing our prosperity. And that economic relationship is, of course, all the more important to the UK as we look to a brighter future with new possibilities outside of the European Union. As you may well know, in March of 2017, we began a two-year negotiation process of withdrawal from the EU. And at the end of last year, we reached an agreement on three key areas: citizens' rights, financial commitments and the solution for Northern Ireland that preserves the importance of the Belfast Agreement and sees no hard border. Negotiations have now moved into the next phase and just this last month an implementation period was agreed that allows EU rules, regulations and… budgetary and enforcement mechanisms to continue to apply until December 2020. And this will get businesses and investors, including U.S. investors, the stability and certainty they need and it will allow a period of economic partnership that delivers the maximum possible benefits for both our economies. In addition to reforming our relationship with the European Union, our exit from the EU also, of course, offers an unprecedented opportunity to reshape our independent trading ambitions. And that equates to the opportunity for the first time in nearly half a century to strike our own free trade deals with our friends and partners around the world. Chief amongst these, of course, the United States where we want to build on an already extremely strong trading relationship including through a future free trade agreement. We've already established a 10000122.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 trade working group where joint discussions between UK and U.S. officials to prepare the ground are progressing well. And I believe the real prize is in harmonization of regulations and standards because if we can move closer together on those issues, we will further reduce the barriers to doing trade and we will increase the business opportunities for U.S. and UK companies and employment opportunities for their workforces. On the national scale, 1 million people already go to work every day in the UK for American companies. And on this side of the Atlantic, 1 million people in the U.S. work for British companies. That total supported by British companies in the U.S. is more than any other single country. And I should say that many great Illinois companies are also finding success in the UK and employing thousands of people there such as Boeing, Walgreen's, Caterpillar and Allstate. Here in Illinois, nearly 500 British companies have operations including Aon, Dyson and Grant Thornton. The UK is now the fourth-largest export market for Illinois companies and goods and services to the export… and goods and services exports to the UK are worth nearly $5 billion annually. And if one takes the export-related and UK-affiliated jobs together, it gives you a total of some-90 thousand jobs here in the State of Illinois, which means that our economic relationship is absolutely central to our shared prosperity. And it's why I and my team are working hard every day to deepen that relationship even further. At our Consular General in Chicago, staff from our Department of International Trade and staff from the Farm and Commonwealth Office have been working for many years to help British and 10000122.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 American companies identify opportunities on each side of the Atlantic. And we continue to see keen interest from partners on both sides to work together more closely. So, although the relationship is already strong, solid and special, we are working to develop an even more closer… an even closer and even more productive relationship between our two countries, sharing as we do not just a rich history but also a common vision for the future. I look forward to working with all of you to make that vision a reality. Thank you for your attention."
"Thank you very much. And the Consul General has graciously consented to stand close to the well and greet each of you and have his picture taken with you. So, we will move to that Order of Business, if you'd just… and Representative Lang back in the Chair."
"House Bill 5148, Representative Kifowit. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5148, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Kifowit."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill comes from high school students in my district. It simply adds to the curriculum of what a definition of 'consent' is. In addition to that talks about workplace harassment along with college life harassment."
"Mr. Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields." 10000122.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Sure… and Representative, I see on the analysis that the Statewide School Management Alliance is opposed to your Bill. What is the… what is the nature of their opposition?"
"Well, I believe that they oppose a lot of Bills. And in this particular case, I think they just don't want something added to the curriculum. And this came directly from high school students."
"Due to the nature of the subject matter, I'm not going to make the comment that came to the mind about measures that come to us from high school students, whether we should treat them more seriously or less seriously than measures that come to us from our colleagues. So, I might ask the question, how exactly is this mandate going to be… going to be exercised? So, it's material instruction with an emphasis on the workplace environment and life on a college campus, discussion on what constitutes sexual consent, and what may be considered sexual harassment or sexual assault. Is that… are you considering this… how are they supposed to teach this? How are the teachers supposed to teach this? What… what is the… what's the issue? I mean, how do they… how do they teach that? There supposed to be like a sexual harassment presentation like the one we get or what?"
"As with many curriculum, we set the intent and that is up to the local bodies to establish how to integrate this within the current curriculum that is already there."
"So… just so that I'm clear, you will continue to maintain… your Bill maintains the ability of the school board and school district to construct its sexual education course… I'd say consistent with the… the terms here, but it's merely requiring 10000122.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 that the course also include some of the issues of workplace and campus sexual harassment, sexual consent, and sexual assault. That's the… that's the nature of the Bill?"
"Correct. They can achieve it through video. They can achieve it through dialogue. They can achieve it in… in whichever matter in which each individual school district… school curriculum teacher deems it… it is to be addressed."
"All right. Thank you for the answers to my questions."
"Thank you."
"Mr. Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, could you amplify a little bit more of the type of curriculum that you would see school districts using to accomplish your goal?"
"As I said to the prior speaker, we could use video, open discussions, classroom instruction, can look at current events. It's pretty much open to the instructor and the school district and the school."
"So, there's no defined curriculum that you're talking about?"
"No. We're not defining a curriculum or defining subject matter to be included in an existing curriculum."
"So, there's also been a mention of the cost that school districts might incur. Have you received information about that and how do you quantify the cost?"
"It's… it's incorporated into the current curriculum as well. The cost would be minimal. For example, current events, you can go and Google articles and have a discussion on that. 10000122.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 YouTube videos are available. The Internet is available. There's many websites that are available that talks about consent, sexual harassment, college harassment, workplace harassment. So, the cost would definitely be minimal."
"So, you're… from your perspective then, what you're really trying to do is raise the awareness of young people about an issue that certainly has become problematic to all ages?"
"This is an initiative from high schools… currently in high school that I'm bringing forward in which they have said that there is not an awareness and understanding or even a dialogue of consent and harassment and discrimination in the schools."
"Well, this is certainly a worthwhile topic. But we have so many mandates on schools, I'm not sure how teachers can accomplish all that we're expecting them to do, but this is certainly a worthwhile topic. Thank you."
"Representative Wallace. Does not wish to speak. Mr. Batinick."
"To… to the Bill. I just want to just read a sentence. The material and instruction shall include, with an emphasis on the workplace environment and life on a college campus, discussion on what constitutes sexual consent, what may consider… be considered sexual harassment, sexual assault. It's a sentence, it's pretty clear. I think some of us are sometimes shocked. I know when I hear stories talking to my daughter about what occurs on college campuses. She works at the women's resource center. I'm shocked to hear about the stories. I don't think there's going to be a cost associated 10000122.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 with this. I think this could be slipped in as part of… of regular sex ed. I strongly urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"Representative Kifowit to close."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that what individuals want to discuss about mandates; however, this is coming directly from the students directly saying they need this in the curriculum. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"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, Members. Currie. Davis. Harris. Williams. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 101 voting 'yes', 2 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4226, Representative Kifowit. Please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4226, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Kifowit."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is another Bill that came directly from students in my district. It talks about pretty much spreading the knowledge of what concussions, the symptoms, and what happens when an individual gets a concussion to make sure that is available for the public. In addition to that, it provides a more uniform standard for return-t-learn particularly a student in my district had a hard time getting accommodations to return-to-learn to the classroom. And I ask for your support." 10000122.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"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, Members. Guzzardi. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Davis is recognized."
"Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. I'd just like the record to reflect my intention to vote 'yes' on House Bill 5148."
"The record will reflect your intention. The Chair recognizes Representative Barbara Wheeler. For what reason do you rise?" Wheeler, B.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a personal privilege."
"Please proceed." Wheeler, B.: "Thank you. I think the last… a few Bills ago, as well as the comments from the Consul General from the United Kingdom pointed out the importance of history. And I believe it's been my fav… privilege for almost six years straight to remind us of the Armenian Genocide and the historical truth and facts behind that. And today, I'd like to do it once again. In 1939, Adolph Hitler asked, 'Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?' Hitler uttered these chilling words pending the German invasion of Poland and the planned extermination of the Polish people. 'Who, after all, speaks today at the annihilation of the Armenians?' Hitler's meaning was clear. He remembered how the world stood 10000122.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 by and let the Ottoman Empire government brutalize and kill segments of its own population that included Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. Who, indeed, remembers the massacre of the Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish Government in 1925 (sic 1915) to 1923? It was a horror-filled time. Nearly three- quarters of the Armenian population was exterminated in the systematic government scheme to rid itself of undesirable populations. It was a time when a hun… 1.5 million men, women, and children were ravaged and murdered by their own government before the terror ended. And it was time, when 500 thousand survivors were forced to flee their homeland. If people had remembered the Armenians and the government had acted to prevent the genocide, would Hitler have succeeded in the orchestration of the Holocaust where millions upon millions were slain? How about the genocide since in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda? We are not doomed to repeat the past if we take care not to erase it from history whether the unforgivable story of slavery in our country or the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide. Today is the 103rd anniversary of the first genocide of the 21st Century of the Armenian genocide. I rise to tell their story so the lesson is learned and not lost in hope that in remembering we prevent future genocide. I also rise respectfully to request that HR316, dedicated April 24, as the Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide be released from Rules and heard on this floor to show our commitment never to forget. Thank you."
"Thank you, Representative. Mr. Long is recognized. Leader Currie in the Chair." 10000122.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Thank you, Speaker. Something really happened to my switch here. Please let the record show that I meant… I intended to vote 'yes' on 5148. Thank you."
"The record will so reflect. Representative Moeller, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm happy to welcome here to Springfield today our Elgin Township Supervisor Franklin Ramirez and our Dundee Township Supervisor Trish Glees. So, if we could give them a warm Springfield welcome."
"Welcome, indeed. And now, we're going back to our regular Order of Business. And the next Bill on Third Reading is House Bill 5344, Representative Lilly. Representative Lilly. Out of the record. House Bill 5784, Representative Manley. Representative Manley, are you ready to go with this Bill? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5784, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Manley."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. House Bill 5784 requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to submit a quarterly report to the General Assembly about the health and welfare of the residents at each Veterans Home as well as any information on epidemic or cau… cases involving communicable diseases. Take any questions."
"Representative Manley moves for passage of House Bill 5784. And on that Motion is there any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor vote 'aye'; opposed 'no'. Voting is open. 10000122.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 113 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill… this Motion having… this Bill, having achieved the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Mayfield, are you ready on House Bill 5786? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5786, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Thank you so much. This…"
"Representative Mayfield."
"Thank you. This is a totally permissive Bill that just basically says that if a school district desires to that they may use mental health specialists or social workers in their in-school suspensions. A lot of times there are children that are in in-school suspensions have a lot of things that are going on. They may be in an abusive situation at home, going through bullying. Some of them have undiagnosed IEPs. This gives them an opportunity to really connect and see what services are… are needed by several of those children rather than just having the child sit there and read a comic book or whatever. I recommend an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Mayfield moves the passage of House Bill 5786. And on that, is there any discussion? Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Yes."
"She will." 10000122.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Thank you. Representative, I see that there are… the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance is opposed. Could you give us the nature of their opposition?"
"They are not opposed. The Amendment took away all opposition. The Bill is totally permissible and there's no opposition. Their objection was the 'shall' versus the 'may' in regard to what could be addressed during the in-school suspension by the mental health or the social worker. So, that information… we changed that from a 'shall' to a 'may' because they may not need conflict resolution. It could be that that child is just hungry. It could be that that child is going through some things at home. It could be that that child is being bullied on school grounds. So, we wanted to make it completely permissible so that that mental health worker could then provide whatever was needed to that student. And they were okay with that. That was what she asked for in committee and that's what I did."
"And Representative, help me out here. So, we've got in- school suspension programs."
"Yes, Sir."
"We've already got… obviously, school districts today can make their in-school suspension programs whatever they'd like. So…"
"I believe there was some… there was a restriction that did not allow them to utilize social workers or mental health professionals. They were using, for the most part… I'm not sure if you've ever been to an in-school suspension, it's normally the gym teacher, the health teacher… substitute, you know, other… you know, just teachers on their breaks. There 10000122.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 have been instances where the time was not utilized correctly. We want to address mental health issues in our school. I had a meeting with DJJ yesterday and the numbers that they gave me were frightening in regard to the number of children that are in our juvenile justice system that have… that are in special education, had undiagnosed IEPs, that have severe mental health trauma that was never addressed… addressed in the public school system. So, this Bill is… just like I said, it's totally permissible and it is just looking to provide yet another option for our students. And it's a good Bill, Representative. You should cosponsor."
"Well, and I just want to make sure that we're getting the full scope of it. So, it's not a mandate on the districts?"
"No, Mr… Sir. No."
"Okay. And they don't have to employ a school social worker…"
"No."
"…or licensed mental health professional?"
"No."
"They merely have the option…"
"To do so."
"…to do so?"
"Right."
"Okay. Thank you for the…"
"Particularly in districts that need that. Absolutely."
"Okay. Well, thank you for the answers to my questions."
"Thank you so much."
"No further discussion, Representative Mayfield to close." 10000122.docx 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"I recommend an 'aye' vote. It's a good Bill."
"Representative Mayfield moves do pass on House Bill 5786. All in favor vote 'aye'; opposed 'no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this Motion, there are 112 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Mitchell, are you ready on House Bill 5632? Out of the record. Representative Moeller, House Bill 5544. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5544, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Moeller."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker, Members of the House. I'm happy to present House Bill 5544 this afternoon which creates the Illinois Council on Women and Girls. This council is contemplated to be a 21-member council made up of participants appointed by the Governor and the four Legislative Leaders. It would also include ex officio members of various agencies within the Executive Branch. The purpose of the council is to provide research support and public input on public policy affecting women and girls throughout the state. It will also provide programming to foster leadership development for young women. The Council being proposed is contemplated to be nonpartisan and representative of women and girls from all walks of life in all areas of the state. This is an initiative that was developed by young women activists this past year and so far we've received support from various organizations 10000122.docx 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 throughout the state. I know of no opposition. And ask for an 'aye' vote. Would be happy to answer your questions."
"Representative Moeller moves the passage of House Bill 5544. And on that, Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She will."
"Representative, I… I want to get toward just a very specific question because I… I want to support your measure. I just have… I look and I see under… on page 5, line 1 and 2, I see under (7) of the things that this council is supposed to advise the Governor and General Assembly on policy issues to promote increased access to reproductive health care. And in my world, when I see that term, I immediately think that means abortion. Is that how you read reproductive health care?"
"No. This is… this measure is to ensure that, you know, reproductive health care issues are contemplated by the council. It's a… there is no such policy agenda that is predetermined with the creation of this council. It merely states that this is an area of policy that the council will be charged with discussing and forming recommendations around."
"But reproductive health care does include abortion and we're talking about increasing access to reproductive health care, which we all know means abortion. So, the Council is necessarily predisposed to consider increasing access to abortion." 10000122.docx 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"That's not necessarily true. Reproductive health care also includes contraceptives, education. This is not prescriptive. This is general."
"All right."
"It will be up to the council to decide specific recommendations."
"To the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"There are many fine parts of this measure, but when you look and you see the issue that we're going to take any… and talk about increased access to abortion. That is something that… it makes it very difficult to take what should be a bipartisan, really nonpartisan agenda… council, which sounds like a great idea and then you take it off into this issue that really it's away from the core of what this should be. And so, for that reason it's very difficult to support a measure like this without some assurance that they're not going to be attempting to support abortion, especially in the current bind that where we've got our taxpayers being forced to fund those abortions."
"Further discussion? Representative Morrison."
"Thank you, Mr… Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"Okay. Thank you. Representative Moeller, we did talk about this Bill quite a bit in committee. But I just want to ask again here on the floor. So, is… with your Amendments to the Bill, we're now looking at the Bill on pages 3 and 4."
"Yes." 10000122.docx 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Where we talked about, you know, the definition of 'woman' and 'women'. Is this the first time in statute that the state is defining what a 'woman' is… what… who 'women' are?"
"I don't believe so, no."
"Okay. Where else would the state be defining who a 'woman' is or what 'women' are?"
"I don't have those statutes in front of me."
"Okay."
"But this is… this is referring to the council and the work of the council. This is not providing a definition for 'women' in reference to all statutes governing women throughout the state."
"Okay. I understand. But this is… this is not just a Resolution. This is not just a task force. We're actually putting something in state statute. And according to our staff, we're not aware of anywhere else where this is happening. So, to the… to the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"Going on, on page 4, we have a number of definition… definition… well, first of all, back to page 3. 'Woman' or all 'women' means all persons of the female gender including both cisgender and transgender persons. 'Transgender' describes persons whose gender identity is different from the gender they were assigned at birth. According to the Bill, 'cisgender' describes persons whose gender identity is the same as the gender they were assigned at birth. And 'gender identity' means a person deeply felt inherent sense of who they are as a particular gender such as female. And so, as I 10000122.docx 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 asked in committee and my concern is this… this notion of identity and how a person's subjective feelings would dictate that we in state statute would enable someone to dictate who they are, what they are, but not based upon objective standards, just subjective standards. So, when this was added to the Bill, it became even more problematic. And so, I concur with the previous Representative's questions, Representative Breen. And again, I would urge a 'no' vote. Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Feigenholtz."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of this Bill. The uplifting of women and girls has a very strong history in this state when in 1997, then Governor George Ryan, established a commission on the status of women. It was very productive and did wonderful things that helped lawmakers and policymakers learn and figure out a path to help women find economic independence, whether that be through education, housing, family law, you name it. It really had some great findings. And I believe that this Bill, Representative Moeller's effort here, brings a new day version of that. It incorporates girls and everything we know about furthering that path so that there are no limitations or obstacles for the women and daughters of Illinois. Please support this Bill. It will bear great fruit for the future of women in this state."
"Representative Ives."
"Thank you. To the Bill. So, you know, actually there… we should have a more comprehensive task force and maybe that's on children and not do this as a sex segregated thing. I… The Atlantic reported basically that the boys dominate the 10000122.docx 60 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 dropout list, failure list, and the learning disability list. Just recently, The Washington Post had an article, and actually this is very recent, the serious reason boys do worse than girls. It's one of the biggest puzzles in education. It says, since the 1950s, boys in America have been falling behind girls in school. They have more trouble graduating high school and are less likely to get college diplomas. And so, there's a conundrum here. We have issues also with our boys. And as a mother of both boys and a girl, I think that to say… and by the way, since we're… the ERA Amendment is floating out there… why would we have something that's sex segregated in terms of a task force? We're just going to do a task force on girls and not boys. Well, we probably couldn't even do that task force if we were to pass the ERA Amendment. So, the idea that we're segregating this based off of gender or of sex is really ridiculous. And see, we have troubles with boys as well and I think that we should emphasis both of our children's sexes, women and men as well. Thank you."
"Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Ms. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The sponsor will yield."
"Thank you, Representative Moeller, for bringing this Bill forward. It was a unique pleasure and honor to hear the testimony in the committee over this Bill and the emphasis of it… of this particular Bill. My question is, again, why do you feel this need in light of what the previous speaker just shared? Could you shed some light as to why it's very important for women and girls to be specified in a task force?" 10000122.docx 61 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Sure. Well, when we look at the statistics that affect women and girls throughout our state, we still see deficiencies in terms of the wage gap, access to health care, access to education, in particular, women of color, women in lower income groups are still left behind. And this council will focus attention and provide the resources around those issues to support public policy that advances women and girls in the state. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of progress that needs to be in equity issues. And this council is still relevant and still very necessary to ensure that our public policy informs those decisions."
"Thank you so much, Representative. To the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"This is a measure that, although it does specify women and girls, women are mothers, the girls are our daughters. We have a very long sordid history in our country and in our state of intentional discrimination against these groups. And as a result of that intentional discrimination, we have some disparate outcomes including what we know of the wage gap, the wealth gap, what we understand about health outcomes and educational outcomes. I do appreciate, well, what the previous shared about why singling it out. I am the mother of two boys and yes, boys are definitely having struggles, particularly African-American boys like my children. But I do believe that there are other task force that do address the issues that were brought up by the previous speaker. There's an at-risk student advisory council that I established two years ago that is doing work around those issues. And so, I think that we can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time 10000122.docx 62 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 here in the Assembly. We need to make sure that we do not continue down this path of the wage gaps that have a huge, huge impact on all other outcomes in terms of access to health care, access to legal representation, access to a career that will bring them the type of financial stability that's necessary. So, I am very proud to be a cosponsor of this Bill. I encourage everyone to consider the merits of this Bill, think of the fact that women hold up half the sky as we've heard from a number of documentaries. And encourage this vote to go forward positively and it has to happen in… despite some of issues that people have on the other side of the aisle. I do recall in committee the discussion around including transwomen along with cisgender women and that is a very important point. If we can eliminate the violence that occurs or start to address the violence that occurs amongst transwomen, that makes all women that much safer. And it makes our society that much greater. So, please, I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Moeller to close."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think the Representatives from Wrigleyville and Rockford eloquently summed up the need… why we need this council, how it's going to be important to our state and to inform public policy on women and girls. I understand the concerns of those on the other side of the aisle; however, I think the focus on the narrow issues that they've honed in on misses the… the point of this. The fact that this is going to be a very positive, comprehensive and nonpartisan effort here in Illinois. Thank you for the debate. And I ask for an 'aye' vote." 10000122.docx 63 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Representative Moeller moves passage of House Bill 5544. All in favor vote 'yes'; all opposed vote 'no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this Motion, there are 64 voting 'aye', 24 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. This Bill, having received the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Moeller, you're on a roll. Do you want to proceed with House Bill 5596? Out of the record. Then let's go to Representative Long on House Bill 5682. Are you ready? This is on Third Reading. Representative Long. Is he ready? Okay. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5682, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Long."
"Thank you, Speaker. This… what this Bill does it amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act by providing that the Department of Veterans' Affairs may make expenditures from members benefit funds subject to approval by the director of Veterans' Affairs for recognition and app… appreciation programs for volunteers who assist the Veterans Home. This is the initiative of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, American Veterans of Illinois and VFW. I have no opponents on this whatsoever. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Lang (sic-Long) moves passage of House Bill 5682. And on that, seeing no discuss… no… no efforts to discuss the Bill, all in favor vote 'aye'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take 10000122.docx 64 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 the record. On this Motion, there are 112 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having achieved the required Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative McCombie, are you ready on House Bill 5595? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5595, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative McCombie."
"Thank you, Speaker. HB5595 is an agency initiative. Makes a technical change amending the March 1 date to March 31 for the apprenticeship program reports. No opponents known. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Representative McCombie moves for passage of House Bill 5595. And on that, seeing no discussion, all in favor vote 'aye'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 113 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having achieved the required Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Stratton, are you ready with House Bill 4469? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4469, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Stratton."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. House Bill 4469 was debated on the floor yesterday. I am recalling it and asking for an 'aye' vote." 10000122.docx 65 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Representative Stratton moves for passage of House Bill 469 (sic-4469). And on that, any discussion? Representative Batinick."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"I'm just trying to understand how this… the process of how this would actually work. So, I'm going to run through a scenario, if that's okay? So, if… if I get a DUI on the Saturday before the election and I'm in jail, what's exactly the process?"
"So, are you asking how you would be able to vote if you are being detained?"
"That is correct."
"Well, if it was a typical election cycle, then you would have the opportunity to… if you are in a… in a facility in a county that has less than 3 million… a population of less than 3 million, then you can either request a vote by mail application or you could… or they would offer it to you. You would fill out the application. It would go into the local election authority and then you would have the opportunity to get a ballot from there, assuming you're still at that jail."
"Okay. I guess my question more specifically is, if it's after the vote by mail deadline. So, I'm in prison, not in prison… I'm in jail after a DUI, Saturday night. The election is the Tuesday, a couple days later, what happens?"
"I'm sorry. Representative, may you please repeat the beginning portion of your hypothetical?"
"The Saturday before an election, I have a DUI. I get put into jail. The election is the following Tuesday. When I 10000122.docx 66 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 read your Bill, to me it seemed like they bring you a ballot. Is that correct?"
"Yes, but of course a ballot requires an application. So, that might not be a period of time that would allow, but if you are eligible, you should have the opportunity to get a ballot. And if they can facilitate doing that, which is what we require. But I think the other piece that I want to emphasize about this Bill, as I indicated in the previous debate, it is up to the local election authority and the sheriff and the other stakeholders to come up with a process that works best for that locality. So, I'm responding to your hypothetical because it's your question, but really it will depend on the jurisdiction and whatever they decide is most acceptable for that jurisdiction."
"Okay. So, there are scenarios that if I'm… if I'm in that scenario, it allows the election authority to say, no, I'm not going to accommodate your voting ability. Is that correct? That's what I'm hearing you say."
"What I'm saying is that each locality will have to come up with a process and as part of that process that… the sheriff, the local election authority will come up with a process that works best. So, I can't… I mean, I know that it's a hypothetical, but I can't speak to what each jurisdiction will do. The goal… overall goal of the legislation is to allow people the opportunity, who are eligible to vote, to be able to do so."
"Okay. So, I'm going to go to the Bill."
"To the Bill." 10000122.docx 67 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"The goal of the Bill is to allow people who are eligible the opportunity to vote. I'm thinking of some scenarios in my head. My dad worked in the… in the steel mill as a Rollator and I worked there a little bit. It happens to be Election Day. He works 7-3. Roll goes down, stops the whole steel mill. If he doesn't work overtime that steel mill closes. He doesn't have the opportunity to vote. Or how about this scenario. It's the Saturday before the election, I get a call that my mother had a stroke in Florida. I get on a plane. What accommodations are we making for that individual to have the right to vote? Or how about in this situation. The person that got the DUI and was put into jail hit four people in a car that are now in a hospital. What accommodations are we making for those people to vote? There are plenty of circumstances where it's difficult for people to get to the voting booth. A single mom who gets a call from the babysitter. Your son's sick, you have to come home. And she can't get to the polling… polling booth. People who are hospitalized because of people that are in jail… so, in that scenario, if somebody gets a DUI on a Saturday night and they put four people in the hospital, there's one person out of those five that are going to vote and that is the one that got the DUI. The four people in the hospital, we're making no accommodations for them. I guess I understand the… where we're going with this, but if somebody finds themselves in jail, that's not the top of my priority list of who I'm trying to give the constitutional right to vote to. There are plenty of people… there are plenty of people that have difficult circumstances come upon them. I think we should start there 10000122.docx 68 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 first. I think the taxpayers of this state would like us to start there first. Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill. Nothing has changed from last night. There's been no more indication that somehow there would be a refocus on the victims of crime in this state… on the good people of this state who wish to be free of crime. In fact, if anything, after our debate last night, the other side doubled-down. So, nope, we're not hearing any Bills that have to do with actual crimes committed where there might be some possibility of a penalty enhancement. I mean, the prior speaker brought up a great point which is we are concerned with the rights of criminals, we're not… they get to vote and their victims don't. I mean, look, if you so cared about your franchise, wouldn't you have thought about going to vote early prior to doing that carjacking. Might you have wanted to vote by mail before robbing that store? If you really cared that much, you might have avoided the crime in the first place. So, while there may be some place for this or to assist the county clerks in developing their programs if they so choose, this General Assembly has shown where the Majority stands with the criminals, the Republicans are standing with the victims. Please vote 'no'."
Speaker Currie: "Further discussion? Representative Keith Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Madam Speaker. Should this Bill receive the requisite number of votes, I'd request a verification, please." 10000122.docx 69 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Your request will be noted. Further discussion? Representative Ammons. Representative Ammons."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Would the Sponsor for a brief question?"
"The Sponsor will yield."
"Representative, can you explain the origins of this Bill and why this Bill in particular has been put forward to the General Assembly today?"
"The origin of House Bill 4469 is that I have come in contact with a number of individuals who have indicated that they are unclear of the parameters around eligibility to vote and what that process will be specifically if they are either detained or have been in the justice system in our state. So, the goal is to provide clarity not just to individuals but also to clerks around the state, sheriffs around the state, and others who work in the system because, as the Illinois State Board of Elections has indicated, people who are pretrial detainees are, in fact, eligible to vote."
"And so, it is your intention with this Bill to clarify and give direction as a Member of the General Assembly to the sheriffs, to the other election authorities throughout the State of Illinois to ensure that people have access to vote. That is your intention with this Bill?"
"That is the intention as well as to bring some sort of process that is around… that goes across the state at a time where we have some jurisdiction that are offering a voting program but many others which are not."
"And can I just clarify one final question on this? Your Bill does not deal with people who have been convicted, 10000122.docx 70 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 whether they're serving their time in the county jail or awaiting being transported to the Department of Corrections. Is that correct?"
"Right. This Bill in particular, as it relates to jails, pertains to pretrial detention, prior to having any type of trial and/or conviction."
"Thank you so much for clarifying those questions. To the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"I rise in support of this Bill that is before the General Assembly today. Members of the other side of the aisle have raised hypotheticals that are not in this Bill, that have nothing to do with this Bill, and are circumstances for which any Member in this House can write a Bill to address if it was so needed. But in this case, as I am a Member of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on pretrial services, this is one of the incidents for which the Supreme Court has acknowledged that people who are on pretrial meaning they have not been convicted of a crime. Because they have been arrested does not withdraw any of their actual rights and that local governments have the responsibility to ensure that those rights are followed through upon. And so, in this case, not the hospital, not the incidents of whether you were found guilty or not has been considered, what we are actually consider here today are many people in Illinois who are simply detained, for whatever reason, and if they are detained in an election cycle, have the constitutional right to vote. And therefore, should have that opportunity and that access point provided. And so, I hope that this General Assembly would not 10000122.docx 71 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 make decisions based on hypotheticals but on the realities that are facing people in our community throughout this state. What we experienced in the com… committee on this Bill is that there was a patchwork of things happening across the state. Some people are doing it; some people are not. Champaign County is doing it; other counties are not. And people on pretrial, whether they're in Champaign or Macoupin County, have the right to vote and this is what this Bill addresses. I urge a strong 'aye' vote out of this chamber."
"Further discussion? Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Ms… Madam Speaker. I'm going to go straight to the Bill because we already know that Representative Stratton has presented a cohesive, logical, constitutionally sound argument for House Bill 4469. I just want to remind everyone, as I reminded everyone yesterday, that you are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and of the State of Illinois. You, at no point, lose the constitutional right to vote and to be a full citizen when you become detained. There is a difference between being a detainee of a county jail and an inmate in the Illinois Department of Corrections. And I don't know that people understand that 'cause it sounds as if people don't get that as we're discussing this Bill. And then even once you are released from the Illinois Department of Corrections, your right to vote is automatically returned to you and individuals need to be educated on that particular issue. That is all this Bill does. But the continued dog whistles about putting criminals first… this side of the aisle doing that… we're getting a little tired of it. Yes, victims have rights. There 10000122.docx 72 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 are pieces of legislation that protect victim's rights. There are pieces of legislation that provide compensation after victimization, but that is also after someone has been convicted, after due process and having their day in court, has been convicted of a crime. That is what a criminal is-an individual who has been convicted. We are talking about detainees and returning citizens. So, I would hope that we will not continue to have this circular discussion, and I would also hope that as individuals introduce Bills that people talk about topics that are germane to the actual Bill and not whatever other thing they want to throw into the mix in order to derail a constitutionally sound piece of legislation. I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Further discussion? Representative Cassidy."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill. There's been a lot of back and forth on this and a couple of hypotheticals that are, frankly, mind boggling that that's even where we're going. We do make all sorts of accommodations because our job is to make elections as accessible as possible to everyone whose… who has the right to vote. We have early voting. As a single mom, I took advantage of that a lot because those… those Tuesday mornings were tough for me sometimes. We have the ability to get ballots to people in nursing homes and hospitals. These are all red herrings and we should just stop. To this question of, you know, yesterday we heard about, you know, people tired of giving away their votes for free. We hear this issue about victims and all of these questions. I understand that there's a certain amount of criminal justice reform fatigue in this Body. I got to tell you over the 10000122.docx 73 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 decades of ratchetted up sentences and new crimes and… and new ways to put more people in boxes, there was a lot of fatigue there, too. And we spent a little more than a couple years even having rational conversations about repairing the harm done from that… from that. It was almost like an auction for years. How many more years can we put on a sentence? How many more… how many more steps up the ladder can we send a crime? And… and quite frankly, we've barely begun to repair that harm. And I can appreciate the desire of folks to have balance. I can appreciate that, but our job here is to not trade things. Our job here is to do right by the people we serve and to do justice. And you know, the issue of whether or not someone who is in pretrial detention has the right to vote, they do have the right to vote. And it is our job to ensure that they do. But let's point out a really important distinction 'cause if you get arrested on the Monday before Election Day and you have enough money to bond yourself out, nobody's going to stop you at the polling place. These folks have a right to vote. We can make this easier. We can make it consistent so it doesn't matter where you live or what you look like or whether you have enough money to bond out. You can exercise your rights. I strongly urge an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Ford."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"Representative, I have three questions for you. The first one is, do people in county jails have a right to vote?"
"Yes, they do."
"Do people in prisons have a right to vote?" 10000122.docx 74 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"No, they do not."
"So, you're saying people in jails have a right to vote, people in prisons do not. My final question is, do we as a Body have a right to pick and choose which rights we're going to give people and take away from them?"
"Do we as a Body have that right?"
"Yes."
"No. And the right to vote is a constitutional right."
"And the only way we can take away the people's right to vote that's in jail is by doing a Constitutional Amendment. Is that right?"
"Yes."
"And no one's trying to do that. So, therefore, they should support this Bill because it's their right to vote. Without a Constitutional Amendment to deny them that right, you should vote for this Bill because it's their right to vote. So, I urge an 'aye' vote. And thank you for bringing this legislation forward."
"Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Ms… Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor will yield."
"We just had an election, which I am well aware of. And I wanted to know how many of the people in pretrial detention in the last election were denied the right to vote? Do you have any numbers, statistics on how many people are denied this right?"
"I don't know the exact numbers, Representative, but I can tell you that right now I have a list of 8 counties out 10000122.docx 75 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 of the 102 that have a formal voting program. I think we heard on the floor yesterday that… from one of the Representatives that her county also do… there are 4 counties in her district that also do so, but there is not a program in all of the counties. And that's what I'm looking to do."
"Okay. I also remember from yesterday's discussion that you did cite the fact that there were 7, I thought, counties, now there's 8 counties that do this on their own. And you said that you're in favor of local control allowing them to decide what program they want to input. Is that correct?"
"The local control pertains to the program and how they decide to implement it, but there's nothing that we can talk about in terms of local control about whether you give someone the opportunity to carry out their constitutional right to vote."
"Okay. Well, that's a good point. So, are you asserting that actually people have not been given their constitutional right to vote while in pretrial detention? Has there been a program of disallowing that from happening?"
"From what we understand, and there is some of the groups that I worked with on this Bill, there were some… some that we were told that if someone asked for a ballot that they would be denied because they were not clear that these individuals are, in fact, eligible to vote. So, that's the purpose behind this Bill to bring some clarity and uniformity around the understanding that people who are pretrial detainees have the right to vote. Everyone is not clear on that." 10000122.docx 76 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Well, I mean, it's pretty obvious that if you're in pretrial detention that you do have a right to the vote… to vote as long as you're not convicted and in jail. So, I mean, there is a number of ways that you can do vote by mail and a voter can obtain the application by mail ballot either by mail, in person or online from their election authority. And these applications can be reproduced or produced or distributed by anyone, so literally you can… if somebody was interested in voting by mail, their family member could get them access to that application and in fact, their family member could even return the ballot afterwards 'cause they can designate somebody to return that ballot. So, there's nothing that is preventing these folks from voting other than their own initiative to request and ask for a vote… a ballot."
"Well, Representative, when you have individuals who have… who work in the system and are unclear that the right to vote exists for pretrial detainees, that actually does exclude people. Secondly, you might be in a county where you don't have family members, but even under those circumstances, to go back to the previous statement that I made, the locality can determine for itself what is the best process."
"Well, I would agree with you. I… I would just say that it would take a little bit more initiative of the… the person in pretrial detainment to actually decide how to get that ballot himself and that this should be something done that if the counties can do this already if they want to. This is an unfunded mandate, which we are just asking them to do more and actually taking more of their money as the days go on. 10000122.docx 77 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 And I just don't think there's a reason to do this. There's absolutely no reason. You've not proved that anybody has been denied this right. If anything you could post a poster in the jail that says you have the right to vote as long as you're in pretrial detention and give the instructions on how to do that. But to actually mandate this, I think, is just another one of these things where we continue to push mandates along to local government and it's not wise. Please vote 'no'."
"Further discussion? Representative Willis."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"Thank you. I'm going to go over some of the things that the previous speaker brought up. That's exactly what you have in your Bill. That they… that each jail can make up their own mind as what is best for them. And it could be just putting up a sign that says you have the right to vote. You can pick up an absentee ballot by talking to the warden or somebody else. Correct?"
"Yeah. It's the opportunity for those… the jail personnel as well as the local election authority to say let's come up with a program."
"Right."
"Whatever it looks like, it won't look the same from county to county because each county is different."
"So, it…"
"We don't want it to be overly burdensome. We want it to be something that they can actually enforce." 10000122.docx 78 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"So, it could be as simple as saying talk to somebody and they'll be happy to get you a ba… a mail-in ballot, if that's what it is."
"As long as that's something that they actually do…"
"And they follow through with it. Right."
"…and make sure that that ballot… exactly."
"Right. Exactly. One of the other previous speakers stated that don't… why should we give any extra rights to people that are waiting for trial. And then I say, waiting for trial because they are innocent until proven guilty. So, we're not giving them any extra rights. We're giving them the same rights as anyone else has in this free world, certainly in the United States. My husband was a career firefighter paramedic. There were many times when he was on a 24-hour shift on Election Day. We put through early voting to take care of those options. We have many people that travel throughout the… and may be gone for an extended period of time. They might not even be home during the early voting. We have gone and put a vote-by-mail options. There is no reason I can see why we would not want this as another option for people that have the legal right to vote. So, we're not extending any special privileges, doing anything extraordinary, in fact, I can't even see that there would actually be an additional cost to this necessarily in some certain circumstances. Is that correct?"
"That is correct. The goal was, again, to provide an opportunity… to facilitate an opportunity to vote. And so, applications, ballots getting to individuals who are being detained. And then if something has to be mailed back, that's 10000122.docx 79 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 certainly something that that individual person who's being detained can use… can get a stamp to mail back. But we're not looking… and mater… and other materials on voting rights will be provided from an outside agency."
"Okay. So, to the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"I do not see why anybody would vote 'no' on this Bill. We're not asking for any extraordinary measures do… to be forth. We're simply asking for people to have the constitutional right that they are given in the United States, once they become of age, to vote. I think we have built this nation on you are innocent until you are proven guilty. That means as long as you are innocent until proven guilty you are given all of the rights that come with that. That means if you are poor and cannot afford to post bail and you are stuck in prison for an extended period of time, you have the right to vote because, you know what, five, six maybe even a month later you will be found… if you are found innocent, you again have that same right. So, why should we deny the right in- between? I urge this entire Body to vote 'yes' on this Bill."
"Representative Hays."
"I move the previous question."
"All in favor of moving the previous question… I think there's only one… one person left to… to speak. Representative Butler is the last person to speak. So, do you want to listen to him or not? I think Representative Hays thinks it'd be swell to listen to Representative Butler. Representative Butler."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. A question of the Sponsor." 10000122.docx 80 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"She will answer your question."
"Representative, I thank you for your passion on this. And this has obviously been a topic of large discussion over the last day. You… you mentioned earlier… and I wasn't going to speak until you brought this up… but you mentioned earlier there were some counties that you thought did not currently provide absentee or ballots because they don't… they didn't believe that they were eligible. This… this situation came up in committee. We discussed it afterwards. And can you… can you explain to me how that was determined that those counties didn't think pretrial detainees were… were eligible?"
"So, I've been working with a number of organizations on this Bill. One of the organizations is Shriver National Poverty Law Center and some other advocates working on this Bill reached out and did a survey of all… they called all 102 counties. And I know, Representative, that you indicated you had some conversations with one of the counties that had been contacted and indicated that they actually said that they would… although it came through in the survey that…"
"No, they said they do…"
"That they do."
"…currently."
"Correct."
"Currently."
"So, I'm reporting on what…"
"Who is the clerk who was President of the County Clerks Association that in committee you stated that county did not do it correctly. When I confirmed with her, when she was at a conference on election security, that she currently does 10000122.docx 81 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 offer pretrial detainees this. So, did… the survey that the Shriver Center did, can you talk me through a little bit what the questions were that were asked by the Shriver Center when they… when they called all 109 election authorities? Do you know what the questions were?"
"I don't have the specific questions at this time. I know we talked a little bit about it during the committee, but primarily there were questions to understand whether or not this is something that they do. If someone were to say they wanted to vote, what would be your reaction or response? And from what my understanding is… and albeit, I do understand… we had a conversation about the counties you called that there were some counties, albeit not the majority, that said that from their understanding that someone was not eligible to vote, and therefore, they would not facilitate the program."
"And did… did the people making the survey… making the phone calls confirm with the person who answered the phone on the other end that it was the county clerk or the election official responsible for overseeing the elections?"
"I think what we heard in committee was that they… whoever answered the phone was a representative of that facility and that's who they spoke with."
"Thank you. To the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"This… this is… Representative, I want to work you… with you on this because I do believe that these people… they're pretrial detainees. They certainly have a constitutional right to vote. But I have real concerns with the fact how 10000122.docx 82 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 this has been couched. And the fact that you have represented facts that were presented in committee that you now have repeated on the floor that are not verifiable and that I have actually proved wrong by talking to my own county clerks. You know, I… I don't think any of us… any of us wants to disenfranchise anyone who is constitutionally eligible to vote. But I just… I just think this is an overbroad reach on a situation that is already being handled by the clerks and the elections commissions across the state. So, again, I appreciate your passion on this. I'm going to have to be a 'no' vote 'cause I'm just not there on this right now. Thank you."
"Representative Stratton to close."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Voting is one of our most sacred, fundamental rights as Americans. And Election Day is an opportunity for citizens to participate in a democratic process to hold their elected Leaders accountable and to have their voices officially heard by the government that is supposed to represent them. But unfortunately, too many Illinoisans awaiting trial or with a past criminal conviction are being unnecessarily denied access to the ballot. Illinois laws for voting in jail are ambiguous. And even though individuals have the right to vote in pretrial detention, the ability of individuals being detained pretrial to vote varies widely between jails across our state. As a result, many of the 20 thousand people awaiting trials can't vote. Even worse, because of misinformation and misperceptions many of the 4 million people who have a past felony conviction in this state are not aware that they are also, indeed, still eligible to 10000122.docx 83 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 vote and this leads to disenfranchisement. House Bill 4469 would help expand access to voting across the state and will make sure that formerly incarcerated individuals understand their rights that those pre… currently being detained will understand their rights. And all of this will ultimately strengthen our democracy. I hope my colleagues in the Illinois General Assembly will join me to ensure that all of the people that we represent can exercise their right to vote. I respectfully request an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Stratton moves the passage of House Bill 4469. All in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. Voting is open. Remember that there has been a request for a verification, so please vote your own switch not somebody else's. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this Motion, there are 64 voting 'aye', 37 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present'. And Representative Wheeler, do you wish to pursue your request for a verification? The Gentleman withdraws his request. And this Bill, having received the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative McAuliffe, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"In the rear of the chamber, there is lunch that has… being served and been served. Our host is one of my favorite constituents, Mayor Brad Stephens. So, if you have a chance, please feel free to go back and enjoy some lunch or seconds 10000122.docx 84 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 and say hello to Mayor Brad Stephens from the lovely Village of Rosemont. Thank you."
"Thank you. Representative Andrade, for what reason do you rise?"
"A point of personal privilege, please."
"State your point."
"Speaker, sometimes I just can't learn when to keep my mouth shut and it's probably one of these times. I just… I just wanted to make it clear that the other side has said that… that it's blindsided on one side is anti-victim and one side is pro-criminal. I just want to go back and remind people, House Bill 3718, which from last General Assembly, got rid of automatic transfers. I just want to read a couple of the names that voted 'yes' to get rid of automatic transfers for armed robbery and for aggravated vehicular jacking. So, I have voted probably for every reformative justice Bill around here, but I probably am ashamed to say this that I didn't… I would have probably voted 'no' for this Bill because I draw the line on there. But the last Representative Breen, the floor Leader, said that… that it's a Republican Democrat thing. Well, I just want to remind Representative Breen he voted 'yes' to get rid of automatic transfers. I can go through this list, just make it very clear that I had a Bill stuck in Judiciary Committee for almost three years. I had to go around. I had another rep… and I helped… so, it's not just… I just want to say I've tried nothing but to help both sides. I had another Representative that had her Bill, a Republican, stuck in Judiciary for over two, three years and once it came to my committee, I helped 10000122.docx 85 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 her and I help her… I helped her go and reach out to ACLU to make sure her Bill passes. So don't make this a Republican Democrat thing. I just want to make clear to people. Go back and look at House records, House Bill 3718 from last General Assembly. There's a lot of Republicans that voted 'yes' for that Bill, a lot. So, don't make it a Republican Democrat thing. Thank you."
"Representative Jimenez, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Just a quick reminder for Members in the chamber and staff and anyone who works in the Capitol Complex. Representative Butler and I are hosting food trucks on Monroe tomorrow from 11 to 2. So, if you get a quick break, please enjoy some of the food trucks that Springfield has to offer. Thank you very much."
"Thank you very much. And now we're going… Representative Katie Stuart, are you ready on House Bill 5778? Clerk… Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5778, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Stuart."
"Thank you. House Bill 5778 will simply extend… it's an existing tax credit that we offer to employers of veterans. And it will just extend that tax credit to the spouse of a veteran that an employer hires."
"Representative Stuart has moved for passage of House Bill 5778. He's seeing no request for discussion, all 10000122.docx 86 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 in favor vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 111 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having achieved the required Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Turner, are you ready with Senate Bill 1830? Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1830, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Turner."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker, Members of the Body. Senate Bill 1830 will prevent wrongful convictions based on the use of unreliable jailhouse informant testimony. In… in 2003, this Body enacted a law requiring that in death penalty cases prosecutors… that in death penalty cases prosecutors disclose to the defense key impeachment evidence on jailhouse informants and hold pretrial reliability hearings before their testimony is admissible. These provisions drafted by prosecutors ensure that judges can act as gatekeepers to protect against perjured jailhouse and informant testimony and if the testimony is admitted that these defense attorneys can adequately prepare for trial and shed light on credibility and motivations of these incentivized witnesses and jur… witnesses to jurors. Jailhouse informant testimony is the lead case of wrongful convictions in Illinois. These incarcerated individuals provide testimony or information about their inmates to the government typically expecting benefits in return which creates a strong motivation for them to be dishonest. So far 17 wrongful convictions in Illinois 10000122.docx 87 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 have involved jailhouse informants, 7 of those were sentenced to death when Illinois had the death penalty. Eighty-eight point 4 million has already be pa… been paid in civil awards in state compensation for these wrongful convictions that involve jailhouse informant testimony. Seven additional murders were committed by the actual perpetrators in these cases. Senate Bill 1830 was crafted last year by Senator Hastings at the initiation of the Illinois Innocence Project in collaboration with the State's Attorneys Association and the National Innocence Project from New York. It passed the Senate unanimously. I'd ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Turner moves passage of Senate Bill 1830. And on that, any discussion? Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will."
"Representative, I wanted to ask about the opposition of the State's Attorneys, which is what our analysis shows. What's the nature of their opposition?"
"That's a great question, Representative. We… the State's Attorneys helped draft the Amendment that became the Bill in the Senate this year. And when I saw their opposition pop up on the analysis, I asked as well and they said that, hey, associations just tend to change their mind sometimes. I think it may have something to do with the criminal justice re… criminal, you know, reform… criminal justice reform fatigue around here that we keep hearing about. But you know, I'm not sure. I didn't really get a clear answer as to any direct reason as to why there's opposition." 10000122.docx 88 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"And… and just…"
"But it is supported by the Cook County Public Defender, the Innocence Project, Innocence Project-New York, and the Illinois Innocence Project-University of Illinois- Springfield."
"And… and the point here is that if you're going to use a jailhouse informant, you must… it's a mere timely disclosure, 30 days prior to the relevant evidentiary hearing or trial. Is that… that's… that's what you're adding here?"
"Sure. And so, we'd like to have the evidentiary hearing on the frontend before… in front of the judge before the jury actually hears this informant testimony decide whether or not it's credible because you know, as you know once a jury hears it, it's out there, one way or the other. So, we're trying to guard against any sort of misinformation in these very serious situations."
"But again, just… just for the… for the indulgence of the Body. There is already in statute a requirement that the prosecution timely disclose this testimony. It's just… we are stating really more specifically that… that a timely disclosure is 30 days and you've got to do it within 30 days otherwise if it's within 30… under 30 days that there has to be some sort of a… I don't know… the informant wasn't known, could not have been discovered that by the exercise of diligence. So… so again…"
"You're correct, Representative."
"…so, you're really… you're just setting 30 days to a requirement that already… that they timely disclose."
"Yes, Sir." 10000122.docx 89 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Okay. Thank you for the answers to my questions."
"Thank you very much."
"No further discussion? Representative Turner to close."
"I'd ask for an 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"Representative Turner moves for passage of Senate Bill 1830. All in favor vote 'aye'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 74 voting 'aye', 33 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having achieved the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Butler, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege, please."
"State your point."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a reminder, tonight is the Fifth Annual Diabetes Caucus Bowling Tournament at Strike and Spare West, 6 p.m. Don't forget, 6 p.m. This is a great… great way to raise funds to help out folks with diabetes. And just a reminder, last year… just this year we gave $18 thousand from funds raised through this tournament for kids to attend diabetes camp. We're going to have a spec… a couple special guests tonight. Dr. Brian Bostwick, who's the medical director of Camp GranADA in Monticello along with Jack Hepperly. Jack's an eighth grader from New Berlin, in Representative Jimenez's district, who's been attending Camp GranADA since he was eight years old. So, please join us this evening to support the Diabetes Caucus. Help us raise some 10000122.docx 90 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 money for a great event. And we will see everyone tonight at 6:00."
"Thank you. Representative Phelps Finnie, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege, please."
"State your point."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To my left, in the gallery, I'm glad to recognize many PAs that work all over the state. Also, we have the head of the SIU PA program, Dan Shomon, from SIU-Carbondale. Dan, if you'll stand and all of you stand. And also, a personal pride to me, my cousin Rachel Phelps Rademacher. Raise your hand, Rachel… it might give them away… my first cousin, who is also a working PA over in the Metro East area. So, let's give them a warm welcome."
"Welcome, indeed. Representative Davis, for what reason do you rise?"
"Madam Speaker, a point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. You… Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, you just heard from Representative Butler talking about our Diabetes Caucus bowling event tonight. I want to personally thank all of you who are either bowling or are participating in some way by making a contribution to the Foundation again to provide educational opportunities for diabetes. And I'd like to take this opportunity, again, to issue the challenge. For those of you who feel or think you can bowl, you know, excluding those of you who bowl in leagues like Wayne Padget does, you know, he practices a little bit too much for us. But nevertheless, 10000122.docx 91 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 it's a great time. My team is Team Big Strike… Big Strike. That's my team and we're going to win something tonight. I don't know what it's going to be, but we're going to win something tonight. And I'd like to welcome Representative Jones's team who… thought that tonight was in support of the Cancer Caucus. So, when you read the back of his shirts, he's acknowledging support for the Cancer Caucus, even though tonight's event is the Diabetes Caucus. I just want to make him aware of that. So, please, you know, when you see him… when you see his shirt, you know, congratulate him on an event that hasn't been planned yet as a matter of fact. I guess it'll be somewhere in the future. But nevertheless, again, thank you all very much for your continued support of our efforts, and again, let me acknowledge Representative Butler who… who assumed chairmanship of this organization and he's doing a fantastic job keeping… keeping it going and keeping… keeping up our ability to raise resources for education purposes. So, again, hope to see you all at some point tonight. Thank you very much, Madam Chair."
"Representative Bellock."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. A point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Representative Davis, I just wanted to say the Bellock Bowlers are ready for the challenge. We're on the shirt, Strike for the Cure. So, we're all about it. Thank you."
"Thank you. We're now… Representative McDermed, are you ready with House Bill 5541? Clerk, please read the Bill." 10000122.docx 92 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"House Bill 5541, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative McDermed."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is an excellent cleanup Bill brought to us by the department. What they are doing is eliminating the Family Assistance Program. The last member of that program aged out last fall. The good news is that there is a new, better program where our expenditures are matched with federal dollars. And that is the Family Assistance Law for Children with Mental Disabilities. So, I would urge an 'aye' vote on this Bill, which eliminates an old expensive program, and it has already been replaced with a new federal matching program. Please vote 'aye'."
"Representative McDermed moves passage of House Bill 5541. And seeing no discussion, all in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 110 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present. And this Bill, having achieved the required Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Olsen, are you ready on House Bill 4867? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4867, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Olsen."
"Thank you very much. This Bill, 4867, is an initiative of the Department on Aging. It provides some transparency regarding multiple guardianships. Requires individuals who are the guardian of more than five individuals to be re… to 10000122.docx 93 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 report and record that with the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. It excludes the public guardian. I know of no opposition and I ask for your support."
"Representative Olsen moves passage of House Bill 4867. On that, seeing no discussion, all in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this measure, there are 111 voting 'yes', 1 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having achieved the appropriate Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Wallace, are you ready on Senate Bill 351? Clerk, please read the Bill. There is a Floor Amendment. Do you want to bring the Bill back to Second and offer the Amendment? Yes?"
"Yes, please."
"Please return the Bill to Second Reading."
"Senate Bill 351, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Wallace."
"Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. On the House Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 351 becomes the Bill. It makes sure that the effective date is actually later than the initial proposed effective date which has already passed. And it addresses the language in the Governor's Amendatory Veto of this Bill last summer." 10000122.docx 94 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"All in favor of the Amendment say 'aye'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Representative Welch, are you ready on House Bill 5122? Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5122, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Welch."
"Madam Speaker, House Bill 5122 is a Bill that would actually take care of our at-risk foster care… foster children in care. Studies indicate that youth in foster care are less likely than their peers to attend college or have a postsecondary degree from a two or four-year college. The most commonly cited barrier preventing them from continuing education is the inability to pay for school. As a result, youth in care fall behind in income level, employment rate, and stability. Also, in terms of being on a track for success by the age of 26, youth in care are dramatically slowed because of this inability to afford college. This Bill creates a last dollar waiver that would allow our at-risk youth in foster care to go on to college and keep them on a track towards success in life by the age of 26. I would ask that the Body vote 'yes' on House Bill 5122."
"Representative Welch moves passage of House Bill 5122. And on that Motion, Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor will yield." 10000122.docx 95 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Representative, this was one… I think there was some confusion when the… I heard about this in terms of the Higher Ed hearing. So, your Bill, just for the sake of the… the Body, it would give a full-tuition waiver for anyone who had been in care of DCFS under their court ordered legal responsibility and who aged out, what have you. How many people does this actually impact?"
"Well, first statement you mentioned was a full-tuition waiver. Let me… let me just correct that. This is a last dollar waiver. And these students just like any other student will go through and complete a FAFSA. If they apply… qualify for Pell and MAP grants and they receive those, those will be taken into granted. And whatever the amount remaining is, that's the amount that would be waived. And I want to emphasize, that the universities may do this. This Bill isn't a 'shall', it's a 'may'. The other thing you mention is, is all foster care in youth. It's not all. We have actually, you know, made the list very narrow. All foster care in youth would amount to about 11 thousand students in the care of DCFS. This actually talks about those students who have bounced around from home to home, who are aging out of the system, and some other factors. And that severely cuts down the number to about 500 to 800 students. Quite different than 11 thousand. So, this is… this is something that I think we cannot afford not to do. And I would ask that we approve this Bill."
"And then, just… just to clarify it. The tuition waiver is a 'shall'. The extra stipend is a 'may' as I… as our staff understands it. So the tuition waiver is a 'shall'. There is 10000122.docx 96 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 a fiscal impact to the universities required by… by the General Assembly."
"That's correct. Let… when you say a fiscal impact, it's money that they're not receiving. They're still going to receive all of the other dollars from Pell grants, MAP grants and the other remaining balance, they would just waive that amount."
"And so… okay. But just so that folks are clear in the chamber, they… the university is obligated to pay the remaining balance after the Pell grant and MAP grant. At least, under my analysis, that means that for the most part you're not going to impact the community colleges, but you will impact the colleges and universities. Is that… is that how your analysis reads that it's the universities will be impacted but community colleges, pretty much those other sources of funds will cover nearly any… any possible fiscal impact?"
"I just want to be clear on the record, Representative Breen. A waiver does not require someone to pay anything. That amount would actually be forgiven. It would be waived. No one's paying anything. So…"
"The university has to waive the amount?"
"That's correct."
"Right. So, now are Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois still opposed as the Bill stands with Floor Amendment 1?"
"My analysis shows proponents, no opponents."
"Okay. I'm informed that Western and Eastern are… at least they're in… opposed. Possibly some of the other state universities may be neutral." 10000122.docx 97 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"I know they were opposed in committee before the Amendment, the clarifying Amendment. I believe the clarifying Amendment really addressed a lot of the opposition's concern. I thought the points that were raised, the ambiguity that it created, were legitimate and we addressed those. And I believe that's why our analysis is correct."
"And then just so that we're clear about the… the cost that the schools would have to absorb, it appears, at least, ISAC estimates that in the range of 600 thousand to 1.2 million. Is that consistent with your estimates of the total cost of the measure?"
"I'm sorry. Ask me that question again, please."
"So… so, according to ISAC, the estimate of the overall cost to be absorbed by the schools ranges between 600 thousand to 1.2 million. Is that consistent with your… is that consistent with your analysis?"
"No. You know, this… this program is analogous to what we see in Kansas, in Arizona. And the numbers that we believe via ISAC are about 500 thousand to 800 thousand. So, we're close, but…"
"Okay."
"…I think we're a little lower than you are."
"Fair enough. Thank you for the answers to my questions."
"Further discussion? Representative Davidsmeyer."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will."
"First, Representative Welch, I want to thank you for adding that Amendment. I think it was a step to ensure that they are going after the federal help before the… before 10000122.docx 98 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 the universities are on the hook. I think and in committee we talked a little bit about this, about investment. I think… I think this is a good step in the right direction as far as investment. My concern is if it's good enough to promise, it should be good enough to fund. And we should figure out a way to fund something like this. We shouldn't be pushing it on to the universities to do it themselves. I… I said in committee I'd be happy to help you find places that we can cut in the budget to fund something like this. But until… I think it's kind of a false promise. You're making somebody else fund something that you get to promise. So, it's an investment in bettering somebody's life, keeping them out of the system. But at this point, until there's funds to do it, I'm going to have to vote 'no'. Thank you."
"Representative Butler."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. A quick quest… question of the Sponsor."
"He will… he will yield to a question."
"Representative Welch, I'm looking at my analysis here and it says it provides youth in care, youth who have aged out of care at 18 or youth formerly under care. Youth who have aged out or who are formerly under care and who currently live out of this great State of Illinois. Would they be eligible for this?"
"Technically, yes."
"So, I'm all for, you know, trying to get more kids to go to school from out of state to come to Illinois, but the fact that we are offering a program like this to kids that might be living out of state, I have a little bit of a… of a hard 10000122.docx 99 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 time with. So, I… and I also do see that my dear alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, is still opposed to it as well. So, you know, I appreciate your answering the question, but I think I have a problem with that if we're going to offer this to kids… to kids out of state as well. Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Sauer."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He will."
"Representative, thank you for offering this. This is… foster care and these kids are probably my top priority here in the Legislature. I think that we need to front load our budget to focus on preventative things. Education will really help this population. I have some concerns over the monetary issues here, but I think we need to find the money to do this. I just want to… I want to… I want to mention something. I'm going to support your Bill, but I want to mention something. That probably the most vulnerable populations for foster care are those aging out. And you're addressing that, having a safety net there. The process that we've got to do is we've got to look even younger for these kids in the future and I want to work with you on that. Because if we can move… if families just can't get it right and this kid keeps going into the system, we have got to move that child into an adoption pipeline to a family that may be able to afford college, so maybe we can shrink this dollar amount in the future. But I think this is a good first step. We've got to make sure that we get these kids an education, that we get some kids off the street, that we get them going on the right path not a wrong path. I think that the way we can do this 10000122.docx 100 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 even further is finding loving forever families that can afford to spend money on college and finding those ways. But I appreciate you bringing this forward because we've got to address these kids that are aging out and how we help them to have a brighter future for us all. So, thanks for offering this Bill."
"Thank you, Representative."
"Representative Demmer."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Indicates he will."
"Representative Welch, thanks for bringing this Bill forward. I have a few questions just to clarify. We've heard a lot of different numbers today. I think there's a couple different aspects of this Bill. So, I just want to focus specifically on what portions of this Bill are required and what are… what are not required and what the potential fiscal impact could be. So, first, I think, as was previously stated, there are two components to this Bill. The first being a tuition waiver for a very specific group of young folks who are involved with DCFS. We heard earlier that there's this projection of maybe 11 thousand students. I think that's far too high. You previously stated about 800. Is that correct?"
"On the low end about 500 on the high end about 800 when you take into account the criteria they must meet."
"Okay. So, we've… we've narrowed the population from, all right, you know, all 11 thousand down to a specific group of maybe 500 to 800 students or DCFS youth in care. Also, looking at… there's also been some comparisons made to the DCFS… the current DCFS scholarship program. But in this case, under 10000122.docx 101 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 this Bill, we're really talking about the… the last dollar or after a particular student has applied for a Pell grants, applied for a MAP grants, applied for any other scholarships that might be available through their local community, through their high school, through their… through their college. We're really talking about covering just the very end financial obligation. Is that right?"
"That is absolutely correct, Representative. And I think it would be correct… I think I stole this tone from you… it's a last dollar waiver."
"I stole it too, so it's…"
"There you go."
"No. And I appreciate that clarification. So, when we look at… I know there's been some fiscal projections on this, but that really focused on the portion of this Bill that is… is a 'may' aspect of the program. That they 'may', if we decide as a Legislature to offer an appropriation, if they find the resources, they 'may' give something of a stipend to help students with their living expenses. But they're certainly not required to. And it just establishes that's an option for them."
"That's correct. The 'may' goes to the extra stipend."
"So, I… Madam Speaker, to the Bill. I just want to…"
"To the Bill."
"…thank… thank Representative Welch for bringing this Bill. I think he's crafted it in a… in a narrow and targeted way to ensure that we're talking about a very specific population, to ensure that we've gone through and exhausted all other sources that may be available for financial 10000122.docx 102 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 assistance to try to mitigate any effect that it has on the university. I think this is a positive way that we can, as a Legislature, support the youth in care in the DCFS system, help keep them in Illinois schools and hopefully, help keep them in the State of Illinois going forward to be productive citizens. I encourage a 'yes' vote."
"Further discussion? Representative Batinick."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the… I'm just going to go directly to the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"I want to… and I think we've alleviated most of… most of the concerns, but I rise in strong support for this Bill. And I actually can make a strong argument that this is net positive for the universities. A lot of our universities like WIU and EIU are… are under enrollment where they should be. So, each additional person costs less 'cause you have your fixed costs. So, the vast majority of the costs of these people are going to be covered through FAFSA and Pell grants and other sorts of things. My guess is less than 20 percent of the tuition… if even less than 10 percent of the tuition is what is going to be picked up by the university. So, because of those fixed costs being baked in, my guess is that this is a net positive for the universities. To the state, this is a huge net positive. I really appreciate the Sponsor working with one of the previous speakers to make sure that it was the last dollar amount that the universities were covering. In Arizona they have this legislation. The cost is in the hundreds of thousands, not in the millions. Great Bill. I urge an 'aye' vote." 10000122.docx 103 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Representative Hammond."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Indicates he will."
"Representative Welch, thank you very much for the work that you've done on this legislation. Not just for listening to those of us that had some concerns but acting proactively on those concerns. So, thank you so much. One of the previous speakers mentioned whether or not out-of-state residents would be eligible for this program and you confirmed that they would. Is that something… is that an area that you might be willing to address as this Bill moves over to the Senate?"
"You know, in theory, an out-of-stater would be eligible for this as currently written. If they change it in the Senate and tweak that, I'd be happy to accept that on Concurrence."
"Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Jimenez."
"To the Bill, Madam Speaker. I'd just like add to Representative Welch, thank you for your work on this Bill. And at one point or another, the State of Illinois decided that these kids would be in better care under the State of Illinois than with their parents. And I share some of my colleagues concerns about fiscal impact of Bills, but we are also in a budget process right now where we're talking through what this year's fiscal budget would be. And I think that if this Body determines that this is a priority for us and we pass it in a bipartisan way, then we should find the money and make sure that for our colleges and community colleges that we do provide money for something like this. Because 10000122.docx 104 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 there other lines in the budget or programs that we developed that are subject to appropriation and then they aren't funded. And I think that this is one, as we've heard today, that seems to be a pretty high priority for a lot of us. So, I want to make sure that in our budget negotiations that we are making a proper funding request for this as well. Thank you, Madam Speaker."
"Representative Flowers."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise in support of the Gentleman's Bill. First of all, as the previous speaker just spoke and said that DCFS is responsible for these children and currently, DCFS collects the children's Social Security plus they get federal funds called E4, from the Federal Government, and other funds from the Federal Government. And these children are wards of the state; and so therefore, we are their parents. And if they choose to stay with us until the age of 21, we have a responsibility to take care of them. We have a responsibility to educate them, to house them, clothe them, and feed them just like we do the rest of our children. And so, to the Sponsor. I want to congratulate you on this piece of legislation because, once again, by law we are responsible for these children. We are supposed to take care of them and this is in keeping with the practice of what it is that we're supposed to be doing on behalf of the children. There's only 53 scholarships that's given and 250 children apply for it. That's unconscionable. Because we have thousands of children that's in this system and we need to make sure that we do all that we can to make sure that they have a productive life. Because if we don't take care of them 10000122.docx 105 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 on this end, we will see them on another end and they will cost us just as much. Thank you. And I would urge an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Welch to close."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I had mentioned in committee and during a press conference last week that a Bill… this Bill is personal to me in that my grandmother, Lilly Welch, God rest her soul, throughout her life she raised 22 foster children. My grandmother was very active in each one of their lives. And if she could have, she would have paid for each one of them to go to college, but she just couldn't afford to do that herself. A program like this would allow foster youth in care to go on and attain a higher education. This is something that, as a state, we should fully embrace as a policy. And we should want to put them on a track towards success. Getting them a degree in higher education will keep them out of our… hopefully out of our Department of Corrections and help… help, hopefully, contributors to our economy. I would ask for a strong vote in support of House Bill 5122. Thank you."
"Representative Welch has moved passage of House Bill 5122. On that question, all in favor vote 'yes'; opposed ' no'. Voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Clerk, please take the record. On this Motion, there are 96 voting 'yes', 15 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having achieved the required Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Willis, are you ready with 30… House Bill 3877? Out of the record. Representative Cassidy, are you ready to 10000122.docx 106 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 go with 4828? Out of the record. Representative Flowers, how about House Bill 4266? Sorry, 4265? Clerk, read the Bill."
"House Bill 4265, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Flowers."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to take a moment, please, and read excerpts from a Tribune article dated April the 19th. A man was tried… I'm sorry… a man tried to hang himself in Chicago police lockup prompting his family to accuse the police officers of wrongly detaining him. Tyler was 24 years old when he died. And Tyler was held in lockup for a fine of $25 that he had paid for, but it was put into the computer late. And as a result of Tyler having this late fine, he was put into a lockup and he had money in his pocket to make the bail, but for some reason it wasn't offered to him. The Chicago Police Department called… the Chicago Police Department called the county in which he had the fine wanting to come to pick him up. It would have cost them more than $25 for the fine for them to… I'm sorry… it would have cost the county more than $25 to pick him up. But the fact of the matter is, Tyler is dead today because of a mistake that was made. He never should have been placed in lockup in the first place. And this Bill is only saying that in the absence of an offender fine being paid but the computer didn't pick it up that a summons should be given to the offender or the person with the fine. There should be a summons… a notice sent before a person is picked up and put in lockup. This Bill is merely saying that an offender who defaults in a payment of a fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt and 10000122.docx 107 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 imprisonment for nonpayment. The court may issue a summons for his appearance or a warrant. The same Section of the law also provides that that individual can be incarcerated only… only where the failure of the fine was willful. Tyler paid his fine. It was not willful. The person did not put it in the computer in time, so when the police did the search they showed that the fine had not been paid and that was not true. In the meantime, again, Tyler is dead and his family is suing the City of Chicago for $2 million in medical bills because he stayed in the hospital for a whole year before he just recently died. And so, with that being said, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have in regards to this Bill. Thank you."
"Representative Flowers moves passage of House Bill 4265. And on that Motion, Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"Thank you. And Representative, I just want to clarify what we're dealing with here. We're in the Criminal Code or at least… I'm sorry… it's the Code of Corrections. So, we're dealing with an offender who has… so, the court already has jurisdiction over the offender and then the offender… and if there's been a finding of guilt. But then if the offender then defaults on the payment of the fine or any, you know, if they have an installment plan, they're… they're held in contempt. And then, they are to be imprisoned for nonpayment. So, instead of just going and arresting them, there now has to be a new summons issued prior to the arrest to the offender. That's… that's what you're requiring?" 10000122.docx 108 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"No."
"Okay. What are you requiring?"
"First of all, current law says the court 'may' issue a summons for the appearance or either a warrant of arrest. The same Section provides that an individual can be incarcerated only where the failure to pay was willful. In this case, the young man was on time… first of all, when he went to court, he admitted the guilt of the speeding ticket. It was a speeding ticket. The judge found him guilty. He paid most of the fines the day that he was in court and the rest of it he put it on a payment plan. Now, for some reason, that last payment was not put into the computer in time. It was a few days late. And as a result, when the police came in contact with… when the City of Chicago Police came in contact with Tyler again, it showed that the warrant was for his arrest. But Tyler tried to convey that the fine was already paid and it was. The fine was paid. And the only thing that this Bill is asking for in this case to prevent another Tyler situation is to treat people with fines, minor fines and offenses… treat them the same way any other bill collector is treated. When we are late, we get a notice from the light bill, the gas bill, from whatever major store we may have a credit card at, whatever it is. We are sent notice on our water bills. We are sent notice on our car notes, on our insurance. The only thing I'm asking before we arrest this person is to send him notice. And if, upon the notice being sent, and he willfully disregards that notice, then you could send out an arrest. That's all." 10000122.docx 109 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"And then, just so that I'm clear, the… I have on my analysis… opponents including the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois Sheriff's Association, and the Illinois State's Attorneys Association. Is that correct?"
"I'm sorry. Would you say that again, please?"
"So, the opponents to your measure are the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois Sheriffs Association and the Illinois State's Attorneys Association. Are those the opponents you have on your analysis?"
"Yes."
"Okay. And then, just as well on my… my analysis it notes that no neighboring states require that a summons be issued and served prior to the issuance of an arrest warrant. I mean, do you know of any other state that has this as a mandate?"
"I'm… it's not a part of my legislation. I'm not worried about what other states are doing because Illinois has been a first on many of occasions. But I do know that in Missouri there was some targeting of the… the problems that was going on in Missouri because over 5 thousand people were locked up in jail for minor fines and offenses. So, that is what the Federal Government did… found out when they did their research in Ferguson, Missouri."
"And there are certainly issues with serving bench warrants for folks who are delinquent in minor ways. The problem is then the… who pays for the service of summons and if you can't find the person, how can we say that somehow that someone who has been convicted, found guilty, adjudged to be due a fine now. Again, you've cited a case that is tragic that was a result of a mistake on the part of the government. But how 10000122.docx 110 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 can we say that someone who is in that situation who has not paid should not have… be held in contempt and then with… at the option of the judge, a bench warrant issued in the same way if you don't show up to court, hey, they issue a bench warrant. That's just how it's done."
"Let… Representative, let me, again, I just want to read to you current law, okay? If we had even followed current law, maybe Tyler would still be here. An offender who defaults. He did not default at all in the payment of a fine or any installation of that fine. May be… may be held in contempt and imprisoned for nonpayment. He was not guilty of any of that. His fine was $673. He paid the vast majority of it. Then he paid the last few payments every week on time. But it's that last payment for some reason that did not get placed into the system. As a result, he was stopped by the Chicago Police and you know the rest of the story. But again, current law goes on to say that the court may issue a summons for his appearance or… or a warrant for the arrest. And it goes on in that same Section to say that it provides that an individual can be incarcerated only when there is a failure to pay is willful. Only when it's willful. That was not the case. And so, the only thing I'm saying to you with this legislation, in response to the Tribune story, House Bill 4265, under this Bill the court would only issue an arrest warrant for the nonpayment of a fine where the defendant was first served with a summons and that summons was ignored."
"Representative, I'll just go to the Bill, just so we can wrap and keep moving. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police are opposed, the State's Attorneys 10000122.docx 111 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 are opposed, the Sheriff's are opposed. The… the idea that a minor default in payment ought not result in a… an arrest warrant might be something to debate. The problem is this Bill is a blanket prohibition for anyone who defaults. They've already been convicted. They are guilty. They've been ordered into a payment plan. They then default on that payment plan. The standard that we have all come to know and understand that hey, if you don't pay your fine, a bench warrant issues. That's not irregular. And so, despite the tragic event… the particular event that was caused by the county or the city's mistake… in the particular case cited by the Representative… this Bill would be a broad and sweeping change to our practices, which is just not called for and it's not tailored narrowly enough to the situation it's attempting to be remedied. So, I respectfully urge at this time on this particular measure a 'no' vote."
"Further discussion? Representative Martwick."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She will."
"Representative Flowers, I just… a couple of brief questions. So, does your… does this nonpayment include payment for restitution?"
"Can you say that again?"
"So, often… oftentimes in a criminal case there are fees and fines associated, right? So, you could have a fine as part of a sentence or of an agreement and a plea if the defendant pleads guilty. And instead of a sentence of imprisonment, they are given a fine. However, if that underlying offense caused some sort of damage to a victim or 10000122.docx 112 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 some sort of loss to a victim then the… the offender could be ordered to pay additional restitution to make that victim whole. I'm wondering if this would be a part… if that would be a part of… of your Bill here? I can't… I read the Bill and the language in the Bill… in the underlying Bill… speaks of restitution. I just don't know if your provision is simply limited to fines and fees or if it includes re… nonpayment of restitution?"
"My Bill speaks of an offender who defaults in the payment of a fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt and imprisonment for nonpayment. That's… that is the current law. And the only thing my Bill is saying, if you're going to issue the warrant for the arrest, go ahead do so, but just give them the summons first. And current law already speaks to if it's willful and wanton, then you can pick them up and lock them up. My Bill is merely saying current law as it is, but please just do the summons first and then the arrest warrant."
"So… and I appreciate the intent of your Bill. I have a real hard time with the concept of us instituting debtors' prisons. As a matter of fact, right, I think that that… but… but by the same token this would create an extra layer of… of… so now, I mean, when… when a defendant appears in a courtroom and gets a sentence, right, so a fine would only be as part of the sentence. Whether they're found guilty or they're pleading guilty, they're standing there and the judge is saying to them, you are fined and you have so many days to pay your fine and if you don't pay your fine, you must return to court and… right. So, there are… so a lot of those notices 10000122.docx 113 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 are being given right in the courtroom at that time. So, this is going to require an extra level of notice…"
"Well, not necessarily because the notice is given already. The only thing I'm asking for is to do the summons first. Tyler stood in front of the judge. The judge… Tyler admitted I was speeding. The judge found him guilty and charged him $600 and some-odd dollars. Tyler paid most of the money. The other installment payment was going to be $25 a week. He paid every last one of them on time…"
"Yeah."
"…on time."
"Yeah, that's a… that's a tragic case. Yes."
"But wait a minute now. Because… Tyler paid the last payment. Tyler was not aware of the fact. He never did get a statement from the court saying paid in full."
"Right."
"He was not aware of the fact that the person that puts it in the computer… maybe the computer was down that day or whatever… but it was placed in there two days late. So, when he was arrested by the police officers, he's stunned because he know he paid it. And the only thing I am saying, in order to save these counties' money and to save peoples' lives, because according to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in 2013, there was 9 thousand warrants on cases stemming from minor violations and parking infractions. We are destroying peoples' lives maybe because they forgot, merely forgot. We get notices all the time. We got a notice just last week about our paperwork that we do."
"Can I… can I just… just one quick question." 10000122.docx 114 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Yes."
"Does your summons require personal service or is it sufficient to email?"
"However… it doesn't speak to how."
"Okay."
"It's merely asking for the summons to be given."
"Thank you. I have no further questions. Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Andersson."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"Thank you. Representative Flowers, a pleasure to see you this afternoon."
"Always great to see you."
"As well, thank you. So, a question on your Bill is, as I understand it now we're going to insert an intermediate step, the service of the summons, right?"
"As we are doing now, yes."
"That's what this Bill would do, correct?"
"Yes."
"Yes. But the summons does have to be served in order for them to get to the next step, which would be then for someone not to appear and then a warrant to be issued, right?"
"Yes."
"So, summons issues must be served and then assuming the person doesn't respond to that, then the warrant, correct? So, there is… there is a time element to that and there is a… an expense element to that. Does your Bill address that in any way because each of these has to be served by either the sheriff or a private processor, whom which I assume would not 10000122.docx 115 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 be the case? That's… that could be a lot of work 'cause we're not talking about one warrant. I will tell you when I was a local prosecutor, I would at the end of my call where I might have 200 people on the call, 30 or 40 of them would be no- shows. And so, I'd write 30 or 40… first, I'd write send failure to pay notice. We actually have that where we send failure to pay notice. They get a date, they come back on that date and then if… then they don't show, then we issue warrant 10 percent to apply. But I do 30 or 40 a day and think about 102 counties doing much more than that. And I wasn't exactly the most volume of volume calls. So, my concern is this. If we're talking about the volume, I suspect we are, particularly in the traffic court world, I'm concerned that this will be prohibitive that there'll never be an opportunity for a warrant."
"Well…"
"So, if you could address that, Ma'am."
"Sir, I'm not really changing anything in current law. Again, the law… the current law says the court may issue a summons for his appearance or a warrant of arrest."
"That's what current law says, yes."
"That's what current law says."
"And your Bill?"
"And my Bill, the only thing I'm asking for is to issue the summons first and then the arrest."
"Correct. And I think that's what I described. So, my concern remains and I'm very open to hearing your answer, but I'm talking about the volume. You know, everybody's picturing one case, right, one summons? But the volume in the State of 10000122.docx 116 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Illinois of no-show summonses is quite large. And so now you're going to have to have the… the sheriff's department or the police departments working on these or they're not going to do them at all and then you can never get to the warrant stage. And that's my concern. There's no exit. You know, there's no discretion on the part of the court to say in certain circumstances the warrant is appropriate. And that's… that's a concern."
"Well, the Bill is not talking about taking away the warrant. The only thing I'm… again, let me just speak to the case in which I'm trying to address. Tyler paid the vast majority of his fine inside that courtroom that day…"
"Correct."
"…when the judge… when he admitted his guilt. He paid most of his fine. And the judge said I will give you an opportunity to pay the rest of it on installments."
"Correct."
"He was on time for all but one."
"Correct."
"And we don't know if it was late or it was just put in late, but it was there. When the Chicago Police arrested him, the fine had already been paid, but what… another thing that had not happened, the warrant was not removed."
"So, errors were made."
"Errors…"
"Multiple errors."
"Absolutely."
"Right." 10000122.docx 117 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"And the only thing I'm asking for… and now, a $25 fine has now went from… from… caused the death of a human being as well as a $2 million medical suit that could have been avoided had there just been a different kind of a process."
"And… and I agree with you and that's a tragedy. I do think that that's anecdotal to that case. I don't know that the entire system needs to be changed. And I'll tell you there's a good reason why I'd like to vote for your Bill and I'll tell you what would flip me from 'no' to 'yes' is that… there's a very good reason. Oftentimes what happens with those 30 or 40 warrants that… I can't say I issue, but I write the order and then the judge signs the order… and remember every day is those become what we call pocket warrants. Pocket warrants just go into a big database of open warrants. And they wait until somebody, police officer needs to pick somebody up. Not really because of the fine, but maybe for something else. And I personally think that's an abuse of the warrant system. In other words, they're using it as an excuse to stop someone. So, your Bill will stop that. And so, that's a good reason to vote 'yes'. But here is my underlying concern is that there's a lot of times when we do need to use this. If your Bill had an exception where the court found exigent circumstances where the warrant does need to apply. In other words, give the court a little bit of discretion, I'd be a 'yes' on your Bill, but you don't have that right now. You don't have that."
"My Bill is calling for… that the court could only issue an arrest warrant for the nonpayment, nonpayment of the fine."
"After a summons is served." 10000122.docx 118 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"No, no, no, no, no. If there's a nonpayment of the fine, where the defendant… oh, I'm sorry, yes. Where the… right. Where the defendant was first served with a warrant. And then, first served with a summons… I'm sorry… and then the warrant, yes."
"Right. Right. So, I'll speak to the… please."
"And if the… if the summons is ignored, which is already current law because the current law says that if it's a willful failure to pay. That's what current law says already."
"Well, but not the way your…"
"And current law also says…"
"…not the way your Bill is drafted."
"Current law is not a 'shall'. You say current laws says you 'may' issue a warrant or you 'may' issue a summons."
"That's current law."
"And so, it's not a mandate."
"Well…"
"And so, but it appears to me… it appears to me that there's a certain group of people who get the warrants as opposed to the summons. And there's a lot of people out there who didn't even know that there was a warrant out for their arrest."
"Correct. That's quite common when you do a lot."
"And so the only thing… the only thing… this is… this Bill is really about respect and it's a reminder. You and I get reminders every day for our bills. Now, what is so wrong about these people who have minor fines and offenses that they may have forgotten about or maybe they are no longer working? Anything could happen. We're only asking them… I'm 10000122.docx 119 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 only asking you to please for the sake of the courts, the time, and the person and the person's family that's involved, let's issue a summons first, a mere summons. And then, if that summons is ignored then, please, move on with your warrant."
"So, thank you for… thank you for the explanation. To the Bill."
"To the Bill."
"The… the concern I have remains, which is that the process of issuing a summons and having it served is time consuming. And we're not talking about one case. We're talking about, as I've described, a lot of very routine cases. The volume will be huge. My suspicion is that at that point effectively we've removed the warrant… the ability to issue a warrant entirely simply because the volume of police officers and sheriffs to serve these does not exist. I think the Representative's Bill is a good one, but there needs to be a discretionary element that isn't in her Bill, so the court can override that concept. So, with great respect and with deference, I urge a 'no' vote. But I think the Bill could be better, but right now it needs to be addressed. Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Andrade. And Representative Turner in the Chair."
"Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, is just… is there a definition in your Bill for the word 'fine'?" 10000122.docx 120 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"I'll have to look up that Section of the law because the Section that I am amending deals with nonpayment of fines. But I don't… I don't have the definition here, no."
"Is… is your concern that the person is not noticed and they should be… would… I'm not an attorney so I just… I just want to make sure. When you see the word 'summons', does that require basically a prosecutor to… to write an order for a summons and then the judge has to approve the summons and then the judge has it give it to the sheriff and the sheriff has to actually physically go find the person? And then when you find the person, they have to come out? And you physically have to… is it… is that a summons? Is a summons where someone has to be giving it to them in hand?"
"You know, Representative, I'm really glad that you asked that question. Because see, what you have just described was a warrant. And a warrant cost more to give out than a summons. You can send a summons by way of mail, but a warrant means a police officer or a sheriff. And there has to be extra paperwork given and extra people involved. That is very expensive on the county. So, if this Bill were to become law, we could save probably lots of lives and lots of money."
"Sure. Maybe you can… I just… I believe a summons has to be given by a sheriff or some duty officer or third party person in person. Now you're right. I believe you're correctly right that a notice should be sent in the mail at the last known address. A notice should be sent, but I just… I believe a summons is you… the sheriff has to summon you to court?"
"You can't get a summons in the mail?" 10000122.docx 121 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"I'm not an attorney here, but I know there's a lot of them here. And I just… and the Lady behind you… I just think a summons has to be delivered…"
"Well, then tell me about a warrant then since you are sure about the summons, tell me how a warrant is given."
"I'm not sure. But I can't believe the warrant has to be issued by the judge. A summons has to be delivered by a… someone of… some authority. I believe…"
"I don't… I don't think we're just saying…"
"I think, you know, I truly think that what Representative Andersson was… was saying that a summons has to be sent by a… a sheriff or a third party. I don't think you can get it in the mail. I just… I just… to the Bill. I think it's a great idea that the people should be noticed just like creditors get noticed. I just think there needs to be a clarification between summons and… and notice. Thank you."
"Representative Andersson, I'm getting the signal that your name was used in debate?"
"Correct."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Thank you. I'll speak to the Bill. I just want to answer the former speaker's question. There is a difference between a summons and a warrant; however, in the… how they are not different is that they most… both must be served personally. There are waivers for that after you attempt that, so you could do service by publication or something like that, but that's an enormous step. No, summonses and warrants both have the same requirement, which is they be delivered by a 10000122.docx 122 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 sheriff or private process server well, in the case of summons, private process server in hand. Now, the difference between a summons and a warrant that does exist is the summons says come to court on such and such a day. A warrant says you're under arrest and you're being taken in. So, there is a big difference, but for purposes of this discussion, they are the same in that we're going to have to expend a whole lot of time to serve these summonses to have them not show up and then serve a warrant again. And as I said, this is not about 1 ticket, this is not about 10, this is not about a hundred, it's not about a thousand. We're talking tens of thousands of warrants like this every day that flow out of the traffic court system. So, again, I have great respect for the Sponsor of the Bill. I think there's a lot of good that can be done with this Bill and I would support it. I'd be your co-chief, if you'd have me, if you would create a discretionary component to it that would allow a judge, a court to skip it in appropriate circumstances. Right now that doesn't exist. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ammons."
"Thank you. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, after listening to the debate and discussion here, I just want to clarify what you are asking. You are asking in this Bill to require that a summons be sent. You're not asking to eliminate warrants. Is that correct?"
"That is correct."
"You are also not asking for reduction in fees or fines in this Bill. Is that correct?" 10000122.docx 123 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"That is correct."
"Thank you. Just briefly, to the Bill. I rise in support of Representative Flowers on this Bill. And I want to read why this Bill is so important, and I understand the debate that has taken place heretofore. But what I want to share is very clear from the National Institute of Justice, which is not a liberal organization. There's a report that indicates this: Jurisdictions have also shifted costs of justice involved people by incarcerating and increasing the amounts of money by number… increasing fines, fees, surcharges that they assess. For instance, since 1996, states like Florida added more than 20 new categories to the CJ… CJFOs, meaning the costs, fines, fees and things like that and more than 20 new categories of fines and fees having been increasing across the country including Illinois in the last 10 years. And so, what we have are warrants that are being issued to people who cannot pay their fine. Not necessarily because they don't want to, but in many cases, economically because they cannot. And it has been clear that we, in Illinois, have added 19 fees increasing some from $5 to $750 for that civil penalty. In many cases, that fee becomes a very difficult issue for the person who has been issued this fee to meet; and therefore, it's easy for them to fall victims of contempt of court, which would issue a warrant for their arrest. And so, this Bill, again, really deals with an economic disenfranchisement of communities. Poor people and people of color are the victims of this system. They're the victims of the system because they cannot pay. There is much research and a commission that was instituted here by the Governor to 10000122.docx 124 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 study the impact of court fines and fees. And the result of that are warrants. And so, today, I believe our Member who has brought this Bill forward has done a good piece of legislation to suggest that we should at least issue a summons first. This is not an exclusionary process of eliminating warrants or the option of warrants. It is a step in procedure that would allow a person an opportunity to deal first with the summons and answer the summons without losing their jobs that they may or may not have even if it's a low-wage job, not losing their housing as a result of being issued a warrant. And so, I believe this Bill deserves greater consideration. Any adjustment in definition has been indicated by our Member on the other side of the aisle can be addressed… and addressed in the Senate if necessary if the Sponsor is willing. But I do believe that this is a Bill that requires our serious consideration based on the facts not based on anecdotal stories. But we in this Body have increased since 1995 every single fine and fee that you can implement against a citizen it has been done. And it is a backdoor taxation of the poor and really needs to be considered in this application. I urge an 'aye' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Long."
"Thank you, Chairman. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"I have a… I have a question here. According to the original statute it says, the court may issue a summons for his appearance or a warrant of arrest. Is that correct? Is that correct?"
"Yes." 10000122.docx 125 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Okay. But the way it's written here you have the court may issue a summons for his appearance and then you've got a period. And then you go into the court may issue a warrant of arrest, if after being served with a summons issued under hi… this subsection, the offender fails to appear for the scheduled hearing. Now, when they're issued the fine, they… they're aware of the fact that they got to pay the fine or they're in contempt of court and they could be arrested. Is that correct?"
"I'm sorry. Can you say that again, please?"
"When they are issued a fine and they fail to pay the fine, they're aware of the fact that they… that they have… that they're in contempt of court and they could be arrested. Is that correct?"
"I… I am sure that the judge admonished them and explained that to them that if they did not pay their fine they will probably be arrested. I… but I can't say for sure."
"Okay. Okay. Well, it's right here. It's kind of double speaking. It says the clerk may issue a summons for his appearance. And then the next sentence it says you must… you must. So, the way it's worded is you're… you're conflicting. But to the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to say that to me this is almost doublespeak, but it also warns people we're coming after you. So, if you have a… if you're in contempt of court, we're going to send you a summons that say, look, you've already violated the law and we're going to come after you. This is… when and where does personal responsibility come into the picture. I'm… I'm a little confused about this. This Bill isn't correct. It's not written properly. It's way too 10000122.docx 126 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 vague. It's way too broad. And I urge a 'no' vote on this. Thank you."
"Leader Flowers to close."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I want to say that a summons… a summons is what I'm asking for. And what a summons would do and would've done had Tyler been given a summons, he probably would still be alive today. Because a summons merely says to the court… or says to the person, I want to see you in court. That's what a summons says. I want to see you in court. What is the problem? You know you owe this fine, so I'm going to send this summons out to find out what's the problem. But a warrant says you are arrested. You are to be sought out and arrested. And the only thing that I'm asking for with this legislation is to send out notice of a summons. If Tyler had have been sent a notice, Tyler would have been able to tell the judge. Judge, I paid all of my money. Here are my receipts. And the judge would have been able to clear up the fact that an error was made and it could have been corrected and his name would have been cleared. That's all. That's all this Bill is doing. It's not changing no portion of the law that is… that's in existence now. The existing law talks about you 'may' issue a summons. It talks about you 'may' issue a warrant. And it goes on to say that the person 'may' be incarcerated. The only thing I'm asking for is to please give notice to the people who owe the fees and the fines. There's no point in having 9 thousand people arrested on fines that they may or may not have paid for. There's no point in them losing their jobs and their livelihood because of a computer error or a human error. We 10000122.docx 127 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 all know that mistakes are made all the time. This legislation is not finding any fault with anyone. This legislation is doing the same thing that you and I do every day. We get notices of late payments. We get notices that our bills are due. The only thing I'm asking for, Ladies and Gentlemen, for the poor people of this state that this is applicable to that cannot afford to pay their fines or have paid their fines. But the records in the computers have not kept up with the times. I'm only asking that we give them the same respect that we would want for ourselves. I would appreciate an 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"Members, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 4265 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Members, please record yourselves. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 35 voting 'yes', 69 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present', this Bill, having failed to reach the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared failed. House Bill 5195, Representative Greenwood. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5195, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Greenwood."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of this Assembly. House Bill 5195 is an opportunity to help ensure our children's safety on their way to and from school. This measure would allow school districts, outside the City of Chicago, to provide a safe passage by providing free transportation to students who live within a mile and a half 10000122.docx 128 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 of their learning institution in a high crime area or an area with a pattern of criminal activity. I ask for an 'aye' vote."
Speaker Turner: "On that, Representative Breen is repe… recognized."
"Mr. Speaker, will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Thank you. And Representative, I just want to clarify that your Bill does not impose a mandate on the school districts… downstate school districts of the state, merely offers them the ability that they do not have under current law to provide transport within a mile and a half of the school?"
"That is correct. And I do not have any opponents."
"Right, right. I see the School Management Alliance, PTA are supportive. Just as well, I heard you say and I see that the Chicago Public School system is exempted. What's the reason for that?"
"They already have a safe passage program implemented."
"And they provide transport for folks within a mile and a half or is that a walk-in program? I'd understood it to be a walk-in program."
"They're exempt because they public transport for it within their program."
"Fair enough. I don't know if it's great reason to exempt them because I know the… well."
"Well, I didn't do that piece of legislation."
"I know. In order to pass Bills, sometimes we have to exempt the Chicago Public Schools. Of course, I… I'm married to a Chicago Public Schools graduate, so I know about the 10000122.docx 129 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 dangers of transport to and from school every day. To the Bill. This seems like a good idea for downstate districts to be able to do it. It certainly another of many issues that need to be dealt with in Chicago that are of a different character than the downstate districts. Thank you."
"Representative Ives is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Okay. In committee, we had quite a bit of discussion about this, at least from my end on where is the money coming from to fund this. So, can you tell me from what pot of money will this money come from?"
"From state transportation dollars for local funds."
"Okay. So, this is going to come after… off of… from the transportation fund which is outside of the school funding formula. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Okay. And currently, the Chicago safe passage money that comes out of a different pot of money. That comes from GRF. Are you aware of that?"
"I don't know where their money comes from."
"Yeah. Their money comes from General Revenue, it's different pot of money then that the state transportation always. So essentially, what we have here is that you are going to be taking additional dollars for your school district from the transportation fund that's supposed to fund all of the schools in the entire state for transportation. That is the net result of your Bill. Is that correct?" 10000122.docx 130 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"It's just allowing them to use the transportation funds for this purpose."
"Well, it actually then… yes, that's correct, but it also would mean that they could tap into additional state transportation funds for this reason."
"Yes, that's correct."
"Okay. That's correct. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. So, we just passed, obviously, the evidenced-based funding formula. We passed… you know, this actually skewed the dollars going to particular districts at a time when we've actually had a decreasing in the transportation funding for other school districts. And so, what you have here, is you have another hollowing out of a fund meant to benefit everybody statewide in terms of transportation. Now, I… I feel for these people. They should actually have police that are policing their area to the extent where you don't have such a crime problem. I would have no problem if she were to request special transportation funds for high crime areas that outside of the transportation budget but actually in part of the General Revenue Fund, which is what we do for Chicago. But instead, this fund, which has already been diminished over the years, is now going to fund areas of high crime around the state where apparently policing at the local level isn't happening. But regardless, it means that all of us are going to have to pay for that when we have transportation funds that are needed elsewhere. So, I just… I disagree with the crux of the Bill, where the money's coming from, and the fact that there's not more emphasis about actually making these streets safe, not 10000122.docx 131 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 just for passages during school hours, but really safe all the time. So, for that reason, I stand opposed."
"Representative Pritchard is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, is this a mandate on the school district?"
"No, it's not a mandate."
"Does this apply to all areas of the state other than CPS?"
"Correct."
"And the dollars would come from transportation, correct?"
"Yes."
"And transportation dollars can be used for purposes that the local district decides. Is that correct?"
"That's correct."
"So, right now, a school district could declare an area within a mile and a half as a dangerous area and provide transportation. Is that correct?"
"No, they can't."
"Excuse me?"
"Not within a mile and a half."
"So, it's my understanding that if you have some hazard a school district can today do what your Bill is trying to do."
"It's for road safety, not for crime safety."
"Okay. So, that's the element that you're adding in this Bill?" 10000122.docx 132 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Correct."
"Very good. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, we're looking at an educational issue that we want our students to get to school whether it's in a hazardous traffic area or in a criminal area. And we need to provide some assistance to do that. This certainly seems to be an appropriate way to do that and I support the Sponsor's Bill."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Willis."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield… yield, please?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"So, I currently… my… my students go… my own family when they were younger… I lived less than a mile from the school, but I have two busy streets that they have to cross in order to get to the school. So, they… they were able to take the bus under current law. Is that not correct, Representative?"
"That's correct."
"Okay. So, what you're trying to do… if I'm reading your Bill right… is just expanding what a serious hazard is. So, instead of just taking the roads and busy highways, which is what most school districts call a serious hazard to be able to get to school, you're expanding that to say if there is a known criminal activity area that the students would have to cross through that they should also be able to take a bus there too, correct?"
"Correct. A high crime area or an area with a pattern of criminal activity."
"Okay. To the Bill. So, what we're trying to do really is we've seen the good things that safe passage has done in 10000122.docx 133 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Chicago Public Schools. But we also realize that the violence and criminal activity is not limited only to Chicago. And this is going and allowing those school districts that may have violent pockets along on the routes to school to expand and… and justify spending their money as they choose to… and this is something we've always fought for, local control… so, we're allowing the local school boards to make that decision to spend under the guidelines of what constitutes a hazardous crossing or a hazardous area to be able to use their transportation funds. That is not a mandate. It's just expanding a law that we already have. It's, again, giving local control to our school boards by following and expanding what we already have under State Laws. This is a good Bill. Representative, please add me to it as a Sponsor. And I urge this Body to vote an 'aye'."
"Representative Greenwood to close."
"This measure focuses on reducing barriers that limit our students from attending school and succeeding in the classroom. No student should ever feel unsafe while traveling to school, but unfortunately too many students across our state are forced to walk through crime-ridden areas on their daily commute. And this legislation aims to reduce the fears and concern of students and parents. I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 5195 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 97 voting 'yes', 7 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present', House Bill 5195, having received the 10000122.docx 134 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 53… House Bill 5344, Representative Lilly. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5344, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Lilly."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly and happy bicentennial to everyone. I rise to present House Bill 5344. It requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to establish field houses in each of the Legislative Districts of the Senate District. If there's no questions, I'll ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Breen is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, our analysis says that you had agreed to work on an Amendment to address the concerns of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Where is that Amendment because I just see the original Bill coming to Third Reading now?"
"Hello. Correct. At this time, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, they are proponents to the Bill. And there was a date to be established. It has not come through, but the deadline was moving forward. And they said that they could work with the Bill without the deadline because the intent was to make sure that we did not move too hastily in implementing this much needed service for the veterans here in the State of Illinois. We've had a conversation."
"Excuse me. Representative, I really don't… whether the department is supportive or not, doesn't really color the 10000122.docx 135 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 question that your Bill was allowed out of committee unanimously. And you had agreed to work on an Amendment to address the concerns of the Members of the committee. Now, maybe… maybe one of… maybe the Republican Spokesman of the committee will tell me differently. It's just when I see that on my analysis and I hear, well the department is okay, but I don't think the department was never opposed, as best I can tell."
"It was not."
"Right."
"And many of our analyses are not updated. The conversations were had, the agreement was had, and the deadline approached. This is a piece of legislation after further review as discussed in the committee was a piece of legislation that they wanted to work on. And the Amendment had to do with a date that they really believed that working on the Bill… to not move hastily would allow this type of legislation to help the veterans that are here in the State of Illinois, making sure that each veteran has a field office in each district… Senate District so they can access services."
"So, your… your… the current law requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to establish a field office… field offices as it shall find necessary to enable it to perform its duties. And you're changing that to establishing a field office in every single Senate District in the state. Right, that's what your Bill is doing?"
"Correct. And what was discussed in committee… and unfortunately, you didn't have that opportunity to be a part 10000122.docx 136 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 of that healthy discussion… it… it has, meaning Illinois, has 80 field offices throughout. We have 56 Senate Districts. They really believe that they need to review where those field offices are to make sure that every community who are… who are… needs a field office for the veterans, they have access. There are some districts that are in downstate Illinois that there's no field offices in those areas. So, those veterans are not having access to these services. Also, it was about looking at the demand where most of the field offices… where most of the veterans live and reside that's where those offices should be located. Right now, some of our veterans, 1) cannot access them because it's not close to them, but 2) they do not know where the field offices are so they can access the services. So, many of our veterans are going… their concerns and their families concerns are going unaddressed."
"And then, Representative, the boundaries of the Legislative Districts change every 10 years, as well. So, we have to move our field offices every 10 years or we have to establish new ones in all the districts when they shift the Legislative Districts? Is that… so that's part of this issue here? I mean, that's part of what you're requiring here, right?"
"No. I believe that the Senate has 56 Senate Districts. Those will not change. We'll have that same number."
"Well, 59, but they…"
"I'm sorry, 59, yes."
"…but they change every 10 years."
"Yes. The department is fully in support of this legislation. They are not concerned with the 59 districts. 10000122.docx 137 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 They are almost fully in compliance. It is about making sure that our veterans who are the brave individuals that protect our country and our state, giving of their time and of their lives and their families committing the sacrifice, to make sure that our country is safe. The Department of Veterans' Affairs is in support of the piece of legislation without any opposition. And they're almost in full compliance."
"To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, our Legislative Districts change every 10 years. There is not necessarily a need for a field office in every Senate District particularly under the current system where we draw our Senate Districts based on partisan loyalties not based on any sort of fair mapping concept so that you could actually say that a Senate District represented a particular area. Instead, we just have these, you know, snakelike districts moving back and forth. There's no rhyme or reason to putting a Veterans' Affairs office in each of our 59 Senate Districts. There's no statement or finding of how much money it would cost to make sure we had one in each Senate Districts, especially then having to move them every 10 years to make sure there's one in every Senate District. Right now, the department has the authority to establish the offices and the duty to establish the offices to enable it to perform its duties, whatever those duties are or will be in the future. There is no reason to make this change. There's no real rationale for it. With all due deference to the Sponsor, and no accounting for the various movements of Legislative Districts every 10 years, field offices for veterans don't correspond to the locations of Legislative Districts. Thank you." 10000122.docx 138 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Chair recognizes Representative McAuliffe."
"Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates…"
"Representative, we supported this Bill out of committee, but we were under the understanding that we would all work together on an Amendment. Like the previous speaker said, with the redistricting coming up, we may have three… three field VA offices in one district today, maybe four tomorrow. So, I would just kindly ask if you can please pull this Bill out of the record, so we can still continue on working on this."
"As you know, our timelines are running short and they may actually be gone. And I did speak with and the staff spoke with the Veterans Department because of that to make sure that we can move the Bill. And they are in full support of the Bill. They do not see there'll be any monetary changes. We had a healthy conversation in the committee. We talked after the committee about how we would adjust. They really believe that there will not be… and this is the conversation that we had with them directly… that that… they will be able implement this much needed restructuring without monetary concerns, but also, this is not a discussion of remapping at all. I do know we want to have a different kinds of conversation and it has nothing to do with any mapping. It has everything to do with supporting the needs of veterans that are going unaddressed because the number of veterans that are in need. They do not have access. They do not have knowledge where these services are. We have talked with the Veterans' Affairs in reference to the discussion in the 10000122.docx 139 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 committee. They really believe the Bill as written and because of the timeline we can move forward."
"Well…"
"And I appreciate the… the dialogue. This is about making sure our veterans who are homeless, our veteran families who do not know where to refer their family members. This is about making sure the veterans who sacrificed their lives, their time for you and I can have access to resources and services that they can touch. There are many opportunities to put field… the 80 field offices in areas where people can access them. There is no monetary concern. The Veterans Department is in full support and they believe this is a good idea and would like to work with each of us to make sure that our citizens here in Illinois who serve and protect us in the Armed Forces have access to services that they vitally need."
"Okay. To the Bill. I asked the Lady if she could take the Bill out of the record. We're not… I understand there's a deadline, but we still need to work through the committee process. It wasn't just I, there were other Members of the committee that asked to talk about this Bill. And as of my knowledge, there hasn't been any further discussions. Maybe there was with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, but there were with any committee Members. But, at this time, I ask the Lady to pull the Bill out of the record otherwise I ask all Republicans to please vote 'present' on this Bill. Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Chapa LaVia."
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield." 10000122.docx 140 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Hi there, beautiful. So, can you tell me the discussion you had with the department that you had outside of our committee so we can clear up some stuff because, yes, both counterparts on the other side are correct, especially my spokes… my chairman over there, McAuliffe, on the discussion before you left. So, maybe something happened in the backfield with the… the Veterans Department that we don't know about. So, can you as… so, can you tell me about the conversation once committee was over."
"Okay. Thank… thank you, Madam Chairman. It is a conversation where they really believe this is a good piece of legislation and it was about putting timelines on when we can do what needs to be done. They indicated that this is the type of legislation that really enhances services to the veterans. We were running out of time and this is a piece of legislation if any of those timelines it can be addressed in the Senate."
"Right. So… great. I'm glad you got to that point. So, I was talking in committee saying maybe we should put 2019 on it so it gives us some time to map it out. So, there is an agreement that you're going to do a timeline over there. It's going to come back here for Concurrence. Now, to the Bill. To keep it really simple. And I understand the sentiment on my Republican side in my committee, understandable, 'cause she said she was going to come back to committee. I was not privy of the discussion that happened afterwards with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. But if you were in the committee you understand, they were nodding along with her in discussing this. You not only have her commitment that it's 10000122.docx 141 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 going to come back for Concurrence, but you'll have my commitment. We'll find out together who the Sponsor's going to be over there and make sure the timeline is put on it, so it comes back for Concurrence. Also, I think as a businesswoman in the State of Illinois, I think we should start thinking a little bit more logical with the dollars that are spent on these offices that maybe they should live inside the Senate offices in the State of Illinois saving a lot of money for taxpayers having to rent other office space, maybe combining them within the Senate office so they can be the veteran contact 'cause most of us are the veteran contact in our districts. And then we give it over to the closest VA office. So, I think there's some really great opportunity here to save the taxpayers' dollars and put it back into serving the veterans. But as long… I would like you just to state your intention. Once again, your voice, how it's going to go over. They're going to do a timeline and it'll come back for Concurrence. If there's something that falls awry, Representative, I want your commitment that we do… we let it die over here, if it doesn't do what we are agreeing to… as far as the timeline. Because the districts do change every… every 10 years with the remap, but if we did something a little bit more flexible where it resided within the Senate's office or something that made more common sense. And that way it's fair across the state 'cause you have so many… Senators are Republicans, so many Representatives… Senators that are Democrats. So, each of us would be able to benefit from that in our Senatorial Districts that we exist in. So, if we can get some clarity on what your commitment is, I hope to help 10000122.docx 142 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 you get it out of here. And I want… and I said Leader McAuliffe's name on purpose because I would like him to have a say in this too because that's one of our committees that we feel that we are very nonpartisan or bipartisan, if you will. So, if Leader McAuliffe, after she speaks, if maybe you can talk to it. But that's… that's what I have to say. Thank you, Speaker."
"Chair recognizes Representative Swanson."
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Lilly, I'd like to commend you on… on your efforts in helping us meet the needs of our veterans throughout of Illinois. When I was the officer in charge of a local National Guard unit back in the mid '90s, I was one of the first who moved a veterans service officer from the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs into the Armory to provide heat and free rent. My concern though with this Bill is that… and I offer that as an opportunity to help save money too in other facilities. My concern is within our Senatorial District we have four VSOs throughout the district, two in Peoria and two in western Illinois in the town of Galesburg. Those VSOs separate their time between several other smaller communities. I… also, throughout the Illinois, we have Veteran's Assistance Commissions, where we have superintendents providing some of the similar, although not the same, services. I think if you'd be willing to pull this legislation, Representative Lilly, I think we could sit down and have a good session on a map of Illinois where current VSOs… I've done a study already where we are lacking coverage for our veterans. And that's primarily in the southeastern part of Illinois. There is no overlap 10000122.docx 143 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 whatsoever. But I'm more than willing to share my experience having worked with veterans' services officers for many years, having worked with Veteran Assistance Commissions that are located in each of our counties and try to take all those… but in the military we call combat multipliers to help our veterans. So, your desires, my desires, all of our desires in this room to help with our veterans could be met and we'd have a better look at what we have. So, I'll wait your response. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Unes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be curious to hear the response to that last question first as well. And then, I do have a question."
"Thank you, Representative. What we're dealing with is, we have no further time here in the House. Any changes that you would like to sit down with me will be taken and picked up in the Senate along with the timeline. I did meet with the Veterans apartment… Department after the meeting. That's what we came up with, we are out of time here in the House. We want to make sure that these changes are addressed in the Senate, but we have to get it to the Senate to make sure the changes are addressed."
"Thank you, Representative Lilly. Will the Sponsor continue to yield?"
"Sponsor will continue to yield."
"So, Representative Lilly, I was taking interest in what Chairwoman… Representative Linda Chapa LaVia was saying and she's absolutely correct. She runs that committee very, very well. It is a very bipartisan committee. We work very well 10000122.docx 144 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 together. And I was in this particular committee. We are all following the same Calendar; we're all up against deadlines. And this Bill went out on leave with the understanding that there was more work to do and with the understanding that you were going to come back to committee. And I… I distinctly remember this Bill that you made the same argument that you were out of time because you were up against another deadline. And that deadline we all agreed and they said, well you know, we do that all the time that this Bill we know that it's not soup yet. We know that there's still more work to do and the committee agreed and it went out on leave with the understanding that it was going to come back to committee. And I think that's where some of us on our side are… are at, because I don't think there's any denying that that's the conversation that took place. So, we would just respectfully ask that you allow the conversation to happen that you agreed to and committed to in committee so that we can continue. I understand that this is a deadline week. I understood that when you were in committee that that was a deadline week. But that is the premise that we allowed the Bill to move on. And I would just respectfully ask you to consider the request of some of my colleagues especially Minority Spokesperson Representative McAuliffe."
"The Chair recog…"
"Yes."
"Representative Lilly, would you like to respond to Representative Unes?"
"I would, I would. One of the things that's real critical about addressing the needs of people, it's about addressing 10000122.docx 145 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 them now. And our veterans are needing our help. As discussed in the committee, the Veterans' Affairs did not have any opposition. The committee did and I… I did respect those concerns. So, I did meet, along with staff, meet with the Veterans Department. If… if we pull the Bill out, then we will have to address this issue next year. Now, that is what you're asking because we have any more time. What I'm asking is that you consider working with the Senate as we always do to make sure that we are moving the Bill with your… or we can come back to the committee with those changes and create a little committee to make sure that those changes are addressed. The Veterans' Affairs Department said that they will… they will work with the Senate to make sure your concerns are addressed, to make sure that the timelines are appropriate, to make sure that they're addressing the concerns of young… of the young people like yourselves to make sure that we are implementing the type of legislation that reaches the people. And it's so critical that we look at this piece of legislation as such. What I'm trying to do and I ask that you also consider is to move the Bill to the Senate so that we can do exactly what you're saying within the timelines that we're talking about for this particular Session. I would appreciate your thoughts and your considerations for that because that's what we're collectively here to do. And respectful to the Chair of the Veterans' Committee, her input was spot on and I will most definitely commit to making sure that the Senate addresses the concerns. As you all know, time is of the essence for the veterans who are protecting our country, our citizens." 10000122.docx 146 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Chair recognizes Representative McCombie."
"Thank you. I would like to yield my time to Representative."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Unes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I… Representative, nobody is denying the need to help our veterans. Everybody is… is for that. And you hit it right on the… on the head. What you said. The questions were coming from the committee. You're absolutely right. The questions were coming from the committee on both sides of the aisle because the committee does work so well together. It's the legislative process that was working and taking place so well. It was the Democrats and the Republicans that were being very respectful and asking questions and acknowledging that we had to have more conversation which is why you agreed to bring it back to committee. And so, again, I would just respect… there are other options. I mean, you can… you can grab a Senate Bill, which is what all of us have to do, right? If we don't meet a deadline, we either have to wait another year… it's happened to all of us… or we have to grab a Senate Bill or we have to figure another legislative way out. But we're all faced with the same deadlines. We're all faced with the same requirements. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative McDermed."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative, you know, you and I have tried to work together very well on a number of things, but I guess I would have this to say about this Bill. This… we don't need to… this… maybe we need to take some more time. It sounds like the geographic outlines are not yet 10000122.docx 147 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 flushed out. You know, we have a very large number of Senate Districts in the upper part of the state. And really what we need to do is think about where do we not have field offices? You know, I think that they probably are not well situated, but why are Senate Districts the right amount? You know, we're… we're by population. And you know, if veterans have access… lots of access in the northern part of the state, my understanding is our deficits are in the southern part of the state. Now, the other issue we've got is that one of the villages in my district just threw their field district out of their village hall because they were so hateful, disrespectful, and nonservice minded to the veterans of our area. So, you know, we need to consider what… what's going on at these service offices. I'm going to suggest to you that at least the Senators in my area wouldn't have wanted this service office in their district 'cause they were so hateful to the veterans, our village decided that they'd rather have the veterans drive an extra 15 miles than be confronted with these rude and unhelpful and vicious people. So, I… I think that maybe some time… I'm not kidding; that actually happened. So, I think that we should take some time. There's nothing wrong with taking some time. The one Bill that I have left… of all the Bills that I submitted… is a Bill I've been working on three years. Nothing's wrong with time. I'm going to second the suggestion that we remove it from the record and come back with a better thought-out Bill. Thank you."
Speaker Turner: "The Chair recognizes Representative Davidsmeyer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question of the Sponsor?" 10000122.docx 148 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"The Sponsor will yield."
"Representative Lilly, what… what is keeping you from continuing to work on this here in the House?"
"Excuse me? I'm sorry."
"What is… what is keeping you from continuing to work on this here in the House?"
"We… the Floor Amendment deadline."
"Which was when?"
"Past."
"It was… I believe… I believe it was yesterday and I understand that. You could… you had to file it… you had to file it by today. Or there are some… actually, apparently, there are some that were filed today. So, today is past the deadline. Who sets that deadline? Is it set in the Constitution? Is that deadline set in the Constitution?"
"Representative, I'm… I'm sure… I don't believe so, but…"
"Is… is it set…"
"You can… yes, I don't believe so."
"Is it set by statute?"
"No, I don't believe so either. We're…"
"Is it set by House Rules?"
"With that, yes. Do you have questions for the Bill?"
"This… this specifically speaks your… your whole premise on passing this Bill is based on an artificial deadline that's not created by the Constitution. It's not created by statute. It's not even written into House Rules that… that your Speaker wrote. It's an arbitrary deadline… and I understand the need to move things forward and keep things going… but you could easily ask your Speaker for an 10000122.docx 149 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 extension. So, can… can I recommend that we look at trying to get an extension? I'll… I'll put in a letter to the Speaker on behalf of your Bill to get you an extension so we can get a Bill that works correctly, so we can know what we're voting on before it leaves this House. Would you be willing to pull it if… I'll… I'll sign on to a letter with you to ask for an extension to make sure we can find a really good Bill."
"Representative, it is so important that we stay focused on why this legislation is coming before us. It is about addressing the needs of the veterans."
"Your…"
"If you want…"
"…your basis…"
"Can I finish?"
"Yes."
"May I finish? Thank you. This is about the veterans. If you care about the veterans, you would vote for this legislation. That's what we're trying to move forward. We have committed to address any changes in the Senate. The Veterans' Affairs, I have stated here on the floor, are… as requested by the Chair. I've heard your ideas that can be addressed in the Senate. This is about addressing the needs of the veterans who are so dire need of support. I would ask that you consider underst… understanding why this is the time to make sure that we collectively are focusing in on what I know veterans are asking for in my district and those of you in your district. This is about the veterans. And I have committed to making sure these ideas…"
"Can… can I ask another question?" 10000122.docx 150 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"…the suggestions…"
"You've said all this stuff. It's getting repetitive. I'm not trying to be rude."
"…will be addressed in the Senate."
"To the Bill. We are… we are being asked to vote on a Bill because there's no time left based on an artificial timeline. I will work directly with this Sponsor to try to make this Bill better. We've already talked about redistricting every 10 years and some of the issues that we'll have with that. I don't think that we can move these field offices every 10 years if it's somehow redistricted. And I also mentioned earlier that this artificial deadline was already extended on five Amendments. There's been five Amendments filed today that were allowed to be filed. So, this artificial deadline can be extended. I would like to join the Sponsor in a letter requesting that the Speaker extend the deadline for this Bill and continue to work on it. I understand what you're trying to do. I just want to make it actually work. So, I ask everyone to work with me, work with us to make sure we can make a Bill work. Don't make us vote on a Bill that just doesn't work for the State of Illinois. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Zalewski."
"Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question."
"The Gentleman has moved the previous question. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the previous question is put. Representative Lilly to close." 10000122.docx 151 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. As we are celebrating our bicentennial here in the State of Illinois and our 100th General Assembly, we have done so much on behalf of people. It is time that we do more for the people who protect us in the Armed Forces. The veterans need us. They need us now; they need us today. If you support veterans, you would vote 'yes' on this Bill to make sure that the field offices are available to each and every veteran who are in need. I ask for your 'aye' vote. And I thank you for your discussion?"
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 5344 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Members, please record yourself. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 56 voting 'yes', 24 voting 'no' and 20 voting 'present', House Bill 5344… excuse me. Representative Lilly."
"Yes. And a Motion to Postponed for Consideration."
"Mr. Clerk, please move this Bill to the Order of Postponed Consideration. House Bill 4858, Representative Pritchard. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4858, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Pritchard."
"Hopefully, this will not be as controversial as the last Bill. It amends the Industrial Development Assistant Law allowing local school districts and community colleges to apply for and receive grants under that Act. In so far as acquiring land, constructing facilities, and purchasing equipment to provide instruction of occupations in 10000122.docx 152 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 manufacturing. This is an initiative of the Illinois Manufacturing Association who has found that there's thousands of jobs go unfulfilled because we're not able to provide the education. This, of course, is subject to appropriation. I would ask for your support."
Speaker Turner: "On that Motion, the Chair recognizes Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Representative, Pritchard, did I hear you say it's subject to appropriations?"
"Correct."
"And then what… so, if no dollars appropriated for this particular program, it will languish?"
"Unfortunately, this program was first initiated in the 76th General Assembly. And it has not had appropriation since that time. But the Manufacturing Association is hopeful that eventually the Legislature will realize the importance of training young people in very lucrative manufacturing jobs and will provide the appropriation. So, they're looking for the authority once there is appropriation."
"Well, I appreciate your point. We should be investing in young adults and even adults that aren't that young to be able to be retrained and have access to our economy. I appreciate this Bill and I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Thank you."
"Representative Pritchard to close."
"I would ask for your support and future funding for this program." 10000122.docx 153 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 4858 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 110 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 4858, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative McCombie, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you. Please let the record show that I meant to vote 'yes' for HB5148."
"The Journal will reflect your request. House Bill 4442, offered by Representative Gabel, presented by Representative Willis. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4442, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Willis."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a Bill to put in place a parenting education initiative pilot program. What it does is it is putting in a three-year pilot program to allow school districts, encourage school districts to support family engagement of school best practices. Be happy to take any questions."
"Chair recognizes Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"And Representative, you would just and let us know. Do you know if there were any opponents to the Bill? Was… was 10000122.docx 154 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 there a change? I believe the underlying Bill was a curriculum mandate. Has that been changed in the final Bill?"
"What it does is because it is a pilot program and I believe there are no opposition. I have no opponents listed on my Bill at all… on my summary at all on this. And I do believe that they took care of in the Amendment any opposition. So, it is agreed upon."
"And then is there any cost to the program that is being proposed here?"
"There should not necessarily be any additional cost because what this is doing is allowing it to be part of a health curriculum already and just encouraging a unit of instruction on parenting skills and parenting education."
"And then I see… is this subject to appropriation?"
"If there is additional cost, yes, it would be subject to appropriation. So, the pilot program would… I'm sorry. Let me… let me refresh on this because this wasn't mine initially. The pilot program would provide grants to districts that implement an evidence-based parenting program. And that is those grants are subject to appropriation. So, I'm sorry. I wanted to clarify that."
"Fair enough. Okay. So, this is… there is a new program here that is…"
"The grant program is a pilot to see if it works. And it's… the grants would be awarded to those schools that would put in parenting education and apply for grants to fund that in their curriculum."
"Okay. Because currently… at least as I read this parenting education Section, it says that school districts 'may' 10000122.docx 155 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 provide instruction in parenting. And we would be changing it to say that the State Board of Education must assist each school district in providing this parenting instruction if it is evidence-based."
"Correct."
"In whatever way it would be. And there are no opponents you said on your…"
"No opponents with the Amendment that's filed."
"Fair enough. Thank you for the answers to my questions."
"Representative Willis to close."
"I urge an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 4442 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 90 voting 'yes', 18 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 4442, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4369, Representative Sommer. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4369, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Sommer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4369, the purpose of which is to bring more awareness to the challenges face… facing children with dyslexia and provides guidance to families, children, and educators. It directs the Illinois State Board of Education to provide a handbook in electronic form on their website. It's not required by legislative intent 10000122.docx 156 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 that it be a printed document just something electronic would suffice. The information would provide guidelines for teachers, parents, and guardians to identify dyslexia. A description of educational strategies to improve academic performance would be provided as well as a description of resources and services available. We've made some efforts in the chamber to address this. Certainly not… we've certainly not gone far enough. I think school districts do hesitate at this point to even screen for dyslexia because they fear that once they identify students, they're going to have to provide treatment. And imagine that, addressing that challenge to young people. We owe them much more. We owe the families of children who suffer from dyslexia to take this more seriously and I think this is a small step in that direction. And I ask for your support."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 4369 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 109 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 4369, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4096, Representative Greg Harris. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4096, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Harris." Harris, G.: "I believe we need to hold this, Representative, 'cause there will be an Amendment in committee this week?" 10000122.docx 157 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Mr. Clerk, please take this Bill from the record. House Bill 5519, Representative Mah. Out of the record. House Bill 4657, Representative Manley. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4657, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Manley."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4657… excuse me… clarifies the Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning Task Force. Shall develop curriculum and assessment guidelines pertaining to emotional intelligence and social and emotional learning. Previously the Bill only provided the task force was required to develop the curriculum, now it also asks for an assessment guideline. This was a… an Amendment that changed the Bill from the Illinois School of Psychologists Association. I'll take any questions."
"Representative Breen is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, just so that we're clear. There is no task force on emotional intelligence. You're creating it with your Bill. And there was some sort of a curriculum mandate that has been removed? What's the… what's the situation there?"
"The… the legislation creates the task force to study emotional intelligence. And at first, we just asked for curriculum and the school psychologists asked us to add the assessment component to guidelines. Just looking at curriculum not actually… not actually implementing it." 10000122.docx 158 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"And… and who runs the task force?"
"It'll be under the State Board of Education. I'm looking through… the State Superintendent of Education is going to be assigned, a representative of the Chicago Public Schools, and so forth and so on. It's in your analysis."
"And then, just so that we understand the scope of the task force. They are there to develop age appropriate, emotional intelligence, and social and emotional learning curriculum guidelines and best practices for elementary schools and high schools which at a minimum include teaching how to recognize direct and positively express emotions. That… that's the purpose of the task force?"
"Correct."
"And they need to finish by January 1, 2019?"
"You're going to love it."
"Okay. Thank…"
"Promise."
"Okay. Thank you for the answers to my questions."
"You're welcome. Thank you for your questions."
"Representative Manley to close."
"Please vote 'yes'."
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 4657 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 96 voting 'yes', 15 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 4657, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House 10000122.docx 159 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Bill 4920, Representative Wheeler, Barbara Wheeler. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4920, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Wheeler." Wheeler, B.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to present House Bill 4920. It's a technical cleanup to a Bill we passed unanimously last year. The language clarifies further the changes made apply only to the non-trust estates and legal tenants. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 4920 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 110 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present', House Bill 4920, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 1620, Representative Moylan. Out of the record. House Bill 5163, Representative Moeller. Representative Moeller. Out of the record. House Bill 5166, Representative Keith Wheeler. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5166, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 5166 simply allows email to be used in a service process within the Illinois Administrative Procedures Act. Request an 'aye' vote." 10000122.docx 160 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall House Bill 5166 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 109 voting 'yes', 1 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', House Bill 5166, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4757, Representative Williams. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill. Mr. Clerk, can you please move this Bill back to the Order of Second Reading."
"House Bill 4757, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. The Bill was read for a second time previously. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Williams."
"Representative Williams."
"Hi. This… thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Amendment simply changes the percentage of funds from the Tourism Fund that will… can be reserved by the Governor's Office to run the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4757. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Members, we'll be moving to Bills on the Order of Second Reading. Please be prepared to present. House Bill 4284, Representative Chapa LaVia. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill." 10000122.docx 161 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"House Bill 4284, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5770, Representative Conroy. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5770, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Conroy."
"Representative Conroy on Floor Amendment #1."
"Thank you… thank you, Speaker. This Amendment just addresses a word change in the description of the Bill."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 5770. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4689, Representative Crespo. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4689, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Crespo."
"Representative Crespo."
"Thank you, Speaker. The Amendment makes a correction in punctuation. And it also clarifies that GATA… GATA's rule under JCAR."
"Representative Bellock, do you have a question on Floor Amendment #1? The Gentleman moves for the adoption 10000122.docx 162 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 4689. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4420, Representative Davis. Out of the record. House Bill 5286, Representative Feigenholtz. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5286, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. But a fiscal note has been requested on the Bill and has not been filed."
"Mr. Clerk, please hold this Bill on the Order of Second Reading. House Bill 4595, Representative Fine. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4595, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. But a fiscal note has been requested on the Bill and has not been filed."
"Mr. Clerk, please hold this Bill on the Order of Second Reading. House Bill 5508, Representative Ford. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5508, a Bill for an Act concerning human rights. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed." 10000122.docx 163 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Third Reading. House Bill 2617, offered by Representative Gabel, presented by Representative Fine. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 2617, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Fine."
"Representative Fine."
"This Amendment takes away any opposition to the legislation from BlueCross BlueShield and talks about male fertility."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 2617. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments have been approved for consideration. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5196, Representative Greenwood. Out of the record. House Bill 4572, Representative Guzzardi. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4572, a Bill for an Act concerning human rights. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Guzzardi."
"Representative Guzzardi."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Amendment just clarifies that places of worship are exempt from the provisions of the Act."
"Gentleman moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 4572. All in favor say 'aye'; all 10000122.docx 164 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5690, Representative Halpin. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5690, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5635, Representative Meier. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5635, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4799, Representative Harper. Out of the record. House Bill 3749, Representative Stuart. Out of the record. House Bill 2717, Representative Welch. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 2717, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. Amendment #2 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. But a state mandates note has been requested on the Bill as amended and has not been filed."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Welch."
"Mr. Speaker, these notes have been out there for a while. I believe that this is a delaying tactic on this Bill that deserves a full vetting on the floor. I'd ask that the remaining note be ruled inapplicable and the Bill be moved to Third Reading." 10000122.docx 165 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Gentleman moves that the state mandates note be deemed inapplicable. All in favor… and on that Motion, Representative Breen is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We request a Roll Call vote on the issue we object to the lifting of the state mandates note."
"A Motion has been made that the state mandate notes be deemed inapplicable. All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 60 voting 'yes', 48 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', the state mandate note will be deemed inapplicable. Mr. Clerk."
"No further notes have been requested."
"Third Reading. House Bill 126, Representative Willis. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 126, a Bill for an Act concerning government. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Two Floor Amendments have been approved for consideration. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Willis."
"Representative Willis is recognized."
"Floor Amendment #1 simply takes care of a drafting error. This is part of the Bill that we had thought we'd be able to put as one… three Bills as one. And we found out that it was not correct to be able to do that. So, when this got drafted, they accidentally had part of the other Bill in it. We have since with the Amendment taken that out. So, this is a 10000122.docx 166 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 standalone Bill. And I would like to debate it on Third Reading, please."
"Representative Breen, for a question on Floor Amendment #1?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"And Representative, we had this issue in committee where we had just passed a Bill that day and on the floor it was an earlier Bill of yours that added… that changed the definition of firefighter to include paramedics under the Public Employee Disability Act, but…"
"Correct."
"…with Floor Amendment 1 it also did the same thing?"
"Right. What happened was… this does not. This is specifically to the Illinois… let me get… it's ILPRA. And it should be the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. But when we originally drafted it, it had the PETA. And now, with the Amendment, it does not have the PETA in it. So, that is the technical correction on the Amendment."
"And then, just to be clear, I think that's… is that Amendment 2…"
"It is Amendment…"
"…that strips out the PETA part?"
"It's… Yes. It's Floor Amendment 2."
"So, will you…"
"Actually, it shouldn't be 1. It should be Floor Amendment 2."
"So, you'll withdraw 1 and instead adopt 2?"
"Correct." 10000122.docx 167 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Okay. Thank you."
"If the Clerk would do that, please."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 126. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. Excuse me, Representative?"
"I would like to have Floor Amendment 1 withdrawn and Floor Amendment 2 be accepted, please."
"Mr. Clerk, please withdraw Floor Amendment #1 from House Bill 126. Read the Bill."
"Floor Amendment #2 is offered by Representative Willis."
"Representative Willis on Floor Amendment #2."
"This is exactly what I previously said."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 126. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4799, Representative Harper. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4799, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Harper."
"Representative Harper on Floor Amendment #1."
"I move for the adoption of the Amendment."
Speaker Turner: "A couple lines about the Amendment, Representative." 10000122.docx 168 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Sure. This Amendment maintains that school boards shall adopt a policy on educating students on the effective methods of preventing and avoiding traffic injuries related to walking and bicycling."
Speaker Turner: "On the Motion, Representative Breen is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just had a quick question. What is the difference between Floor Amendment #1 and the underlying Bill?"
"The underlying Bill added that they would have to create a curriculum. And so, they do not have to add anything to the curriculum, school boards just need to adopt a policy."
"Thank you."
"Lady moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 4799. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 4433, Representative Rita. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 4433, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 5777, Representative Yingling. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5777, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions." 10000122.docx 169 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018
"Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 1009, offered by Representative Hays. House Resolution 1011, offered by Representative Hammond. House Resolution 1012, offered by Representative Hammond. And House Resolution 1013, offered by Representative Ammons."
"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. The Resolutions are adopted. And now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that the House adjourn until Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 10:30 a.m. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House is adjourned."
"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Committee Reports. Representative Costello, Chairperson from the Committee on Agriculture & Conservation reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4236. Representative Scherer, Chairperson from the Committee on Business Incentives for Local Communities reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 3418. Representative Walsh, Chairperson from the Committee on Counties & Townships reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 1190, Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4774. Representative Ford, Chairperson from the Committee on Restorative Justice reports the following 10000122.docx 170 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #7 to House Bill 2367. Representative Ford, Chairperson from the Committee on Financial Institutions reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4873. Representative Hoffman, Chairperson from the Committee on Labor & Commerce reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 1593, Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 4572, Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 5005. Representative Soto, Chairperson from the Committee on Health Care Licenses reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 274. Representative Daniel Burke, Chairperson from the Committee on Executive reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 1858, Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4404, Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 4495. Representative Rita, Chairperson from the Committee on Business & Occupational Licenses reports the following committee action taken on April 24, 2018: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 5211. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 1010, offered by Representative Kelly Burke and House Joint Resolution 122, offered by Representative Swanson are referred to the Rules Committee. Introduction and First Reading of House Bills. House Bill 5869, offered by Representative Ford, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. First Reading of this House Bill. Introduction 10000122.docx 171 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 and First Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 43, offered by Representative Manley, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Senate Bill 454, offered by Representative Fine, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 650, offered by Representative Batinick, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 1829, offered by Representative Ford, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 2265, offered by Representative Hurley, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 2270, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning animals. Senate Bill 2285, offered by Representative Hernandez, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Senate Bill 2289, offered by Representative Burke, Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 2295, offered by Representative Costello, a Bill for an Act concerning fish. Senate Bill 2298, offered by Representative Cassidy, a Bill for an Act concerning agriculture. Senate Bill 2299, offered by Representative Carroll, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Senate Bill 2432, offered by Representative Martwick, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 2471, offered by Representative Cavaletto, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Senate Bill 2479, offered by Representative Drury, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Senate Bill 2482, offered by Representative Drury, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Senate Bill 2556, offered by Representative Drury, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 2558, offered by Representative Butler, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Senate Bill 2559, offered by Representative Wallace, a Bill for an 10000122.docx 172 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Act concerning education. Senate Bill 2835, offered by Representative Sauer, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Senate Bill 2844, offered by Representative Pritchard, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 2850, offered by Representative Davidsmeyer, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 2854, offered by Representative Moeller, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. Senate Bill 2877, offered by Representative Mayfield, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 2881, offered by Representative Conyears-Ervin, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 2914, offered by Representative Burke, Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 2921, offered by Representative Welch, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 2927, offered by Representative Burke, Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 2941, offered by Representative Mayfield, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 2960, offered by Representative Frese, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 2961, offered by Representative Spain, a Bill for an Act concerning safety. Senate Bill 2996, offered by Representative Willis, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Senate Bill 3009, offered by Representative Sauer, a Bill for an Act concerning business. Senate Bill 3028, offered by Representative McDermed, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Senate Bill 3035, offered by Representative Sauer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3036, offered by Representative McCombie, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3051, offered by Representative Burke, Kelly, a Bill for 10000122.docx 173 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3060, offered by Representative Davidsmeyer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3075, offered by Representative Halpin, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 3081, offered by Representative Drury, a Bill for an Act concerning housing. Senate Bill 3097, offered by Representative Hammond, a Bill for an Act concerning gaming. Senate Bill 3108, offered by Representative Welch, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 3134, offered by Representative Olsen, a Bill for an Act concerning flood control. Senate Bill 3144, offered by Representative McAuliffe, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Senate Bill 3170, offered by Representative Wallace, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3182, offered by Representative Davidsmeyer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3201, offered by Representative Breen, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 3212, offered by Representative Williams, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 3217, offered by Representative Demmer, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Senate Bill 3220, offered by Representative Welch, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 3222, offered by Representative Drury, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 3225, offered by Representative Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Senate Bill 3238, offered by Representative Costello, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 3240, offered by Representative Ammons, a Bill for an Act concerning safety. Senate Bill 3242, offered by 10000122.docx 174 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Representative Walsh, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 3295, offered by Representative Breen, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 3304, offered by Representative Swanson, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Senate Bill 3392, offered by Representative Evans, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 3394, offered by Representative Demmer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3395, offered by Representative Demmer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3399, offered by Representative Demmer, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3402, offered by Representative Moeller, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 3411, offered by Representative Wheeler, Barbara, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Senate Bill 3430, offered by Representative Rita, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 3445, offered by Representative Zalewski, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Senate Bill 3464, offered by Representative Manley, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Senate Bill 3491, offered by Representative Harris, Greg, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Senate Bill 3511, offered by Representative Andrade, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 3536, offered by Representative Chapa LaVia, a Bill for an Act concerning education. First Reading of these Senate Bills. Introduction and Reading in full of House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment #47, offered by Leader Durkin. RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE 10000122.docx 175 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general election next occurring at least 6 months after the adoption of this resolution a proposition to amend Section 6 of Article IV and Section 2 of Article V, and to add Section 2.5 to Article IV of the Illinois Constitution as follows: ARTICLE IV THE LEGISLATURE SECTION 2.5. TERM LIMITS A person may not be elected to the office of State Senator or State Representative, or a combination of those offices, for terms totaling more than 10 years. Service before the second Wednesday in January of 2019 shall not be considered in the calculation of a person's service. SECTION 6. ORGANIZATION (a) A majority of the members elected to each house constitutes a quorum. (b) On the first day of the January session of the General Assembly in odd-numbered years, the Secretary of State shall convene the House of Representatives to elect from its membership a Speaker of the House of Representatives as presiding officer, and the Governor shall convene the Senate to elect from its membership a President of the Senate as presiding officer. A person may serve no more than a total of 8 years in any one of the following offices and no more than a combined total of 10 years in any 2 or more of the following offices: Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, or Minority Leader of the Senate; provided 10000122.docx 176 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 that service before the second Wednesday in January of 2019 shall not be considered in the calculation of a person's service. (c) For purposes of powers of appointment conferred by this Constitution, the Minority Leader of either house is a member of the numerically strongest political party other than the party to which the Speaker or the President belongs, as the case may be. (d) Each house shall determine the rules of its proceedings, judge the elections, returns and qualifications of its members and choose its officers. No member shall be expelled by either house, except by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to that house. A member may be expelled only once for the same offense. Each house may punish by imprisonment any person, not a member, guilty of disrespect to the house by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence. Imprisonment shall not extend beyond twenty-four hours at one time unless the person persists in disorderly or contemptuous behavior. ARTICLE V THE EXECUTIVE SECTION 2. TERMS These elected officers of the Executive Branch shall hold office for four years beginning on the second Monday of January after their election and, except in the case of the Lieutenant Governor, until their successors are qualified. They shall be elected at the general election in 1978 and every four years thereafter. A person may not be elected to any Executive Branch office, or any combination of Executive 10000122.docx 177 STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 122nd Legislative Day 4/24/2018 Branch offices, for terms totaling more than 8 years. Service before the second Monday in January of 2019 shall not be considered in the calculation of a person's service. SCHEDULE This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act. This was the First Reading in full of House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment #47. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 10000122.docx 178