Illinois House Floor Debate — January 11, 2021

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

Speaker Harris: "We shall be led in the Pledge today by Representative Collins."

"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Manley for absences on the Democratic side of the aisle." 10100102.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record show that Representatives Connor, Andrade, and Omar Williams have been excused."

"Leader Spain for absences on the Republican side of the aisle."

Speaker Harris: "Have all recorded themselves who wish? Representatives Stuart and Gonzalez. Representative Morrison. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. With 110 Members answering the roll, a quorum is present. We are ready to conduct business. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."

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

"Please state your point."

"The Body will take a moment of silence. Thank you, Representative. Representative Swanson, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please state your point."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we're now going to go to the Calendar and proceed to the Orders of Second Reading. On page 2 of the Calendar, there appears Senate Bill 54, Representative Zalewski. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Zalewski to explain… I'm sorry. They're adopted. Third Reading. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Zalewski on the Bill."

"Thank you, Mr… sorry about that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 54 is an agreed upon Bill with several retailers along with WSDI and ABDI with respect to liquor home delivery. This is agreed upon to standardize the approach to how drinks can be delivered via a service. I'm told there is no opposition. I'd ask for an 'aye' vote."

Speaker Harris: "We have some Members seeking recognition. Representative Jones. Representative Jones has turned off his light. Okay. Representative Mayfield."

"There we go. Inquiry of the Chair. I'd like to know what the statuses of the Black Caucus agenda is and why we 10100102.docx 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 are calling Bills other than the Black Caucus agenda. Because I, myself, am not prepared to vote on any Bill that is not part of the Black Caucus agenda until we at least get those Bills on the floor."

"Representative, staff tells me they're working with the different Sponsors to get their Amendments to… through committees and to the floor. They'll take a little bit of time. So, we're trying to process some other more routine matters so that we can begin on the Black Caucus agenda Bills."

"So, can we just move the Bills from Second to Third and hold them on Third until we call those Black Caucus Bills?"

"We will take that request."

"Thank you."

"So, Representative, we'll move the Bills to Third with your agreement so that we're in position to move the… move them at the appropriate time. Representative Mayfield. Representative Mayfield, we'll be moving these Bills to Third and we will hold them on Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, can you take this Bill out of the record? On page 4 of the Calendar appears Senate Bill 2527, Representative Collins. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. We'll hold this Bill on the Order of Third Reading. On page 4 of the Calendar appears Senate 10100102.docx 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 Bill 2779, Representative Hernandez. Barbara Hernandez. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. And we will hold this Bill on the Order of Third Reading. And the House will be at ease. Representative Carroll, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Hello, everybody. Point of personal privilege on a bipartisan basis here."

"Please state your point."

"Would like to wish a happy birthday to our friend Andrew Chesney on the other side of the aisle. Thank you very much."

Speaker Harris: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Flowers, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Representative Greenwood happy birthday."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Black Caucus will meet immediately downstairs in room B4. Black Caucus meeting, room B4. The House will come back to order. Mr. Clerk."

"The House will return to standing at ease. The House of Representatives will come back to order. Before we proceed into official business, there's just a housekeeping announcement. Members, if you have a black wool topcoat and, upon leaving last night or sometime today, picked up a topcoat, if you could check and be sure you picked up the right one. Apparently somebody has picked up Representative Bennett's coat. So, he would be grateful, over there. He's by the wall. Check your pockets and make the trade if you grabbed the wrong coat. Thank you. Mr. Clerk."

"On Supplement Calendar #1, under Order of Concurrences, appears House Bill 2170. Representative Batinick, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Thank you. Representative Willis, for what do you seek recognition?" 10100102.docx 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Democrats would also like to have an immediate caucus, please. Same place as yesterday on a legislative matter."

Speaker Harris: "The House will stand at ease while the Republicans go to caucus in the mezzanine, the Democrats go to caucus in the ballroom on the floor below. We stand in recess to the call of the Chair. Ladies and Gentlemen, the House will come back to order. On page 5 of the Calendar appears House Resolution 866, Representative Thapedi."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise to present House Resolution 866, which calls for the passage of an equitable economic land use plan for our state. This Resolution was filed on Juneteenth. For those of you that don't know, Juneteenth is a significant day for black people in this country and, believe it or not, also in Mexico. June 19, 1865 is the day that black people in Texas learned for the first time that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years before, on January 1, 1863. Said another way, slaves in Texas were free but it took more than two years for them to find out. Knowledge indeed is power. You see, slavery had ended but slaves in Texas did not know that they were free because Texas was the most remote slave state and the information was invariably slow walked to them. Keep in mind that for obvious reasons, the white Texas slave owners, many who looked like the people who were involved in the attempted coup this week, did not tell them that they were free. And the 13th Amendment wasn't actually passed by Congress until January of 1865. This Resolution is a historical piece, documenting the 10100102.docx 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 history of slavery in Illinois, which began in 1720 in Southern Illinois. In 1720, the first slaves of African descent arrived here in Illinois to build what is today a nine hundred billion dollar a year economy. This places Illinois' economy in the top twenty in the world, Mr. Speaker. The counties where slaves were held and used to propel the state to a world power are listed on page 1 of this Resolution and I encourage Members to take a look at that list. Some people could legitimately make the argument that slavery was not abolished here in Illinois, it was simply redesigned. I would like to briefly share with you, Mr. Speaker, the evidence that gives that argument exponential weight, especially in the context of land use, as well as all of the pillars advanced by the Black Caucus. When the French first brought black slaves here to Illinois, there was a separate set of rules and laws for those black people. It was called Code Noir. When the British took over in Illinois after winning the French and Indian War, they, too, brought with them their own separate set of rules and laws for the black people here. That was called the Barbados Slave Code. When Illinois became its own territory, propelled in large part by slave labor, it maintained and enacted its own slave codes. When Illinois sought admission to the United States, the Federal Government salivated over the large amount of lead and salt harvested here in Illinois by the black slaves. In fact, one-third of Illinois' revenue was generated from the slave salt mines in Southern Illinois. One of the highest producing salt mines, Mr. Speaker, was named, not nicknamed, but named Nigger Springs. In fact, when Illinois first became 10100102.docx 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 a state and ratified its first Constitution, it abolished slavery everywhere in the state except for the highly lucrative salt mines. The first Legislatures also enacted Illinois' own black codes, patterned after the slave codes of the French and the British, firmly establishing two classes of citizenship here in Illinois. In fact, those first few Legislatures actually voted on and considered, Mr. Speaker, amending the Constitution to make Illinois a slave state. The first Capital Bill in Illinois was also tied to slave labor, where a regionalized approached was used where slave labor built roads and bridges on the eastern half of the state and in the western part of the state, in Alton, a prison was built. Illinois' Black Law of 1853 was considered, Mr. Speaker, the harshest in all of the northern states before the civil war. Post-civil war, Jim Crow laws and Jim Crow etiquette came next, solidifying the existence of two separate rules for black people and white people. This led to race riots in Chicago, Springfield, and Cairo and further discriminatory practices in land use, housing, and the remaining sectors to be discussed this evening during the course of the discussion on the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus' pillars. Restrictive covenants in the 1930s prevented black people from living in certain areas. This was especially true in Chicago where the realtors actually led that charge. Redlining also began in the 1930s to ensure; number one, that black people stayed in certain neighborhoods; number two, that the value of real estate in the black community stayed low; and number three, that homeownership for black people, Mr. Speaker, remained virtually impossible. This Body, this 10100102.docx 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 very Body, Ladies and Gentlemen, got into the act in the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s by creating home value stabilization programs for white home owners but not black ones. We enacted flawed programs like tax increment financing and legislation like the Mortgage Act, which helps to this very day to cripple black land ownership and land use and home ownership. All of these things led to the obvious blight that we see today in the black community. Mr. Speaker, a land use system, or any system for that matter, cannot fail those it was never designed to protect. The verifiable evidence of systemic discrimination in land use and in all of the other pillars that we're going to discuss this evening is why the Black Caucus will be filing narrowly tailored legislation, specifically with respect to land use, designed to, among other things, eradicate blight, provide truly affordable, clean, and safe housing, ensure financing mechanisms are in place for black people to buy land and build homes and businesses, and provided existing black homeowners and business owners with the support that they need to either upgrade to better quality real estate or make significant improvements to what they currently have. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this Resolution and I'm available to answer any and all questions."

"Representative Thapedi has moved for the adoption of House Resolution 866. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And HR866 is adopted. Also on page 5 of the Calendar is House Resolution 696, Representative Ammons." 10100102.docx 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my distinct pleasure to present House Resolution 696 to the Body. As was presented by Representative Thapedi, in all of the issue areas we've seen a considerable disconnect and, in so many ways, disregard to access to education for African Americans in our country. This Resolution calls on Congress to examine and to remedy the enormous student debt that is looming over not only African American families but all of our families in the United States. We believe that education should be available to all residents of our country and certainly that we provide equitable access to education, specifically higher education, to all students in Illinois. This Resolution calls on the Federal Government to demonstrate and to collect the data necessary to end the inequality in the access to higher education for African American students in this country. And I ask for its adoption, Mr. Speaker. Thank you."

"Thank you, Representative. Representative Ammons has moved that House Resolution 696 be adopted. All those in favor say 'aye'; opposed say 'nay'. And in the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And House Resolution 696 is adopted. Returning to the Supplemental Calendar #1, House Bill 2170, Representative Ammons."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my further privilege to work with the House Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Members and the Senate Members to present to you House Bill 2170. This Bill represents hundreds of years of access or the attempt to access education in a form that would bring about stability and economic opportunity. The education of African American children during the late period of slavery after 10100102.docx 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 1800 was pretty sporadic in the United States. And from that period to 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, that continued to be a point of significant contention among African Americans and our white colleagues. Many families could not afford to send their children to the limited schools that were made available to them during that period. And, because of segregation, there was not only unequal access but there was also unequal facilities, as well as limited resources to educate America's 40 million African American descendants of slaves. Today, we present to you an omnibus package that contains a variety of changes that we believe will change the trajectory of access to education, as well as, as it is considered the great equalizer, bring equality to our communities. I want to take a moment to thank, not only the Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus for tireless work for almost 6 months for all of our pillars, but this pillar resulted in over 40 to 50 hours of work with Leader Lightford, her staff in the Senate, our staff in the House, advocates, supporters, and those who were struggling with many of its provisions when we first began. I also want to take a moment to thank Advance Illinois, the Legal Council of Health Justice, the Latino Policy Forum, the Chicago Public Schools, Stand for Children, Start Early, Teach Plus Illinois, the National Association of Social Workers, the Partnership for College Completion, Voices, Illinois Action for Children, Chicago State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Teach for America, Golden Apple, the National Board of Certified Teachers, the Illinois Network of Charter School, the Illinois Association of 10100102.docx 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 Children, ED-RED, and so many others are represented in the body of work that is before you. Let me share with you the provisions that are contained in this omnibus package. For the point of time, I will not read every single line in this package, but I will touch every article that I think is of significance for you. We started this process considering education for K… for pre-K through workforce development. That was a tall task. And before you is the result of many, many hours of trying to figure out how to address the plethora of issues that emerged. Article 5 of this package, the kindergarten readiness assessment, that is going to being codifying current readiness assessments. So we have not changed them, using common assessment tools into the statute no later than 2021-2022. So what is currently being utilized, some of them are being used in some places and some are not. We are trying to utilize the kindergarten assessment so that we can make sure that children are ready for kindergarten when they get there. We also worked on early intervention services for K-3. We worked to support the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Funding. This one expresses support for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus for the recommendation of the commission to find equitable ways of funding and streamlining early childhood funding. We included a data collection Bill in this package. That was included because, as we began to try to pull data from the various agencies, we realized that we were not talking apples to apples and, therefore, comparison of data was very difficult. So, we included a data collection provision in this Bill. We also recommended a Whole Child Task Force that 10100102.docx 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 is included in this Bill. We looked at infant and early childhood mental health consultations, which is in Article 35. We discussed the Medicaid diagnostic codes, which requires HFS to make recommendations to the General Assembly on how to integrate developmentally appropriate and age appropriate diagnostic codes for children age 5 and under by January 1, 2022. We increased access to financial support. We looked at equitable course work for College Access Act, which is included in here. We talked about computer science. We are 1… let me see… number 14 states that don't offer computer science education as a standard by ISBE. We are making… recommending that in 2020-2023 that we study ways to incorporate computer science education. We dealt with academic acceleration. The Council Learning Recovery, which is on Article 70. We also included a provision for after school programs that will be very needed in the next few… well I guess the next few months. Because of the COVID, we want to attack the learning loss of students. We also looked at other measures that would really improve the outcome for teachers. We looked at the Minority Teacher of Illinois Scholarship where we could provide direct services. This is already an existing program where we would utilize this program to recruit more teachers of color and, specifically, teachers… black, male teachers for Illinois K-12. We looked at a way to address the AIM HIGH provisions. I know this is a provision that has been worked on by the Higher Education Working Group for some time. We recommended a sliding scale for institutions that are smaller than others and don't have endowments, but that they also want to keep some of the best 10100102.docx 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 and brightest students at their own institutions. So we created, with the presidents of all of our public universities and colleges, a sliding scale provision that would reduce the match where needed so that those schools would not have to return funds back to the state and could utilize or maximize those funds for students. We included here an Inclusive History Commission. I want to thank Representative Ford for all of his work around the social sciences and attempting to address inadequate history and the teaching of, in some ways, bias history curricula. And this commission will examine those social sciences, revise the learning standards, and implement suggestions to correct those recommendations in the school curriculum. We also included workforce development. In this provision, we asked that workforce development program be consolidated. And the Governor is working on that provision so that we have one place that workforce development would be overseen at the state level. And lastly, the National Board of Certified Teacher trailer. This trailer Bill will add definition of diverse candidates and diverse candidate facilitators to the National Board of Certified Teacher programs. Those are the major highlights in this Bill that I wanted to make sure that I highlight for you. Let me just suggest that we have no opponents that are recorded at this time. Is that correct staff? We have remedied all of the concerns that were brought up by our agencies. We worked with all the agencies to come up with these provisions and to make the changes necessary because I believe that those organizations wanted us to address the issues and work on these things collectively. So, we started with all of our 10100102.docx 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 agencies together and we ended this process that is before you with the support of all of those stakeholders that I mentioned at the beginning of this process. With that, Mr. Speaker, I ask for concurrence on House Bill 2170 with the Senate and that this move be adopted."

"Thank you, Representative Butler… Representative Ammons. Representative Butler, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"The record shall so reflect. Representative Hammond, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"She indicates she'll yield."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Leader Hammond. Chicago State's appropriation for AIM HIGH was originally a million dollars. And if you recall, during the budget impasse… well we moved AIM HIGH where it initially started, and you're right, I wasn't in the initial working group for AIM HIGH. They utilized $200,000 10100102.docx 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 dollars of that million dollar appropriation, but because of the budget impasse and because of the loss of revenue at Chicago State, which is the only considered HBCU, Historically Black College and University, in the State of Illinois, they had to return $800,000 because they didn't have the match. This is an equity provision that we sought to find a remedy for so that Chicago State, which is probably one of the few institutions that really needed this support, would not have to return dollars back to the state and that they could use the maximum amount of dollars available for those students who do need that support, ultimately. I'm sure as… if Dr. Z was here tonight, she would express to you that it is imperative that they are able to maximize the AIM HIGH dollars for those largely black students on the South Side of Chicago. This is the reason why we worked so diligently with the other institutions to come up with a remedy that would allow them to maximize the use of those dollars and return none of those dollars to the state going forward."

"Leader Hammond, I would hate to suggest that Chicago State doesn't want to participate."

"Very true. They returned it because they don’t have a huge endowment to cover the matching portion, which is what this is designed to do."

"They returned it because of the matching portion, is a struggle for this south side college that supports largely African American students."

"Thank you. I disagree, but thank you."

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

"She indicates she'll yield."

"That's correct."

"I think part of the process that we went through was that it was hard for us to determine each institution and what they were offering. For instance, computer science became one of those problems. So what we decided to do in this Bill was to put this into the commission so that they can study and answer that questions a little more directly."

"Well this does not mandate it, this allows ISBE to collect the data."

"But there is a step before that, which means that ISBE is working within the commission that ISBE has to collect the information from all of the schools and to build a standard for all of the schools in Illinois so that we're all on the same page with this provision."

"We did… it will ultimately be changing the standards by the dates you demonstrated. But it gives ISBE time to not only look at what is available across the state but to build that up to so that they can implement it by that date on the 2024-2025."

"I would… I would say they are substantially different, and I would suggest to you that the reason why we are making these actually implemented in ISBE's program for schools in our state is because it is so disparate from school to school. So, if the University of Illinois requires two years of foreign language and I attend a school in my community that doesn't offer foreign language, that means I can't attend or would not be eligible for the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. So, it is important that we align the standard so that every child has an equal opportunity to attend a university or college in the State of Illinois and meet the eligibility requirements of that institution. That's what this is designed to do."

"To provide extra access? I would…"

"Well that’s… that's already existing for African American students. So, we intended to fix this so that when that mandate comes, i.e. computer science… 35 states in the United States already mandates standards for computer science. And so, we are graduating students who are ill prepared for the… not only the jobs of this economy, but, as COVID revealed, we have student who are not able to perform online school because (a) they didn't have access, (b) they didn't have the equipment, and (c) there were no standards. And we're trying to align those standards."

"Right now we have 23 percent of African American students graduating. I think if changing the standards will increase that number, I think it's worth mandating." 10100102.docx 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"We don't have a cost on implementing that because this would be set up in a grant process so that community-based organizations that provide summer school, supplemental education programs, and Freedom School curriculum that’s based on the Civil Rights Movement would be available to them. Of course we will work that provision out, and it is subject to appropriations."

"There… both of those are true. They currently exist under Freedom Schools. There's federal dollars that are through the Children Defense Fund. And hopefully we can support those programs expansion in the State of Illinois."

"I think that's beyond my scope." 10100102.docx 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Okay. We did have a provision initially that was going to be in this Bill called the Anti-racism Act. We removed that and put it under the PRP so that the PRP would have an opportunity to look at equity provisions within the work that the PRP does. We know that the Evidence-Based Funding formula is part of this discussion that, since you're on it, I hope that you all will take up those provisions as listed in this Bill so that we can find solutions to inequitable funding to make sure that the EBF is working the way we want to and that we can come up with anti-racist and racial equity provisions within our educational funding formula."

"Not for that provision. That provision is not embarking on a new funding formula for K-12."

"The initial Bill was designed to put additional dollars into the EBF that would be specifically targeted for African American students who are really struggling in various areas, whether it's academically, socially, emotionally, or any kind of supports they may need over and beyond the current EBF funding formula. But because that would cost us this additional money and we didn't have all those provisions worked out, we put it in the EBF so that the EBF, the researchers that are on that panel, can look at ways to support additional resources to black students who are struggling in some of those very difficult school districts that need additional resources. So, the PRP really should be looking at ways to increase equity through the EBF. And during our discussions, I don't know if you recall one of the hearings where we were really concerned about the implementation of the EBF in a way that really hit the targets. So instead of us changing the process of the EBF, we put it onto the PRP so that more discussion could go around equity, anti-racist actions around EBF, and implementing additional supports for black students."

"I would love to increase the minimum funding level, but there is a provision that we would love to add as a factor that was included in this Bill. We settled on putting in in the PRP so that there would be more time to study this issue, which is why we took it out of the Bill as an action for this evening. So our goal is for… if equity, and I couldn't get clearly from any PRP member what equity provisions that you all are recommending as of today's date. We decided to just simply put the… this particular provision in the PRP to go along with the equity work that you're already doing. And then the report that will come as a result of that, we will revisit this and try to implement the recommendations of the PRP."

"There was… there was a lot of data behind the intention. Of course, we didn't bring all the data from the hearing. But let me suggest that several teachers of color in the Minority Teacher Program expressed during the hearings that they may have met, for instance, a 2.75 on that particular test or that endorsement but they would not be eligible for the Alternative Education License endorsement because they didn't meet a 3.0, even though they completed all the course work related to that. So, we are trying to increase the teacher pool. We're also trying to increase minority teacher 10100102.docx 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 engagement, and we found that this was a provision that could do both of those things."

"Yeah… you know, the staffers were reminding me that there is no other program that requires a GPA for licensure and that this program would be equivalent to the other programs, professional licenses that we do. And it would also help to increase minority teacher inclusion in our pool."

"That's still being determined."

"No, because when we were working on this provision assessments varied depending on where you were. And so, it was very hard for us to get… again, the way we collect data in this state is not advantageous for us to come up with actual. And so, the assessment itself is still being studied as a tool and it will, again, be a part of the ultimate program that we do to provide diagnostic assessment for pre- K."

"Thank you so much."

"Members, we have a number of folks seeking recognition. Starting with the next speaker, we're moving to the three minute timer. We'll be on the three minute timer tonight for this Bill and all other Bills. So, please synthesize your comments. Next speaker is Representative Brady. For what reason… Representative Brady."

"She indicates she'll yield."

"Hey, Mr. Brady."

"So, I'm shared with that NEIU had to return money as well, over a million dollars' worth of money had to be returned to NEIU. Look, Mr. Brady?"

"Thank you. Our goal here is to maximize what you all worked on with AIM HIGH. And it is impossible to maximize it if you set a threshold… and this is where I want to share the reason why we were thinking on this in this term. If you say to me that we are going to have equal access to something but the bar by which to implement the equal access is higher than I can reach, then there is actually no equal access. If I can't make the match, similar to trying to get a bank loan to start a business, if I can't get a bank loan, I can't get into business. And therefore, it is actually not equal access, even if you put the building up and say all the money is inside. So for us in AIM HIGH, we wanted to come up with a sliding scale provision that would allow schools that are smaller schools with less endowment to still be able to maximize the use of the AIM HIGH Merit Scholarship. Instead of moving all the money into a MAP grant program, we wanted to maximize the AIM HIGH and put a sliding scale so that institutions that are struggling, and we know that our higher education institutions are struggling… and in the next few 10100102.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 months we'll see that manifest more. So, that's why we did it this way."

"Thank you."

"Excuse me. Representative Brady, Representative Chesney is giving you his three minutes."

"I can't speak to what the resources that you are mentioning that they may have that may be facility dollars or whatever dollars they are, I can't speak to that. What I can say is in this program it's not just Chicago State that will benefit from a lower match on this particular provision, but it is something that came as a negotiation from all of the presidents of these universities together to get to this point."

"I do remember that."

"I don't recall exactly, but I know in their general obligation funds they were held flat."

"I remember that, Leader Brady, and I remember that at that time the… again, the facilities question that you're saying… Chicago State's boiler had gone out for the whole entire campus. So, I know at that point resources were much needed to address that immediate issue and I recall that happening at the end of May. I don't, of course, know how they have to appropriate all the rest of the dollars to support the programs at Chicago State."

"Thank you, Leader Brady."

"Representative Wilhour."

"She indicates she will yield."

"I think I'm not clear on your question, if you can restate that?"

"Well certainly the 250 years that African Americans were behind, I absolutely believe so. And I do believe that because of that 250 year head start that is placed before you, that we have to put other provisions and other resources into communities of color to address the lack of resources and funding that has been provided to those communities."

"So, let me just say that the Invest in Kids portion of this was removed because those who were interested in the Invest in Kids portion, in particular, wanted us to increase that by $25 million dollars. They also wanted us to remove the sunset that was part of the negotiation of the EBF when it was done. And we couldn't come to agreement with all of the stakeholders in relationship to Invest in Kids and that's why it was removed."

"Well the program Invest in Kids will still exist. We've not changed it, whatsoever, by the provisions of this package."

"I'm not sure because I don't know the inner workings of that program."

"Thank you."

Speaker Harris: "Representative Batinick. And before Representative Batinick starts, Members, once you're done talking because of the thing of the technology, if you could 10100102.docx 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 turn off your speak buttons. Just push them again. It makes it easier for us to keep track of who's next. Representative Batinick."

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

"Will the Sponsor yield?"

"She will."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative, my question is about the opportunities that this legislation might provide for the hundreds and thousands of young professionals who very recently, particularly in the last few months in the last year, have lost their employment or have needed to find other types of work and may be considering going into education. Are there opportunities and resources like that in this Bill?"

"This Bill contains a variety of ways to increase opportunities for students in Illinois, including through the AIM HIGH program, which I believe is a good program to do that. And so, I believe that all of the advocates would agree with me that the provisions in this Bill will increase opportunities for Illinois students."

"To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, at this moment in time, we have a unique opportunity to reframe some of the things that we do with regards to education in Illinois. We all agree we have a shortage of teachers. We all agree there are too many people out of work. And this Bill will help us move in the right direction to create new opportunities for those who need it and to fill the much needed avenues of 10100102.docx 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 education and teachers that every single one of our districts need. So, I thank the Sponsor and I urge an 'aye' vote."

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

"Yes, Sir."

"Masks are required."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been the policy of the Body, it is also in the House Rules, and it is public health guidance to keep us all safe that every person on the House Floor should wear a mask and face covering, except while eating or drinking."

"She indicates she'll yield."

"As of currently, the State of Illinois created the EBF to do exactly that. The one thing the EBF didn't do is it did not require the schools to provide anything in additional and it didn't give any direction because it allowed local school districts or local school boards to determine how they would use the additional dollars to meet adequacy. And so, in these provisions, yes, we want the students to all have access to computer science or foreign language and all of those things that would get them into college if they so choose to go. These provisions are being supported by dollars that we are providing at the EBF level currently."

"I don't remember."

"No, I don't… I don't think…"

"I don't think it's kicking it down the road. I think the provisions are designed, as we saw in our subject matter hearings, that each school district is not providing equal access to education across the State of Illinois, which is why the EBF was done in the first place. And so, our goal here is to make sure that every student actually does have adequacy and that they are provided the resources and curriculum necessary to provide success for those students." 10100102.docx 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Representative Keicher has given three minutes to you, Representative Davidsmeyer."

"Well the current budget is balanced by appropriation but is not balanced by our over expended costs like pensions and things of that nature."

"Absolutely." 10100102.docx 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Yes, Sir."

"All of those things are going to be taken up in a few days when we start the budget appropriation process."

"Well what we are doing actually, Mr. Davidsmeyer, is trying to figure out how to get to equity because if someone has a significant head start and all the resources are provided to one community, clearly we have to find a way to equity. So that means that, yes, we may have to make adjustments in our budget to meet some of these obligations that would bring about equity in all the communities across the state. That means somebody might have to give up a little something for somebody else to benefit."

"That's what we are going to discuss in our working groups."

"Well I hope you guys join us in the next budget process in this discussion." 10100102.docx 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"But…"

"Representative Davidsmeyer, please bring your remarks to a close."

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

"Will the Sponsor yield, please?"

"She indicates she'll yield." 10100102.docx 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you. Representative Ammons, I want to commend you on all the hard work you've done on this Bill. I have sat in on numerous of those calls where you've listened diligently and taken the advice of many of the stakeholders. I just want to bring up a couple of very quick points. Regarding the foreign language requirements and the computer science requirements, is the reason for those to make sure that our students are more college ready when that comes forth?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And is there anything in this Bill that prevents school districts from teaching those courses virtually?"

"No, Ma'am."

"So if there is a shortage of teachers for a foreign language, we can partner with another school district and tag into a virtual class for our students?"

"That’s available to them currently."

"Terrific. I think that’s a wonderful way to look innovatively. Regarding your minority teacher program to encourage minority teachers in our schools, I, obviously, am not a person of color, but I have a niece who is. She goes to school in the western suburbs. She does not have one teacher of color in her school. If she was a young black boy, it'd be even worse for her. She might not even have a teacher of color that would be male in the entire district. This is a program that is going to help that. We know that that is one of the most important things we can do to make sure that our students see people like them as their mentors and as their teachers. So, I commend you for making sure that we increase that program. Last point I want to ask, is there anything on here 10100102.docx 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 that increases vocational education? So, if we're looking into the trades, do we have anything along that line?"

"We would want to ultimately revisit this, Leader Willis. My goal was to put something in this as CTE, but because of some of the concerns mentioned earlier, we removed that from this provision. I intend to come back to the CTE question with our leadership and the Black Caucus after we start the 102nd."

"Great, great. Because we know, while we do want to have all of those student college bound, sometimes it's… that’s just not what they want to do, but let's have them ready to be able to if we can. Again, I commend you for this. I wholeheartedly support this. Thank you for taking off all of the concerns and the opposition that came to you in good faith to have you change that. And I will be voting 'yes' and I ask my fellow Members on the floor to vote 'yes' also. Thank you."

"Thank you."

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

"She indicates she'll yield."

"They have not expressed any concern with me on this Bill."

"There is no 20 percent cut in this Bill."

"There is no cut to the University of Illinois."

"The University of Illinois will continue to match its student merit."

"They actually sent me that they will continue to match theirs at a hundred percent."

"Yes, Sir. They emailed it to me."

"I'll send it to you."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to…"

"Thank you, Caulkins." 10100102.docx 44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"I'm really moved by your interest in getting minorities into the trades, which has not been effective for a very long time. The trades have every opportunity to let more black and brown people into their apprenticeship programs, if that's what they choose to do."

"But the Invest in Kids program is something that… certainly if you're interested in trying to move that in the 102nd, you can introduce it in two days."

"Ladies and Gentlemen can we bring these remarks to a close? Mr. Clerk, Rules Report." 10100102.docx 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Representative McCombie, for what reason are you seeking recognition?"

"She indicates she will yield."

"Well in this package we included in the minority teacher institute program for that to actually happen so that we can recruit enough teachers of color to help with that issue around foreign language, computer science. We also moved the implementation date back to 2028-2029 to give school districts enough time to look at ways to increase the teacher pool as well as to provide the resources necessary to implement computer science, foreign language, and the other provisions of this Bill."

"Who are we incentivizing? What do you mean?"

"Yeah, the program is being provided. We are creating the program to increase the pool, not necessarily to incentivize them to choose a particular course."

"Well we can't push them towards it anyway. We could only provide the resources necessary for teachers of color to decide to become teachers and to go into some of these other fields." 10100102.docx 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you."

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

"Representative Bourne."

"She indicates she'll yield."

"The Senate Majority Leader Lightford shared with me after they passed it in the Senate that there are a couple of things that need to be cleaned up in the Bill. They are technical changes, and that we would be discussing those technical changes in a couple of days."

"In the next."

"Some do, some don't. As we just mentioned, the computer science, foreign language, those are pushed out a little bit 10100102.docx 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 beyond 2021. Some of them are different dates. So, they are not all effective immediately."

"With you vote it'll be 61, at least, right?"

"In answer to your question, Representative, the parliamentarian tells me 60 votes is the requirement."

"We didn't add any new dollars under the last new budget."

"Thank you, Representative. Ladies and Gentlemen, a verification has been requested. The last speaker on this Bill will be Representative Davis." 10100102.docx 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. First and foremost, I want to commend Leader Lightford, Chairwoman Ammons, all the staff, and everyone that participated in getting this Bill to this point. Many of us run for election on the idea of education being the number one thing that we want to support here in Springfield. The number one thing that we want to try to improve and make better. I can say that one of my greatest legislative accomplishments happened when we did pass the EBF, when we did pass an equitable school funding formula. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your support in getting that done, appreciate it. When we passed that Bill, yes, the funding was going to be a challenge. Someone talked about the length of time, but we settled on a number that we felt would as least allow us to make significant progress towards getting to full funding. An effort to try to help deal with the property tax issues that other Members have spoken of. But it requires resources. So, instead of commenting specifically on some of the things that other Members said, let me just focus on money. Money requires priority. Someone said that. So, when we talk about all of the money that may be needed to help fund what Representative Ammons is pushing in her Bill, it's all about priority. Last time I checked, I think our State Government spends every year in the neighborhood about 40 to 60 billion dollars, 40 to 60. So, if we really want to have a conversation about priority, then I think the money is somewhere in there, but the moment we start about… moment we start talking about cutting the corrections budget, oh, somebody gets upset by that. Particularly, on that side of the aisle. So, can't cut the corrections budget 'cause we 10100102.docx 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 need that money to make sure that we lock up the people that we're arresting. But let's think about that. We want to reform the criminal justice system to try to reduce the number of people that are going into that system. If we reduce the number of people going into the corrections system, which means we don't have to spend as much money on the corrections budget, we just freed up millions of dollars to put in the education budget to fund some of the initiatives that we're talking about today. So, if we want to talk about priority, there is a great place to start right there. Great place to start. So…"

"Representative, Representative Carroll yields you three more minutes."

"I won't need it. I'll be done. I appreciate it though. Thank you. But very quickly, very quickly. I appreciate everything you're doing, Representative Ammons, on this pillar to get this done. To address systemic racism that exists in the education system. To give us the opportunity to not level the playing field, because I don't want to imply that I'm trying to take something from somewhere else, but we need to raise the playing field for everyone. Rising tide lifts all boats, and that's what we're trying to do. So, if we really want to impact our ability to make sure young people here in the State of Illinois… young people here in the State of Illinois have as much access and opportunity as they most possibly can, then these are the types of measures… and, yes, they are tough, but these are the types of measures that we must support. And if nothing else, I'm reminded of a young girl named Jana. Somebody may have heard me speak about Jana 10100102.docx 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 once before. Well Jana just happens to be my daughter. She's 9 years old. She attends Churchill Elementary School in Homewood, Illinois. And, yes, her school district is 100 percent remote. And I can swear to you that even in a remote situation my daughter is thriving. Some people have suggested that remote learning is terrible and that kids aren't learning, mine is. She loves school, and she'll take it any way she can get. She will take it anyway that she can get it. So when we talk about this effort to make sure that our young people from K-12 and into higher ed are given every opportunity to be those productive members of society that we want them to be, tax paying citizens here in the State of Illinois, these are the types of bold measures that we must, that we must pass to make sure that we are giving every one that opportunity. And I know it may be a tough vote for some of you, but hopefully you can find it within yourself and thinking about the young people in your districts that will benefit from these measures. 'Cause I can assure you that when we impact African American kids in the State of Illinois, we are impacting every child in the State of Illinois. So that means your children and children in your districts will have a unique opportunity to benefit from these measures as well. So come on, get on board, support this measure. Let's make sure that we are doing the very best we can for children and young people here in the State of Illinois. I strongly urge a 'yes' vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

"Representative Ammons to close."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we started this process tonight to begin to run Bills and measures, Representative 10100102.docx 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 Thapedi introduced a Resolution that described how Illinois benefitted economically from the free labor of enslaved Africans brought to Illinois. And during that time of free labor, the enslaved children did not have access to education. They were workers in those salt mines in Southern Illinois. And at the same time, those who brought them to Illinois for the purpose of free labor, their children were receiving education in the same community. The inequity that is built into the educational system, yes, goes all the way back to the 1800s. And as we are examining this issue tonight, education for African Americans has been a real trial and tribulation. It's been sporadic and unreliable. It's been hard to obtain. It's been a point of contention. And in some cases, if you were found to be reading, you could be killed. So we didn’t start off with the basic rudimentary access to education. Reading and writing was prohibited for African Americans. And after 1865, the Freedmen's Bureau was established specifically to address the education of the freed man. And even in doing that, it angered those who felt that they should not have access to education. And they were threatened, and their schools were burned downed, and the resources were removed. And even if they were lucky enough to have a shot to send their little children to, they can only go for two or three hours a week. So this question about equity and systemic racism, yes, makes people uncomfortable because we have to face the actual history that has gotten us to this point. And it's not to make you sad or sullen, or to challenge your personal beliefs or your religion. It is to question how we can really close the learning and achievement 10100102.docx 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 gap. We cannot close that gap by way of saying everything is equal, or it costs too much money so we can't do it, or this hyperbole of, 'It’s gone raise your taxes.' See, that's how you get people to not do stuff. What we are doing tonight, as a Legislature, is something that was done in Legislative Houses before us. Grappling with the issue of access and equity. And we are not the first people to deal with this issue, but we are the ones who are here now. And our goal, our intention is to bring a level of equity that will change the statistical data that said to us during our subject matter hearings that eighth grade black students graduate from eighth grade with an efficiency level in math and science that is below the standards. And that the resources necessary to get them up to efficiency in those subjects aren't available to those students. So as you contemplate what you will do, don't contemplate it in a vacuum. Contemplate it with the definition of what systemic means. Systemic means it is built into the system and that system has, by virtue of inequality that is built in it, provided outcomes for students of color that are not in the best interest of them nor the State of Illinois. I hope that my colleagues on the right would really start considering how you got where you are and what resources have been provided for you just simply based on the color of your skin, and what resources have been left out for those whose skin does not mirror yours. And so, today, we are seeking to increase the number of African American teachers, and there is no secret to that. We are seeking to increase the number of black, male teachers that are available for my grandson, who I hope one day will have a black, male 10100102.docx 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 teacher as he matriculate through K-12. That's shameful. That we don't have the level of integration that was sought after when Brown v. Board was finally passed. People argued the same arguments that we're hearing today in opposition to equality. So, are we going to change the trajectory of education in the State of Illinois? I certainly hope so. And I certainly hope that we can look back after all of the measures and provisions that are in this Bill, and pull the data, and show the increase of minority students in higher education. And that we can demonstrate the increase of minority and Latinx teachers in the school districts for which those children attend. And that at some point, at some point we will truly integrate our educational system. That is our goal. And so, with that, Mr. Speaker, I ask for an 'aye' vote, a concurrence 'aye' vote on House Bill 2170. And I thank the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and our Senate colleagues for their hard work on this omnibus package. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

"The question is, 'Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 2170?' This is final action. Please remember that a verification has been requested by Representative Bourne. Members will please be in their seats for the purposes of verification. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify 'nay'… by voting 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this matter, there are 69 voting 'yea', 41 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present'. Verification has been requested. Mr. Clerk, please read the names." 10100102.docx 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

Speaker Harris: "Thank you, Representative Bourne. On this question, there are 69 voting 'yes', 41 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. And the Concurrence Motion to Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 2170 is adopted. Leader Durkin, for what purpose do you seek recognition?"

"Parliamentarian? She is rushing to take care of your inquiry."

"If you can give us your complete list of questions, Representative. Then we will come back to you."

"Thank you for your questions, Representative."

"We will get back to you."

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

"Thank you, Representative. On page 3 of the Calendar appears Senate Bill 1608, Representative Harper. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Harper on Floor Amendment 2."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly. I ask that Floor Amendment 2 be adopted for Senate Bill 1608."

"Representative Harper has moved the adoption of Floor Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 1608. All those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments, Mr. Clerk?"

"I'd like to rule those notes as inapplicable."

"Representative Harper has moved that these notes be held inapplicable. All those in favor say… say 'aye'… Representative Batinick."

"If you would like to make a comment please go ahead."

"Thank you. Representative Mazzochi."

"She will yield."

"Representative, this Bill addresses a lot of different measures and most of them are talking about making investments in this state and making investments in the people in this state with money that we already have. In this particular measure, we are looking to increase the aspiration goal for the Business Enterprise Program. We are looking to provide more oversight around sealed bids and vendor contract renewals. So, we are also looking to provide funding grant program for our technology innovation. We are also looking to create a commission that will study reparations for citizens of African descent. In this measure, we are also looking to track the race and gender of all employees, even state agencies and universities within the State of Illinois. And, yes, we are also looking to strengthen our procurement goals. And strengthen the way that we contract to do business with the state to make sure that this state follows the laws that have already been put in place."

"Yes, Representative. We are committed to looking at factors that include whether you are committed to diversity and whether you have a cost effective bid."

"Yes, our intent is to increase diversity."

"I believe that it is hypothetical and it is a possibility but not necessarily a fact that it's going to cost more."

"This Bill has no direct appropriation, and therefore, a fiscal note is not applicable."

"I would be happy to discuss this when the Bill is on Third."

"Excuse me, Representatives. I think the Clerk may have an update that will help us on this matter. Mr. Clerk, is there an update on the fiscal notes for Senate Bill 1608?"

Speaker Harris: "Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Anything further, Representative?"

"I believe the fiscal note covers the State of Illinois."

"They will be, if they are not now, they should shortly be available online."

"And, Representative, we're voting on a Motion. We're not voting on the substance of the Bill."

"Anything further, Representative? Or we should move on to Representative Butler."

"Representative Butler."

"Please state your question."

"The Motion is to rule the notes inapplicable."

"I thought I heard her say notes."

"Representative Mayfield."

"Hello. There we go. I just want to move the previous question and do the vote."

"Previous question has been moved. This will be a record vote. All those in favor of Representative Harper's Motion to move… Motion to rule the notes inapplicable please vote 'aye'; those opposing Harper's Motion please vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Smith, LaPointe, DeLuca. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. 10100102.docx 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 Clerk, please take the record. With 70 voting 'yes', 40 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', the Motion is successful. And the notes are ruled inapplicable. Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Harper on Senate Bill 1608."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly. I am pleased to bring before you today House Bill 1608. I hope everyone was paying very close attention to my colleague, Representative Thapedi, when he laid the foundation of how and why we are where we are today economically as a black community. His Resolution speaks to making a commitment to improving the economic conditions for black people in Illinois. The first step in making that commitment is to support this economic equity agenda as well as the three other pillars that make up the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus agenda to stop systemic racism. You see, since the end of slavery our free, skilled labor, black people across this nation have never seen the economic mobility that others get to benefit from due to racism, prejudice, unjust policies, and tainted, long-held beliefs. And it is no secret that we are still suffering from those set backs on this very day. Black people should no longer be considered or treated as just a commodity or a consumer but an actual partner in the economic success of this country with equal and equitable access to all that it has to offer. We are the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. We are your colleagues who have been coming to Springfield for years supporting everyone's 10100102.docx 66  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 initiatives. Today, we ask for that same support. A lot of the initiatives in this agenda are not new concepts. Some are the same measures we have been trying to pass for years as individual Members. And so, the question today is for some, if we couldn't count on you in the past, can we count on you now? In this new time of the George Floyd murder caught on camera, Black Lives Matter, and protest after protest calling for equity on all fronts, the only way to voice your support for true equity in Illinois today is to vote 'yes' on all parts of this economic agenda and our agenda overall. You see, we get a lot of messages from everyone when civil unrest played out across this country after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis saying, how can we help you? I understand. What do you need? Well we need your 'yes' vote now. We need you to help us. We need you to help ensure fair wages for all workers on their jobs, ending wage disparities for women, men, and especially people with records. We need you to help us give businesses the tools they need to succeed and compete in our global marketplace to rebound from COVID and civil unrest so that we can have our own jobs and development in our communities. We must grow the number of opportunities for black and minority vendors to do business with the state, creating new standards to ensure agencies meet BEP goals. It's a travesty how much we create laws that are consistently broken by our own state agencies, and we are addressing that in this Bill. We need your help today, colleagues, to remedy decades of redlining and predatory lending. We need you to help us increase low income, permanent, and affordable housing for families, individuals, 10100102.docx 67  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 people with records, and especially our disconnected youth and young adults. True economic equity brings them back to their families, brings them back to their own dreams, and gives us a community full of people able to achieve greatness because they actually have the same opportunity to do so as others do. Colleagues, we need your help today to ensure quality economic development in housing where needed without displacement of current residents to make our lending institutions be required to invest in our communities and redirect capital dollars to disproportionately impacted and economically distressed areas of this state. We want to see people and businesses present at every level of every single industry. We want to see black people in the trades, in agriculture, in innovation and technology, in transportation, education, government, and so on. We want all of our constituents to have the economic ability that is afforded to other citizens. This mobility that will lead to peaceful, prosperous quality of life for all people who have never really been given a fair chance to compete in this society because of the physical as well as invisible knee on our necks. Not having economic equity means we lose more lives to gun violence, illness, and disease this year and next. Not having economic equity means we lose more residents from the State of Illinois because they can't keep living in these conditions. Not having economic equity means that our neighbors give up hope and they constantly feel victimized and attacked by the things that come along with living in a community that needs true economic infrastructure. We can't keep kicking this same damn can down the road for the next 10100102.docx 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 generation to fix. So, please join with us as we embark on a new path today to stop systemic racism and work to bring true economic access, opportunity, and equity for all. I encourage an 'aye' vote."

"Leader Spain, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"And the House will stand adjourned… at ease. I'm sorry. The House will stand at ease. Leader Spain, can you give us an estimate of…"

"Thank you. And, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Black Caucus will meet in their regular meeting room downstairs, immediately. Black Caucus will meet in their room downstairs. And was there an inquiry? Representative Thapedi."

"Inquiry of the Chair, Mr. Speaker."

"Yes, Sir."

"If I understood correctly, we were in the middle of the debate, correct?"

"We were just starting."

"So, we're going to suspend the debate in the middle of a debate and we're going to caucus? If I'm understanding correctly."

"Yes. The House will be in order. Representative Spain, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"The record shall so reflect. We return to Representative Harper. Representative Harper on Senate Bill 1608. Leader Durkin."

"They're under review."

"Representative, the parliamentarian informs me that at this point in the proceeding there is a Bill being debated. These questions are out of order."

"Representative, one of the reasons we have rules of order is so that things go in a procedural fashion. If something is out of order, it’s out of order regardless who the parliamentarian is or isn't. If something is in order, it is still in order regardless of who the parliamentarian is or isn't. At this point we are entertaining the comments of Representative Harper on Senate Bill 1608. Representative Harper."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly. I encourage an 'aye' vote for Senate Bill 1608."

"Representative Jones. And that we remember, Ladies and Gentlemen, we're on a three minute timer."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was about the inquiry of the Chair that Representative Thapedi addressed. So, I have no… no issues."

"Thank you. Representative Batinick."

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

"She indicates she'll yield."

"Representative, currently we are not meeting our goals."

"We are not even close. We are not even close to meeting any of our BEP goals. That’s the problem that we have here in the State of Illinois." 10100102.docx 73  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"I don't have the report with me right now, but I do have access to one that I can get to you."

"Sure."

"Yes, the procurement officers together will set the rules to bring to JCAR."

"Representative Keicher give his three minutes to Wheeler."

"Just for clarification, the chief procurement officer sets their own rules."

"Yes."

"Because they each have their own area, general services, IDOT, CDB. And so, the Procurement Code thus gives them the authority to write their own rules."

"The CPO writes them for the types of contracts that agencies enter."

"They currently do."

"Yes."

"To get the federal funds we have to exempt them because the federal laws have their own regulations."

"They are, and they are very complicated. And I'd be happy to talk with you about this later."

"Representative Haas donates three minutes to Representative Wheeler."

"Are you talking about waivers under the BEP Act?"

"So, we're trying to get this database so that we are able to identify which agencies are not meeting their goals and why."

"We've been trying to do this with BEP, but it just has not seem to be working as planned."

"We're going to stay with the program we're on, Representative. And Representative Chesney gives you three more minutes."

"Mr. Davidsmeyer asked if we had a pause feature on out timer. We did buy the least costly one for the people of the State of Illinois. It does not have the deluxe pause feature."

"All right, Representative. In order to identify why these waivers are necessary and if agencies are putting a good faith effort into finding minority contractors, we need the data to make legislation going forward. And so, that is why I've had many conversations with many people, including the Governor's Office, why we will continue to work on these measures in the 102nd General Assembly."

"Yes, Sir."

"It's the council in consultation with the commission." 10100102.docx 77  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"This is because we feel that there has been insufficient effort to ensure that these waivers are being given for good reason."

"Yes. Yes."

"Sure."

"Representative Welter gives time, three minutes to Wheeler."

"Yeah, we just want to make sure that these family commissions are getting the proper oversight that they need. In the past they have not."

"Yes."

"We are hoping that after this Bill passes those two commissions can come together and develop a working plan together."

"Yes." 10100102.docx 79  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"So, you noticed that we may have set off… put off the effective date so that we can have some time to work through these."

"January 1, 2022."

"The CPO has rules, but the CPOs with the commission will be able to make recommendations to them."

"Correct."

"Representative Mazzochi."

"She indicates she'll yield."

Speaker Harris: "Representative Mazzochi has requested a verification."

"I've spoken to the Governor's Office many times, even just a few minutes ago. And we are committed to continue to work together during the 102nd General Assembly to iron out any kinks in this legislation. And that's also, again, the reason why we pushed off the effective date. I do continue… plan to continue to work with the Governor's Office and all parties on this measure."

"Can you rephrase the question, please?" 10100102.docx 81  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"He has not told me that in those words."

"He hasn't told me that himself, no."

"I haven't spoken with any of the Deputy Governors, no."

"We have conferred with them through this process and, as I stated several times before, we will continue to work with them."

"We are working together to get to the right results."

"Chief procurement officers aren't political and they don't usually get involved in the General Assembly."

"Yes, Representative. We have been in constant conversation with them. We have made many changes to the Bill 10100102.docx 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 based on their recommendations. And as I stated before, we will continue to work with them."

"We made all of the recommendations from the Executive Ethics Commission. We accepted all of those."

"They are so supportive of this concept and they have agreed to work with us, continually."

"Representative Swanson has donated three minutes to Representative Mazzochi."

"I understand that the universities… they have all of their own ideas, and we're committed to working with them as well."

"We are actively involved with all of the stakeholders. Not one of them is in opposition to it. And as I've stated before, we have committed to continue to work on this in the 102nd General Assembly."

"Representative Mazzochi, Representative Reick has donated three minutes."

"I think that there are majority companies out there owned by minorities, and we want to contract with them."

"Thank you so much for this input, Representative. It's really helpful."

"Oh, can you repeat the question?"

"There's so many other ways that they can make up the spend." 10100102.docx 85  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"You're focusing on one type of company."

"I think not because there are publically traded companies owned by minorities, and why can't we contract with them?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Representative, I think that you're sharing the sentiment of companies who simply don't want to contract with minorities."

"The CPOs. The CPOs."

"Representative, Representative Daugherty has given three minutes more time. Could we conclude your line of questioning and move on to the next speaker?"

"This is an initiative of the Treasurer's Office. And what was your question again?"

"We're trying to meet the financial service needs of the communities."

"Yes." 10100102.docx 87  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you, Representative. Just so you know, IDFPR assesses the record of each covered financial institution in satisfying its obligation under the Act."

"Representative, this Bill is only meant to invest in Illinois institutions." 10100102.docx 88  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Representative, could you bring your comments to a close?"

"Representative Windhorst gives three minutes."

"We've addressed this in the Bill, and we have a set up that calls for Illinois CRA rules."

"We're requiring IDFPR to adopt rules to provide for an assessment. This is about an Illinois CRA rule."

"Yes."

"Representative Mazzochi, Representative McCombie has donated three minutes."

"This commission is necessary to ensure oversight of our BEP program in the state."

"Federal funds have their own DBE program and the BEP program has always exempted them."

"To be… to be in line with the BEP language."

"Can you refer to where you are in the Bill, what page?"

"And what was the question again?"

"Representative, your time has expired. Caulkins donates three more minutes."

"The commission does not have the authority to void a contract."

"No, it does not."

"It's a recommendation."

"That's all it is."

"The Executive Ethics hearing… the Executive Ethics Commission has a hearing, which is due process, in which they can offer their recommendations, of course."

"Can you tell me where you see that, Representative?"

"Can you tell me where you see that?"

"No."

"It seems you might be looking at some old language. We have made changes…"

"…on the advice from the Executive Ethics Commission."

"What's your question, Representative?"

"I answered your question."

"Representative, we have many, many more speakers lined up. Please finish this question, then we're going to move on."

"That will be a recommendation that the EEC would have a hearing on and rule on."

"If the hearing yields such a result, then, yes."

"It's simply to provide more oversight."

"This commission is focused on increasing minority contracting. The Executive Ethics Commission is not, obviously, or our current way we have things set up in this state, even though we have BEP goals, are not. So, we have to create a commission to ensure that we are following our own laws here in the state and to ensure that we are increasing minority contracting in the state. That is our intent."

"Representative, you seem to be reading your own views into this statement or into my Bill."

"I respect what you're saying. Please let me know if you have any more questions."

"We want to encourage diversity on all contracts." 10100102.docx 95  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Who you buy it from. Where it's located."

"Representative… Representative Mazzochi, we're going to move on to another questioner. I think we've been very generous in letting you ask many, many series of questions."

"I understand."

"No, we're just going to move on. We've allowed you to have many, many Members' time. We've tried to be generous to everyone on that side with many Members' time. Representative Jones."

"I move to the previous question."

"Previous question has been moved. All those in favor say 'aye'; opposed 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. The previous question is moved. Representative Harper to close."

"I just want to thank all those who have worked diligently to help us get this package, these pillars where they need to be. Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, Members of the economic work group. My staff, Ally Lopshire, and Kendra Piercy, and Sam McGee. We have worked tirelessly over the summer and fall with stakeholders and others and all who wanted to be involved in our process. We held nine subject 10100102.docx 96  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 matter hearings and invited every single solitary Member of the General Assembly to those to discuss provisions in our black agenda. To be honest, with all the things that we learned in those nine subject matter hearings and with all the things we learned that we need to fix in this state in order to have true economic equity, this agenda really doesn't even scratch the surface. You know, by looking at these measures, they're going to help more than just black people. The economic agenda helps all people. Whether you're black, Latinx, white, poor, middle class, Democrats, or Republicans. When you address the systemic racism and inequities that exist for black people, we save money on human services. We save money on health care. We save money in the criminal justice and correction systems. We have a lot more work to do, and I look forward to working with every one of you on our future agendas. I encourage an 'aye' vote for this and every single Bill related to this economic equity agenda. Thank you."

"Members, Representative Mazzochi has requested verification. All Members should be in their chairs and vote their own switches. The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 1608 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Carroll, Crespo, Kalish, LaPointe, Lilly. Ladies and Gentlemen, we're going to stand at ease. Apparently there is a computer issue. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 70 voting 'yes', 39 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having… I'm sorry. Mr. Clerk, please read the names of those voting in the affirmative." 10100102.docx 97  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Excuse me, Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Mazzochi withdraws the Motion. On this question, there are 70 voting 'yes', 39 voting 'no', and 1 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. The Clerk is in receipt of a Motion in Writing to waive the posting requirements for a Bill. Leader Manley on the Motion."

"Thank you, Speaker. I move that the posting requirements be waived so that HR961 can be heard in the Executive Committee."

Speaker Harris: "Is there any discussion? Representative Davidsmeyer."

"Representative Reick, did you have a comment on this matter? Leader Manley has moved to waive the posting requirements. All those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the posting requirements are waived. Representative Davidsmeyer, please state your point."

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

"Please state your point."

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

"Point of personal privilege."

"Please state your point."

"Previous speaker said we should be ashamed. They should be ashamed for standing up for some of the racism that's going on in our country and in our state. Representative Thapedi laid out a line by line, evidence-based of why we're here and what we're fighting for. We're fighting for black people who are being shot on the South Side of Chicago. We're fighting for black people who can't get equality in education. We laid out every pillar of the Black Caucus agenda and our friends on the other side have come up against that agenda. I understand that they're upset of what we did in the previous question, but maybe they should look in the mirror and see how their friends in corporate American have brought us to this point. That Resolution laid out evidence-based, how systematic racism exist in corporate government, in our government, in education, in procurement, and some of the things that they don't want to talk about. So, I'm not ashamed to stand up for the people in my district, the black people in the State of Illinois. Tonight, we ask you to support a black agenda, and we are unapologetic about it. And ask you to stand up for black people not only in my district but in your district in the State of Illinois, and all you can say is no. You want to play games with a Bill that we presented to you tonight that's going to help black people and come 10100102.docx 102  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021 back with the goals that you said in BEP goals that Representative Davis has done, former Representative Turner has brought with BEP goals. But yet, instead, you guys want to argue about real property and ask questions that don't exist in the Bill that we have before you. So instead of saying no, support what we're doing for black people around the State of Illinois. Support what we're doing tonight to not only help black people in our districts, in your districts, but stop saying no to everything. We understand that you guys are upset, but you took an hour caucus about a Bill that was on the board and asked numerous questions where the Speaker gave you time after time and still you asked the same question. Our black people are looking for solutions. They can't get unemployment. They can't get PEP. They can't get the funds that many of your friends are getting on the other side, and all we're asking for you to do is help us. You saw the Resolutions that we laid out, you saw the Bills that we laid out. Instead of being obstructionists, say yes to some of the things that we're doing tonight. I'm not going to apologize for calling to the previous question. I am just going to thank my Black Caucus Members for standing up for black people around the State of Illinois. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

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

"Inquiry of the Chair. Do we still have committee at 9:30 tomorrow morning?"

"There will be committee announcements shortly, Representative." 10100102.docx 103  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 1/11/2021

"Thank you."

"Representative Bryant."

"Mr. Clerk, committee announcements."

"And now, leaving perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Manley moves that the House stand adjourned until Tuesday, January 12, at the hour of 11 a.m. All those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House stands adjourned."