"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction and First Reading of House Bills. House Bill 5747, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5748, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5749, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5750, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5751, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5752, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5753, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 5754, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5755, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5756, offered by Representative Cabello, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. House Bill 5757, offered by Representative Yang Rohr, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5758, offered by Representative Moylan, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5759, offered by Representative Chung, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. House Bill 5760, offered by Representative Delgado, a Bill for an Act concerning regulations. House Bill 5761, offered by Representative Gordon-Booth, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 5762, offered by Representative 10300073.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 Ness, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. First Reading of these House Bills."
"The House shall be in order. Members shall be in their chairs. We shall be led in prayer today by Wayne Padget, the Assistant Doorkeeper. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones, and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance."
"Let us pray. Dear Lord, we come before you today in sound body and mind, praying that on this day you grant us wisdom and guidance. During these hard times of negotiations, we pray that everyone can come together and be on one common ground and resolve the issues for the people of Illinois. We also pray for the men and women in our armed services, both here and abroad. Provide them with your protection and give them the strength to make it through these difficult times. And let us also pray for the men, women, and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country. These things we pray, Amen."
"We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Chung."
"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."
Speaker Evans: "Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Gabel is recognized to report any excused absences on the Democratic side of the aisle." 10300073.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024
"Speaker, let the record show that Representatives Burke, Ford, Cuellar …Guerrero-Cuellar, Johnson, and Vella are excused today."
"Leader Keicher is recognized to report any excused absences on the Republican side of the aisle."
"Mr. Speaker, please let the record reflect that Representative Randy Frese is excused for the day."
"Have all recorded themselves who wish? Have all recorded themselves who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. There being 105 Members answering the roll call, a quorum is present. Representative Severin, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege, please."
"Please speak your point."
"I have a guest with me today. My Page for the day is Kaylee Work. She's is a seventh grader at Carterville Junior High. Those of you that are the House Floor, if you remember a couple weeks ago, we had a young man that knew all the Presidents of the United States. You pick a year, he tells you. Well, I'm going to tell you a little about Kaylee. But one of the things that she has done, she's a seventh grader, she's memorized the 100 digits of pi. So, we won't ask her to… to recite it right now, but she knows the 100 digits of pi. You all think it's 3.14, but it's actually just a little more than that. So, she knows that. She's a seventh grader at Carterville Junior High. Her parents are Patrick and Tricia Work. Her father is up in the… the gallery today, and he actually owns the bicycle company in Carterville called Bike 10300073.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 Surgeon. And in fact, she just rode a 50k bike ride. It's called The Dirty South Roubaix. She did it in three hours. So, this young lady is quite the athlete. She participates in band, STEM, track, FBLA. She's also the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association member. She's a part of the Crab Orchard Sail Club. She's a part of the Southern Illinois Volleyball Academy. She's a trail volunteer. So, on the bike trails in Southern Illinois, she helps repair those. So, I'd like to welcome to the floor, she gets a Dave Severin ink pen, this is Kaylee Work from Carterville Junior High. She has pi memorized, all 100 digits. Welcome her to the House Floor, Kaylee Work."
"Representative Friess, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Please speak you point."
"Yeah. I have with me today my daughter, 17 years old. She's an amazing young woman. Honor Society, right? Yes. She will be a six-sport athlete this year, and she does all this with a 4.0. So, I'm… I'm extremely proud of her, and… and, Ladies, I need to ask for your help here tonight… today. Right now, unfortunately, we have biological boys competing against our girls in high school sports. We need to put a stop to this. It is… it is a fact that boys are bigger, stronger, faster than girls. They have a larger lung compacity, greater bone density. They're taller. Their arm reach is longer. It is just a biological fact. It is undeniable. Ladies, please… and everybody in this chamber, I am asking your… for your 10300073.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 support on 1562. We need to keep biological boys out of our high school girl sports. Thanks."
"Representative Hauter, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Mr. Speaker, a point of personal privilege."
"Please speak your point."
"Well, I'm very proud to introduce my Page for a day. I didn’t know we were comparing CVs with Severin's Page. So, I don't have as much, but I do have Phoenix Anderson here with me today. He's age 13. He goes to Tremont Junior High. He loves wrestling. And, Mr. Speaker, he's under the impression that I'm an important person, so I would appreciate it if the… if the House could just go along with that today. That would… that would help me a lot. But please welcome my Page for a day, Phoenix Anderson."
"Representative Bunting, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege, please."
"Please speak your point."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, within these walls of the Capitol, we have 87 students from Thomas Metcalf School in Normal. Though the school is not in my district, I am a member of the Metcalf family. Many of you know that my wife, Tasha, and I's middle daughter, Samantha, was born visually impaired. Ten years ago, T and I had to make the tough decision on where to send Samantha, not only for a high-quality education, but also to surround her with peers and advocates to enrich her in her most formable years. Thomas Metcalf welcomed us with open arms. Words cannot 10300073.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 describe how appreciative we are for the school administration and faculty that have molded our daughter and her classmates into fine young citizens. A special thanks to my chief of staff, Kira, Sam's teachers, Mr. Goveia, who cannot join us today, Mr. Flynn, Mrs. Frank, Mrs. McClure, Mr. Jones, and all of the chaperons for allowing these students to explore the great State Capitol. Please join me in giving a warm Springfield welcome to the seventh and eighth graders from Thomas Metcalf. Thank you."
"Representative Fritts, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"Please speak your point."
"Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I would like to welcome my Page for the day, Cody Brill. Cody's from Ashton. He is an industrial control specialist with Crest Foods. He's married to his lovely wife, Haley, who is actually today at Leader McCombie's Emerging Women's event. So, he's here joining me. They have a four-year-old son named Colton. So, if we can give him a warm Springfield welcome. Thank you."
"Representative Ness, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Please speak your point."
"Today, I rise in honor of the kickoff to Women's History Month. I contemplated what I wanted to say and what this month means to me. Last year, I spoke about my mom, who continues to make history and inspire her family. I also shared stories on blogs and social media about the other important women in 10300073.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 my life, like my grandmothers. As a cochair of COWL, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a woman in this role at this time in history, when intimate details of our lives have become campaign platforms. Reproductive health care, including abortion access, continue to be debated. This year, IVF will be added to the list of talking points, a topic once reserved for bedrooms and doctors' offices will now take center stage and reproductive bodies find ourselves defending our decisions whether to be mothers or not. As if it is anyone's business, let alone a campaign slogan. During this month, we will hear stories… well, we might hear stories. If there wasn't so much talking on the floor, we could probably hear stories. This month we will hear stories about amazing women and the obstacles they've overcome to achieve or do the things they've done. I am reminded that women have always been making history, from the very first moments of humanity, in families and communities throughout the world. Just look around. Today, women make up 41 percent of our General Assembly. And on March 21, COWL… on March 21… let me… wait, let me repeat that. This chamber, today women make up 41 percent of our General Assembly. I think that deserves an applause. On March 21, COWL is partnering with NCSL to provide a workshop on women as leaders. And as women continue to increase their numbers in places where decisions are made and we continue to debate policies that affect women and families, I want to remind this Body that we are making history today and every day. Thank you."
"Representative Chung, for what reason do you seek recognition?" 10300073.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024
"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please speak your point."
"Thank you so much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I rise today to celebrate Women's History Month by acknowledging the life and contributions of Florence Beatrice Price, a prolific performer and composer and a pioneer for female musicians. Seems pretty appropriate that I'm reading about her today. Born in Alabama in 1887, Price overcame obstacles due to her race and gender with her prodigious musical skill, and at just age 11, became the first composer of African descent to have a symphonic work performed by a major national orchestra. Price was academically successful in coming years and showed great professional promise, but a series of tragical… tragic racial attacks where she lived in Little Rock, Arkansas caused her to move north, ultimately settling in Chicago. Financial struggles and divorce forced her to take care of her two daughters as a single mother, and Price's compositions were often rejected due to unabashed bias on the part of her reviewers. However, she eventually composed her masterwork, the Symphony in E Minor, which received the attention from the prestigious Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The piece used similar musical structures to African spiritual music and ultimately earned critical praise, securing Price's successful career. This, I believe, the most poignant aspect of her life. While showing major promise as early as age 11, Price did not achieve real acclaim until this work when she was 47. The many unique challenges in her personal life slowed her down, but they never stopped her. And her achievement both as a musical icon as a symbol to everyone who strives in 10300073.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 the face of seemingly never-ending obstacles deserves acknowledgement here today. Thank you so much."
"Representative Weber, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please speak your point."
"So, I figured since we're talking a lot about women leaders in our community, I would like to welcome two guests that I have here in Springfield today, young women who started out their career friends in high school and now are chiefs of police in neighboring communities in my district. I would like to welcome Dawn DeServi, the chief of police of the Village of Fox Lake, and Rochelle Tisinai, chief of police in the Village of Lake Villa. If everyone would join me, please welcome them to the Capitol here in Springfield. Thank you."
"Representative Reick, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please speak your point."
"Representative Chung spoke about Florence Price. She stole my thunder. I was going to talk about Florence Price, but I have a little extra to add. There's a Paul Harvey thing here. Florence Price labored in obscurity, as was previously mentioned. Her music is beautiful. She went to the New England Conservatory of Music and was a student of Antonín Dvořák, who, of course, came to this county from Europe and encouraged students to take native and ethnic and other types of local music and weave it into their… into their compositions. And she did that with great beauty and great force. But she would 10300073.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 of remained an obscurity except for one little thing, and this is the rest of the story. Back in 2009, there were some men doing renovation on a little house in St. Anne, Illinois. Florence Price used to send… spend her summers in St. Anne, Illinois, as should everyone. I mean, it's… it's the garden spot of Kankakee County. But… found in the attic of that house was a trunk. And when they opened it up, they found reams of compositions and scores of her music that would of have remained absolutely unfound had this one little thing not been found in St. Anne, Illinois in 2009. And now, her music is gaining popularity. It's being put into the repertoire and was just… her symphony that was referred to was just performed at the Musikverein in Vienna by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on their recent tour. So, now you know the rest of the story. Thank you."
"Representative Elik, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Speaker. I just wanted to remind the Body that tomorrow is the third meeting of the Illinois Manufacturing Caucus, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Café Moxo. This is a bipartisan and bicameral caucus where we'll discuss issues important to the state's manufacturing economy. And tomorrow, we're talking about education and workforce development and breakfast will be provided. Hope to see you there. Thanks."
"Leader McCombie is recognized."
"Good afternoon, everybody. I want to take a minute to recognize the women that are starting to slowly come into the gallery today. Today is the third annual Emerging Women's Leader Day in the House Republican Caucus. Today, we have 55 10300073.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 women from around this state, including some from around my own district in the 89th. Thank you all for being here. These are… these are women who have influence in their communities and have made a difference that respective lawmakers want to recognize. We are incredibly lucky to have such committed, driven, and insightful women, some who are just getting started. The best is yet to come. Thank you again for being here today and for joining us for discussions, positive discussions, moving women in our state forward. Today is special not only because it is our Emerging Women Leader Day, but in March it also marks Women's History Month. As women in this chamber, we may not always agree, but we are women first, and I celebrate all of you. Thank you again to all of you for all of the work that you do for your districts and for the state. And as quoted, 'When women do the work, we win.' Thank you."
"Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."
Clerk Hollman: "Committee Reports. Representative Gabel, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules reports the following committee action taken on March 5, 2024: recommends be adopted, referred to the floor is Floor Amendment(s) 1 to House Bill 4365; and approved for consideration, referred to the Order of Second Reading are House Bills 1648-1669, 1672- 1711, 1713-1720, 1722-1726, 1728-1739, 1741-1766, 1768-1802, 1804-1830, 1832-1864, 1866-1919, 1921-1929, and 2030-2031. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 618, offered by Representative Grant. House Resolution 625, offered by Representative Harper. House Resolution 628, offered by Representative Blair-Sherlock. House Resolution 630, offered 10300073.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024 by Representative Meier. House Resolution 631, offered by Representative Spain. House Resolution 636, offered by Representative Gabel. House Resolution 639, offered by Speaker Welch. House Resolution 640, offered by Representative Costa Howard. House Joint Resolution 60, offered by Representative Grant. And House Joint Resolution 61, offered by Representative Keicher. These are referred to the Rules Committee."
"The Chair recognizes Leader Gabel for the purpose of an announcement."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Democrats would request a caucus meeting immediately in Room 114."
"The Democrats will caucus in Room 114 immediately after Session. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
"Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 619, offered by Representative Rashid. House Resolution 620, offered by Representative Coffey. House Resolution 621, offered by Representative Elik. House Resolution 622, offered by Representative West. House Resolution 623, offered by Representative Friess. House Resolution 624, offered by Representative Croke. House Resolution 626, offered by Representative Schweizer. House Resolution 629, offered by Representative Tarver. House Resolution 632, offered by Representative Frese. House Resolution 633, offered by Representative Ford. House Resolution 634, offered by Representative Cassidy. House Resolution 635, offered by Representative Keicher. House Resolution 638, offered by Representative Schmidt. And House Resolution 641, offered by Representative Benton." 10300073.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 73rd Legislative Day 3/5/2024
"Leader Gabel moves for the adoption of Agreed Resolutions. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. And now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Gabel moves that the House stand adjourned until March 6, at the hour of 12 p.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."
"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction and First Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 15, offered by Speaker Welch, a Bill for an Act concerning education. First Reading of this Senate Bill. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 10300073.docx 13