Illinois House Floor Debate — May 29, 2024

"So, I was requested this evening to sing the prayer, but for the benefit of all of you, I'm not going to be singing, but we are going to start with this a little bit right here and then I'm going to pray. All right, let's pray. Lord, I thank you for this morning. I thank you for each one that's in this House. I thank you for my brothers and sisters that I've had the opportunity to… to work with this past two years, and I pray for those that are leaving after this… this Session. I pray for Mary. I pray for Kelly. I pray for… I pray for Cyril. I pray for Lance. I pray for Dan, and… and those that have already left this Session. I just pray that you'd be with each one of them. Bless them, Lord. I thank you for their time that they've given here and their service for their communities. And, Lord, I pray this morning, as we work together, Lord, and I'm asking that you help us to work together, not just for these next few minutes and hours, but for the remaining time that we work together in this House as Representatives. I pray that you'd help us to work together for the best of this state, for each one that's in our districts, and give us wisdom, give us favor. And, Lord, I thank you that you, even though we're tired this morning, I thank you that you never waiver, you're never weary, and I just pray you'd give us wisdom. I thank you for the… the blessings that you've bestowed upon us, and help us to always 10300116.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 honor you and be thankful for what you've blessed us with. In your name, amen." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Ford."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representatives Grant and Spain are excused for today." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Have all recorded themselves who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. There being 110 Members answering the roll call, a quorum is present. On page 3 on the Calendar, on the Order of Senate Bills on Third Reading, we have Senate Bill 2849, Leader Rita."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."

"Thank you. Leader, you mentioned there was a prior Bill we voted on, I believe, last week. Was that House Bill 4715? Do I have that correct?"

"And that addressed some of the issues that may have not been included in this Bill, such as the critical infrastructure language?"

"And I may have said the wrong Bill number. House Bill 890, I believe, was the… the trailer that we voted on that is now in the Senate."

"Yes, it is a little early."

"And I believe that is still in Assignments in the Senate. I don't know if you are aware of that or not."

"We show that on this Bill, Senate Bill 2849, that IDOT and the Broadcasters Association were at one point opposed. Are they still opposed?"

"And, again, this is for local regulation of drones over public property?"

"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Rita to close."

"Thank you, Madam Chair. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"HB4582, Bond Authorization Act of 2024. So, here we go authorizing the state to borrow more money once again, 10300116.docx 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 increasing the general obligation bond limit by 2.3 billion, increasing the build Illinois bond limit by 1.34 million… billion, increasing the housing development bond limit by 4.3 billion. Well, you know what we still haven't done? Provided real substantial property tax relief for Illinois taxpayers. We still, even after the 2019 Property Tax Relief Task Force, have done nothing, not one thing, to ease the burden on Illinois taxpayers. A few days ago, this chamber voted to extend a tax increment financing district, TIF, from 23 years to 35 years, removing taxpayers from the process and committing them to higher property tax for an additional 12 years. Now, today, here we are, once again, voting to amend the Property Tax Code in this bonding authorization Bill. This Bill gives a school board the ability to bypass referendum process and the taxpayers by simply passing a resolution. You heard that right, folks. A resolution to levy taxes, not by referendum. The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law be damned. Politicians here in Springfield know better. Once again, the taxpayers of Illinois will be on the hook. Illinoisans have nothing left to give, folks. Vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Davidsmeyer is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."

"Representative, did you bring this Bill through committee?"

"Okay. Was that just subject matter? Is that…" 10300116.docx 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Okay. But this is the… the Senate version, but it does the same thing as the original?"

"Okay. In… in committee, we specifically asked about the… okay. So, you've got 2, almost 2 and a half billion dollars in increases in general obligation bonds, correct?"

"And then 1 point… I'd say 1.4 billion in state… the state's build Illinois bond limit. So, another 1.3 to 1.4 billion dollars in additional bonds?"

"Then in the state's housing development bond limit, you're looking to increase that by $4.3 billion. It's currently at 7.2. You're increase… increasing it by $4.3 billion, correct?"

"No, it's… I think you're setting it at 11.5 billion, an increase of 4.3."

"Okay. Okay. So, in committee we specifically asked about the state's housing development bond limit and if that will be used for housing for illegal immigrants. Do you know the answer to that?"

"Okay. And in committee the Representative who brought it… the Leader who brought it through committee, 10300116.docx 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 specifically said, 'I don't believe so, but I will get back to you.' Still planning to get back to us?"

"But before we vote on it?"

"Okay. No, I… I certainly appreciate that. It… the reason I ask is because it sounds like we're… we're trying to hide things. The other… the other issue that I want to specifically bring up is the Local Government Debt Reform Act. It authorizes… well, it changes grants from 25-year grants… or, sorry, the bonds from 25-year bonds to 30-year bonds. And then it authorizes the use of bonds to increase the working cash fund of a school district. When you're referring to the working cash fund, are you talking about operations?"

"But, specifically, working cash fund. Is that operations? Is that daily operations of a school district?"

"Okay. I think… I just want to… I just want to… I want people to hesitate a little bit and look at this because when you're borrowing for operations, you're not investing anything. That's not a long-term investment. So, you're… you're taking a 30-year bond and you're going to use those investments to run today, right? You're not going to have the additional funds to last over the next 30 years. So, you're borrowing those dollars to pay for today. It's not a very 10300116.docx 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 intelligent thing to do. The other issue that was mentioned earlier, we are moving from a referendum to a nonreferendum for property tax levies for building, correct? So, currently, without this passing, the school board would have to go to the general public to get permission to raise money for new buildings, correct?"

"Now, in this, you're saying that the school board can go out for long-term debt without the approval of the general public."

"This gives them the authority to not ask the general public about extending the debt limit on building, correct?"

"Okay. We are taking the people out of the conversation. You are taking people away from the opportunity to have a discussion on the needs of the school district, on the needs of… of the local community. I… I would urge everyone, if you look at… if you look at these referendums, you'd be surprised at how many pass, very few, and the majority that do not pass. It… I think it's incumbent on the local school board and the local community to sell it to their community on why it's needed and not just pass it and… and force it upon their… their constituents. So, I… I would urge everyone to think twice about this. You know, the… the amount that we're increasing the bond limit, the… you know, the use of borrowed funds, 30-year borrowed funds for today's operating cash, as well as going from a referendum, asking 10300116.docx 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 the people what they want, to nonreferendum, not caring what the people want. I urge a 'no' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Rita to close."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I've been in this chamber for a number of budgets. I voted for budgets, and I'd like to be able to vote for a budget again. But there is a stark difference in how the budget has been drafted, certainly in the last two years, and how it's been done in previous years. The budget process is no longer a negotiation between duly elected Members of this chamber and the Senate. It's an exercise in bullying and absolute power over the hardworking taxpayers of our state. Many Members on the other side of the aisle have proven year after year they're not here to represent their district or their constituents. They're not here for our children, for our elderly, for our most fragile citizens. They're here for what's in it for them, pay raise, a project to garner votes in your district, or to provide favors for friends. This budget includes $500 million in lump- 10300116.docx 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 sum spending that not only all of the Republican Members in this chamber cannot identify, but our taxpayers won't be privy to that information either. To top it off, there's even an appropriation for $400 thousand for a project for Twisted Eggroll, a company in Chicago for capital improvements. Another insult to our taxpayers. We heard in committee that the tax increases, the transfers, and the sweeps in this budget are to avoid what happened in the Rauner years. I want to remind my colleagues that Governor Rauner inherited a budget that was $1.6 billion out of balance from the start because the General Assembly passed a budget that spent from temporary income tax increases that were scheduled to sunset. Fast forward to the Pritzker administration and the call for more taxes. The budget has grown by $13 billion since FY20, not including over $10 billion in ARPA and CARES funds. Can anyone here tell me with a straight face that there is nowhere to cut spending and instead we need to raise taxes and rely on budget gimmicks totaling more than a billion dollars? Instead of growing our budget at a moderate pace, we created entirely new programs that are warranting the tax increases you are approving this year and are surely going to continue to increase in future years. We passed a minimum wage increase that was projected to cost the state $1 billion. We gave free health care to undocumented immigrants over the age of 42 that was going to cost over a billion dollars until you finally woke up and paused the enrollment to that program. We created the Illinois Home… Home Illinois and the Smart Start programs, which will cost taxpayers over $400 million. We have $182 million in added pressures to fund the migrant 10300116.docx 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 crisis. We are fully funding MAP grants. Are we really? For how long? We created an entirely new Department of Early Childhood with $14 million in funding just for this year, $485 million from last year's Medicaid omnibus. Illinois does not have a revenue problem. The Majority Party has an addiction to spending. I'm not knocking these programs. They do a lot of good for some of our neediest people in this state, but we can't just keep going to the taxpayers to solve your spending addictions. Maybe we should add a new line item in the FY26 budget for spending addiction for treatment services for the Democratic supermajority." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "We will be instituting a three-minute timer debate. Representative Caulkins is recognized."

"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield, please?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you very much. Representative, I have just… for you and your caucus, I have a few very simple questions, and hopefully you can answer these. Will this budget reduce property taxes?"

"Can you quickly explain that because I don't see anything in this budget that reduces property taxes?"

"For what?"

"I don't think that that's going to happen. Let me ask you another question. Is there anything in this budget that's going to improve test scores for our students? We have… the vast majority of students in our K-12 system don't read, don't write, don't do math at grade level."

"Have… have we not done that in the past? Is this all brand new programs that we're just now starting to…"

"So…" 10300116.docx 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"We haven't been doing…"

"Well, we're really on a short clock."

"We… we have over 9 thousand… well, we have many, many more kids that were waiting for scholarship opportunities, Invest in Kids, and obviously you didn't see fit to fund that this year. Moving on. Will this budget make communities safer?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up. Is there anyone who wants to yield? Representative Niemerg is yield."

"Will this… will this budget make communities safer?"

"So, we haven't been doing this in the past? This is another new program that you're starting this year?" 10300116.docx 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Well, we've been funding these things for years and our communities aren't safer, and I don't believe what you're doing is safer. Will this budget reduce the debt on our taxpayers?"

"This budget adds $8 billion more in debt to our taxpayers. Does it not?"

"Our current debt is 75, almost 76, billion dollars. We just passed some more spending obligations, borrowing obligations that's going to add another massive burden to the taxpayers. And this is… this budget doesn't… does not address that. We're… we're going to continue to saddle our taxpayers. Madam Speaker, to the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Thank you. You know, in 2019 when… when we… when I first came here, Illinois had the nation's 10th highest tax burden. Today, we're the seventh highest tax burden. When states all around us are reducing their tax burdens, cutting 10300116.docx 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 income taxes all around us, Illinois continues to tax and spend and increase fees on our residents and on our businesses that makes us less competitive with the states around us. Our population continues to decline. Our businesses flee. We've talked about this earlier today. This budget is nothing… and I… I want to say this again, does nothing to improve the business climate, the safety of its residents, will not improve the test scores. We continue to pour money after money…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Caulkins, your time is up."

"…I will finish, into the education system. Our enrollment declines. We're spending record numbers of… of amount of money on education. If you vote for this budget, you are setting ourselves up…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, please."

"…for failure. This is not a balanced budget. This budget will not improve the lives of our citizens, and I hope that you would see that and vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Schweizer is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my first budget, and in it is outlined spending almost four times the amount on noncitizens than in veterans. Yes, that is correct. Noncitizen projects will be receiving nearly four times the amount that the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs is going to receive. And as most of you know, I'm a retired Marine. I proudly served this country for 21 years, and in 10300116.docx 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 that time, I came across many Illinois veterans. Some of them served in combat and saw things that you could only imagine in your worst nightmares. They walked along roads or paths and didn't know if their next step was going to be their last. They got shot, they lost limbs, they held friends as they were dying, and they gave orders to their troops, who in turn ended up getting killed by following those orders. We have a responsibility to take care of our native sons and daughters of this state. But this year, it seems that those priorities have come in second. Noncitizens and ex-cons are receiving more benefits than veterans. There are larger tax credits going to criminals, who we now call returning citizens, than there are to hire a veteran. A veteran is the honest-to-God returning citizen. So, in Illinois… Illinois, you are… are going to prioritize noncitizens and ex-cons over veterans. How can you do that? Why would you even do that? The misplaced priorities in this year's budget are so glaring that the only thing I can do is vote 'no'. And I would strongly suggest that in the future the Majority Party invites Republicans in to negotiate our, not your, budget so that we can fix these misplaced priorities. Vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Severin is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Good morning. In the Higher Ed Appropriation Committee, several of the universities came and made their request asking for increased funding. NEIU asked for 2.9 percent. GSU asked for 12 percent. WIU asked for 2 percent. ISU, 2 percent. CSU asked for 65 percent. The University of Illinois asked for 2 10300116.docx 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 percent. EIU, 28.2 percent. And SIU, 12.4 percent. So, my question to you this morning is, do you know what the universities received in this budget, please?"

"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Hauter is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Well, thank you, Leader, and good morning. I don't know if you're aware of this, but in my district, Logan County, Logan Correctional Center is slated for closing. Were you aware of that?"

"It's a very important state prison, very important economically to my constituents. And we have some questions, and I was wondering if you could kind of give some answers to many of the issues and questions about the budget that we have pertaining to Logan Correctional Center. So, I see that Logan operations and maintenance is in the budget for 79.5 million. Is that accurate?"

"So… so, they… so, the answer is that they are going to continue funding Logan Correctional Center this year, and it's planned for them to continue the operations of Logan Correctional this year?"

"So, it's planned and it's in the budget for almost $80 million to continue the operations, and even some maintenance, to Logan Correctional Center, even this year?" 10300116.docx 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"So, in… in the capital appropriations, there is almost 900 million, almost a billion dollars appropriated for DOC renovations, maintenance, et cetera. Is this where Logan and Stateville rebuilds will be funded from?"

"Okay. So… so, almost 900 million, almost a billion dollars of renovations and rebuilds. This will be bonded?"

"And… and how many years will this be bonded? Do you know?"

"So… thank you for that. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Hundreds of union employees of Logan Correctional Center and thousands of residents of Logan County and the surrounding communities, the surrounding counties are waiting to hear that they will lose their jobs or be forced to move hundreds of miles away or even absorb another blow to the economy of Central Illinois. In truth, the state neglected Logan Correctional Center. It didn't fund the deferred maintenance. It didn't fund what was required. And now, it tells us we must demolish Logan. And… and we agree with that. Something needs to be done about Logan. You've ignored it for decades. But likely, they want to rebuild in the Chicago area. Surprise, surprise. Stateville site will get not one, but two prisons, and to the tune of almost a billion dollars…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up."

"…of construction and economic activity." 10300116.docx 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader… Leader Keicher will give you some time."

"Thank you. There's so many reasons I could say to rebuild Logan Correctional Center in Logan County. We are pressing our arguments with the Department of Corrections, with COGFA, with the administration. I'm not going to bring up those arguments here, but promises were made to Logan County. And from those promises, infrastructure was built, lives and livelihoods were built out of good-paying union jobs, stable, promised by the state and the state prison. I want to point out again that this budget highlights a growing trend that our downstate communities will be ignored like Logan, then unfairly defunded, and then depopulated of jobs in the Majority Party's thirst to consolidate their power, their funding, and jobs to the people and places that are most politically favorable to them. This is unfair. I will vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative McLaughlin is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicates she will."

"Thank you. Just a couple of questions. PPRT. Will the $800 million again be cut from the PPRT in this Bill for local governments?"

"The intention. We cut $800 million last year. Would that be correct?"

"Well, it's either a yes or a no. Characterization is irrelevant when you cut 800 million last year and we will be cutting another 800 million this year. Is that correct?"

"That's… that's unbelievable. We are not providing the 800 million last year. You can characterize it however you want, but a fact is a fact. We're not doing it again this year to the detriment of our local communities. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"We have over 80 line items in the Illinois Department of Revenue that they collect. Imagine that, 80 line items. I would've asked the Representative, but obviously she doesn't want to answer any questions. And think about this. We created a nation over one tax where we threw tea into a harbor, yet we accept 80 taxes. That's just one example of the overreach that state government can have on the local government's ability to manage their balance sheets. What that means to everyone in this state, particularly the towns and villages from a levy perspective, is they're going to have to pay for this. It's our property tax owners, now that the LGDF is not being restored in this budget. And, again, I would've asked you, but you would have characterized it inaccurately. Now, with the grocery tax elimination, which I would support, and the PPRT is going away, how do you suggest that mayors in villages, with these multiple funding sources going away, keep their spending flat? As a former mayor responsible for my constituents, it's obvious that the leaders in this state, the elected leaders of our towns and villages, need to be put 10300116.docx 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 on notice that Springfield has done a poor job of managing our fiscal house. So, to our mayors, trustees, you guys are on the frontlines. Congratulations. The Governor and the Democrats have put you in the position to tell your residents they have to raise your taxes substantially because we couldn't keep our fiscal house in order in this building. Please vote 'no' and tell your constituents you've had enough of the continual fiscal malfeasance in Springfield. I urge a strong 'no' vote for all you mayors, for all you trustees who came down here and asked for LGDF. Remember all the Representatives that said they're going to work on it for you? We can pass Bills in 48 hours here, but we can't give the money back that you're owed. Thank you, Madam Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ugaste is recognized."

"Thank you. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Since I have come here, revenues have increased by at least $10 billion and then some. In that time, for at least five years now, there's been absolutely no discussions between Democrats and Republicans on the best way to move the state forward fiscally in its budget. Not quite certain why. The last time it happened, we came up with a number of programs. Things like the Blue Collar Jobs Act that has a River Edge Credit in it that I see we're improving this year. So, it's obviously not a bad idea. It was a good idea. You're looking to improve it. Decreasing the franchise tax. Should've been completely eliminated by now. It was reinstated, but you're working on bringing it back down again. I guess that's an improvement too. But yet, we're not 10300116.docx 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 included. So, you wouldn't know, unless maybe you’ve heard me talk, and I don't think all of you have so I'll mention it again, that we have programs that can help. Say a property tax relief plan that I am currently carrying that can't get a hearing, that would not eat up that complete 25 percent increase we've seen, still makes certain we're paying our pensions, and provides school districts with more money, something we say we all want to do. All it would require the school districts then is to provide some property tax relief in return. So, it sounds to me like it's a win-win-win because we now have schools getting more money from the state, kids receiving their education, and lower property taxes for homeowners and business owners, and maybe some growth. And growth means more revenue, instead of us looking for additional taxes. And I'm not going to get into that because I've got a long speech for you on that, and I don't want to make you listen to it twice. But that's 82 and half billion dollars over 21 years. Someone want to tell me how it's a bad idea? Stand up and do so, please. I'd love to hear it. I really would. But not give a hearing because I'm a Republican? Because we can't put forth these ideas and work together on something? That's incredible. You know what else is incredible? That despite taking in well over $10 billion more in that time, we're about to drop a $75 million tax credit. And I know some of you over there pushed for it." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up. Representative Frese will yield his time."

"Make this quick. I know some of you over there pushed for it, but not enough did, and I don't know who didn't. But 10300116.docx 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 we're talking about everything we're doing for the kids, and Leader Booth ran through it and she's right, there's quite a bit in there for the kids. But what we're not doing is remembering these 9,500 kids from low-income families that made a choice that said the schools we're attending aren't quite to the caliber of what we would like. We want to find other schools. They found other schools. Their parents went to great lengths to get them there, and now we're yanking the program out from under them. We're yanking their future out because someone somewhere put a brick on that Bill because the CTU doesn't like it. The same union headed by someone who sends their own child to a private school. Our leaders know the… the benefits of private schools. They send their kids to private schools. We shouldn't do this and deny these kids their right to a better future. It… they should have been included. We should never have let this sunset." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Swanson is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Thank you. I know many of my colleagues across the aisle, and even some on this side of the aisle, have all been a part of the Illinois Farm Bureau's Adopt a Legislator. And that's a great program. You get to come out and visit a farm, like Rep. Meier's, or Rep. Rosenthal's, or other… Rep Bunting's or other farmers, Miller, Rep. Wilhour, many of us that are farmers. And it's a great opportunity to understand farming. In the same respect, and we get a chance to come visit your neighborhoods and see what you do in your neighborhoods. Where I'm going with this is, when you were 10300116.docx 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 probably touring the farm, the soil, water conservation district was probably there. As farmers, we rely on the soil, water conservation districts to help us with the practices we use in our fields to ensure we're conserving our soils, to ensure we're protecting and doing what nature would ask us to do when planting our seeds, conserve and restore wetlands and the habitat within those wetlands. A truly great organization that helps bring more ideas on how we can better be stewards of our land. I was disappointed to see within this budget that soil, water conservation district is hit pretty hard in the funding for them. And because of that, I've heard from many of the soil, water conservation districts that layoffs will occur and the services that had been long provided to the ag industry and to the local farmers are not going to be there. So, I just wanted to speak up on behalf of the farmers and on behalf of soil, water conservation districts that it's going to be a true loss in helping us to be in… better environmental stewards of our soils. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Davidsmeyer is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"So, as we look at this… this budget year, the budget that you're proposing here, can it be done with the current revenue that we have today, as of right now?"

"That's included in this Bill? So, revenue enhancements, meaning tax increases, and cuts. I don't see 10300116.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 very many of those. The… the revenue enhancements are the large numbers. The cuts are the small numbers."

"Yes. So, you cannot pass this Bill without increasing taxes on the people of the State of Illinois and the small businesses of the State of Illinois. We discussed… and… and I'm not going to go to the Bill 'cause I may want to ask another question. I appreciate your succinct answers. As… as we look at this budget, and I just want you all to prepare, because next year, in February, you might want to start working, because you're looking at increasing… increasing taxes over a billion dollars on the people of the State of Illinois this year. And you're look at… looking at bringing forward revenue from Fiscal Year '24 to the tune of, let's see, about 900, almost a billion, dollars, bringing forward from this fiscal year, extra revenue that was brought in this year. That's at least $2 billion of increased funds, at least a billion of which will not be there next year. You… you will not be able to bring forward dollars from Fiscal Year '25 to Fiscal Year '26. You're setting '26 up to be a difficult budget. And I've seen difficult budgets. You know, we're… when I first came in, we were about a $30 billion budget. We're talking about a $53 billion budget, $20 billion more than a decade ago. As we look at spending and the things that we're spending money on, you're looking at a… a $430 million transfer to the Health Care Provider Relief Fund so we can fund health care for people who are here illegally." 10300116.docx 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader, your time is up. Representative Coffey will yield his time."

"Thank you. You're looking at 139.4 million in GRF for welcoming centers, which is an increase of almost $100 million. Two hundred and ninety million in GRF to Home Illinois, which an increase of $90 million. And an increase of 40 million compared to the Governor's introduced budget. All in all, in this budget, you're looking at a billion dollars in funds for people who here illegally, including possible bonding for… for housing for illegal immigrants, because we couldn't get a straight answer on that bonding Bill. So, the reality is, while we are prioritizing individuals who are here illegally, we are letting our own citizens fall behind, whether you talk about the PUNS list, investments in taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves. I believe extra funding was requested for Meals on Wheels, which there was a little increase, but certainly not the increase that's needed for our senior citizen population who are on fixed incomes. We… it's amazing that we continue to work on… on large packages that prioritize large business, big businesses over our mom and pops, our homegrown businesses, our neighborhood businesses. We don't provide grants to those individuals who are not only caring for their families, but for the families of all of their employees as well. And we are adding this additional burden on the individuals, the taxpayers of the State of Illinois. A billion… over a billion dollars in new taxes. The largest budget this state has ever seen, and we still couldn't do it with what we were bringing in. We had to raise taxes. Not 10300116.docx 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 only that, but we are supplementing it with dollars from Fiscal Year '24…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader, your time is up."

"…as if… as if that's part of this year's revenue. It is not." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Bunting will yield your time."

"We… thank you. I'll… I'll finish up here really quick. Fiscal Year '26 may be a $2 billion reckoning. Start thinking about what you want to start cutting because we will require cuts in the very near future. Vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Cabello is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Would the Leader yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Leader, went through several questions in Exec Committee and I appreciate the answers on most of it. They are compiling, still, a few more answers for me, which I know they will get to me. I did forget to ask a few questions that I would like to try to get on the record today. We've been talking a lot the last few days about the safety and security of the folks in this chamber, their family members that come and visit them, and all of the citizens and visitors that come to the Capitol Complex. We hear good news that they will be putting some security cameras and some call phones over in the Stratton's parking deck, but it still leaves the rest of the complex, in my opinion, at a disadvantage. Is there any money in the budget, number one, for the cameras and call phones in the Stratton parking deck? And two, is there any 10300116.docx 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 funds that are available to finish what needs to be done at the Capitol Complex?"

"And that would be for the Capitol Complex as well?"

"Thank you very much. I appreciate that. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I don't know how else to get our point across. We want to work with you. Look at all the Bills that are been bipartisan this year. We work great in committees together. But here we are, again, with a partisan budget. Never invited to the table. Never asked about our priorities when we believe that we have some really good ideas that would help this budget. Now, I understand that the budget actually started over in the Senate, which I'm not real happy about. We're the House of Representatives, we should have control of the budget. But that's a topic for another time. When we look at the tax increases that are being placed on our taxpayers, it is becoming too much. We are hearing… and I'll stop for a second." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative La Ha yields her time."

"Thank you. We hear from them that the mounting bills on their tables are beginning to drown them in debt. And here we are adding another billion dollars to that kitchen table. And let's… let's be honest here. We all know about the cliff coming for transit, $785 million next year. And there's talks 10300116.docx 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 of service taxes for that. Where does it end? The folks in our districts can't handle this anymore. We are making them make decisions on what they are really wanting to do. Do they buy their medication or do they pay their rent? Do they buy groceries or do they buy their prescription drugs? These are real problems for real people in all of our districts and we keep placing more and more. When we look at this budget, we can start looking at page 3,301. That is where, and it pains me to say it, all the pork projects start. And I think you know why it pains me to say pork. In those projects, as I'm scanning through them, there is not one for any of these folks over here. Not one. How the hell do we have our taxpayers paying for projects in districts they will never see? Our taxpayers deserve the same treatment of being able to look at projects. But how are we supposed to give them to you if you don't bring us to the table? How would you feel? I understand we're in the minority, the superminority, but our job is to hold the majority accountable. That's why I'm bringing up the page that this starts on." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader, Representative Sanalitro yields her time."

"It's not fair. I'm going to go out on a little bit of a limb and say it's very close to being disrespectful. Not only to us, but to the taxpayers that gave us the honor of sitting in these seats. When you hear us cry out, yell out we're here to work with you, I wish you would believe us. We do it on so much. When you have one party rule doing things, it usually doesn't come out good. Ladies and Gentlemen, I know it's late, but when we have these types of Bills coming 10300116.docx 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 at this hour in the morning, and then we have a clock saying it's going to limit how much time we have, that's another problem. Why didn't we wait and do this tomorrow and give us a lot more time to go through this stuff? 'Cause guess what? Some of the headlines across the State of Illinois are now going to say, 'In the dark of night, billion-dollar tax increase.' We're better than that. The taxpayers deserve better than that. I'm obviously, unfortunately, going to be a 'no' today. But a lot of it is because, number one, the huge tax increases; number two, because what takes place on page 3,301. And don't think that the media's going to pick up on that now. Ladies and Gentlemen, please, let's do better next year." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Halbrook is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you. Leader, Saturday, in this chamber, we discussed a cutting-edge technology where the science is relatively new, carbon dioxide sequestration, capture and sequestration. And one of the reasons we were told we needed to do this was to capture federal dollars. And I quizzed the Sponsor about who was to receive those dollars and how… what form they were to come in. And so, the Bill passed and, ultimately, will be signed into law. Representative Swanson, earlier, spoke about the need to fund our local soil and water conservation districts. This is a local agency, and I believe nearly every county in the state, that helps us to conserve a very vital resource, or multiple vital resources, our soil and our water, to do what I believe is a priority of everyone 10300116.docx 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 in this building is to promote and conserve clean water, clean soil, and clean air. My question for you is, how do you decide, how do you prioritize which program we're going to fund to capture federal dollars?"

"So, evidently, agriculture, the very thing that feeds everyone in this room, is not cream that rises to the top. I think that's crazy at 1:38 this morning… in the morning, in the wee hours, that we've just now heard that agriculture that feeds every one of us in this building and in this world, the cream did not rise to the top. So, that's how we decided that we're not going to fund this very vital entity. To the Bill. This Bill is not in balance. Balancing this budget is not hard. This balance could be… balanced immediately without spending a billion dollars on a group of people that are in this country illegally, amongst many other things. My time is short, vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Wilhour is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will." 10300116.docx 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Leader Booth, is there a… is there an appropriations in… in this budget for K-12 for migrant children? I think the… they refer to them as new arrivals around here."

"Why not? Are they not costing anything?"

"Well, that seems kind of peculiar because ISBE was asking, in front our committee, for $35 million to be appropriated for this. There was a Representative that was presenting a Bill asking for $188 million to deal with this. This is a… this is a real deal. I am wondering how we are educating these… these migrant children, who a lot of them are very high needs. I'm… I'm wondering how we're educating them so cheaply."

"So, why were all these people coming and asking for money for this?"

"How many… how many of these illegal migrant children have… have arrived in… in our state in the past couple years?"

"Oh, well… well, I'm uncomfortable with you not to…"

"What's that?"

"Okay." 10300116.docx 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Okay. Well, if you're not in this country illegally, then, technically, it… it is illegal. But, okay, we'll use your… your terminology. How many new arrivals is our education system, K-12, dealing with approximately?"

"Well, I think that's a pretty important thing that you ought to know. We had people testify in our committee that there is up to 36 thousand of these, quote, unquote, 'new arrivals,' I don't want to offend you, in FY24. And if we use the state average, per pupil spending, that's a half a billion dollars. That's not a small amount of money. And the fact that the Governor has put zero in his budget, and we're sitting here talking about this right now with zero in the budget, is inappropriate, is completely inappropriate. And it seems to me that we are… that we're… that we're hiding spending that the taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill on. What do you say to that?"

"Why?"

"Okay." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up. Representative Miller will yield his time."

"Thank you, Representative Miller. Yeah. I'll go to the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill." 10300116.docx 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"This is a major problem. Our state is in… in big trouble. We see that now. We're definitely going to see it coming. We are dramatically downplaying the significance of the illegal alien crisis here, especially in our K-12 system. It is completely, completely mindboggling that not a penny, not a penny has been put into the budget to… to deal with this. We open our doors. We roll out the red carpet. We say we're a sanctuary state, but then we not even… we're not even giving our schools money to… to fund this. They're having to educate these people, but there's no money to fund it. So, we're in trouble. The taxpayers are tapped out. The COVID money is running out, and we're hiding costs that the taxpayers are going to have to… are going to have to foot. It's time to get serious around here and talk about real issues and make some real reforms to… to this system. The… the taxpayers deserve that here in the State of Illinois, and they deserve honesty. They deserve honesty here, and we're not seeing that right now." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Elik is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. First, I'd also like to acknowledge the outstanding work that our staff on both sides of the aisle have done this year. They deserve our respect, our gratitude, and our thanks today and always. Can we give them a round of applause, please? And I'm going to go ahead and go straight to the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Members of the House, we come here to Springfield every year, fresh faced and bright eyed in January, and we work really hard all spring to pass our Bills, impact policy, and 10300116.docx 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 advance our districts' priorities. Then, by the end of May, we're a little ragged, tired, and with a few new gray hairs, but we go back home and we answer to our constituents. And that is truly our first priority, serving our constituents and knowing their needs and wants and making sure that what we advance here matches what they need us to do. So, when you vote on the budget tonight, I want you to ask yourselves, 'Is this what my constituents need from their state government?' And I know there are both good and bad things in the budget, and we've discussed many of these already, so I'm not going to belabor all the points. But it is important to point out, though, that people on both sides of the aisle have had valid and legitimate concerns with the direction of state spending, rising taxes, and the hypocrisy of legislative pay raises. Republicans have been a little more public about our concerns, but I know there are people on both sides who know this is unsustainable. And, yes, some Democrats are concerned about going back home and explaining their vote on this budget tonight to their constituents because their constituents and ours are hurting. While Illinois government has expanded dramatically over the last few years, Illinois families are hurting. Utility costs, mortgages, property taxes, food, child care have risen just as dramatically as government budgets. So, what do Illinois families do about this? They reduce their spending. They defer large purchases. They find ways to cut costs. They certainly can't give themselves a pay raise. They do their best to cope with the circumstances before them. Now, what does Illinois state government do when our families are hurting? Raise $1 billion in taxes, transfer 10300116.docx 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 money fund to fund to meet budget gaps, reward Democrat politicians with hundreds of millions of dollars of Member projects, and, in fact, raise our bonding authority to do so, and prioritize noncitizens over our Illinois families. That is definitely something Members on both sides of the aisle will have to explain to their constituents. So, what could we have done differently?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Elik, your time is up. Fritts… Representative Fritts will give you… yields his time."

"Thank you. So, what could we have done differently? Well, just a couple weeks ago, the Governor's Office put out a memo suggesting that agencies should prepare for cuts of $800 million if the tax increases weren't approved, thus began the pearl clutching. To think that anyone should suggest that state government find ways to cut back so that taxes wouldn't have to be raised. Now, come on. Anyone in this room who has ever sat in an approps hearing or the Legislative Audit Commission knows that our agencies could be more efficient and can do it with less dollars. But, no, this Body instead decided to raise taxes, spend more, and give politicians yet another pay raise. So, when you go home to your constituents, how will you answer them? Will you say you did everything you could to avoid tax increases? Will you say you fought against the massive spending? Will you admit that you're concerned about the direction of the state? What about when they ask you what you did to lower property taxes or utility prices? I am still hopeful that one year I'll be able to vote 'yes' on a budget. I am an optimist. I want to be part of the 10300116.docx 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 process. I'm willing to compromise and negotiate, but this is not the year for me. And I think that if you have that uncomfortable feeling in your stomach over this budget like I do, or you feel like maybe you're not going to be able to convince your constituents that what we've done here makes the state stronger, then it shouldn't be your year for a 'yes' vote either. I strongly urge you to think of your constituents, acknowledge what they need from state government, consider whether what we are doing here really helps them in the long run, and then vote accordingly. I urge a 'no' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative LaPointe is recognized."

"To the Bill. Illinois has repeatedly fought to improve the lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Whether this meant allowing them the ability to live in their own home or in a community-based settings, we have continually pushed for bipartisan legislation that makes significant investments into the community-based support systems in this state. Last spring, we worked together to pass a provision that gave direct support professionals, DSPs, a 2.50 wage increase. This was a step forward in strengthening community-based services and support as well as 10300116.docx 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 making crucial investments to the DD workforce. Due to the high turnover rates and vacancies in the field, this increase wasn't nearly enough to keep these valuable workers in the system. These groups came to us this year and asked for a three dollar per hour wage increase to bring them in line with the Guidehouse recommendations. The Guidehouse rate study's goal is to achieve a DSP wage that is 150 percent statewide, local or regional minimum wage. Currently, the DSP wage is at 139 percent of the minimum wage. However, with the $1 an hour wage increase in this year's budget, that drops it down to 137 percent only of the minimum wage for year '25. It's no secret that the DD system in Illinois is plagued with problems. We are in violation of a 12-year-old consent decree, leaving thousands without adequate care that are still on the PUNS list. We are talking about our most vulnerable population, yet we still have thousands of cases of abuse and neglect in our facilities that…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up. Anyone yield? Representative Elik."

"…that seem to go unaddressed in a system that is chronically underfunded and lacking oversight. It's time we addressed the root cause of these issues and put our money into the communities that need it most in the State of Illinois. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Reick is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"We're going to… we're going to start off with some… a lesson called economics for English majors. You know who you 10300116.docx 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 are. There are no answers. There are only tradeoffs. The first lesson of economics is scarcity. There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics. I'm going to focus on the diversion of money from the Road Fund this year because, boy, I'll tell you what, that's a lucrative and very fertile ground for taking money from one place and putting it into another. We have $200 million going to fund mass transit operating expenses within the RTA, and it comes at a time when the authority is being faced with a fiscal cliff next year of nearly $800 million brought about through breathtaking mismanagement of the money given to it during COVID. The least that could've been done, the least, was to tie it to reform. The final agreement spelled out that the money being transferred to the… to the transit funds, this is both Chicago area and downstate, from the Road Fund are not intended or planned for road projects. The language also specifies that the Road Fund and another $50 million transfer from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank, LUST, Fund to public transportation operating expenses are a one- time-only events. If this is really only a one-time transfer, we're already talking in the next fiscal year operation starting off in a $200 million hole." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up. Representative Rosenthal will yield his time."

"There's an old saying that when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. How much do you want to bet that next year's budget is going to include money to keep going over that fiscal… keep us from going over that 10300116.docx 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 fiscal cliff? EV credits, electric vehicles. While the Majority Party thumps its chest on how to help ordinary people, this budget creates a program paid from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund to allow rich people to buy electric vehicles. The base price of a Tesla is about $75 thousand. Given that the average income of the people in McHenry County, where I come from, in 2022 was $45,617, I don't know how many of them would think of plopping down $75 thousand for a car on the promise of a $4 thousand tax credit. The money that's coming… this money is coming right out of the working people of Illinois' pockets. How many years, how many years does it take for a normal driver to pay $4 thousand in Motor Fuel Taxes that you're giving to a wealthy Tesla buyer all at once? When I voted for the increase in the Motor Fuel Tax in 2019, I did it with the expectation that all of the money would go into a lockbox and be used specifically for road and bridge purposes, a lockbox that was set up in the state constitution. I now find that the City of Woodstock is being saddled with an additional $10 million to relocate water and sewer lines as part of the expansion of Route 47 through town. While the original bid for relocation was $6 million, which the city has set aside for that purpose, inflation, inflation alone has driven that cost up to $16 million. And all IDOT will do is offer us a $10 million loan to cover the cost." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Schweizer's yielding his time."

"The same problem exists in the City of Marengo on a project that's been underway since 2020, and it is no doubt affecting other communities statewide. But it does have a $12 10300116.docx 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 million to pay for charging stations for cars that no one wants to buy. So, what we have is money that we've been paying in for five years for the purposes of improving our road and infrastructure being loaned to us, our own money being loaned to us, so the state has enough money to… to subsidize Elon Musk by giving credits to buy cars that nobody wants and $400 million in grants to economically disadvantaged communities without defining what those communities are. IDOT could take that $400 million and give it to road projects right now, but instead they're going to fund grants. And you know what that means? That means grant applications. That means grant reviews. That means that none of that money is going to be spent until God knows when. This is just another example of government taking our money and then treating it as it own… as its own. The Democrat Caucuses will receive $500 million more to spend on Member capital initiatives. If they had any conscience or any sense of ethics, they would report this money as a campaign contribution and put it on an A-1 with the State Board of Elections. If we're sitting on so much money… we're sitting on $5 billion in the Road Fund. If we're sitting on so much money that IDOT can't spend it all, why not increase the allocation to local governments to speed up their projects or, God forbid, send some of it back to the taxpayers? In short, we have an administration that's budgeting its way around the constitution so it can treat the Road Fund as its private ATM." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Bunting is yielding his time. Representative, you're done? Representative Schmidt is recognized." 10300116.docx 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Are there legislative pay raises in this, and if so, what percentage?"

"Not in this Bill? There was in the budget, so I'm going to talk about that. That's a disgrace, and it's a slap in the face to everyone back home. So, here we are. We all have clean clothes on. I'd even call them fancy clothes. We had food today. We have homes. We have cars. We don't need pay raises. The people back home need that money. This is a disgrace. And I'm telling everyone in this chamber, including that side of the aisle, donate that pay raise back in the form of a charity back home, people that need it. No grants. No paperwork. You just give the money back right out of your account. That's action. Okay? And vote 'no' on this Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Halbrook is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you. Leader Gabel, back in the spring, early, the leading farm organization in the State of Illinois, the Illinois Farm Bureau, had worked in a bipartisan manner on language to increase the Farm Estate Tax number from 4 million to 6 million. That was HB4600. I… I don't see that Bill advancing, but I thought it might be in this Bill. I'm not able to find it in any of these Amendments or the original language. Can you tell me whether that's a part of this Bill, and if not, is it… will it be a part of another Bill that we're likely to see here this morning?" 10300116.docx 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Will it… will it be in another Bill that we're likely to see this morning?"

"Do you… do you know why we won't be able to see that language?"

"Okay. Well, this is a really important measure not only for the farmers of the State of Illinois, but for our businesspeople, due to factors, whether it's inflation or just their business growing or whatever. Increasing this estate tax limit is really, really important to maintaining that these farms and businesses continue to grow and operate in this state. With that, I would urge a 'no' vote on this Bill. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Weaver is recognized."

"To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"There's a handful of lessons that we're all taught from a very young age in our personal lives, which seem to quickly be forgotten in these halls. Around budget time, two of these things especially seem to go forgotten. One, don't spend money you don't have. Two, don't buy new things if you can't take care of your current things. Illinois isn't struggling because we tax too little. We're struggling because we spend too much. I always say before spending a dollar that we, just like everyday citizens, need to ask two questions. The first, is spending the dollar a good idea? In many cases, it may be. But we always forget to ask the second question, can we afford 10300116.docx 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 it? The citizens of Illinois are telling us in an overwhelming way with their feet that they can't afford it. They're taxed far more than they deserve, more than they can afford, and they're leaving for more competitive states. This year's proposed budget includes billions of dollars in new programs, yet we still have billions of dollars in maintenance backlogs that we're not addressing. This Assembly loves to add new things without taking care of what we currently have. The state owns historic buildings in my district, in Bishop Hill, that are on the brink of total disrepair. The state owns these buildings. When you walk up to them, the sign on the front says, 'Property of the IDNR.' People from all over this state, just like the folks in Bishop Hill, aren't asking for freebies. They're not asking for handouts. They're just asking the state to take care of the things that it owns. They're asking the state to take care of what it currently has. And requests like those in Bishop Hill come from folks all around the state, and their requests to care for what we already have repeatedly fall on deaf ears. Yet, here we are, raising taxes so we can spend money we don't have on new things we can't afford while we neglect what we already have…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Fritts will yield his time."

"…while we neglect what we have a duty to care for. Every single dollar spent is a dollar taxed. There's no way around it. Every single dollar that we spend as politicians isn't ours, it's somebody else's. It belonged to somebody who earned it. And all that they ask is that we spend it with care. And some of it we do. Some of our spending is good. Some of it is 10300116.docx 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 with care, no doubt. But in this $53 billion budget, much is wasted, and it's not ours to waste. I urge a 'no' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Gabel to close."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you. Leader Burke, really one question, I think. What is the number one reason that… that you want to change these taxes that are collected? What's… what's the driving reason there?"

"Yeah, so, the short answer would be local control, to restore local control to some of these taxes. Would you agree with that statement?" 10300116.docx 61  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Okay. Thank you. And… and to the Bill. And… and, Madam Speaker, I may ask for some additional time because I want to kind of complete this statement if it's okay, and it… it'll be brief. I… I'm just… continue to be amazed about how folks in this chamber and in the other chamber are all about local control until they're not about local control. Five years ago, this chamber voted to take away local control from townships when it concerned wind and solar siting. And then just a year ago January in the lame duck, this building… the Members of this building in the House and the Senate voted to take local control away from counties when it come to wind and solar siting. So, I'm just kind of curious how, again, we prioritize when we're for these things and when we're against these things. Over the years, several of my colleagues have been calling for the elimination of the grocery tax. Unfortunately, the Majority Party and the Governor absolutely refused to do anything in this building the right way. Instead of giving us a clean…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Will anyone yield his time? Representative…"

"…instead of giving… instead of giving us a clean single-issue…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Hauter."

"…tax cut, they give us HB3144. This Bill is full of taxpayer abuse. HB3144 removes the protections for local taxpayers by allowing local governments to tax them on merchandise without the… without the permission in a referendum. This means the state is giving permission to local 10300116.docx 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 governments to go behind the backs of the taxpayers and pass tax increases way above what they are paying now on the grocery tax. There is no excuse for the House of Representatives to be eliminating protections for local taxpayers just so the Governor can tout a political victory for his grocery tax. Of the… on top of these issues, there is direct tax increase to the hotel industry, a 911 surcharge to Chicago, on and on and on, all wrapped up in HB3144. This is just ridiculous. We support cutting a grocery tax. We also support protecting local taxpayers from Springfield taking away their vote. Thank you, and vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Miller is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."

"Like my colleague just so eloquently spoke, I want to make it very clear that I support it and am in favor of reducing or eliminating the grocery tax and have been that way for a long time, even before the Governor announced in his budget address. And I was also… am always for the opportunity to reduce taxes, including, you know, the estate tax, the gas tax, the income tax, the real estate tax, and so on. But I knew that this was going to be a stretch, but I thought maybe, just maybe, there would be hope in the House passing a clean tax cut that we could all agree on. But when it comes to tax cuts that are not actual tax cuts, welcome to HB3144. The Bill raises taxes on the hotel industry and on 911 surcharges, as well as the RTA and others. It allows for local governments to impose their own grocery tax if so desired, which not being as big of a deal as it was through 10300116.docx 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 a referendum if it's limited to the current rate. However, neither of those things happen in this Bill. This Bill gives the green light to local taxing bodies to raise taxes not… on not just groceries, but on general merchandise too, without approval from the voters on the ballot. Great transparency, huh? The Governor and the Majority Party want this to be done as a political victory, but they do not want the actual results of cutting taxes. Therefore, they're just passing the buck, making our mayors the bad guys, when it's really the Governor and his Minority…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Wilhour will yield his time."

"…and his Minority Party due to blame. And I would like to thank Representative Wilhour for yielding his time. This Bill should've been a one page singular vote deleting the grocery tax. Instead, we get 181 pages. Now, what could go wrong with 181 pages in a tax Bill? But this is just another election year gimmick. If the media reports on this Bill, they'll have the duty to report that this is not a tax cut Bill. It's basically becomes a tax omnibus, which leaves local taxpayers vulnerable to paying much more than they are now in combined state and local taxes. We need production for the working families, but we see a pattern developing of predictable behavior. If you earn it, they tax it. If you spend it, they tax it. If you save it, they tax it. If you invest it, they tax it. If you build it, they tax it. If you live in it, they tax it. If you drive it, they tax it. If you eat it, they tax it. If you give it away, they tax it. And if you die, they tax it once again. And then what they do is 10300116.docx 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 they waste the money. You know, this Bill needs to go where the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow. The Illinois taxpayers need to be protected. Vote 'no'. Thank you, Madam Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Burke to close."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Good morning, Rep. How you doing?"

"So, I have a couple questions for you. The… the first is on the sports wagering piece. How did we arrive at those percentages? Was there any analysis that IDOR went through to… to kind of come up with that?"

"The…"

"Okay. And that 200 million that… that is projected in there from the tax increase, is that based on the current year revenue and just putting those tax structures into place?"

"Okay."

"Excellent. Okay. And do we expect any diminishment in those because of these rates or it was just as is?"

"Okay."

"Okay. Thank you. The more… more important and… and pressing to this was, I think we all saw and we were all able to talk to the folks that operate the video gaming machines in… in our state and… and the tavern owners who've really benefitted and… and been able to revitalize their establishments as a result of this, what I would call up until this point, a perfect structure for gaming, in… in that we equally share across the state the terminal operator and… and 10300116.docx 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 the venue. I'm going to pause and ask Sosnowski to share some time with me if he would." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Sosnowski will yield his time."

"Thank you. And so, can you walk me through how we got to the decision that we were going to disrupt that and we were going to give the state an additional cut, an additional point, as opposed to an expansion like we did in 2019 that seemed to serve everybody very well?"

"And I think the concern is, especially with as tight as some of these venues' budgets actually are, gaming has been a differentiator. And… and I would really encourage us to go back and visit this because I think there's a way to keep the current integrity of how it's set up in place while raising, perhaps, even more dollars through some expansion and what opportunities. But I think the biggest opportunity, and we heard it once earlier today at least, is when we look at where these dollars are going, they're going to fund our vertical capital, right? And so much of this, as I scroll through the budget of… and 251 and where those dollars are going, all of these VGT revenues that are being raised outside of the City of Chicago seem to be going and supporting significant 10300116.docx 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 projects in the 13th Ward, in the 26th Ward, 27th Ward, Chicago Public Schools. And there are capital dollars that are being raised significantly outside of Chicago." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader, your time is up."

"I will close it…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Schweizer will yield his time."

"And so, what I'd like to see even more so is, imagine the pot of money that we could have towards capital projects on a bipartisan basis if we were able to bring Chicago into the VGT world and actually raise some revenues for good projects that could be very helpful there. So, I think we have some missteps on the VGT piece, and… and I'd like to see us work towards fixing that, perhaps, as we get to Veto Session. But on your last comment, too, on the counties' salary study, I'm just going to put a plug in there for making sure that we allow, like everybody on your side has said recently, local control and make sure that we allow the counties to decide how their executive officers get paid. Thank you, Rep. I appreciate you doing this with me tonight. God bless." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Crespo is recognized."

"Will the Speaker yield? I'm sorry, Speaker. Will the… the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you. Getting late. First of all, I'd like to ask Representative Crespo to repeat just what he said because next year you will be going after the taxpayer. To the Sponsor. We have a cap on retailers' discount of $1 thousand a month, and you said $12 thousand a year. We have a lot of small businesses whose… their business cycle is like Christmas. You know, October, November, December, where they do a vast majority of their business. Is… is this a 12 month, $12 thousand, or is it $1 thousand a month?"

"So, the businesses that rely on holidays for a bulk of their sales are going to… not going to be able to take full advantage of this discount because in other months their business probably isn't all that good. And I think this is something that, had you talked to some people that know anything about running a small business, you might have… might have learned. On this carryover deduction… oh, by the way, back to the $1 thousand deduction. When does that take place? When does that start?"

"The cap, yes, Ma'am. The cap, sorry."

"So, it doesn't go in…"

"Go ahead, I'm sorry." 10300116.docx 74  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Pardon."

"Thank you. Please, I… I didn't hear your response."

"But… but it doesn't start until January of 2025."

"So, is your revenue projection a six-month revenue projection from January to June? Or is it an annual projection that, as this continues, it's going to be double that?"

"So, we're only going to realize half of that revenue this… this year?"

"Okay. I want to talk a little bit about this… the carryover deduction. When does that take effect? Is it this tax year? In other words, are we in the midst of a year that we're changing the rules, or… or does this take place later?"

"Okay. So, this fiscal year, we're not interfering with the Tax Code?" 10300116.docx 75  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Very good. I… that's great, and I appreciate that. I want to go to the Bill, please. You know, you look further down into this and we're going to be giving tax credits for music and musicians, for student assistants, for plays, and… and all kinds of things…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative, your time is up."

"I will close. But yet, we sit here today…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Swanson yields her… his time."

"…and we don't… and we don't fund the Invest in Kids. We fund all kinds of things, but we are not doing the one thing that we should be doing, and that's ensuring that our children, who are in underperforming schools, have an opportunity to get a scholarship to a school that will better prepare them for the future. We have missed an opportunity again. This Bill is patently flawed, and I would hope that we would reject this Bill and come back in the fall and try to figure out how we can do the right thing. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative McLaughlin is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Representative, a net operating business loss deduction for… what's the total amount that we expect in revenue enhancements to come to the state?"

"And a revenue enhancement would be what for the business?"

"A tax increase. Would that not be correct?"

"But… okay. Thank you. To the Bill. A year ago, I spoke on the House Floor in the early hours of the morning, again, and predicted that based upon the Governor's and my colleagues' progressive spending agenda, we would miss our numbers by a billion-five. I was close. I said 18 months, we'd be off by a billion-five. Well, I hate to say it, but didn't miss it by very much. We're off by 800 million. Earlier in the spring, I mentioned the term revenue enhancement that would be needed to balance the budget. What are revenue enhancements? That's Demsplaining for tax increases, especially on our businesses. Removing the net operating loss deduction will drive businesses out of the State of Illinois. The money doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from the employers, roughly 527 million that the Representative mentioned. I wonder if that'll impact their hiring practices in a time when we need revenue more than ever." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Jacobs yields time."

"Thank you. It appears that another grand compromise is taking place in this chamber. There's one simple word. People on the other side, you could actually tell the Governor. It has two letters, N and O. For God's sake, tell the Governor no when he has terrible ideas like this. We're 10300116.docx 77  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 tapped out. The compromise that we're all going to have is for families to see if they can afford to pay the cost of living in the State of Illinois. Bill Withers, a famous soul singer, had a song that said, 'You keep using me until you use me up.' I think Representative Crespo is correct. The taxpayers have been used up. And I'm not quoting him, Fred, but I had the same question, 'Where do we go now?' Personal income taxes and businesses. This is not political commentary. This is just cold, hard truth. In my three years, we've spent $13 billion more than when I got here. If people in this chamber knew how to run a business, actually made payroll, had to pay for insurance for their employees, they would understand what they're doing instead of dictating to businesses and individuals what they need to do, how they need to do it, and how much it's going to cost them. The people in this state, next year, will be behind by $1 billion, based upon the spending we approve this evening, before we even start the clock. The water carriers have been used up in this state, and we can do better. We need to do it soon before we lose another congressional seat, whether or not my friends, the population deniers on the other side of the aisle, understand this or not, due to outmigration. So, for my friends, please understand you can only use someone so much before you've used them up. Thank you, Madam Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Tipsword is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."

"Thank you, Representative, for taking a couple of minutes. I'll be brief. I see there's a tax credit for a 10300116.docx 78  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 returning citizen. Could you please explain to me what that is and where they're returning from?"

"I appreciate that. Do we know a possible fiscal impact, what this could potentially cost?"

"Okay. So, a million dollars, and this was ex-felons or felons coming out of prison, now we're calling returning citizens. Is that correct?"

"Thank you for your time." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Elik is recognized."

"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicates she will."

"Thank you. Leader Burke, I just wanted to talk about something that we talked about at length in committee earlier this evening, the internet… or the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. Could you talk about where this language came from and this idea came from?" 10300116.docx 79  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"And how many other states have done this?"

"So, why would Illinois want to be the first?"

"So, what is the benefit to the state? Is there a revenue impact here?"

"So, can you also talk about the opposition from the banks and credit unions that testified in committee?"

"Thank you. I'd like to go to the Bill. And I think you just said it perfectly, Leader Burke. The legal shortcomings are very important on this aspect of this revenue Bill. The 10300116.docx 80  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 banks and credit unions have stated they cannot accomplish this part of this Bill without great difficulty, great investment that they don't have the capabilities to do. So, you should definitely expect legal action on this later from what I'm understanding. So, this is starting something that is intended to give retailers back the money that's being taken from them as part of the retailer discount change. Why don't we just not do the retailer discount change instead of now trying to solve some problem that we don't even know how much impact this will have to retailers? That was also testified to in committee that they don't really know how much this will help the retailers. So, if nothing else gets you about this Bill, most definitely don't overlook this provision that's going to cause a lot of problems for the State of Illinois, put us into court, and this… this part of the Bill will not be able to go through. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "And our last speaker, Leader McCombie."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was thinking my light was not working. Leader Burke, just a couple cleanup here, a couple questions that came up. From the Senate committee, it stated that this… these changes are a total of 1.2 billion with the overall net impact of roughly 747 million to the state. Is that correct?"

"Okay. One of the questions from a previous speaker wasn't what I was going to speak on, but the VGT, where did that idea generate from, the one percent?"

"Actually, it wasn't."

"Okay. Well, I had a meeting on Thursday with the Governor and the other leaders, and I asked the question where the idea of the one percent came from, and there was no answer as to where it came from. And they were going to get back to me on what that… whose idea it was. So, I was hoping that I would have that answer."

"Okay. Are you aware that there was several proposals from the industry? At that meeting, I said, 'Have you'… my ask would be, 'Would you be willing to talk to the industry because they have several ideas that could actually generate more income for you? Would you be willing to… to do that?' And from my understanding, they were not willing to consider any of those other proposals. This would generate, I believe, roughly 35 million, when the proposal could generate up to 60 million. Are you aware of those proposals even being considered?"

"Okay."

"Yeah, I'm just really concerned with this piece of it because this is, you know, it's not one of my favorite things, 10300116.docx 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 in our small communities, to have these VGTs. But it is… it is part of our… our system. And, unfortunately, in our small communities, a lot of our mom-and-pop shops, because of high rents, high energy costs, this is how they get through their winters, and this is one of the most balanced taxes that we have. So, this is really unfortunate, and this is going to be a hit, again. I… I think you said this is a… I think the comment you said, one of the… oh, this is a different text. I think that you said that this would bring things in line, but this is one of the most balanced taxes that we have. And, unfortunately, I think this is going to be an area where you're going to see an extreme loss on our… our local businesses and it's going to be harder in the… in the end for places to stay open. Another… another piece of this, the retailers discount cap. That total revenue enhancement, tax increase will be roughly $101 million. Is that correct?"

"Okay. And if I understand that correctly, this will be a cap. So, it's $1 thousand per entity, per month, correct?"

"Okay. So, I'm just going to use an auto dealer. And I'm going to use auto dealers because out of that $101 million, roughly, auto dealers are 42, 43 million. So, since that's a biggest portion of that 101, let's use that as an example. So, auto dealers collect the sales tax for the state and the locals. So, they take 1.75 percent for their fee to collect that, correct?"

"Okay. Now, we're going to go ahead and cap that. So, let's say I'm, you know, a local JC Carey Motors in Savanna, Illinois. It's one of the… the last auto dealers in our small town and hardly is staying open, can hardly keep inventory on the lot, and is one of the biggest sales tax producers to my small hometown, and now we're going take… put a cap on this local business of $12 thousand when it cost this local business $60 thousand, estimate, to collect a tax for the state. So, another burden on a small business in a small community that could barely even keep inventory on the lot. How are they… how are they going to do that? You know, when I talk to other people that are in suburban districts or have more sales, you know, have a bigger service department, have more people utilizing that, it's easier for them to stay open maybe. But $60 thousand for a small… a small shop is huge. And to limit that we're only going to give them $12 thousand, that's not a staff person. But… but the state is going to require they have to do that. That's a mandate. They have to collect that tax. So, if… if the state is going to cap this small business at $12 thousand to collect the tax, why doesn't the state just collect the tax?"

"Leader, you're absolutely right. You're absolutely right, but that's a partial reimbursement. And the higher the cost of the… of the good, the more complicated it is. So, cars are more expensive, so more complicated it is."

"The Illinois Department of Revenue administers at least 24 taxes on behalf of local government. So, they administer it. They're collecting 2.17 percent. That's higher than the 1.75. Are we going to cap them?"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is another tax increase on business. This is a tax increase that will be passed on to consumers. This will be a tax increase that will be passed on to consumers or it will shut down the business. It may not affect you in larger areas, but these kind of businesses are the lifelines in our smaller communities. And decisions we're making here, or deals that are made here, affect us. Please vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ugaste is recognized."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good morning, everyone. A few of the Reps next to me have already agreed to lend their time if we could just keep the clock going, it may make this go 10300116.docx 85  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 quicker. Seven hundred million to a billion dollars in new taxes at a time when we've seen a twenty-five percent increase in our revenue stream in the last five years. Just think about that for a minute and the message that sends the business community and the rest of country when other states are lowering their taxes. And it appears that each of these Amendments I see up there is a tax increase. There are very few things in the House of Representatives that all of us can agree on, and I can guarantee you this Bill is certainly not one of them, but I try and find things we can agree on to talk about. And I think the one thing we can all agree on is that opportunity is the best… opportunity is the best remedy for almost everything that ails our society. Unemployment, opportunity. Crime prevention, opportunity. A long, healthy life, opportunity. Homelessness, opportunity. Lack of economic racial equality. Let's not forget the WalletHub study showed we're 50 out of 50 states in that category, opportunity. You have a program. You mentioned many of them in the budget. I have a better one for all those. Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity. Opportunity for a good education. Opportunity for safe neighborhoods. Opportunity for good paying jobs." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Sanalitro yields her time."

"We can all agree on this, right? All right, I'm going to continue. Businesses don't pay taxes, people do. If a business is taxed, they pass it on to their customers, which, no matter what, always ends up with the people paying somewhere down the line. And if a business cannot pass that tax along to the people and stay competitive, if they have to eat it and just 10300116.docx 86  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 pay them and it's too much on them, well, they either go out of business or they move to another state. And the taxes don't all have to be on business to make them think this isn't the place they don't want to be. They just see we're increasing taxes by almost a billion dollars. So, here's what I can't figure out. Here's what's confusing the hell out of me today. Why on earth are we considering increasing taxes for almost a billion dollars? Can we also agree that these are tax increases? We can call them whatever we want. We can sugarcoat it however we want. But the end of the day, this Bill, if it becomes law, will increase taxes. So, I'll move on. We all know that businesses are job creators, and job creation is opportunity. Jobs are created, more people have more money, better lives for their family, and they seek better education for their children. I'm sure we're all still together on this. And at our request, the General Assembly, the State of Illinois through COGFA, Moody's created a report. You've all seen it." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Coffey yields."

"You all rely on Moody's because you talk about the nine- credit upgrade. Same… same company giving us those credit upgrades prepares this report. And its lead conclusion, prior to this Bill having been filed, its lead conclusion is that Illinois will lack the rest of the nation in economic growth and the primary reason is over taxation of businesses. You can talk about Site Selection magazine. I'm not disputing it. They say we're number two for expansions. Well, that's great, but our expansions are so nominal compared to what's going on in other states that we are lacking in economic growth 10300116.docx 87  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 compared to the rest of the nation. That's our own study telling us that. Not someone outside, our own study, the people we hire. So, if over taxation is the primary reason business is not deciding to come here… and business means economic growth, which equates to more opportunity, we should not ever be considering this Bill. And along the same lines, why did we just do that tax credit? If we're going to tax the very people we're trying to entice and tell them that each year we just want more money to spend, we'll hit you for another billion, why did we do it? Ladies and Gentlemen, the people who run these businesses, the men and women who run these businesses are not stupid. At least not the ones who are successful, the ones we want here, the ones that will provide long-term jobs for people. So, please, stop. Let's think about this for a minute. Think about what is in the best interest of the people you represent. What is more important?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Stephens yields his time."

"Voting for this Bill and getting a few dollars for programs you can bring home or providing opportunity, opportunity for a better future for the people in your district and in this state? As a Republican, if I had agreed to vote for this Bill and agreed to vote for the budget, can you imagine what I could've brought home for my district? But I didn't do it, and I won't do it. And the reason is, is because it's not in the best interest of the people in my district. Nor is it in the best interest of the people of the State of Illinois, which is all your districts. Does the little money you receive for your districts by raising these 10300116.docx 88  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 taxes outweigh the vast amount of harm and economic growth it's going to do the state, the opportunities for those living in our communities? I appreciate you listening to me. I know floor speeches generally don't carry the day here. I've seen it over six years. Votes are usually counted, but I've also seen the rare instances where they do matter. And I am hoping what others have had to say and what I've just said have made a difference. We're all still here. The Senate, and I know they'll hate me for saying this, can come back. We still have time. Please think long and hard about this vote because, if you vote 'yes', you're telling business that it is business as usual in Springfield and Illinois. And if Moody's right, the company we hire to do a study for us, and we all know they are, by voting 'yes', you will do severe damage to the economic growth of our state. However, if you vote 'no'…" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Jed Davis yields his time."

"…if you say let's go back to the drawing board and see where we can save more money, you will tell business it is a new day in Illinois. A new day, truly, in Illinois. We are now concerned about economic growth, we're going to start working to improve our business climate, and we will tell our residents we are going to provide them with opportunity. Vote 'no'. Vote for economic growth. And vote for opportunities for the people of Illinois. I thank you. And, Madam Speaker, I'm going to request a verification." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Members, Representative Ugaste has requested a verification. All Members will be in their chairs and vote their own switches. Representative Guzzardi is recognized." 10300116.docx 89  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024

"Representative Ortiz." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ortiz. Leader Ortiz."

"Request that the name be removed." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Mr. Clerk, please remove Leader Ortiz. Leader Burke is recognized."

"Madam Speaker, are we debating the Bill again on Concurrence? Madam Speaker."

"Madam Speaker, no official vote was recorded. The Sponsor was given Postponed Consideration. There is no record vote for her to reconsider." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The Motion for Postponed Consideration was out of order. Therefore, it stands. The record vote stands."

"Madam Speaker, I… I do not believe the Chair called for the record to be taken by the Clerk." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "I did."

"Madam Speaker, it also appears that House Rule 72 is the rule governing concurrence and that that is the appropriate rule for us to advance under." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "We will be moving to the vote on the Motion. 'Shall the vote… shall the vote on HB4951, the Motion to Concur on Senate Bill… Senate Amendment 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to be reconsidered… be reconsidered?' The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. The vote on the Motion to Concur on Senate Amendment 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for HB4951 has passed. Leader Burke is recognized."

"Request a verification of the vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Members, Representative… Leader Windhorst has requested a verification. All Members will be in their 10300116.docx 99  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 116th Legislative Day 5/29/2024 chairs and vote their switches. The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to House Bill 4951?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify 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 question, there are 60 voting in 'favor', 49 voting 'against', and 0 voting 'present'. Mr. Clerk, please read the names of those voting in affirmative."

"On the verification, I request Randy Frese's name be removed." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Is Representative Frese here? Representative Frese is removed. Representative Didech is recognized."

"Madam Speaker, I don't believe you took the record on the prior vote when we had the verification. I believe that was inappropriate. I think it's clear to everybody what's going on here. It takes the super… the supermajority how many times to get this, well, right in your mind? We… you, you passed these rules. These are your rules. I think you're wrong with the Motion to Reconsider. That's not the appropriate process. Rule 72 is clear about what's to occur with concurrences. It says you get two votes on a concurrence. Both of those failed. I think it should be clear to everyone in this state what this supermajority is willing to do to ram a tax increase down the throats of the citizens of Illinois at 4:30 in the morning. Three votes. Three votes. Request a verification." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "'Shall the vote on the Motion to Concur on Senate Amendment 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 be reconsidered on House Bill 4951?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; all those opposed vote '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 question, there are 62 voting 'aye', 42 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The Motion is passed. Leader Burke is recognized."

"Thank you. Representative Andrade. I believe Representative Delgado. I have no other names." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "On this question, there are 60 voting in 'favor', 47 vote 'against', and 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Speaker Welch is recognized."