"The hour of 11:30 having arrived, Members will be in their seats. Guests are asked to remove themselves from the Floor. Persons not entitled to the House Floor shall leave the chamber. We'll be led in Prayer today by Representative Coy Pugh."
"Can we bow our hearts and humble our spirits? Heavenly God, God of our ancestors: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We come before You this afternoon to pause, just for a moment. To breath into our lungs a breath of inspiration, of hope and anticipation. We pause in Your presence totally aware of our proclivity for egocentricity. Keep us ever mindful of the golden rule, that we are to do unto others as You would have others do unto You. Prompt us, Oh God, prompt our leadership to be more even handed in the distribution of justice. Help us to seek the strength that comes from the river, from the bay and from the mighty roar of the many oceans. Teach us most of all, Oh Lord, to do justly, love, mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Amen."
"We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Representative Hartke."
Hartke - et al: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Speaker Granberg: "Roll Call for Attendance. Representative Cross, any excused absences on the Republican side?"
"Yes, there are."
"Would you care to tell us?"
"Thought you'd never ask. Representative Kubik is excused today, Mr. Speaker. Thank you again for asking."
"My pleasure. Representative Currie, are there any excused absences?" 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that both Representative Lopez and Representative Rodriguez are delayed, so they should not appear on the Attendance Roll Call, but we anticipate they will be here in time to sign in for the Roll."
"Thank you. One hundred and fifteen Members answering the Roll Call, sufficient number for a quorum. The quorum is present; the House is hereby convened. Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Rossi: "The House Rules Committee will meet immediately in the Speaker's Conference Room. The Rules Committee will meet immediately in the Speaker's Conference Room."
Speaker Granberg: "Representative Erwin, do you wish to make an announcement? Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, Representative Erwin has an announcement pertaining to her committee and the committees scheduled this afternoon."
"Thank you, Speaker. The Higher Education Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday morning at 9 a.m. There is one Bill posted, but that Bill is not going to be heard; therefore, the Committee is cancelled. Higher Education, 9 a.m. Thursday, cancelled."
"For the Members, Higher Education Committee is cancelled for Thursday at 9 a.m. Gentleman from Cook, Representative Morrow."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Appropriation Committee on Public Safety which is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. today has been cancelled. To all the Members on the Appropriation Committee, that hearing has been cancelled for today. Thank you."
Speaker Granberg: "Thank you. Representative Mautino, the Gentleman from Bureau, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The House Insurance Committee 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 for 2 p.m. today has one Bill posted, House Bill 3016, which the sponsor does not intend to call at this time. So for that reason, we're going to cancel the House Insurance Committee. Oh, by the way, would I be... would I be out of order if I welcome the LaSalle County Farm Bureau to Springfield?"
"Absolutely. Where are they?"
"Far be it for me to be out of order in welcoming our LaSalle County Farm Bureau. Thank you."
"Thank you, Representative Mautino. The Farm Bureau is here today in the gallery. Does Representative Woolard wish to have the Agriculture Committee meet today?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is with great pleasure that I indicate to the Body that the Ag Committee will be meeting in a very small chamber to hear a very important issue. And, yes, we are meeting."
"Thank you. Representative Pugh, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Human Services Committee that was originally scheduled for 3 o'clock has been cancelled also."
"Thank you. The Lady from Cook, Representative Flowers. For what reason do you rise, Ma'am?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Health Care Committee that was for this afternoon at 2 o'clock has been cancelled. Thank you."
Speaker Granberg: "Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are joined on the House Floor today by the power behind the throne, Shirley Madigan. Shirley Madigan is here. We are also pleased to be joined today by Dr. Avan Billimoria, the President (Sic-Interim President) of Chicago State University. She is standing next to Representative Connie 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 Howard. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."
"Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules, to which the following legislative measures were referred, action taken on February 18, 1998, reported the same back with the following recommendation: 'to the Floor for consideration' House Joint Resolution 52 and Joint Session Resolution #4."
Speaker Granberg: "Thank you. The Gentleman from Vermillion, Representative Black."
"Yes. Inquiry of the Chair, Mr. Speaker."
"State your inquiry."
"Yes. Will you review, after the Governor's Message, those committees that have been cancelled? It might be easier if you just tell us the committees that are going to meet. I didn't hear all of them, but it sounded to me like most of them have been cancelled. And then if you would have the Clerk, if he's not too busy with his new construction, on House Resolution #4. Was my name left off that Resolution inadvertently?"
Speaker Granberg: "Yeah, we'll make a diligent inquiry, Mr. Black, and I'll get right back to you. As to your first point..."
"Yes."
Speaker Granberg: "We always count on you to tell us on these committee schedules."
"Well, I... the noise level was such that I... I didn't hear all those committees that might be meeting, and I am disappointed, and express my disappointment to the Clerk that my name was left off of this House Resolution for the ninth, no, excuse me, for the 11th consecutive year. I just want you to know how much I appreciate that."
Speaker Granberg: "Mr. Rossi will be so informed, Mr. Black. 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 I... I feel your pain, Mr. Black. Speaker Madigan in the Chair."
"Supplemental Calendar #1 is being distributed."
Speaker Granberg: "Representative Granberg in the Chair. On Supplemental Calendar #1 appears House Joint Resolution #52. Representative Currie. The Lady from Cook, Represent...Majority Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. I move adoption of the Resolution. This merely establishes our Joint Session today, so we can hear the Governor's proposals with respect to the budget."
"On the Resolution, is there any question? No one seeking recognition, all in favor of the adoption of the Resolution say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. The 'ayes' have it; the Resolution is adopted."
"Regular Session will stand in recess."
Speaker Madigan: "Welcome to the General Assembly. The Chair recognizes the Doorkeeper for an announcement."
"Mr. Speaker, The Honorable President Philip and the Members of the Senate are at the door and seek admission to the chamber."
Speaker Madigan: "Mr. Doorkeeper, please admit the Honorable Senators. As designated House Joint Resolution #52, the hour of 12 noon having arrived, the Joint Session of the 90th General Assembly will now come to order. Will the Members of the House and our esteemed guests from the Senate please take their seats. Mr. Clerk, is a quorum of the House present?"
"A quorum of the House is present."
Speaker Madigan: "Mr. President, is a quorum of the Senate present in this chamber."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A quorum of the Senate is present." 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998
"For being a quorum of the House and a quorum of the Senate in attendance, this Joint Session is convened. If the Members could please take their chairs. And would the staff please retire to the rear of the gallery. If the Members would please take their seats. If the Members would please take their seats. Senator Carroll, if you would take a seat. Representative Crotty, if you would take a seat. Representative Morrow, take a seat. Representative Currie, please take a seat. Mr. McCarthy, would you please take your seat. Mr. Brosnahan. Mr. Dart. Mr. McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy, could you please take your seat. First we want to recognize the dignitaries that have joined us today. First, the Secretary of State, former Speaker of the House, George Ryan. George Ryan. The Attorney General, Mr. Jim Ryan. The Comptroller, Loleta Didrickson. The Treasurer, Judy Baar Topinka. The Auditor General, Bill Holland. The Superintendent of Education, Joe Spagnolo. The Governor's Chief of Staff, Gene Reineke. The Governor's Director of Legislative Affairs, Mr. Deno Perdiou. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Mr. Stephen Schnorf. Joining us from the Congress in Washington, the United States Representative, John Shimkus. If you would please all welcome my wife, Shirley Madigan. Shirley. In the rear gallery, if you all recognize the First Lady of Illinois, Brenda Edgar. Also the wife of the Secretary of State, Lura Lynn Ryan. Lura Lynn Ryan. The Chair recognizes the House Majority Leader, Representative Currie. "
"Thank you, Speaker. Would the Clerk please read Joint Session Resolution #4."
"Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Rossi: "Joint Session Resolution #4, resolved that a 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 committee of ten be appointed, five from the House by the Speaker of the House, and five from the Senate by the President of the Senate, to await upon the Honorable Governor of the State of Illinois and invite him to address the Joint Assembly."
"Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Resolution. All those in favor signify by saying 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it; the Resolution is adopted. Pursuant to the Resolution, the following are appointed as a committee to escort the Governor. The appointments from the House are Representative Monique Davis, Representative Lauren Beth Gash, Representative Frank Mautino, Representative Michael Brown, Representative Peter Raskam."
"The Members of the Senate are Senator Chris Lauzen, Senator Judy Myers, Senator Tom Walsh, Senator Debbie Halvorson, Senator Pat Welch."
"Will the Committee of Escort please convene at the rear of the chamber and await his Excellency, the Governor. Once again, would the Members of the Committee of Escort retire to the rear of the chamber to await the Governor. The Chair recognizes the Doorkeeper."
"Mr. Speaker, the Honorable Governor of the State of Illinois, Jim Edgar, and his party wish to be admitted to this chamber."
"Admit the Honorable Governor. Mr. Governor."
"Speaker Madigan, President Philip, Members of the 90th General Assembly, Justices of the Supreme Court, my fellow constitutional officers, and my fellow citizens of Illinois. Today, I am proud to present a budget that is balanced, and much, much more. It is a budget that continues to invest in Illinois' future. It's a budget of 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 caring and compassion and reason and responsibility. This budget is energized by the economic vitality of Illinois today. It reflects, embraces and embodies the fiscal discipline we demanded and we won. We are no longer using today's dollars to pay yesterday's bills. And we are paying our bills on time. When a new Governor takes his oath of office next January, he will inherit a healthy State Government. And when the new century dawns, the people of Illinois should be positioned well to meet all its challenges and to seize all the opportunities it will afford them. We have set a new standard of fiscal integrity. And because of our fiscal well-being, we are able to put even greater resources into our greatest resource, our children. We can improve their odds of mastering the classroom and getting a quality education. We can ensure that more of them and their families stay healthy by providing them medical insurance coverage. We can give more boys and girls in our child welfare system the security of loving and permanent homes through adoption. We can devote more resources to helping welfare families win their independence. We can provide record funding to help the elderly live with dignity in their own homes. We can continue to fund innovative programs to care for the mentally ill in their own communities. We can expand our efforts to protect the treasured natural heritage of Illinois and to promote our economic security. We can escalate our fight against street gangs, drugs and the violence that still destroys too many families in Illinois and ravages too many neighborhoods. And we can continue to keep criminals behind bars, where they belong, and where they can longer threaten the peace and safety of our communities. This budget achieves those goals without 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 asking taxpayers to dig deeper into their pockets. It achieves them without the smoke and mirrors budgeting of the late 1980's, that sunk this state into fiscal quicksand at the beginning of the 1990's. It is built on the bedrock of sound principles that have guided us for the last seven years. We cut spending by more than $2.5 billion by restructuring and eliminating unnecessary programs. We lifted ourselves out of the quicksand by making the tough decisions, time and time again. We made State Government more efficient, more effective and more accountable. The bill collectors are no longer knocking at the door, because there are no old bills anymore. Wall Street has upgraded the state's bond rating twice in the last year. And this budget continues to protect our treasury, while meeting today's urgent needs and the challenges of preparing for the 21st Century. Other than the increases we are providing for education and for additional prisons, spending in this budget is up just 3.1%. Our fiscal health allows us to move this state forward on many, many important fronts, and to invest in the future. But we will do it responsibly. We must continue to set priorities. And this budget clearly does that. Education has always been our top priority. It continues to be. Our elementary and secondary schools will receive the largest increase in General State Aid that has ever been provided in the history of the State of Illinois. For the fifth year in a row, the request from higher education for colleges and universities is fully funded. This budget invests an additional $614 million to educating today's students for tomorrow's challenges. Nearly three out every five new dollars are earmarked for education. That brings our total commitment to students from kindergarten to college to 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 nearly $7.3 billion. Most of the new funding this year, $480 million, will go to elementary and secondary school, an increase of more than 10%. Much of it will fund the historical action you and I took a couple of months ago. It makes good our guarantee to every one of the 700 thousand children in the state's poor school districts. They will no longer be treated unfairly. They will, at long last, be supported by an adequate level of funding. But this budget does even more to help teachers teach and help children learn. I've increased funding for project Success to allow us to extend that trailblazing program for needy children to every elementary and middle school in the state. We have put $36 million in new funding into programs that help elementary students improve their reading and study skills. And we will increase funding for Adult Education and literacy programs by $6 million, which is a 27% increase. In higher education, the additional $134 million I am proposing, brings taxpayers support for our community colleges and universities to more than $2.2 billion. Our public universities and community colleges have proved their commitment to streamlining and to being more accountable. This budget recognizes and supports those ongoing initiatives. It provides additional funds to upgrade undergraduate education, to encourage achievement by minority students, to promote health education and distance learning, and to enhance academic technology. This budget will increase financial assistance for needy students by raising the maximum grant to $4,320. And this budget will also assist an additional four thousand students in paying for their education. Overall, we're providing $27 million in additional funding to help make higher education more affordable in Illinois. This budget 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 also continues our investment in technology. It earmarks $70 million to bring the internet to more elementary and secondary schools, and to build interactive classrooms at our community colleges and universities. We also know the physical condition of our schools and universities is important to learning. This budget provides $145 million for construction and renovation of classrooms at our community colleges and universities, including nearly $7 million to begin a new medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. And this budget includes $256 million for new school construction initiative to assist school districts throughout Illinois in providing 21st Century learning environments for their students. At the same time, we must recognize that not all learning occurs in the classroom. Field trips to museums. Learning about nature at our state parks. Visits to state historical sites. They are windows to the greatness of Illinois' past, and inspire...inspiration to greatness in Illinois' future. I remember the first time I saw the submarine at the Museum at Science Industry in Chicago during a family trip to that city. That was an exciting, stimulating adventure for a nine-year-old boy from Charleston, Illinois. And so was my visit to the Chicago Historical Society that same summer. I am sure it helped spark my lifelong love of history. We are fortunate to have in Illinois outstanding museums, and in Chicago some of the finest in the world. These valuable museums should be used to the fullest. They are potentially great tools for our schools, in not only educating, but also exciting students to want to learn more about the wonders of this world. We must enable our museums to become more active partners in education to inspire young minds. Just a few days ago, I announced an initiative to encourage 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 innovative learning partnerships between museums and schools. This budget provides $5 million in education grants and other incentives to help museums make their exhibits and collections a meaningful part of classroom learning. We also are launching a five-year, $50 million capital program to help the museums expand and improve their exhibits for educational use. This budget also includes new funding for the Illinois Arts Council, to allow communities throughout Illinois to experience the art and culture of other regions of the state through traveling exhibits and performances. As Governor, I've had the privilege of seeing this great, marvelous state as few have. And I have been reminded so many times how much we can learn from each other. In every region of Illinois, there is something to offer: great museums, historical sites and nature areas. They offer stimulating educational opportunities for kids and adults from the city, the suburbs and throughout the state. For the sake of our future, we must preserve and treasure our past. This budget includes funding for a visitor's center at the Lewis and Clark State Memorial to commemorate the famed expedition that originated in southwestern Illinois nearly 200 years ago. This budget includes funding to move forward on the Lincoln Presidential Library here in Springfield. Currently, there are 11 presidential libraries in this nation. But our most important, loved and respected President, Abraham Lincoln, doesn't have one. It's time, Mr. Lincoln has his Presidential Library. This budget also includes more funding to enhance and renovate other Lincoln historical sites throughout Illinois. We also will lay the groundwork this year for a new State Museum to better showcase the history of Illinois and its 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 people. And we will restore historical hotel at Bishop Hill and the Biesman House in Galena, in northern Illinois. In addition, we will invest in our natural areas where young and old alike can appreciate and enjoy the vast natural heritage of this great state. We will develop the 'Babe' Woodyard Nature Area along the Little Vermilion River in Eastern Illinois. We will continue the development of Site M in Cass County in western Illinois. We will complete the 45-mile Tunnel Hill trail for hiking and biking in southern Illinois. And also, in that part of our state, we will build an educational center in the Cache River area to allow more people to experience the beauty and nature of the great cypress swamps. Tourism is one of this state's leading industries. It contributes more than $18 billion each year to our economy and employs more than a quarter of a million Illinois workers. Let us all understand this. Our investment in world-class museums in Chicago, restored historical sites throughout Illinois and bountiful natural resource areas all will bring more tourist dollars to the State of Illinois. With these dollars, we are investing in the future of Illinois. And those investments will pay off. With great opportunity for learning. With our heritage preserved for future generations. And with increased tourism strengthening our economy throughout Illinois. We also must continue to invest in our human resources, our children first and foremost. Last year I talked about the importance of providing care and encouragement for the youngest Illinoisans, infants and toddlers. Together we approved more than $1 billion to nurture children from before birth through their preschool years. This budget does even more. It increases funding for early childhood education programs 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 by more than $20 million on top of the record funding we approved last year for preschool children. With this increase, our administration will have increased funding for these critical preschool programs by $100 million, nearly tripling the number of children participating. This budget includes $117 million for health insurance protection for children whose families earn too much to qualify for medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. We will expand that coverage to tens of thousands more children in the second phase of the KidCare initiative that we launched last month. And, through other initiatives, we are giving other kids a better and healthier life, too, kids who have been abused and neglected. The stories tear at our hearts. Report of abuse and neglect must be quickly and thoroughly investigated. When the allegations prove true, the child must be quickly taken from harm's way. Good foster care must be available. And comprehensive services must be available to help reunite parents with their children, in those cases where the parents prove they can change and provide safe, loving care. It is unfortunate Illinois has to be a parent for any child. But during the last seven years, we have changed policies and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Department of Children and Family Services. And because of those reforms and the investment we have made in DCFS, Illinois has become a better parent. When families can be brought back together, we are providing better services to help that happen. And when kids cannot be returned safely to their homes, we are doing a much better job of finding permanent, loving homes for them. The number of children in temporary foster care peaked in May of 1997 and has declined every month since. 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 By July 1999, we expect the number of children in foster care to drop by 12%. That's a sharp reversal from just a few years ago when we were seeing double-digit increases every year. We are seeing more children reunited with their families. We continue to see record numbers of adoptions each year. We are now able to redirect $25 million of our foster care savings to adoption and guardianship services, a 32% increase over last year. And we will place 43 hundred children in permanent loving homes this year and another 51 hundred next year. This budget also continues the cutting-edge reforms we have implemented in our human service programs. Last July, our reorganization of Human Service Agency was the most comprehensive overhauling of State Government since the early part of this century. That retooling will save millions of dollars in administrative cost in just two years. We've eliminated duplication. We've cut bureaucracy. And at the same time, we have seen public assistance case loads plummet as tens of thousands of families move from welfare to work. We expect nearly $70 million in savings because of the lower case loads this year alone. And we are reinvesting those dollars. We are plowing them back into job training and vocational educational programs. Into programs to help homeless teenagers. And into structured after-school activities. We also are boosting funding for child care by another $24 million, on top of the record funding levels we set last year. We are reinvesting our welfare savings in programs that will help the public aid rolls continue to go down and stay down. We are being a smart government. A government that encourages its people to succeed and be self-sufficient. And give them the tools to help them 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 succeed. I have allocated in this budget $700 million for work force development programs. That includes $157 million to provide job placement services and work force training for another 50 thousand welfare recipients. We are helping welfare recipients move into full-time jobs through a job placement, transitional employment and supportive services. And once placed in those jobs, many recipients are receiving additional educational and vocational training to help them stay there and advance. In addition, we will launch a new welfare-to-work program in Chicago to encourage private businesses to open and expand child care facilities. Those programs and others have helped 41 thousand families move off the welfare rolls and onto private payrolls in the last 12 months. And more than 200 thousand families have made the move since January 1991. We are investing in people. We are helping them realize their potential. We are squarely addressing their problems. We are also acting to prevent problems. This budget significantly increases funding for local public health departments, especially in rural Illinois, where medical care is often difficult to obtain. It will give them greater resources to prevent and control disease and illness. This budget also includes $1 million for the office of Woman's Health. Through the leadership of the First Lady, Illinois has established one of only five such offices in the nation. It is an office that will help women find answers to health problems unique to women. It's an office that will help prevent problems as well as respond to them. Meanwhile, we will upgrade the century-old Veterans Home in Quincy to care for sick and aging veterans. And we will do more to help Illinoisans who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, recover and resume 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 productive lives. We also will continue our reforms in our mental health system. Since 1991, we have focused on helping those with mental illness or disabilities find treatment in their home communities near their families and friends in settings that encourage independence. Since 1991, funding for treatment in state mental health hospitals have increased only 20%. At the same time, for community treatment of those with mental illness or disabilities has more than doubled at the local level. And this year, we are devoting another $29 million to those kinds of community services. We are also providing new dollars to bolster services for those with mental illness who also suffer from alcoholism and substance abuse. We are helping people with special needs to live with dignity and independence and self-sufficiency. Including senior citizens. We want them to live safely in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Home care and community services often are more appropriate and more cost-effective than nursing homes. And we're providing more funds than ever before to give thousands of seniors maximum independence. Since 1991, state resources for the Department of Aging have nearly doubled. This budget increases our commitment to elderly home care. In all, we will spend more than $159 million for community care services in Illinois. And will also provide additional dollars to help community agencies respond to growing incidents of elderly abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. To provide services to seniors and others, we rely on thousands of community service providers and health care professionals every day. Their jobs help enrich the lives and guard the health of thousands and thousands of Illinoisans. I am proposing in this budget 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 $35 million in supplemental payment to community providers this spring to recognize their increased cost. And I believe we can give those health care providers and community service agencies a 3% cost-of-living adjustment in their rates, beginning July 1. With those rate adjustments, those rate adjustments will cost $120 million in state funds in the next year. And they can be afforded only if the General Assembly approves a revised insurance tax to replace the one that was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court last October. We must invest in our human resources, helping build a better future for children, families and neighborhoods throughout Illinois. We must also continue to invest in our natural resources maintaining our commitment to our air, our land, our water. Our environment is better than it was even ten years ago. Less of our top soil is being lost to erosion. Our air and water are cleaner. But we cannot stop there. If we do not remain committed to improving the environment, the quality of life for future generations will suffer. And so will our economic development and job creation efforts. For the first time this budget includes funding, for our brownfields initiative to help communities reclaim abandoned and contaminated industrial sites. We also will increase funding to help communities improve their drinking water and finance improvements through their wastewater facilities. Illinois will again pay its share with our Great Lakes neighbors to protect those vast inland seas and support effective stewardship of those natural resources. As part of a 15-year commitment, we will commit funds that will allow us to work in partnership with landowners to restore and protect the Illinois River and its watershed. Since I became Governor, funding to promote soil and water 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 conservation efforts have nearly doubled. This budget includes additional funding for the state's soil and water conservation districts in Illinois. It includes $12 million, a 33% increase, for the university and agricultural research to improve food quality, make farms more productive and ensure that Illinois remains agri-business state leader that it is. Maintaining our investment and infrastructure is also fundamental to staying competitive and keeping our economy strong. This budget includes $1.1 billion for highway and bridge improvements. But I need to add a word of caution here. We will not be able to provide even a basic road program unless Congress authorizes a new highway funding bill this spring. Last fall, gridlock in Congress resulted only in a temporary highway bill. That temporary funding expires April 30th. I am hopeful that Congress will get down to business. That highway funding is crucial to Illinois and states across this land. Meanwhile, we'll move ahead on other transportation fronts. This budget includes $7.6 million for the second year of the state's aggressive efforts to maintain Amtrak Service between Chicago and Quincy, Carbondale, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Amtrak ridership is up 13% during this last year, and we want to keep the momentum going. This budget also provides $341 million in capital funding and operating assistance for the state's public transportation system, increases for the RTA and downstate transit system are part of that. Together our highway program and the capital program I am proposing will generate more than 45 thousand private sector jobs in the construction industry in the upcoming year. This budget also will commit significant dollars to keeping our streets and neighborhoods safe. I'm proposing we build a 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 new 12 hundred bed facility at Stateville and yet another juvenile correctional center. We will open nearly 32 hundred new prison beds in Pinckneyville, Decatur, Chicago and Joliet during 1999 on top of the 563 beds we are adding to the system this year. This budget includes $5 million for the new initiative to keep sex offenders off the streets. They will be confined and required to undergo treatment until we are convinced they no longer are a threat to women and children. Nearly all of those new jobs in this budget are public safety positions, 75 to guard and treat inmates in the new sex offender program, 783 to staff additional prisons we will be bringing on line. And 132 new state police to beef up our road patrols. And even with these additional employees, we will have fewer employees than when I became Governor seven years ago. Indeed, we have reduced the state payroll while adding thousands of new prison guards and hundreds of new case workers to respond to the needs of abused and neglected children. We have done it by eliminating thousands of non-essential jobs. And this budget is built on the firm, certain foundation of fiscal integrity that you and I together have established over the last several years. In fact, it puts our end-of-year cash balance at $750 million, which seems like a lot of money, it sure is to you and me. And tapping into that balance could be tempting for some who want to curry favor with voters in this election year. But let me put that so-called surplus into a context the average Illinois family can understand; $750 million represents just about 3.6% of our general revenue funds. That $750 million balance, 3.6% still puts us behind 30 other states in terms of cash reserves, $750 million in Illinois covers only about nine days of paying our bills. 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 It's the equivalent to the average working family in Illinois having a cushion of less than $2 thousand. Less than $2 thousand to help struggle through an unexpected layoff. Less than $2 thousand to meet unexpected health care needs, to help finance a college education, to help care for an aging and ailing parent. In the 1980's, State Government spent down its so called surplus and then some. It spent money it didn't have and it created a real mess. Think about that when all those wonderful sounding proposals come forth. Indeed Members of this General Assembly already are touting various tax breaks that will cost the treasury more than $2 billion. That totals nearly three times our $750 million balance. And taxpayers in Illinois and across the nation know all to well the consequences. We've been there, done that. Tax breaks before an election. Tax increases after an election. We can't let it happen again in Illinois. The most recent report from the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois ranks Illinois among the 15 lowest states in state and local tax burden. We are below the midwest average. We're below the average of the largest, ten largest industrial states. And we are well below the national average. And we must keep it that way by preserving our fiscal discipline and not squandering our reserves. The Illinois economy is strong, but there are no guarantees. Think about what happened recently in Asia. We all witnessed how quickly a solid economy can crumble. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently urged Congress not to spend away a projected federal surplus. And I believe it's crucial we exercise the same restraint here in Illinois. The cash balance I have budgeted will allow us to pay our bills on time, even in those winter months when our balance 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 typically drops. I remember all too well the embarrassing stories when the state computers shut down during cash flow crunches. They refused to write checks because the money wasn't there. I don't want that happening again to the next Governor. I am proposing a budget that leaves enough money in the bank on the last day of the fiscal year to cover lapse period spending. It's been at least two decades since a Governor of Illinois has proposed that. In other words, we'll be able to pay all the bills that normally arrive over the following two months. We will not be dipping into next year's revenues to pay this year's bills. We must safeguard that budget balance to sustain our fiscal health and we must safeguard it to protect Illinois families against economic slowdowns, unemployment and disasters. There will be no spending binge. And we will not sacrifice fiscal integrity on the altar of election-year expediency. This is a budget that protects Illinois. It is a budget that respond...responsibly invests in Illinois and, most importantly, in the future of Illinois. This budget reflects my priorities for Illinois as the clock of the 20th Century ticks down. It reflects the priorities of our hard working people as a new century beckons. This budget doesn't undercut their pay checks. It underwrites their future. It invests in the health and welfare of our youngest citizens and the security of our oldest citizens. It fosters greater independence for all Illinoisans, but cares for those who must depend on government. This budget sustains a strong economy and strengthens the education of our children, all of our children. It preserves our abundant natural resources and values our human resources. It is a budget that maintains our fiscal responsibility and demands even greater resolve. 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 This budget is a plan for a better tomorrow. A tomorrow brimming with hope and confidence. A future bright and promising. A future of stronger and healthier families, stronger and safer neighborhoods, and a stronger Illinois. Thank you. Thank you."
Speaker Madigan: "Will the Committee of Escort please come forward to escort the Governor from the chambers? The President of the Senate is recognized for a Motion."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Joint Session do now arise."
Speaker Madigan: "The President of the Senate has moved that the Joint Session do now arise. All those in favor signify by saying 'aye'; all opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it and the Joint Session will now arise. The Regular Session will come to order. Mr. Granberg. A Motion has been been filed with the Clerk by Representative Brosnahan. The Motion provides that House Bill 3760, where Mr. Brosnahan is the principal Sponsor, would be tabled. The Gentleman moves that the Bill would be tabled. Any discussion? No discussion. Is there a leave? Leave is granted. The Bill is tabled. Mr. Granberg in the Chair."
Speaker Granberg: "On the Calendar appears House Bills - Second Reading. House Bill 2385. Mr. Clerk. Representative Saviano. Representative Saviano. Representative Saviano, are you having dinner with the __________ Sun Times? Mr. McKeon, leave Representative Saviano alone. Actually, talk to him more than me. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"House Bill 2385, a Bill for an Act amending the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Second Reading of this House Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions filed."
Speaker Granberg: "Out of the record. Hold it on Second, Mr. 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 Clerk. House Bill 2400, Representative Acevedo. Mr. Acevedo. Is the Gentleman in the chamber? Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Rossi: "House Bill 2400, a Bill for Act amending the Criminal Code of 1961. Second Reading of this House Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. No Motions have been filed. No Floor Amendments."
"Third Reading. The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black."
"Mr. Speaker, in all due respect to you in the Chair, we can't hear anything. The computers aren't working; we can't follow this. We may have Notes filed on these Bills; we don't know that. This is an absolute travesty to try to move legislation under these conditions. There must be... there must be a thousand reporters on the Floor. We can't hear a thing going on. We don't even have our laptops; we don't have access to the Bills. I... I protest any further attempt to move legislation under these conditions. This is an outrage."
Speaker Granberg: "Thank you, Mr. Black. Mr. Clerk, announcements? Ladies and Gentlemen, the Clerk is going to make announcements in regard to committees and other matters before the House."
"The House will convene tomorrow at 11:45 for the purpose of taking the house portrait for the 90th General Assembly. Let me repeat that. The House will convene tomorrow at 11:45 for the purposes of taking the 90th General Assembly group portrait."
Speaker Granberg: "The Lady from St. Clair. Representative Younge. For what reason do you rise, Ma'am?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Education Appropriations Committee is cancelled for Thursday at ten o'clock. That 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day February 18, 1998 hearing is cancelled."
"Mr. Clerk. The Lady from Cook, the Majority Leader, Representative Currie."
"Mr. Speaker, this is an announcement for Members who have Bills in the House Rules Committee, and that means most of you. If you have a particular favorite or two among those Bills, your high priority, you might want to let me know as soon as possible what the numbers of that high priority might be. Rules will be meeting today, maybe meeting tomorrow. Bills not reported out of Rules this week will not be posted until the deadline week for Bills in substantive committees. So I would encourage each and every one of us to list priorities and give me the number of the top priority, or possibly the top two priorities, as quickly as you can. Thanks."
"Nothing further coming before the House, the Majority Representative Currie now moves... Majority Leader moves that the House stand adjourned to the hour of 11:45 on Wednesday. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. The 'ayes' have it. The House now stands adjourned." 25