“The House shall come to order. Members shall be in their chairs. We ask the Members to turn off their laptops, cell phones and pagers. And we ask our guests in the gallery to rise and join us for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. We shall be led in prayer today by Pastor David Callahan of the Mt. Olive General Baptist Church in McLeansboro. Pastor Callahan is the guest of Representative John Bradley.
“Please bow. Dear heavenly Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great I am, the author and finisher of my faith. Father, I come to You today, praising Your name and thanking You for the many blessings in my life, Lord. And thank You most of all for my wife and my family. Father, also, we’re thankful for these men and women that represent our great state. Father, as we’re here today, Your word tells us if we humble ourselves and pray that You will hear from heaven and heal our land, Father. We have done many things that are wrong, Father, and I ask today for a corporate cleansing, Father. Father, as we’re here today, I would like to ask that You anoint these men and women of this House, Father. Father, I ask that we cross party lines and uplift the people of Illinois that we represent; whether it be the homeless people of Chicago, Father, the downtrodden oil fields of southern Illinois and our once great coal operations of southern Illinois. Father, I ask that You bless these men and women. Anoint them, Father, be with them, guide and direct 09300090.doc 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 them, Father. And always, I ask this in Your son’s most blessed name. Amen.”
“We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Representative Hoffman.” Hoffman – et al: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
“Roll Call for Attendance. Representative Currie.”
“Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Burke, Delgado and Jones are excused today.”
“Mr. Bost.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record reflect that Representatives Parke and Hultgren are excused today from the Republican side of the aisle.”
“The Clerk shall take the record. There being 112 Members responding to the Attendance Roll Call, there is a quorum present. Mr. Clerk.”
Clerk Bolin: “Committee Reports. Representative Holbrook, Chairperson from the Committee on Environment and Energy, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on Wednesday, February 04, 2004, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass Short Debate' House Bill 3937. Representative Fritchey, Chairperson from the Committee on Judiciary I - Civil Law, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action 09300090.doc 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 taken on Wednesday, February 04, 2004, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted’ Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 1017. Representative Franks, Chairperson from the Committee on State Government Administration, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on Wednesday, February 04, 2004, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted' House Joint Resolution 53 and Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1913. Representative Molaro, Chairperson from the Committee on Revenue, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on Wednesday, February 04, 2004, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' House Bill 412; ‘recommends be adopted’ Floor Amendment #5 to Senate Bill 1498.”
“On page 2 of the Calendar, on the Order of House Bills-Third Reading, there appears House Bill 378. Mr. Capparelli.”
“House Bill 378, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. Third Reading of this House Bill.”
“Mr. Capparelli.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 378 as amended makes two changes on the… for the firefighters. The first change of the Bill was to extend the date of the purchase of their credit from 2000-2005. We meant to leave a window open for one year, from January 2004-5. The second part 09300090.doc 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 was those who took up retirement under Bill 600 would be able to buy back the purchase price of the annuity and have it recalculated. I don’t know of any problems or anyone opposing this Bill, and I ask for a favorable Roll Call.”
“The Gentleman moves for the passage of the Bill. The Chair recognizes Mr. Black.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”
“Sponsor yields.”
“Representative, I thought we took care of this a month ago. House Bill 600. Did I miss something?”
“I think that those who drafted the Bill missed something; we didn’t miss anything.”
“So, House Bill 600 was not drafted properly? What…”
“Un… unintentionally they had… did not put in the proper date.”
“What… this isn’t the brass hat provision is the… what they forgot was service for paramedics. Is that what was left out?”
“Yeah. At one time the paramedics did not belong to the Fire Union; they belonged to the Municipal Union of Chicago. And then I think in 1983, they put ‘em in with the firefighters, and so this gives them the intention to buy that time in the Municipal Fund for their retirement.”
“So, this… this cleanup Bill, then only deals with the Chicago firefighters.”
“That’s right.” 09300090.doc 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Doesn’t deal with the downstate firefighters in any way…”
“No, no…”
“…and it simply corrects an oversight that was…”
“…unintentionally…”
“… embodied in House Bill 600.”
“… right.”
“See, remember what I told you, Representative, time and time again. We… we moved House Bill 600 very fast. As I’ve said on this floor before, things done quickly wither as fast, things done slowly last and last. Now, that’s the last time I’m gonna tell you that. But I stand in support of your Bill, because it was an inadvertent oversight.”
“Thank you.”
“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Has Representative Coulson voted? Clerk shall take the record. On this question there are 104 people voting ‘yes’; 7 people voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 2 of the Calendar, on the Order of Second Bills… on the Order of Senate Bills-Second Reading, there appears Senate Bill 1498. The Chair recognizes Representative… Mr. Clerk, what is the status of the Bill?”
“Senate Bill 1498, the Bill’s been read a second time previously. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment 09300090.doc 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 #3, offered by Representative Lang, has been approved for consideration.”
“Withdraw the Amendment, please.”
Speaker Madigan: “Withdraw the Amendment. Are there any further Amendments?”
“Floor Amendment #5, offered by Representative Lang.”
“That Amendment’s still in the Rules Committee, Mr. Speaker.”
“Floor Amendment #5, offered by Representative Currie.”
“The Chair recognizes Representative Currie.”
“Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. This proposal, which would become the Bill, is one that is meant to respond to the incredible increase in property values for residential property owners in the County of Cook and the City of Chicago. As you know, we’ve placed a great deal of reliance on the property tax to perform basic government services. And with the kind of escalation that homeowners are facing in that county, the Cook County assessor came forward with the proposal to help cushion the impact of the increase when people pay their property bills in the next… during the course of this next year. The proposal dubbed the ‘7 percent solution’ remains part of Amendment 5 to Senate Bill 1498. There are some additional items in this measure; however, one is that the proposal applying only to Cook County would last only for three years, one assessment cycle. Second, in order to make sure 09300090.doc 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 that there are not inappropriate windfalls associated with this legislation, the value of the 7 percent would be capped at… at an assessment increase of $25 thousand. That means every residential property taxpayer would see some benefit from this proposal. But those whose values have risen at particularly high levels would have less of a benefit than they would, were there no cap in place. Finally, the Amendment would also say that if properties are sold, they will be subject to the new valuation for purposes of property taxation going forward. I would be happy to answer your questions, and I would appreciate your support for this Amendment that ultimately becomes the Bill.”
Speaker Madigan: “The Lady moves for the adoption of the Amendment. The Lady has moved for the adoption of the Amendment. Those in favor say ‘aye’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Amendment is adopted. Are there any further Amendments?”
“No further Amendments. A Fiscal Note, State Mandates Note, Home Rule Note have been the… requested on the Bill as amended by #5 and have not been filed.”
“Mr. Clerk.”
“The note requests have been withdrawn. There are no further note requests pending.”
“Then the Bill shall be put on the Order of Third Reading and read for a third time.”
“Senate Bill 1498. A Bill for an Act concerning taxes. Third Reading of this Senate Bill.” 09300090.doc 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Representative Currie… Lang. Lang.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen. Representative Currie, when she ably added the Amendment on Second Reading, described what this Bill now does. I think we’re all aware of serious complications regarding property taxes. Huge assessments are putting people out of their homes, particularly senior citizens. I think we all are aware of what this Bill does. So rather than belabor it, I’ll just simply ask for your ‘aye’ votes.”
“Mr. Dunkin. Mr. Black.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”
“Sponsor yields.”
“Representative, let’s ma… I wanna make certain that I understand this Bill. There have been a number of versions that have been circulating…”
“Just today.”
“…until today, that’s part of my problem. This Amendment, I think, certainly received a very a… I was there for about an hour, I know it received a very thorough and a… I daresay, fair hearing in the Revenue Committee. But unfortunately, there are many who were not in the Revenue Committee, and I could not stay for all of it. Amendment #5 becomes the Bill. Let me make that clear first. Is… is that correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Okay. Now, the problem I think many of us have on our side of the aisle is that literally staff has had about two 09300090.doc 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 and a half… two hours and forty-five minutes to go through the latest Amendment… after spending literally eighteen hours analyzing all of the other Amendments. So now Amendment 5 becomes the Bill, and in all… in all due respect to you and in all honesty, we are scurrying to try and analyze this sentence by sentence. So I think, in the meantime let me just ask some questions. I… I think I know the answer to this, but let me make sure that the record is clear. What we are to vote on increases, for lack of a better term, you correct me if I’m wrong, increases a property tax exemption in Cook County, but no other county in the state. Correct?”
“No other counties have asked for it. That is correct.”
“All right. You and I were here in 1992, and that file is back in my office. In 1992 we increased the exemption in Cook County, on a rather partisan vote, as I recall, that grants a homeowner… a homeowner occupied exemption of $4,500, if they live in Cook County; the rest of the state the homeowner occupied exemption is $3,500. Now, I… I’ve tried to change that the last four years, because I cannot, for the life of me, think of any reason that a rational person could understand that a person in Cook County is entitled to a $1,000 higher homestead property exemption than a person in the other 101 counties. In ’92 you further exacerbated that by giving a senior citizen in Cook County a $2,500 property tax exemption, and seniors in the other 101 counties get a $2,000 exemption. Now you’re coming to us and taking that exemption, that I think since 09300090.doc 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 ’92 has been inherently unfair, and boosting that exemption geometrically. Not a $1,000 jump, not a $5,000 jump, but in excess of a $20,000 jump.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Black.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I was… did you ask me a question?”
“Yes, I did. I…”
“I …I heard the pref… the preface…”
“…All right.”
“…but I didn’t hear the question.”
“In what is already an unbalanced, unfair exemption, you’re asking me to vote on another exemption for Cook County that will take a homeowner’s occupied exemption to a level of $25,000, and everybody that I represent gets $3,500. Now, how i… in… I’d like to keep politics out of this, I really would, Lou, but… but you know we can’t. How can I go home and explain that to any property owner in my district? That if you move to Cook County, your exemption could exceed $25,000, but if you stay in Vermilion or rural Champaign County, your exemption will stay at $3,000… excuse me, $3,500.”
“Well, I’m not sure that I should… I’m in a position to counsel you on your political matters in your district, Representative.”
“Well, that’s never… That’s never scared you off before.”
“Well, that’s true. If you would introduce a Bill to include your county in this, a separate piece of 09300090.doc 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 legislation, I’d be more than happy to cosponsor it with you.”
“Representative, I’ve introduced a Bill for the last four years that never gets out of the Revenue Subcommittee on Property Tax to make our exemption the same as they are currently in Cook County. Can’t even get it out of the Revenue Subcommittee. So I… I must admit some frustration on my part, because what I thought that has been inherently unfair since 1992 will be exacerbated by this Bill.”
“Well, I think what your point up here rightfully is the fact that we really, eventually need to go to a permanent solution to the serious problems we have in property taxes and the way we fund schools in the State of Illinois. Ultimately, we need a solution that involves 102 counties.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. And I have a Constitutional Amendment filed that will do that, and we’ll see what happens to that Constitutional Amendment. We all know. We’ve talked about it. It’s time to either put your vote where your mouth is or find another line of work. Not you, Lou, but us as… as a Body. The income tax is gonna be the only solution to what is a system that is irretrievably broken in this state, and that is a property tax system that is not only broken, it’s on life support. And if I… if I may, and it’s not personal, this simply puts one more BAND-AID on a corpse that’s on life support. And it may give some temporary relief to those people in Cook County. What does it do if I am a renter in Cook County? And I pay, in the Wrigleyville area, now I don’t know if this is 09300090.doc 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 true, but I have been told that some of those rents in the Wrigleyville, particularly around Wrigley Field, that a two-bedroom apartment may rent for $3 thousand a month. I have no idea whether that’s true, that’s what I’ve been told. Does that do anything for me as a renter, this Bill?”
“It… it will not have any direct impact on your rent. You have a lease, so you’re required to pay that rent. Presumably… presumably, the exemption could help the owner in a way that would slow down your increased rent in the future, but it won’t have any impact on your lease.”
“And… and, Representative, I… you and I have worked on that issue before, and I would like to think as somebody who used to own rental property, that that would be the case. That if the owner’s property tax bill went down, he or she might pass that on to the tenant. In real life, I’ve not seen that happen very often. So, I think if I’m a renter in the City of Chicago, I’m probably going to look somewhat askance at this Bill. And I don’t know that I’ll get any relief. The possibility exists that I might if I have…”
“Well, you… you…”
“…a landlord with a social conscience.”
“You might say that… that it’s probably not gonna help you. You might conclude that, but you can’t conclude that it’s gonna hurt ya’ any either.”
“Well, having been a landlord, I… two sides to that issue, too. I… Representative, as always I appreciate your 09300090.doc 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 openness and your willin… willingness to answer questions. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. I don’t… I don’t want to downplay the importance of the assessment crises that may be hitting Cook County. But I would also caution you that the assessment does not have any relation to your tax bill, unless your taxing bodies are raising their levy or raising their rate. I don’t… I don’t pay taxes on the actual assessment of my property; those taxes are determined by the levy extended by the taxing body, which then will increase that rate. So I… I don’t know if capping the assessment is the right way to go. I’m not sure that giving a $25 thousand property tax exemption is the right way to go. But when all is said and done, there are pockets downstate that have growth; there are pockets downstate that have assessment increases. I… you know, just… before I die, I’d like to be in the position of some of the tales of woe that I heard in the Revenue Committee. I heard somebody bought a house for $30 thousand, 20 years ago. And now it’s assessed at $390 thousand. Well, I’m gonna tell ya something. If that person in Chicago would sell me that house for $75 thousand today, I’ll pay the taxes on it for two years and sell that rascal for $390 thousand two years from now and put the money in my pocket. And I’ll gladly pay capital gains on it. I have never heard people complain that the biggest investment they make of $50 thousand is suddenly worth 400 thousand and oh, woe is me. What? I’ll take that return on investment any day. And so you say ‘Well, I don’t have the financial wealth to 09300090.doc 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 pay the taxes on a piece of property assessed that high.’ Well, what do you… What am I supposed to tell senior citizens in my district who paid their house off 35 years ago and whose property taxes and insurance now are a greater monthly payment than their mortgage, taxes and insurance combined when they bought their house. And I’ll guarantee ya’ their house isn’t worth $400 thousand. They’d think they’d died and gone to heaven if it was. But when all is said and done, and I’d like to help my friends and colleagues of the City of Chicago and the County of Cook, but I cannot in good conscience vote for this Bill. I don’t think the long-term ramifications have been well thought out. And I… I’ll guarantee ya’… everything we do here is political, and I wish that it wasn’t. But if any of you wanna go to your district and say that you voted for a proposal that would give a Cook County residential property owner a 600 percent differential than what they get in your district, you not only have my respect, but I can’t wait to come in your district and campaign against you. Vote ‘no’.”
“The Bill is on the Order of Standard Debate. Standard Debate provides that there are… shall be three for the Bill and three in response. To date, Mr. Lang’s spoken for the Bill; Mr. Black has spoken in response. The next person seeking recognition is Mr. Winters. And, Mr. Winters, if you could confine yourself to five minutes.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Mr. Lang, I am concerned about this and its 09300090.doc 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 effect on the senior citizens of Cook County. If I understand the Bill correctly, and I wasn’t in the Revenue Committee, but I have tried to read a little bit of the analysis, if you do cap assessments at this 7 percent limit per year, let’s play out on the macro level what’s gonna happen in Cook County. If residential property is capped at 7 percent, the tax districts are allowed a certain level of tax dollars that they’re allowed to… to ask the voters… or ask the taxpayers to send ‘em. If residential is capped, who’s going to pick up the balance of the tax dollars that are no longer available to those taxing districts?”
“Everyone else.”
“Okay. So does this include multi-family residential or is that included in the 7 percent cap? Is it simply single family only… against the assessment cap?”
“This only applies to buildings under six units.”
“Under six units. So any larger multi-family including, I would assume, most of the multi-family residential in Cook County would not be frozen. So those people will be picking up the additional increment, not paid by the single family taxpayers along with business, commerce and other forms of industry.”
“The Cook County assessor has estimated that that shift will be in the area of 1.7 percent.”
“Okay. So… so there is a shift away from the single family property owners. Now, for a senior citizen who already has a property tax freeze on their house, they’re 09300090.doc 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 not gonna be seeing the 7 percent increase. But won’t that mean that the tax rate goes up? There’s not as much base; there’s not as much assessment out there to put the taxes on. So, under tax caps, the ass… the rate that is assessed on property goes up, therefore you’re shifting more of the burden to the senior citizens and to anybody living in larger than six unit multi-families.”
“It depends what point of view you look at this from, Representative.”
“I am looking at it as a point of view of a property owner.”
“May I… may I finish? The assessments have gone so high that the rate is going to go down. If you’re going to argue that the rate for the senior citizens who are on the freeze is not going to go down as far as it might have, then the answer to that is ‘yes’. But… instead of going from 7.25 to 6.1, it’s going to go to 7.25 to 6.3. So it’s still going down dramatically, just not quite as much as it might have.”
“The point is that the burden is shifting more towards the seniors, more towards the poor who live primarily in the multi-family apartment complexes than it will to the middle and upper incomes that have the single family. I’m simply saying that your… the direction that this Bill leads us is… is regressive. It starts hitting the poorest, it hart… starts hitting the seniors more than they would have been, other than for this Bill.” 09300090.doc 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Representative, I just simply don’t agree with you. It doesn’t hit the seniors at all. Their… their tax rate is going down. Senior citizens in Cook County will be paying lower taxes than they were.”
“But they’re going to be paying higher than they would have if this Bill… If this Bill does not pass, they’ll get a bigger reduction than they will after this Bill passes.”
“Yes, but thousands of other homeowners will get a big reduction.”
“Okay. Well, let’s go on from that. We’ve already established, to my mind anyway, that you’re shipping the burden, however incrementally, towards the low… higher tax rates on the low income and on the seniors.”
“Well, no, I…
“Now.”
“…I didn’t acknowledge that, but you said…”
“I… I…”
“…you said… you said that’s in your mind, so proceed.”
“And it ought to be in the mind of the oth… 117 people that’ll vote on this Bill, too. The Bill is hurting business. Chicago, along with Rockford, has lost more industrial jobs than any other areas in the country. We’re over 11 percent unemployment in Rockford, and yet you think that it’s best that we only apply this to Chicago? Is that a different state than Illinois. Why di… Why did the Bills that we pass only concern Cook County when it’s good for the taxpayer, and you don’t allow us to expand it to the rest of the state?” 09300090.doc 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Sir, for my part I would be happy to apply it to the whole state, but the Bill in its current form does not do that and we’re prepared to proceed. You will vote accordingly.”
“I will. I will vote accordingly. Now in fact, if you really wanted to be fair, why don’t we put a 7 percent assessment freeze on all property? Why… why pick out just the residential for single… single homeowners? Why don’t we say hey, if a business has a tremendous assessment increase through no fault of their own… somebody wants to buy that… that building, they think it’s worth more, let’s put a 7 percent cap on their… on their assessment.”
“No one wants to overburden business, but the truth of the matter is that this is a very slight shift. And in addition, the percentage of total taxes paid by business, as compared to the total percentage of taxes paid by residential, has been skewed toward residential over the last several years and this will only slightly bring it back.”
“Well, you’re… are you saying that the property values of the residential has been going up faster than business?”
“Substantially.”
“Maybe that’s because we’ve taxed business so heavily in this state. Everybody wants to leave the state as a place of doing business because there’s an excess of business property.”
“That has very little to do with this Bill.” 09300090.doc 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Well, I… well, I’m simply trying to follow logic wherever it will, and I think that…that we’re… we’re showing that we’re trying to hurt business, we’re trying hurt… we are going to be hurting seniors. We’re hurting those that live in multi-family dwellings. Now, there another class of people that I think this Bill’s gonna hurt. If we cap the assessment on single families, and I’ll just use that as a generic term for the property that this Bill deals with. If we cap that assessment in Cook County, doesn’t that then mean that when we look at the overall state property tax and how the general state aid formula for the schools is split out, Chicago then, will be… will be making a lesser effort. They don’t have supposedly the property wealth as shown by assessments, as it’s marginally lower than it would have been otherwise. And that’s what every Bill does. We have to consider the Bill before it takes effect or if it doesn’t take effect. If we’re lowering the assessed value that is available to the schools in Cook County, which this Bill does, isn’t that going to incrementally, maybe a very small margin, but yet, millions upon millions of dollars in our state aid formula, isn’t that going to shift dollars away from downstate, away from the collar counties and shift it towards Cook County, because oh my gosh, their assessment only went up 7 percent this year. In other words, their property values aren’t as high as they would have been, so we need to shift more state aid to Cook County. Is that a fair assessment?” 09300090.doc 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“No, it is not, because there’s a hold harmless in the Bill, and the Bill says very clearly that this cap has nothing to do with state aid formula, so the state aid formula’s calculated on the full assessment.”
“The state aid formula will ignore the cap. In other words…”
“That’s correct, Sir.”
“…in other words we’ll have two assessments on each property, what it would have been otherwise and what it is under this assessment freeze.”
“That is correct, Sir.”
“Okay. Well, you relieved my mind on a very minor issue, but…”
“If it was minor, why did we just talk about it for four minutes?”
“Well, because if it wasn’t taken care of in the Bill, it wouldn’t have been minor.”
“Ahh. Okay.”
“But you seem to have an answer for one of the issues that I bring… bring up. We’ve hurt business, we’ve hurt schools… To the Bill, Mr. Speaker. We’ve hurt business, we’ve hurt schools, we’ve hurt renters, we’ve hurt people that live in multi-family dwellings, we’ve driven sho… jobs out of Chicago. We’re welcome in the collar counties, but I’m afraid they’re gonna leave this state. I think this is a flawed Bill. If you want to make it a good Bill, then extend it statewide and extend it across all classes of 09300090.doc 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 property so we’re not continuing to hurt business in this state. I urge a ‘no’ vote.”
Speaker Madigan: “Again, this matter is on the Order of Standard Debate. One person has spoken for the Bill and two have spoken in response. And the Chair recognizes Mr. Sullivan.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Bill. The two previous speakers have really explained a lot of what this Bill does, but I want to bring you one more aspect that’s in the Bill. And that is if you sell your house, and the exemption goes away, and I want to tell you what that means or try to explain to you. If you have two houses that are identical to each other, and they’re both worth say 250, 300 thousand dollars, and over the years they have that 25 thousand dollar exemption, if you go and buy that house, the exemption goes away. So, in reality, you’re going to live next door to someone, have the same exact services, yet you’re gonna pay more in taxes because of this Bill and the way it’s written. That’s what they have in California; it’s called ‘Proposition 13’. We all know what is going on in California and the troubles that they are having. I don’t think we need to emulate what California is doing in regard to the property tax structure. We could b… I could go on and talk about, you know, why it’s a business shift, but once again I think the two previous speakers have spoken eloquently about this. But once again, it is a business shift, and it’s a shift to 09300090.doc 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 anybody not receiving this exemption. I r… I urge a ‘no’ vote. Thank you.”
Speaker Madigan: “The matter is on the Order of Standard Debate. Three people have spoken in response. So there shall be no more speaking in response. Mr. Osterman.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Representative Lang, one question. This Bill does include property tax relief for rental units under six units, so rental buildings that are under six units would be covered under this legislation.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. To the Bill. On that point, as a former renter, I will tell you this whether you’re in an apartment building of three units, two flats or twenty-five units, when the assessments come, there’s a trickle down effect that happens. For all those people that are supporting the rental industry, I would ask them for the last ten years, whether they were hit softly or harder, what have they transferred down to the renter? What have those rental units… what have those rental owners done to protect those renters in the County of Cook? Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, the American dream of home ownership is crumbling in some parts of this state. That is not a fictional thing, it’s not a rhetorical thing, it’s not a political thing, it is a reality. There are people in my community and throughout the City of Chicago and Cook County, that if we do not act, whether it’s this legislation or future legislation passed by the end of Session, they are gonna 09300090.doc 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 move out of their houses. These are not rich people as they have been characterized. They are not millionaires, they are school teachers, they are firemen, they are retired librarians, they are your next door neighbor. They have bought houses years ago, they invested in their community. These are the people that got involved in local school councils, got involved in the CAPS program to reduce crime, got involved in their neighborhood organization like in your communities throughout the State of Illinois. Small town, large city, these people got involved. In some parts of the state, their areas got better, their values went up. So now when it’s time to reap the benefit, the assessment process and the property taxes are showing them the door. I have retired school teachers, their property tax bills are going from 4 thousand to 8 thousand dollars under this new assessment. So in September if we do nothing, they will be asked to move. These people have called me pleading, crying… people that have gotten involved because of this process, the property tax assessments. To my colleague from Danville, I will say this, I will file a Bill that will include all of Illinois in increasing the senior homestead exemption. It should have been part of this Bill, it was part of this Bill at one point, and I will work with my downstate colleagues to try to address that inadequacy. We have heard testimony in committee about how this will affect schools, and there’s a difference of opinion on that. The assessor says and his… had various meetings with officials in Cook County about 09300090.doc 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 that this will not affect the school districts in Cook County. And to date, no one has been able to say anything contrary to that. This is the first step in a long range process by which we have to look at how we ta… how we fund our schools. But Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I ask for your support of this measure. This is a three-year Bill that helps people stay in their homes today, next year and the year after. It gives us all policy makers, elected policy makers in this Body, the opportunity to look at the big picture, something that we have chosen not to do for many years, for political expedience. The time is now that we have to look at that large issue. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this legislation would affect 78 percent of property owners… more than 78 percent of property owners in Cook County; 78 percent of property owners in Cook County would benefit from this. I would ask you, when you think about how you’re going to vote on this Bill, think about those 78 percent that would be affected. Senior citizens, middle class people, people, bottom-line that want to stay in their homes. There are a lot of people that are working against this Bill, a lot of heavy interests that have moved this building to get ‘no’ votes. I would ask you to think not of them, but think of those people that are sitting in their home watching what outcomes we have in this Body as we address this Bill, those people that will have to move if we do not act. With that, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would ask for your kind consideration of this Bill and will work with you as we continue this process. Thank you.” 09300090.doc 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“The last speaker will be Mr. Fritchey.”
“Thank you, Speaker. To the Bill. I think everybody’s aware of what this Bill does substantively. I’d like to talk really about what it is we do here. It’s easy to lose sight when you deal with 5 thousand Bills during a Session, of what those Bills mean, and we know that every Bill we have affects somebody’s life. Ladies and Gentlemen, this Bill is not about Jim Houlihan, this Bill’s not about Rich Daley. This Bill is about my neighbors, this Bill is about the neighbors of all the Legislators in Cook County. Last night in 10-degree weather about 5 hundred people got together, and they had a rally out in the neighborhoods up on the north side to talk about the importance of this. This isn’t a political victory or defeat for somebody on this Bill. This Bill literally makes the difference on whether a number of my neighbors and a number of neighbors around the city stay in their home. If Senate Bill 1498 does not become law, I have people who are living in homes that they have… their family has been in for three generations that will be forced to leave those homes. If you’re in Cook County, and I believe most of the people in Cook County are supporting this Bill, if you’re not in Cook County, folks, I… I… I’m imploring you to realize what it is those of us that are there do. We are there to be the eyes and ears and the conscience of our constituents. You have come to us, and you will come to us in the future, on Bills that don’t affect our county. You’ll come to us on Bills affecting 09300090.doc 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 the coal industry, the agricultural industry, many other things and we’ve tried to be there to help you help your constituents. I am not going to talk about the merits of the Bill. I’m gonna ask you plain and simple, please help us help our constituents stay in their homes. Is this Bill a final answer? No. Nobody ever claimed that this Bill would be a final answer. It is a prudent, necessary step until we can fix this solution. Please let these people stay in their homes, please help us help our constituents. Thank you.”
“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Has Mr. Daniels voted? Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 49 people voting ‘yes’, 61 people voting ‘no’. Mr. Lang. Mr. Lang.”
“Request Postponed Consideration.”
Speaker Madigan: “Put the Bill on the Order of Postponed Consideration. Mr. Verschoore.”
“Mr. Speaker, on the previous Bill, House Bill 378, I want the record to show that I voted ‘yes’ rather than ‘present’.”
“The record will reflect your request.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Mr. McCarthy.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to make an announcement, please.”
“State it.” 09300090.doc 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, yesterday when the schedule for committees was distributed, on the yellow sheet here, it says that the Committee on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority will meet at 10 o’clock on Friday at the James Thompson Center in Chicago. The correct time is 1 o’clock. If you’re a Member of that committee or if you’re interested in that subject, we’ll be meeting at 1 o’clock, the room number is correct, but the committee will meet at 1 o’clock instead of 10 o’clock on Friday afternoon. Thank you, I’ll try to announce this again tomorrow to reinforce it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”
“Page 2 of the Calendar, on the Order of Senate Bills-Second Reading, there appears Senate Bill 1913. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of the Bill?”
“Senate Bill 1913, the Bill’s been read a second time previously. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1, offered by Representative Hannig, has been approved for consideration.”
“Mr. Hannig, on Amendment #1. Mr. Hannig.”
“Yes. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. This is a very simple proposal, and it’s suggested for one year for the FY05 budget that will be forthcoming, that we allow the Governor some additional time to present to us, and to the public, the capital budget. And the idea is that we have, for the most part, general revenue and all the other items that he’ll present to us next week and those…”
“Mr. Hannig.” 09300090.doc 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“…and those items, like school funding, will likely dominate the reporting that goes out to… to our constituents. And in the end, the capital budget will likely get very little, if any, light of day from… from the reporting agencies around the State of Illinois. So the Governor’s proposal is, on this onetime basis only, give him some additional time to present and highlight the capital budget. And indeed, if it isn’t… work out as well as we hope, this… this proposal would sunset after the one year. So, it’s a very simple and easy idea to shed some sunshine on a very important part of our overall budget which oftentimes is not highlighted during the Governor’s initial budget address which’ll be given next week. So, I would ask that we adopt the Amendment at this time. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”
Speaker Madigan: “Gentleman moves for the adoption of the Amendment. The Chair recognizes Mr. Black.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”
“Sponsor yields.”
“Representative, you and I have been here a long time and I have great respect for you, and I think you’ve given me some good reasons for doing this. Can we get to the real reason? And the real reason is I don’t know why we would want to delay the capital budget until March. I mean… that’s a key, an integral part of the budget. And to delay it until March 23rd with the schedule we have gives 09300090.doc 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 us less, I may be wrong, correct me, I think about ten days of Session to digest and act on the capital budget.”
“Well, Representative, first of all we will begin the process of looking at the budget as soon as the Governor introduces the Bills and gives it to us. So, there’s an awful lot of work that will go into rep… you know, looking at general state aid, looking at the Department of Corrections, looking at all the… you know… billion-dollar state agencies that we have to look at. And oftentimes, those billion-dollar state agencies dominate the news and dominate the day. Many of our constituents back in Danville or Litchfield, when they read the papers, they read about general state aid, they read about corrections, they read about DCFS, very seldom do you see very much about the capital budget. So, this is an opportunity for us, I believe, to put the capital budget, which is a very big budget, it’s money that we borrow, and put it in a situation where it can be reported on and stand on its own merits and will have an opportunity to still have the committee hearings. We’ll have an opportunity to, I think, get more input from the public and in the end, we still have to pass the budget. And the capital budget will take a three-fifths vote, so we still have to pass it with a bipartisan support so, it… I think is just a… opportunity, an idea that this administration has to try to shed some sunshine and some… and highlight a very important part of the budget that oftentimes, by its very nature, sort of goes under the radar ‘til the last day.” 09300090.doc 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“You know, I… I would tend to agree with you. And I… I…I think that sunshine is the best disinfectant in the government process. However, my… my real life experience here has told me that when you move something back, that the budget is put together behind closed doors with three or four people, and then all of a sudden we see the capital budget on or about the 23rd of March, have very limited time period in which to comment, probably no time period to amend. And you know, if I thought we would really have a… a… and I don’t think we’d have to have a Committee of the Whole, but a series of committee meetings open to all Members and the public to discuss each and every capital project, I might be excited about this. But my real experience after 18 years here is that the capital budget will be put together behind closed doors by four or five people. I’m not gonna see it until the 23rd of March. And everything that I had hoped would be in it may not be in it, and then it’s too late for me to do anything about it.”
“Well, Representative, in the end, like I said, we all in this chamber have an opportunity to vote on the… the budget as it is finally proposed and it will require a three-fifths vote to pass most components of the budget… of the capital budget, so it’s gonna be a bipartisan effort to try to address it. This is, you know, first of all this is an opportunity that the Governor asked on a onetime basis. If this doesn’t work out in any significant way, you know, we’ll go back to the old system. So, and the other thing I would suggest is that this is… it would be similar to… to 09300090.doc 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 what we do with IDOT. We allow the Department of Transportation, and we’ve done this for years, to present their budget… actually to present their program to us at a later date than the Governor’s introduction of the budgets. And so that way the… the road projects can become highlighted and become a major issue so that people back in our districts get an opportunity to see what it is the Governor’s proposing. So, it’s a… it is an experiment, Representative, and… and perhaps it could fail, but I think we would like to try it on a one-year basis and I… and I don’t, in my view I think it will actually be a step in the right direction. But, you know, I would… I would ask for your… your… your help and… and… indulgence in trying this on at least a one-time basis.”
“Thank you very much, Representative. As always, you do an excellent job of explaining your position. Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, to the Bill. To my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle, we have… many of us have looked at this in… in some detail and tried to get into this issue in some depth. And we keep finding that we can’t get deep enough in the well to see and taste the water. We’re just not sure why this is being done, and it may be as the a… as the Sponsor, who I have the greatest respect for, it may be that it is an experiment that… that needs to be tried and it may work and it may not work. But on behalf of many of us on this side of the aisle, we have been told time and time and time again for the last year that capital projects that we had submitted were approved, 09300090.doc 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 that we had a grant agreement for, and we call on behalf of constituents on infrastructure, sewer, water, not frivolous projects. And what are we told? Week after week for one year, it’s under review. It’s under review. It’s under review. I think the Cubs next year should borrow Harry Carey’s phrase and say, ‘It might be, it could be, it’s under review.’ I, for one, have been so totally frustrated by the lack of any coherent, cogent answer to the questions that people on both sides of the aisle have struggled with for one year. I’ve got a community that if they get through the winter without their water system absolutely collapsing for the lack of $300 thousand under Illinois FIRST, and every time I call I’m told, ‘It’s under review. It’s under review. It’s under review.’ Well, I’ve had it. And I’m not gonna vote for another delay in capital projects, and I urge all of you who have had the same frustration vote ‘present’. This is no… the past year is no way to handle a capital budget, and I’ll be doggone if I’m gonna give carte blanche to anybody to delay it again and again and again. My answer to you, Sir, in all due respect, my vote should be interpreted as this request is under review and I vote ‘present’.”
“The Bill is on the Order of Standard Debate. We’ve had one for, one in response. The Chair recognizes Representative Kosel.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”
“Sponsor yields.” 09300090.doc 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“During the Governor’s address in State of the State, the Governor talked about $550 million that were going to go to school construction grant program; 50 million of that for a maintenance grant and 500 million of that for school construction. Is that part of the capital development budget?”
“That would be part of the capital budget, Representative.”
“So the restrictions, the procedures for that, will be… continue to be delayed, and local school districts will not have the information that they know to apply for this, because of the delay?”
“Representative, the end date would be the same whether the Governor introduced the budget tomorrow, next week, or in March. We have to have a capital budget, if we’re gonna have one, on the Governor’s desk before we adjourn at the end of May. So, that end date, the date when we can put a Bill on the Governor’s desk for his signature, would remain the same. So, I don’t think there’ll be any delays. The Governor has announced this program. Clearly, he’s going… going to go forward with it, and I suspect he’s already begun the process of thinking how it’s gonna wor… work.”
“But what my concern is, is that there are multiple schools districts within my particular district and within neighboring districts that are going through referendums that have unopened applications that are sitting there because no one knows what the criteria for the new construction grant program is going to be. And… and so 09300090.doc 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 therefore, they are in limbo another six weeks. And… to the Bill.”
“Representative, I think they’ll have to be a substantive Bill. I believe they’ll have to be a substantive Bill for the Governor’s school construction program. And consequently that could be introduced today, and that part of the program could actually begin to move forward.”
“But without… without a number of what’s going to be in the appropriation Bill, we can’t really do a substantive Bill. So…”
“That… that… traditionally, we’ll pass the appropriation Bill for both general revenue and for the capital on the last day or near the last day of the Session. I don’t think that’s going to be different whether we ask the Governor to introduce his capital Bill next week or next month. We should still end at the same time.”
“With what you said, is there a substantive Bill for the school construction grant program that’s out there?”
“Representative, I’m not the Sponsor, but I’d be happy to sponsor it and I’m sure you would as well…”
“Oh, definitely.”
“…we look forward to working with the Governor in this important issue.”
“To the Bill. I am very concerned about… about local communities not knowing what’s going to be happening with 09300090.doc 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 the dollars that they need out of the capital budget, and I would also urge a ‘present’ or a ‘no’ vote.”
“The Bill is on the Order of Standard Debate. There has been one for, two in response. The Chair recognizes Mr. Beaubien.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could we take this off Standard Debate?”
Speaker Madigan: “There’s you, plus two people seeking recognition.”
“Okay.”
“It would appear as if there would be you plus one more in response, and then I would think one for… one more for the Bill.”
“All right.”
Speaker Madigan: “I think we all understand the Bill, Mr. Beaubien.”
“All right, then… then you’re not gonna take it off of…”
“Mr. Beaubien.”
“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”
“Sponsor yields.”
“I understand the effect of this Bill is to postpone the capital part of the budget until March 23, ‘04. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Representative.”
“Currently, the state has approximately almost $20 billion in general obligation bonds, 10 billion of which 09300090.doc 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 are pension obligation bonds, the remaining 9.9 are being issued mostly for capital projects. Is that accurate? More or less?”
“I… I think you’re probably right, Representative. I don’t have writ… anything in front of me to the contrary.”
“What I would like the attention of the General Assembly to… to… to hear is that the capital funding Bill contains funding for road projects, DNR projects, Member initiative projects, Opportunity Returns projects, higher education projects and school funding… school construction process… projects. So this is a very, very important part of the budget process. And it was my under…”
“Rep… Repre…”
“… Yes.”
“… I actually agree with you that is very important, and that’s why I would argue that we should highlight it and it… and it should stand separate from the…”
“Last… last year we gave the Governor additional time, which I think under the circumstances was appropriate. We finally put together a balanced budget, and things were done in an appropriate time frame. It was my understanding then, and I’m not sure that there was a specific understanding, that this year everything would be done at the regular February 18th budget address. Is that assumption incorrect?”
“Well, Representative, I think we would… we should encourage every Governor and encourage every Legislator to be innovative. And this Governor has come up with an idea 09300090.doc 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 that he believes is an important idea, that we set aside what I thin… what I agree is a very important part of the budget process, the capital side and say, ‘Let’s have a special day to talk about the capital budget. Let’s bring it all together, all the items that you talked about and let’s announce them. Let’s let them be debated in the press. Let’s let them be debated in this chamber, and let’s highlight and put some sunshine and some interest into what sometimes is a very mundane part of the budget that floats under the radar, but as you said is very important.”
“It is a very important part of the budget, and I think the thing that concerns me is that by waiting this long and not knowing what’s gonna be in that Bill gives the opportunity for some pressures to be issued as determine… on determining how some votes are actually made. And that’s my concern about the… about waiting until March - What is it, 23rd? So, I am gonna be voting ‘present’.”
“Representative, in… in the end it’s up to us to approve a capital budget. I mean we can continue to… to send ideas to the Governor. He can introduce a budget here next week or next month and we may fail to pass it. But we’re only suggesting that the start date be a little bit different than the date for the regular budget, so that we can highlight what’s in that budget. We can get more public input, and we can shine more sunshine on what I believe is a very important budget.” 09300090.doc 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Well, thank you. I really have no more comments other than perhaps if we’d shorten that period from February 18th to say March 1st or whatever, when we’re in Session, it might make it a little bit easier to support this Bill. Thank you very much.”
“We’ve now had three people in response. The Chair recognizes Mr. Hoffman.”
“Yes, real briefly, I would just like to answer a previous Representative’s question regarding the education construction money and the substantive language. It’s my understanding with regard to the construction that the construction funds that were announced at the State of the State speech, there will be substantive language that… and it’s the administration’s intent to put that in by Monday, along with the rest of the education proposals that he outlined at the State of the State. So, this is just talking about the authority to spend in the capital Bill, which is eventually gonna take a bipartisan vote, both sides of the aisle and for most of it a three-fifths vote in order to pass. This is only a procedural change. We do this already for the transportation programs. We do this for the five-year plan. We’re just saying with regard to capital, let’s do what we have always done with transportation. Let’s focus on it. Let’s not just be doing it the very end, the last day of Session. Let’s separate it from the budget and look at our capital needs and make reasonable, intelligent decisions. And let’s focus on it at a later date, so we can really focus on 09300090.doc 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 capital. That’s all this is doing, and I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”
“Question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’. Those in favor… on the Amendment… Representative Mulligan, did you wish to speak for the Bill? Well, I said three times that we were finished with people in response. That’s how I open every one of my remarks. We’re on the Amendment. Those for the Amendment say ‘yes’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it; the Amendment’s adopted. Are there any further Amendments?”
“No further Amendments.”
“Third Reading. Mr. Hannig. Third Reading.”
“Senate Bill 1913, a Bill for an Act concerning the executive branch. Third Reading of this Senate Bill.”
“Mr. Speaker, can we take this out of the record for a moment?”
“Okay. Bill shall be taken out of the record. On Supplemental Calendar #1, there appears House Bill 412. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of the Bill?”
House Bill 412, a Bill for an Act in relation to vehicles. Second Reading of this House Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions filed.”
“Put the Bill on Third Reading. Page 3 of the Calendar, on the Order of Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 636. Mr. Daniels.”
“Could the Clerk read the Resolution?” 09300090.doc 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“House Resolution 636, offered by Representative Daniels. WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives offer our sincere congratulations to the Driscoll Catholic High School Football Team on winning the Class 4A State Championship on November 28, 2003; and WHEREAS, Driscoll Catholic High School located in Addison, Illinois, is under the direction of the Diocese of Joliet and was founded under the Sisters of St. Francis and the Brothers of the Christian Schools; and WHEREAS, This victory marks Driscoll's third straight State championship; and WHEREAS, Under Coach Tim Racki, the Highlanders overcame Prairie Central in a well fought battle at the University of Illinois, Memorial Stadium, winning by a final score of 37 to 21; and WHEREAS, With the support of Assistant Coaches Mike Burzawa, Dan Cepek, Nick Gebhart, Kevin Hanrahan, Bob LaMantia, Mike Loconsole, Brandon New, Nick Cicero, Joe Bertagna, Pat Ryan, Jeff Eggert, Joe Petro, Jon Pullia, Matt Munjoy, Bob Crowe, Shawn Nykaza, and Bill Erzig, Driscoll was victorious for the third straight year reclaiming the State championship; and WHEREAS, Superintendent Stephen Marth, Principal Fred Muehleman, and Athletic Director Robert Carlson have worked hard to continue the winning tradition of the athletic program at Driscoll Catholic High School; and 09300090.doc 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 WHEREAS, Campus Minister Laraine Parker guided the team spiritually throughout the season; and WHEREAS, The Highlanders overcame injuries and adversity to end the season undefeated; and WHEREAS, We offer our congratulations to graduating seniors Nick Lamantia, Tom Relin, Danny Ceik, Matt Kish, Mike Stamek, Mike Dileo, Joe Senese, Greg Turner, Mike Segreti, James Tranchitella, Frank Tenuto, Billy Morris, Frank Gonzlaez, Chris Morales, Josh Weldon, Tony Speer, Mike Gallichio, Nathan Miller, Frank Roppo, Luke Mroz, Tom Wagner, Steve Tonorio, Tom Robinson, Matt Troutman, and Ian Faunt who guided their team to victory; and WHEREAS, The Driscoll football team also included John Tranchitella, Dustin Miller, Phil Pedi, Mike Conti, Ray Lao, Shane Franken, Rick Albreski, Ryan Leahy, Kyle Jenkins, Justin Nudo, Joe Laraia, Ryan Lesniak, Ryan Meyer, Eddie Loconte, Mike Redpath, Nick Giacobbe, Mike Lotz, Dominic Senese, Joe Stapleton, Glenn Adam, Mike Gainey, Eric Caldwell, Ryan Hayden, Ryan Maritote, Mike Fenell, Jeff Turner, Danny Oliverio, Patrick Phillips, Matt Boisacy, Joe Saverino, John Laurel, John Stenzel, Donny Grieco, Francesco Adamo, Dan Jarach, Domic Fontano, Joe Taylor, and Ben Boffa; and WHEREAS, The offensive team included Ray Lao, Danny Cwik, Steve Tenorio, Johnny Tranchitella, Greg Turner, Mike Segreti, Billy Morris, Tony Speer, Frank Roppo, Danny Oliverio, and Dan Jarach; and 09300090.doc 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 WHEREAS, Completing the Highlander defense were Luke Mroz, James Tranchitella, Johnny Tranchitella, Nathan Miller, Kyle Jenkins, Justin Nudo, Ryan Lesniak, Ryan Meyer, Mike Segreti, Greg Turner, and Matt Kish; and WHEREAS, Driscoll receiver Greg Turner tied a Class 4A championship record with 8 pass receptions and established a new record with 210 yards receiving; and WHEREAS, Returning kicker Rick Albreski broke his own 4A title game record of 2 field goals set in 2001, kicking two 32 yard field goals, and a 43 yard field goal; and WHEREAS, The team could not have achieved so much success without the assistance of trainers Oliver Ramiro and Matt Munjoy, statistician Bob Crowe, and President of Football Operations Ken Mahaney and Terry Tranchitella; and WHEREAS, We recognize the accomplishment of these young athletes and their coaches; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we offer our congratulations to Coach Tim Racki and the members of the Driscoll Catholic High School Football Team on winning the 2003 Class 4A State Championship Title; and be it further RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Coach Tim Racki, Driscoll Catholic High School, and the Highlander team members.”
“Mr. Daniels.”
“Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I wish we could take the time to introduce you to every single one of these young men up in the gallery, who are 09300090.doc 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 standing here, who are true winners in the excellent tradition of Driscoll High School. This is their third straight championship, Class 4A, for Driscoll Catholic High School, who has a long tradition of winning. They concluded their season on November 28th when they defeated Prairie Central, sorry Shane Cultra, in a well fought battle at the University of Illinois, winning by a final score of 37 to 21. Earning the title of State Champion and having a winning season doesn’t come easy, as you all know. Although, at times this group of teenagers made it look very easy, ‘cause they went through the whole season undefeated. Our community and the communities that I represent are really bursting with pride over the discipline and the commitment that these young men have shown to their sport, to their community and to their high school. And during the football season, as time went on, people were recognizing the true winners that they are. I’d like to personally congratulate Coach Tim Racki, who is here for the third time, for his third championship and his assistant coaches for their time and guidance in working with these young students and these true champions. And I ask everyone to join me in recognizing them, and in particular, applauding the seniors who are all captains of the team who’ll be going on to other great moments. Congratulations Driscoll High School, Champions 4A. Congratulations. And I’d ask that all Members be joined in the Resolution, and we adopt the Resolution by affirmative vote.” 09300090.doc 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“Mr. Fritchey. Excuse me. Relative to Mr. Daniels’ request, those in favor say ‘yes’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it, and the Resolution is adopted. Mr. Fritchey.”
“Thank you, Speaker. For purpose of an announcement. Those Members of the Judiciary II Committee, that meeting will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow rather than the previously scheduled 9 a.m. Judiciary II-Criminal Law will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Thank you.”
“The Chair recognizes Representative Younge.”
“Mr. Speaker, for purposes of an announcement. There’ll be a Democratic Caucus in 114 immediately after Session.”
“The Lady has announced a Democratic Caucus immediately after Session. So would all Democrats please go to Room 114. The plan for tomorrow is that we will convene at 11 a.m. and that concerning next week, if you could all give me your attention. We have scheduled Session for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And the plan is to cancel the Wednesday Session. So for next week, the plan is to cancel the Wednesday Session. Representative Currie moves that the House stand adjourned until Thursday at 11 a.m., providing perfunctory time for the Clerk. Those in favor say ‘aye’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The House does stand adjourned until 11 a.m. providing… 11 a.m. tomorrow, providing perfunctory time for the Clerk.” 09300090.doc 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004
“The House Perfunctory Session will come to order. First Reading and Introduction of House Bills. House Bill 4567, offered by Representative Slone, a Bill for an Act concerning environmental protection. House Bill 4568, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act concerning telecommunications. House Bill 4569, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act in relation to alcoholic liquor. House Bill 4570, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning financial regulation. House Bill 4571, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning professional regulation. House Bill 4572, offered by Representative Mautino, a Bill for an Act concerning State employee insurance. House Bill 4573, offered by Representative Turner, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4574, offered by Representative Turner, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4575, offered by Representative Capparelli, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4576, offered by Representative Rose, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4577, offered by Representative Rose, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4578, offered by Representative Rose, a Bill for an Act concerning families. House Bill 4579, offered by Representative Cross, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. House Bill 4580, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act in relation to public aid. House Bill 4581, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act 09300090.doc 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 concerning the regulation of professions. House Bill 4582, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act concerning property taxes. House Bill 4583, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act in relation to taxes. House Bill 4584, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act in relation to property taxes. House Bill 4585, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act in relation to property taxes. House Bill 4586, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act in relation to taxes. House Bill 4587, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4588, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4589, offered by Representative Molaro, a Bill for an Act concerning open meetings. House Bill 4590, offered by Representative Rita, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. House Bill 4591, offered by Representative Rita, a Bill for an Act concerning financial regulation. House Bill 4592, offered by Representative Rita, a Bill for an Act in relation to criminal law. House Bill 4593, offered by Representative Rita, a Bill for an Act in relation to public health. House Bill 4594, offered by Representative Beaubien, a Bill for an Act concerning trusts. House Bill 4595, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4596, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4597, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. House Bill 09300090.doc 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 4598, offered by Representative Jakobsson, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4599, offered by Representative May, a Bill for an Act in relation to criminal law. House Bill 4600, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act concerning economic development. House Bill 4601, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act concerning gambling. House Bill 4602, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act in relation to gambling. House Bill 4603, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act concerning gambling. House Bill 4604, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act concerning juveniles. House Bill 4605, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act in relation to criminal law. House Bill 4606, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act concerning minors. House Bill 4607, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act in relation to criminal law. House Bill 4608, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act concerning counties. House Bill 4609, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act in relation to crime victims. House Bill 4610, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act in relation to minors. House Bill 4611, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act in relation to minors. House Bill 4612, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning health improvement. House Bill 4613, offered by Representative May, a Bill for an Act concerning public transportation. House Bill 4614, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning 09300090.doc 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 business transactions. House Bill 4615, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4616, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4617, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4618, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4619, offered by Representative Hoffman, a Bill for an Act concerning procurement. House Bill 4620, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act in relation to emergency services. House Bill 4621, offered by Representative Reitz, a Bill for an Act concerning capital development. House Bill 4622, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4623, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4624, offered by Representative Ryg, a Bill for an Act concerning health. House Bill 4625, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act in relation to property taxes. House Bill 4626, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning economic development. House Bill 4627, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4628, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4629, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4630, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4631, offered by Representative 09300090.doc 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 Younge, a Bill for an Act in relation to housing. House Bill 4632, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning economic development. House Bill 4633, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4634, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4635, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. House Bill 4636, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4637, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4638, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning housing. House Bill 4639, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act to foster economic development. House Bill 4640, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning community revitalization. House Bill 4641, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4642, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee pensions, amending named Acts. House Bill 4643, offered by Representative Hultgren, a Bill for an Act in relation to health. House Bill 4644, offered by Representative Turner, a Bill for an Act concerning special districts. House Bill 4645, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning the Department on Aging. House Bill 4646, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning nuclear safety. 09300090.doc 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 House Bill 4647, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning nuclear safety. House Bill 4648, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4649, offered by Representative Mathias, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4650, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act concerning housing. House Bill 4651, offered by Representative Capparelli, a Bill for an Act concerning mobile homes. House Bill 4652, offered by Representative Capparelli, a Bill for an Act concerning electronic fund transfer terminals. House Bill 4653, offered by Representative Capparelli, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4654, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning public safety. House Bill 4655, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4656, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act in relation to municipal government. House Bill 4657, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act in relation to municipal government. House Bill 4658, offered by Representative Sullivan, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. House Bill 4659, offered by Representative Pankau, a Bill for an Act concerning liens. House Bill 4660, offered by Representative Dugan, a Bill for an Act concerning military personnel. House Bill 4661, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act in relation to alcoholic liquor. House Bill 4662, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning 09300090.doc 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 domestic violence. House Bill 4663, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4664, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning special districts. House Bill 4665, offered by Representative Osmond, a Bill for an Act relating to schools. House Bill 4666, offered by Representative Osterman, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4667, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4668, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act to create the Illinois Africa-America Peace Brigade. House Bill 4669, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act in relation to East St. Louis Area economic development. House Bill 4670, offered by Representative Hoffman, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4671, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4672, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4673, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill for an Act in relation to support. House Bill 4674, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill for an Act in relation to support. House Bill 4675, offered by Representative Howard, a Bill for an Act concerning sealing of criminal records. House Bill 4676, offered by Representative Howard, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4677, offered by Representative Howard, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal justice. House Bill 4678, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill 09300090.doc 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 for an Act in relation to public aid. House Bill 4679, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill for an Act in relation to housing. House Bill 4680, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill for an Act in relation to support. House Bill 4681, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning domestic violence. House Bill 4682, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4683, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning emergency communications. House Bill 4684, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning business transactions. House Bill 4685, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning child support. House Bill 4686, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning higher education. House Bill 4687, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning organ donors. House Bill 4688, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4689, offered by Representative Fritchey, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law notaries. House Bill 4690, offered by Representative Fritchey, a Bill for an Act in relation to housing. House Bill 4691, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act making an appropriation to the Department of Natural Resources. House Bill 4692, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act regarding higher education. House Bill 4693, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning an academy for performing, visual, 09300090.doc 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 and cultural arts. House Bill 4694, offered by Representative Howard, a Bill for an Act concerning employment. House Bill 4695, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning property tax reform. House Bill 4696, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act relating to school facilities. House Bill 4697, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning higher education. House Bill 4698, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning employment. House Bill 4699, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning the homeless mentally ill. House Bill 4700, offered by Representative Churchill, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4701, offered by Representative Churchill, a Bill for an Act concerning medical malpractice. House Bill 4702, offered by Representative Churchill, a Bill for an Act concerning child support. House Bill 4703, offered by Representative Churchill, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4704, offered by Representative Hultgren, a Bill for an Act concerning asbestos. House Bill 4705, offered by Representative Eileen Lyons, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. House Bill 4706, offered by Representative McAuliffe, a Bill for an Act concerning residential mortgages. House Bill 4707, offered by Representative Davis… Representative Will Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4708, offered by Representative Brosnahan, a Bill for an Act concerning health facilities. House Bill 4709, offered by 09300090.doc 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 Representative Brosnahan, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4710, offered by Representative Brosnahan, a Bill for an Act concerning health services. House Bill 4711, offered by Representative Richard Bradley, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4712, offered by Representative Morrow, a Bill for an Act concerning consumer protection. House Bill 4713, offered by Representative Franks, a Bill for an Act concerning higher education. House Bill 4714, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning healthcare. House Bill 4715, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4716, offered by Representative Moffitt, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4717, offered by Representative Myers, a Bill for an Act concerning public benefits. House Bill 4718, offered by Representative Myers, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4719, offered by Representative Leitch, a Bill for an Act concerning public safety. House Bill 4720, offered by Representative Leitch, a Bill for an Act in relation to gambling. House Bill 4721, offered by Representative Leitch, a Bill for an Act concerning hospitals. House Bill 4722, offered by Representative Leitch, a Bill for an Act concerning professional regulation. House Bill 4723, offered by Representative Leitch, a Bill for an Act concerning children and families. House Bill 4724, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning adoption. House Bill 4725, offered by Representative 09300090.doc 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning child care. House Bill 4726, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act to create the Illinois Public Health, Corrections, and Community Initiative. House Bill 4727, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4728, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4729, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4730, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4731, offered by Representative Yarbrough, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4732, offered by Representative Yarbrough, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4733, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning long-term care. House Bill 4734, offered by Representative May, a Bill for an Act in relation to aging. House Bill 4735, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning nursing facilities. House Bill 4736, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4737, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act in relation to housing. House Bill 4738, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4739, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4740, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act with respect to conservation rights valuation. House 09300090.doc 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 Bill 4741, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4742, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning families. House Bill 4743, offered by Representative McCarthy, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4744, offered by Representative McCarthy, a Bill for an Act concerning higher education student assistance. House Bill 4745, offered by Representative Lindner, a Bill for an Act concerning mortgages. House Bill 4746, offered by Representative Lindner, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4747, offered by Representative Lindner, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. House Bill 4748, offered by Representative Millner, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4749, offered by Representative McGuire, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4750, offered by Representative Pihos, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4751, offered by Representative Dunn, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4752, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4753, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4754, offered by Representative Millner, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4755, offered by Representative Millner, a Bill for an Act concerning professional regulation. House Bill 4756, offered by Representative Millner, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee 09300090.doc 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 benefits. House Bill 4757, offered by Representative Pihos, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4758, offered by Representative Brady, a Bill for an Act in relation to criminal law. House Bill 4759, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell, a Bill for an Act concerning mortgages. House Bill 4760, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4761, offered by Representative Bailey, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. House Bill 4762, offered by Representative Bailey, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. House Bill 4763, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act concerning whistleblowers. House Bill 4764, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning the executive branch. House Bill 4765, offered by Representative Nekritz, a Bill for an Act concerning Maryville Academy. House Bill 4766, offered by Representative Nekritz, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4767, offered by Representative Bellock, a Bill for an Act concerning mental health. House Bill 4768, offered by Representative Steve Davis, a Bill for an Act in relation to alcoholic liquor. House Bill 4769, offered by Representative Pritchard, a Bill for an Act concerning food animals. House Bill 49… 4770, offered by Representative Grunloh, a Bill for an Act concerning infants who are born alive. House Bill 4771, offered by Representative Dugan, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4772, offered by Representative Giles, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. 09300090.doc 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 House Bill 4773, offered by Representative Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4774, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning taxation. House Bill 4775, offered by Representative McCarthy, a Bill for an Act relating to public community colleges. House Bill 4776, offered by Representative McCarthy, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4777, offered by Representative Berrios, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4778, offered by Representative Pankau, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance coverage. House Bill 4779, offered by Representative Moffitt, a Bill for an Act concerning cemeteries. House Bill 4780, offered by Representative Capparelli, a Bill for an Act concerning financial regulation. House Bill 4781, offered by Representative Reitz, a Bill for an Act in relation to public safety. House Bill 4782, offered by Representative Reitz, a Bill for an Act concerning alcoholic liquor. House Bill 4783, offered by Representative Bailey, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal justice. House Bill 4784, offered by Representative Bailey, a Bill for an Act in relation to county government. House Bill 4785, offered by Representative Howard, a Bill for an Act concerning utilities. House Bill 4786, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4787, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4788, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning 09300090.doc 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 criminal law. House Bill 4789, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4790, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4791, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4792, offered by Representative Aguilar, a Bill for an Act concerning telecommunications. House Bill 4793, offered by Representative Reitz, a Bill for an Act concerning soil conservation. House Bill 4794, offered by Representative Reitz, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4795, offered by Representative Krause, a Bill for an Act concerning civil liability. House Bill 4796, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning fire safety. House Bill 4797, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning pharmacy benefits. House Bill 4798, offered by Representative Mendoza, a Bill for an Act concerning financial regulation. House Bill 4799, offered by Representative Pihos, a Bill for an Act regarding schools. House Bill 4800, offered by Representative Mautino, a Bill for an Act concerning professional regulation. House Bill 4801, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4802, offered by Representative Coulson, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4803, offered by Representative Mulligan, a Bill for an Act concerning business transactions. House Bill 4804, offered by Representative Mulligan, a Bill for an Act concerning 09300090.doc 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 taxes. House Bill 4805, offered by Representative Mulligan, a Bill for an Act concerning notaries public. House Bill 4806, offered by Representative Mulligan, a Bill for an Act concerning business transactions. House Bill 4807, offered by Representative Mulligan, a Bill for an Act concerning business transactions. House Bill 4808, offered by Representative Bellock, a Bill for an Act concerning the Department of Public Health. House Bill 4809, offered by Representative Bellock, a Bill for an Act in relation to public health. House Bill 4810, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4811, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4812, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4813, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4814, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4815, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act in relation to aging. House Bill 4816, offered by Representative Bassi, a Bill for an Act in relation to aging. House Bill 4817, offered by Representative Phelps, a Bill for an Act concerning State employee group insurance. House Bill 4818, offered by Representative Watson, a Bill for an Act concerning sheltered care. House Bill 4819, offered by Representative Watson, a Bill for an Act concerning sheltered care. House Bill 4820, offered by Representative Watson, a Bill for an Act concerning health facilities. House Bill 4821, offered by Representative 09300090.doc 60 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 Watson, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4822, offered by Representative Watson, a Bill for an Act making appropriations. House Bill 4823, offered by Representative Eddy, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4824, offered by Representative Mautino, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4825, offered by Representative Chapa LaVia, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4826, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning child care. House Bill 4827, offered by Representative Winters, a Bill for an Act concerning mental health. House Bill 4828, offered by Representative Soto, a Bill for an Act concerning family law. House Bill 4829, offered by Representative Soto, a Bill for an Act concerning child support. House Bill 4830, offered by Representative Soto, a Bill for an Act in relation to forest preserves. House Bill 4831, offered by Representative Soto, a Bill for an Act concerning community development. House Bill 4832, offered by Representative Holbrook, a Bill for an Act concerning schools (sic-vehicles). House Bill 4833, offered by Representative Monique Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4834, offered by Representative Collins, a Bill for an Act concerning schools. House Bill 4835, offered by Representative Scully, a Bill for an Act in relation to firearms. House Bill 4836, offered by Representative McGuire, a Bill for an Act concerning health care workers. House Bill 4837, offered by Representative McGuire, a Bill for an Act 09300090.doc 61 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 concerning the Department on Aging. House Bill 4838, offered by Representative Mautino, a Bill for an Act concerning the Auditor General. House Bill 4839, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning State property. House Bill 4840, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning fire safety. House Bill 4841, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4842, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning public employee benefits. House Bill 4843, offered by Representative Sacia, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4844, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act concerning aging. House Bill 4845, offered by Representative Lang, a Bill for an Act concerning health. House Bill 4846, offered by Representative Colvin, a Bill for an Act concerning public utilities. House Bill 4847, offered by Representative May, a Bill for an Act concerning insurance. House Bill 4848, offered by Representative Slone, a Bill for an Act in relation to environmental safety. House Bill 4849, offered by Representative Slone, a Bill for an Act concerning housing affordability. House Bill 4850, offered by Representative Slone, a Bill for an Act concerning sewage disposal. House Bill 4851, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act in relation to employment. House Bill 4852, offered by Representative Meyer, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4853, offered by Representative Myers, a Bill for an Act in relation to 09300090.doc 62 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 families. House Bill 4854, offered by Representative Myers, a Bill for an Act concerning prisoners. House Bill 4855, offered by Representative Bradley, Richard Bradley, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4856, offered by Representative Morrow, a Bill for an Act concerning disclosure of utility services to be provided by landlords. House Bill 4857, offered by Representative Morrow, a Bill for an Act concerning exclusion from labor organization membership. House Bill 4858, offered by Representative Nekritz, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4859, offered by Representative Sacia, a Bill for an Act concerning anatomical gifts. House Bill 4860, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning State officers and agencies. House Bill 4861, offered by Representative Winters, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4862, offered by Representative McAuliffe, a Bill for an Act concerning hospitals (organ donations). House Bill 4863, offered by Representative McAuliffe, a Bill for an Act concerning hospitals. House Bill 4864, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning professional regulation. House Bill 4865, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4866, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act in relation to public employee benefits. House Bill 4867, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning public employee benefits. House Bill 4868, 09300090.doc 63 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 offered by Representative Saviano (sic-McKeon), a Bill for an Act concerning the medical (medicinal) use of cannabis. House Bill 4869, offered by Representative Watson, a Bill for an Act concerning education. House Bill 4870, offered by Representative Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4871, offered by Representative Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. House Bill 4872, offered by Representative Eileen Lyons, a Bill for an Act in relation to child support. House Bill 4873, offered by Representative Joseph Lyons, a Bill for an Act concerning mortgages. House Bill 4874, offered by Representative Joseph Lyons, a Bill for an Act concerning telecommunications. House Bill 4875, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning children. House Bill 4876, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning loans. House Bill 4877, offered by Representative McCarthy, a Bill for an Act concerning public employee benefits. House Bill 4878, offered by Representative May, a Bill for an Act concerning pharmacies. House Bill 4879, offered by Representative Soto, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4880, offered by Representative Younge, a Bill for an Act concerning schools. House Bill 4881, offered by Representative Hoffman, a Bill for an Act in relation to transportation. House Bill 4882, offered by Representative Miller, a Bill for an Act concerning urban development. House Bill 4883, offered by Representative McKeon, a Bill for an Act concerning employment. House Bill 4884, offered 09300090.doc 64 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4885, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning schools. House Bill 4886, offered by Representative Munson, a Bill for an Act concerning electronic signatures. House Bill 4887, offered by Representative Biggins, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4888, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning villages. House Bill 4889, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning public employee benefits. House Bill 4890, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning taxes. House Bill 4891, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning vehicles. House Bill 4892, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning business transactions. House Bill 4893, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning animals. House Bill 4894, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning public health. House Bill 4895, offered by Representative Joyce, a Bill for an Act concerning child custody. First Reading of these House Bills. First Reading of House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment #30, offered by Representative Boland. RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general election next occurring at least 6 months after the 09300090.doc 65 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 adoption of this resolution a proposition to amend Article V of the Illinois Constitution by changing Sections 1, 3, 7, and 18 and by repealing Section 17 as follows: ARTICLE V THE EXECUTIVE SECTION 1. OFFICERS The Executive Branch shall include a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Fiscal Officer elected by the electors of the State. They shall keep the public records and maintain a residence at the seat of government during their terms of office. SECTION 3. ELIGIBILITY To be eligible to hold the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, or State Fiscal Officer, a person must be a United States citizen, at least 25 years old, and a resident of this State for the three years preceding his or her election. SECTION 7. VACANCIES IN OTHER ELECTIVE OFFICES If the Attorney General, Secretary of State, or State Fiscal Officer fails to qualify or if the office becomes vacant, the Governor shall fill the office by appointment. The appointee shall hold office until the elected officer qualifies or until a successor is elected and qualified as may be provided by law and shall not be subject to removal by the Governor. If the Lieutenant Governor fails to qualify or if the office becomes vacant, it shall remain vacant until the end of the term. SECTION 17. COMPTROLLER - DUTIES (REPEALED) 09300090.doc 66 STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 90th Legislative Day 2/4/2004 SECTION 18. STATE FISCAL OFFICER - DUTIES The State Fiscal Officer, in accordance with law, shall (i) maintain the State's central fiscal accounts, and order payments into and out of the funds held by him or her, (ii) be responsible for the safekeeping and investment of monies and securities deposited with him or her, and for their disbursement upon his or her order, and (iii) have the duties and powers that may be prescribed by law. SCHEDULE This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act. A State Fiscal Officer, but not a Comptroller or Treasurer, shall be elected in 2006 and thereafter. This Constitutional Amendment otherwise applies upon the conclusion of the terms of the Comptroller and the Treasurer elected in 2002. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session stands adjourned.” 09300090.doc 67