Illinois House Floor Debate — March 30, 2004

“The House shall come to order. The Members shall be in their chairs. We ask the Members and our guests in the gallery to refrain from starting their laptop computers. We ask them to turn off their cell phones and their pagers and we ask the 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 Dr. Robert Schulze of Faith Lutheran High School in Woodstock, Illinois. Dr. Schulze is the guest of Representative Jack Franks.”

“We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Representative Parke.” Parke – 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… Representative Currie.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representative Morrow is excused today.”

“Mr. Bost.”

“The Clerk shall take the record. There being 116 Members responding to the Attendance Roll Call, there is a quorum present. Mr. Clerk.”

“On page 14 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 5070. Representative Berrios. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill. 5070.”

“Representative Berrios.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5070 originated from the Department of Financial Institutions. It amends the Debt Management Services Act when defining debt management services to include indirect. The new definition would define ‘debt management services’ as a service to receive money from a debtor for the purpose of distributing it directly or indirectly to the debtor’s credits (sic-creditors). This Bill does come from an original case where a debt 09300112.doc 3  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 management company said their program was unregulated by the original Act and therefore it could charge any fee they chose to consumers. The proposed Bill amending the Act will provide a more inclusive definition of a debt management service. It will provide necessary protection to consumers intended with the original draft of the Act. I would urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Representative Mulligan. Mulligan.”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Consumers could be charged fees in excess of what… $30 initial fees and $30 monthly fees per debtor for all debtor counseled, is what I have here.”

“I’m… it might be.”

“No, I… It might be.”

“This is… that’s what I have from DFI, but I wasn’t given exact numbers. What this… what…”

“Right, and what this Bill does is make sure that they can’t be charged an excess amount of money by a certain company that says they’re not regulated by the Act.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Well, right now they charge a fee. Certain companies that are in the Act, they charge a fee. But there’s other companies, because they pay the debt off completely instead of monthly, they can charge consumers whatever price they want in excess of this fee.”

“Right, and so this Bill would not allow them to do that, it gives them only what everyone else can charge.”

“Right.” 09300112.doc 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Mr. Franks.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“Sponsor yields.”

“Representative Berrios, is what you’re trying to accomplish in this Bill to stop some unscrupulous practices by these people who are unregulated right now, who are working with trying to consolidate debt and then charging people a large fee for this service that had not been disclosed?”

“Exactly.”

“And there’s… and what you’d basically be doing is saving consumers money, because there is no fee here, correct?”

“Exactly.”

“I just wanted to make sure what this Bill did.”

“Well, and that… it’s already a fee, but this is not allowing people to charge extra fees.”

“Right, you’re trying to clarify the law and you’re trying to bring people who are operating outside via a loophole, into compliance with everyone else, so they can’t overcharge their customers.”

“Right.”

“Thank you. I think it’s a good Bill.”

“Thank you.”

“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? 09300112.doc 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 116 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. The Chair recognizes Mr. Watson.”

“The Gentleman moves to table House Bill 6621. Is there leave? Leave is granted. The Motion is adopted and the Bill is tabled. On page 13 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 4790. Mr. Aguilar. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Mr. Aguilar.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of the Bill. There being no discussion, 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? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 116 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 13 of the 09300112.doc 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Calendar there appears House Bill 5011. Mr. Brosnahan. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Mr. Brosnahan.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5011 is the initiative of the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois. In 1992 the Liquor Control Commission initiated legislation to designate a retail license as either an on premises for consumption retailer, or an off premises retailer. The commission stated they wanted this changed so they could use the classifications for internal purposes only. However, when the legislation passed, the Bill inadvertently included the phrase ‘classes of licenses’ rather than simply ‘classes of retailers’. It’s always been the intent of the Liquor Control Act to apply all of its provisions equally to each type of licensee, whether it’s a manufacturer, distributor or a retailer. This prevents discrimination or preferential treatment and promotes uniform enforcement of Liquor Control Acts provisions. This is simply cleanup language. I know of no opposition to this legislation. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of the Bill. There being no discussion, the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? Has Mr. Steve Davis voted? The Clerk shall take the 09300112.doc 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 record. On this question, there are 116 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 11 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 3893. Mr. Franks. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 3893 amends the Criminal Code and it creates the offense of cross-burning, defined as burning or causing to be burned a cross with the intent to intimidate another person or group of persons. The Bill provides the penalty for the offense as… the first offense as a Class A misdemeanor and a Class IV felony for a second or subsequent offense. This came out of a situation we had in McHenry County a few years ago, where a cross was burned across the street of an interracial couple’s home. Under the present law, since it wasn’t on the victim’s property, we… there was no chargeable offense. And we’d like to close that loophole. I’d be glad to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of the Bill. There being no discussion, the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 116 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 12 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 4363. Representative 09300112.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Jakobsson. Representative, what about House Bill 4059? Do you wish to call that? On page 12 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 4450. Representative Kelly. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Kelly.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 4450 amends the Automatic Contract Renewal Act by requiring businesses seeking to automatically renew a written contract must notify the consumer of their intent at least 30 days prior to the end of the contract. The notification must state that the recipient can cancel the contract. Violation of this will be a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act. And the violation would be to continue charging a consumer’s bank account or credit card without the written authorization of the consumer. This language was suggested by the AG’s office and I also worked with the phone companies, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the financial institutions. I can answer any questions.”

“The Lady moves for the passage of the Bill. The Chair recognizes Mr. Parke.”

“Sponsor yields.”

“Good morning.” 09300112.doc 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Right, this… this came from a particular health club in my area. There were a lot of ‘em that were opened and the participants could sign a one year… they could pay every month or pay for the whole year. If you paid every month, then they had to debit your account. And this only pertains to debiting bank accounts or charge cards. When the year was over, even though your contract was up, they’d still continue to debit the accounts of people who didn’t even participate any more and the contracts were up.”

“One person told me they could get a refund, but no one else told me they could get a refund.”

“Well, since I developed this Bill, I’ve heard from a number of people about this, not just dealing with health clubs, but when they canceled accounts for other entities it took the company maybe two, three, four months to stop charging the credit card.”

“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? Clerk shall take the record. On this question, 09300112.doc 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 there are 116 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 15 of the Calendar there appears House Bill 6683. Mr. Black. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Mr. Black.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of the Bill. There being no discussion, the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? Has Mr. Mathias voted? Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 69 people voting ‘yes’, 46 people voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Ladies and Gentlemen, if I can have your attention for just a few moments, please. If I could have your attention. There are four days left in this week to call your Bills. Certain people this morning have declined to call Bills that were called. And so we’re simply advising you that we are moving along, there are four days remaining to call the Bills. In terms of Floor Amendments to Bills, we will stop accepting Floor Amendments to Bills at the close of business on Wednesday. Let me repeat that. We will stop receiving Floor Amendments to Bills at the close of business on Wednesday. Relative to Bil… relative to Amendments that would shell a Bill, we will stop receiving those at the close of business on Thursday. So again, for a substantive Amendment, we will stop receiving those at the close of business on Wednesday. And relative to an Amendment that would shell a Bill, we will stop receiving those at the close of business on Thursday. For those of you who are having difficulty putting your Bill in shape to pass because there’s 09300112.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 opposition to the Bill, well, we recommend that you consider an Amendment to shell the Bill. Move the Bill over to the Senate and then you’ll have several weeks to continue to work on the Bill. So again, if you’re encountering strong opposition to your Bill, we recommend that you consider an Amendment that would shell the Bill, which will give you several more weeks to continue to work on the Bill. Mr. Hannig in the Chair.”

“Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4436. Representative Flowers.”

“Okay. Representative Boland. For what reason did you rise?”

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like the record to reflect that I had inadvertently hit the wrong button on House Bill 6683, I meant to vote ‘yes’.”

Speaker Hannig: “The record will so reflect. Now, Representative Flowers.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would you please move House Bill 4436 back to Second for the purpose of an Amendment?”

“Okay. Mr. Clerk, would you move that Bill back on the Order of Second Reading at the request of the Sponsor.”

“Thank you.”

“Representative Hoffman, are you prepared on House Bill 4283? Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill?” 09300112.doc 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Hoffman.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Amendment #2, which was adopted yesterday, becomes the Bill. Essentially, what this allows… it simply allows for the… the raffle for the sole purpose of charitable institutions that are children’s hos… research hospitals, and makes sure that the money and the proceeds from the raffles will go to the organization for charitable, scientific and educational purposes. It makes sure that there are safeguards in place, so that you have to get a state license and that the license is only valid for one year for the raffle. I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The Gentleman has moved for the passage of House Bill 4283. And on that question… Representative Parke.”

“I… I… I don’t know what that is. What is that?”

“Yeah… I guess, I mean they may… they probably oppose it, but let me just tell you that this is for the use in children research hospitals for raffles. And they may oppose it, but I don’t see why. I would think that they would be for child… providing funding for children’s research.” 09300112.doc 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Yeah, they may, but it’s a raffle for children’s research hospitals.”

“Thank you.”

“Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Winters, do you wish to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 88 voting ‘yes’, 27 voting ‘no’ and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 5016? Representative Graham.”

“Representative Graham.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5016 takes away the option of probation for a second time offense of felons with unlawful use of a weapon. And it removes the option of probation on first time offense for the use of a machine gun in areas near a school or CHA housing. I’ll take any questions.” 09300112.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“The Lady has moved for passage of House Bill 5016. Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed vote ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Eddy. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Grunloh, were you seeking recognition?”

“Yes, Sir, I would like to table House Bill 5076.”

“The Gentleman moves to table House Bill 5076. All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it, and the Bill is tabled. Representative Black, for what reason do you rise?”

“State your inquiry.”

“I’d be happy to do that, Representative Black. Representative Gordon, for what reason do you rise?” 09300112.doc 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

"Yes, Mr. Speaker, may I have a point of personal privilege?”

“State your point.”

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, we have with us today some very special representatives from the Kankakee County Farm Bureau. Not only are they here out of my district, but also as well as Representative Dugan and I’d also like to point out that the Kankakee County Farm Bureau has adopted Representative Connie Howard as well as their legislator. So if we could welcome them to Springfield, I would appreciate it.”

“Welcome to Springfield. Representative Burke, are you ready on House Bill 4361? Representative Burke, 4361. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Burke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 4361 would require the installation and the maintenance of fire sprinklers in every college and university dormitory in the State of Illinois. Along with that requirement, we are setting up a revolving loan fund where individual entities would be able to access this account that would be supported by the State of Illinois, for the cost at low interest to make these installations. Let me remind the Members that each year in the country there are over 18 hundred fires in college and university dormitories. And according to the National Fire Protection 09300112.doc 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Association, since 1990, fire in on-campus collegiate housing has resulted in 32 deaths. These are four fires a day in collegiate housing, but fire suppressant… suppression technology is only present in 35 percent of those fires. Can you imagine, Ladies and Gentlemen, when a parent sends their child off to college, the last thing that they should have to worry about is that their children would be trapped in a fire, at a university dormitory. The only way you can insure the fire safety for college student housing is to place a fire sprinkler sister… system over them. While many newer dormitories already have fire sprinkler systems in place, students who live in older buildings should be given the same sense of security. Be happy to answer any questions.”

“And on that question, Representative Bost.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Most definitely.”

“According to the National Fire Protection Agencies and every fire protection expert in our state that we’ve had access to, yes indeed, they save lives.”

“Yeah, and Representative, I wasn’t aware that you were a professional fireman first of all, but you are in direct conflict with every expert fire protection agency in this state, if you insist, here today, that sprinklers do not save lives. Yes, they do. And you tell me if you had a child out at Waterson dormitory out at U of I, that’s 28 stories, you tell me how your kid is gonna get out of that building without a fire sprinkler.”

“Let me correct you right at… right now, it’s not all buildings, it’s all dormitories.”

“As you might imagine, Representative, when you consider economics, I… I don’t know of any single-level dormitories. I’m sure there are some. They are not the greater majority of these living facilities. The great majority of these dormitories are over one level. So, we’re talking two and three, and as the… the site that I gave you, Waterson at U of… ISU, I beg your pardon, is 28 stories.”

“So the great majority of our…” 09300112.doc 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“And Representative, you’ve heard the old expression where there’s smoke, there’s fire? Smoke is what kills for the most part.”

“Fire is the secondary concern.”

“Right.”

“And you tell the families of those that were in the Cook County building, just a few months ago, that… that that building shouldn’t have been sprinklered and you’d have a major argument on your hands.”

“Well, Representative, if this is a matter of semantics I’ll give you that, yes, indeed, I would insist that there’d be sprink… smoke detectors as well. And 09300112.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 furthermore, back several years ago, I introduced legislation to require carbon monoxide detectors. Yes, all those protections should be in place when you’re talking about insuring the safety and the lives of young people in this state, when their parents send ‘em off to school expecting that they are gonna at least be safe from fire and smoke inhalation. So, semantics, yes, I give you the fact that, yes, there should be fire… or smoke detectors, but…”

“…there better be sprinklers.”

“Well, I suppose if the smoke detector went off they’d be able to climb out the window quick enough to avoid the fire. But, again, if we’re talking about semant…”

“… I’m gonna… I give you the fact that, yes, you have to have smoke detectors in…”

“…these properties.”

“But, let me tell you, too, another group of individuals that are supportive of this legislation is every single college and university in the state. There has been no 09300112.doc 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 opposition, until your remarks today that have indicated any concern for the importance of this legislation. So, I don’t really know where you’re going with this.”

“That’s never been the suggestion of this legislation, Representative, you know that. I don’t know where you’re going with this argument, but I’m frankly not catching you.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Myers.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“It would still be in place, but it’s a very comfortable timeframe, we’re talking about the year 2013.”

“Representative Moffitt.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Hoffman.”

“Yes, real briefly, just to the Bill, Mr. Speaker. Let me just say this. I don’t care if it’s a single-story, it’s a two-story, it’s a three-story, it’s 28 floors, it doesn’t matter. When I send my child to a university, to a dormitory, there should be a sprinkler system. Why is that so difficult? If we have a one-story building and you say it’s not gonna save lives, why take that chance? Why should we take that chance? I know of no one-story 09300112.doc 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 dormitory in this state. There may be some, but even if there is a one-story dormitory don’t we have an obligation to make sure we protect the people in there and their property. I respect some of the previous speakers, but let me just tell ya, this is a no brainer. The Associate Firefighters of Illinois, the Chicago Fire Department, the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts, the State Fire Marshals, they’re all for this. There is not one person that I know, other than one of the previous speakers, who may be against it. Vote for this. Save our children’s lives. And vote with Representative Burke on this issue.”

“The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“Representative Burke to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Again, let me just assure you, for all those previous speakers who have raised some very, very important questions, let me suggest firstly that in the number of years that have passed since the first introduction of these similar initiatives regarding sprinklers there have been tremendous technological developments that have taken place with respect to these systems. One previous speaker talked about having to have a water storage unit and adequate pressure. Well, the new systems today, Ladies and 09300112.doc 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Gentlemen, have pressure systems that are electronically controlled, so there is no longer that regard for having these water storage tanks and all other attendant devices. And I… frankly, Ladies and Gentlemen, not… not having heard one utterance of opposition from any single entity in this state during the committee discussion, during the publicity that this matter has received, there has been not one single word of opposition to this legislation today. Let me also say that I don’t know any of you that interact with college students today, but I would suggest to you and remind you that the behaviors that those young people engage in are not what you typify as being fire safe. In fact, my counsel here had just recommended to me that when she resided in a high-rise dormitory that the students ignored the fire alarms, stayed in the buildings, continued to burn their incense, smoke, engage in all these behaviors that young people engage in. What can we say to parents that are sending their kids away to these schools, if we are not taking the steps to properly protect their safety? Ladies and Gentlemen, I don’t know how anyone in this Body could sit here today in good conscience and vote against this initiative. It is good for our society. It’s good for our young people. It is very important public policy and I would insist to you that you should be voting ‘aye’ on this matter this morning. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 4361 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is 09300112.doc 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Joe Lyons, would you like to vote? Okay, on this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you call House Bill… read House Bill 6691?”

“Representative Daniels.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Slone. Representative… Okay. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6648 for Representative Hoffman?” 09300112.doc 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Hoffman.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All this Bill would do is it would change the name of the Illinois Industrial Commission to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Years ago the Illinois Industrial Commission… Commission got its name because it also did job training as well as workers’ compensation. All it does now is it administers the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act and I ask for a favorable roll call.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all… Representative Brady. Okay. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4870 for Representative Kelly?”

“Representative Kelly.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 4870 amends the Illinois Public Aid Code by providing a 2 percent cost of living adjustment to all providers of childcare, both licensed and exempt from 09300112.doc 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 licensure, under the Childcare Act of 1969. These childcare providers have not received a COLA adjustment since July of 2000. There… when we think of providers, you must think that they are not only the providers, but the cooks, the teachers, the assistant parents, the chauffeurs and the housekeepers. I have visited a few providers and I know how hard they work and they actually work longer than a normal day and they don’t get paid for the time they work. I hope we put the children first and we think of quality childcare providers to serve our children and low- income families. I can answer any questions.”

“And on that question, Representative Parke.”

“Well, actually, I was looking at the money that we give to the racetrack slots and maybe we can use some of that money and take care of the childcare providers.”

“What was reported in the Chicago Sun Times. That money that we’re giving to racetracks.”

“Right, but I’m hoping that we can take some of that money away from that entity and give it to the childcare providers. And look out for our children.”

“Not at this point.”

“11.5 million dollars will take care of both the in-home providers and the center providers.”

“And there’s also consideration to increasing federal money in Congress right now.”

“Yes, I’m optimistic that we’re gonna think about the children first and the people that take care of them.”

“Well, I’m hoping we can work it out in the budget process.”

“Any further discussion? Representative Kelly, would you like to close?”

“Yes, I would. I just think this is a matter of priorities and our children are priority. Also, these 09300112.doc 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 childcare providers allow low-income working parents to continue working. If they cannot continue to work, then the welfare rolls or the public aid rolls will grow anyway. So I hope we put the children first and the people that take care of them. Thank you.”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 4870 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Wait. Okay, Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 104 voting ‘yes’, 1 voting ‘no’ and 11 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6874? Representative Froehlich.”

“Representative Froehlich.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4036 for Representative Lang.”

“Representative Lang.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. This Bill involves the threshold on the criminal trespass to property part of the Criminal Code, as to whether something is a misdemeanor or a felony. In 1982… 1982, we changed it from a hundred and fifty dollars to three hundred dollars and there has been no change in this since. This Bill proposes to change it to eight hundred dollars. In… in committee, my original Bill had a much higher amount, but in cooperation with the other side of the aisle and others, we reduced it to eight hundred dollars. The background of this is pretty simple. There’s a lot of kids out there who do things they should not do. They damage people’s cars. They do all sorts of nasty things. But a little mirror on the side of someone’s car could cost much more than three hundred dollars, and we’re turning young people, admittedly who do bad things but we’re turning them into felons. This 09300112.doc 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 just simply goes along with inflation and raises that amount. And we don’t really want some 18–year–old kid who does something they shouldn’t oughta do, to be a felon for the rest of their life ‘cause they break someone’s mirror three hundred… for three hundred and one dollars. So, I would ask your support on this.”

“And on this question, Representative Parke.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“I do not believe that anyone testified in opposition to this Bill in committee.”

“I was working with the committee, Representative Lindner and I. Representative Lindner is the Minority spokesperson and she and others on the committee felt 15 hundred was too high and I was willing to negotiate it to another figure and that’s how we got to 8 hundred.”

“Representative Gordon.”

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Representative Lang. I do and I appreciate what he’s trying to do. However, what I would like to point out, that in these situations when criminal damage to property is charged and it is over $3 hundred, this is used 09300112.doc 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 as a bargaining tool for prosecutors, it is not an automatic charge to a felony. What it does do is help the victim of the crime, whose property was damaged, get their money back a lot sooner than what would let them, ya know, wait longer for this defendant to have to pay them back. I… I would just ask that we vote ‘no’ on the Bill. That it remains the same at the $3 hundred threshold. I don’t think that we should give a break to defendants based upon the inflation rate. Thank you.”

“Representative Lang, to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While prosecutors do sometimes take the opportunity to use this as a bargaining tool, the fact is the statute says that if it’s more than $3 hundred, it’s a felony. I really don’t think we need our young people walking around with felony convictions when we don’t have to have it. This Bill simply raises this amount for the first time since 1982. I would ask your support.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Who’s… who’s left, Mr. Clerk? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. And on this question, there are 47 ‘yes’ and ‘69’ ‘no’. Would you like Postponed Consideration, Representative Lang?”

“Why not.”

“Okay. Postponed Consideration. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 5925?” 09300112.doc 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Mautino.”

“Thank you, Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Today, I bring to you House Bill 5925. And this Bill is designed to provide for the needs of individuals, employers and other purchasers of health coverage in this state and allows them to have the opportunity to choose insurance plans that are more affordable and flexible than existing policies that are out there. This proposal would seek to increase the availability of health insurance coverage by allowing insurers to authorize and engage in the business of selling insurance in this state and to issue those policies that in whole or in part do not offer to provide these state-mandated health benefits. What it does require is that in this group of plans that there be one option, which the employee chooses, which includes all mandated health coverage. In addition to that, they would be able to pick and choose amongst other plans, very simple… similar to what we do with our plans here or what the ERISAs, the self-funded plans can do. The only group that can’t do this currently under existing law are a small business and non-ERISA plans, which is about 30 percent of the covered individuals that are out there. Seventy percent of the people who have insurance coverage come from either unions, self-funded, which we can’t regulate or tell them what has to be in and what has to outside of a policy. Each policy that’s listed in here has to contain a 09300112.doc 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 continuation of coverage, conversion coverage, coverage for preexisting conditions, all federal mandates, which would be mental health, parity, mastectomy, breast reconstruction. Anything that’s listed as a federal mandate under HIPAA and under ERISA cannot be opted out of. Now, they have a compliance with timely payment of claims and it requires that the employee as well as the employer sign off on what levels of coverage are going to be within the policy itself. There also has to be disclosure of what is not covered, to make sure people understand what they’re choosing and that they do have a clear choice. The insurers have to include specific notice in the application and policy itself that clearly states what benefits are to be included. Over the course of the last couple of years, we’ve looked at how to get policies out there and get employers to offer their employees coverage. We have the availability of people currently to purchase a no bones or a barebones policy. Nobody buys them. You know why? Because they don’t cover anything. An employer who wants to provide health care benefits wants to do so and they want to buy a policy where they can cover it, this would allow them to custom fit what they’re gonna purchase to their needs. By doing this, they can receive a lower premium by letting them design these plans and allowing their employees. Now, this is the first time an employee will have that ability to choose which plans cover them best. I know that there’ll be questions on this measure. This is actually… one of the more interesting things about 09300112.doc 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 this is this program when it came out of Texas and has started we have seen that 20 percent of the people buying these policies have previously opted out or not had health care coverage. So, it’s an incentive for some of the younger, healthier people to get in. And that’s the idea or one of the ideas with it, is to expand the base of people who are covered and thereby achieve some savings in the cost of health care. I stand ready to answer any questions. I would appreciate an ‘aye’ vote.”

“And on that question, Representative Flowers.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Representative Mautino, I have the utmost respect for you and what it is that you’re trying to do. But I have some serious concerns about your consumer choice Bill. Would you please… will you mind ans… answering some questions, please?”

“Be happy to.”

“Thank you. Under House Bill 5925 would this Bill allow insurance policies to be written that does not include state mandates? Is that what I heard you to say?”

“Yes, it allows that the policy that is written must, one, contain an option which has all of the state mandates included. It may also offer different options which may include some but not all of the other mandates. So, from a top-of-the-line down to a minimal coverage at the choice of the employee.” 09300112.doc 43  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Well… well, let me just ask you this. Do you think that the state mandates that we pass, the reason why they are mandates, they were important because the insurance companies was not offering the coverage that was medically necessary? And so therefore, this Body made it a mandate that they cover it.”

“I do agree that all of the mandate Bills that are out there in and of there own definitely have merit and there’s a need for coverage. And this Bill does provide that the employee can choose one of those levels of coverage. But there’s… there’s something else that’s also true. Every time we require a new mandated coverage the people who are offering the… not the insurance companies, but the employers, their premium goes up as well. With that… I’m just finishing answering the question.”

“Well…”

“With that we have a problem whereas we stack these additional mandates on a Bill and on what must be provided in a coverage to only 30 percent of the people out there, employers are choosing to drop insurance coverage.”

“Well, Representative, I’m… I’m kinda confused about what you’re doing here, because… Well, let me just ask you this question. Are you repealing the Small Employers Group Health Insurance?”

“Can you repeat that, Mary?”

“Are you repealing the Small Employers Group Health Insurance Law?”

“Yes.” 09300112.doc 44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Well, see I’m really confused about what you’re doing here, because you’re repealing the law on one hand and then on the other hand you’re saying that the man… you can still have the mandates. And then there’s a group out there where a… an insurance policy out there where the mandates will not be a part of that policy. So, are we setting up two classes?”

“No, we’re not. Actually, we’re allowing the private sector and small business to do what we in the General Assembly can do and do every year with our own policy. This is one…”

“But Rep… Rep…”

“Sure.”

“Representative, are not the mandates in our policy as the law is today?”

“As the law is today, yes, they are, however they do not have to be.”

“And so what…”

“There’s not a requirement.”

“…what this Bill is doing is subsid… by you repealing the present law, you are substituting with something less for the small employers to cover their employees, for those who may have to choose that particular type of insurance coverage.”

“I would disagree with that. We currently have a system that is two separate systems. You have the ERISAs who do not have to provide anything other than the federal mandates, those four federal mandates. And they can choose 09300112.doc 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 those at will. That’s 70 percent of the people out there. The only people who can’t make any choices in what coverage they’re gonna have are small business and businesses who cannot afford to self-fund their own premium. So, currently, we have a two-class system as the law exists today. And what this purports to do is say to the employee, you may choose all state mandates, but if you would like you can also choose something lesser that fits your needs.”

“Well, then I have to ask this question. If the employer… employee is going to choose something lesser that’s going to fit his or her needs, will they have full coverage? And then, what part of their body will be excluded under this Bill, in regards to coverage? And when you… when you have an accident or… And let me just ask you about the family. Let’s say I want to have my daughter who might have asthma, I want to include her in this particular policy that don’t have the mandates.”

“All pol…”

“Will the insurance company… will he discriminate against my daughter because she has a preexisting condition? And will my policy go higher?”

“All policies include the existing requirements for children and adopted children, both. And in your case, Mary, you would choose the option of full mandated coverage. You would…”

“Well…” 09300112.doc 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“…not be the person that would… would choose a different program to fit their needs.”

“Well, let me…”

“But the choice is yours.”

“Well, it’s easy for you to say the choice is mine, because the choice is what I can afford. Am I correct? And it… it appears to me, Representative, what we’re doing here is setting up a situation that could cause havoc in the workplace. But let me just kinda get back on to the Bill. How would this Bill differ from the current Small Employers Group Health Insurance Law that… I mean what will be the big difference?”

“Okay. The big difference. Well, let me give you an example. For 54 employees I pay $22 thousand a month. That coverage that we get is… it’s a thousand dollar deductible, it’s 80 percent in-network, 60 percent out-of- network on the first $10 thousand. Now, that covers all state mandates. So, to my monthly bill is 22 grand. Now, some of my people may opt for a different level of plan. Most will opt for this coverage and they and I will both sign that piece of paper. Now, they’ll opt lower, so what happens is by that I get a lower aggregate total. Now, maybe my monthly premium will go from 22,000 to $21,500, because of the aggregate total. The assumption that a lot of people make on this Bill is that an employer does not want to cover his people. If I didn’t wanna give my people a policy that was going to cover them I wouldn’t spend $22 thousand a month, that’s my share on there. And if I can 09300112.doc 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 make a plan that fits and gives them proper coverage, I’d like to do that. But because I’m not an ERISA company, because I’m not a union, a self-funded, I can’t do that. I don’t have the option that 70 percent of the people have ‘em out there. I mean those are my numbers. That is… that’s not a made-up thing, that’s a monthly bill.”

“Well, let me just give you another example. Under the policy requirement under current law, subsection (D) states that, ‘the policy must provide that all new employees of the employer new members association or new members employee of members eligible and applying for insurance in the group or class shall be added periodically.’ Will your Bill allow these people to be added periodically?”

“Just as in any other group policy, just as we do downstairs in Room 115, when it comes time for the renewal…”

“Is that in…”

“…of a policy you can come in and you can change. Just as in any other policy, you can’t change midcourse on there. But on your annual renewal date, sure, you can upgrade and go to… go to a fuller plan or actually you can drop down. Maybe your circumstances changed where you don’t need some sort of coverage. You can adjust it the next year.”

“So, in other words, they cannot be added periodically, under your Bill?”

“Can… can you repeat, please? It was a little loud.” 09300112.doc 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“In… in other words, they cannot be added periodically, under your consumer choice Bill? They will not have that choice.”

“One second, Mary. Oh, just like a reg… I’m sorry, Mary. The answer is ‘yes’. In a course… Let’s say I get married. I’m a single guy who’s working at Mautino Distributing Company. I get married in the course of the year. Then just like with any other policy I can add my… my new wife and her two children…”

“Well…”

“…to that policy in the course of it.”

“Okay. I didn’t see that language in the Bill. But let me move along. Will all employees existing or…”

“That’s current law; it doesn’t have to be changed in the Bill.”

“Well, but see, remember you’re repealing the current law. And so therefore, I don’t know… I don’t know where the language is here. Well, while you’re looking that up, let me just ask you another question. Will all employees pay the same premium? And let… and let me just give you an example. Another example under subsection (I), ‘the current law prohibits discrimination between individuals of the same class of risk in the issuance of a policy in the amount of the premium or the rate charge for an insurance covered by this Article and in benefits payable.’ So, will all of them… will all employees have the same premium amount?” 09300112.doc 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“As far as the structure on the premium, the rating bands itself would apply. There’s no change in the small business rating bands, so they apply. But are you asking me if they’ll have different levels of co-pay and deductible?”

“Right.”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, if you voted yesterday for House Bill 4180, which allows small hospitals to enter the local government plan, which a hundred and fifteen of you actually did, that is what this is. It allows you to take the indemnity plan, which is an ERISA plan, doesn’t have to cover mandated benefits, they can be negotiated and you can choose between seven levels of managed care with differing co-pays and deductibles. So, can the co-pays and deductible be different, yes. Matter of fact, no different than what you voted for yesterday.”

“But what does that do for, again, the current law? It prohibits discrimination between individuals of the same class of risk in the issuance of the policy.”

“The rating bands would still apply, Mary.”

“Okay.”

“The group coverage rating bands still apply and that does not have an impact on the co-pay and the deductible. You can choose right now your level of co-pay and deductible that you want. Maybe you want an 80/60, 80 in- network, 60 out-of-network. Maybe you’re interested in the policy just because you need the pharmaceutical side of it, so you may choose something that fits you. All these 09300112.doc 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 things tend to be negotiated or the person getting the policy chooses and they must be notified.”

“Under subsection (J) it says, ‘no company can make or permit any distinction or discrimination against individuals solely because of handicap or disability. The amount of payments and the premiums and the rate charge, the amount of any dividends or other benefits in any other terms and conditions.’ And under subsection (K) it says, ‘no company can refuse to insure or refuse to continue to insure, limit the amount or extend… or the kind of coverage available or change individuals of different rates for the same coverage solely because of blindness or partial blindness.’ Will these… will this still be enforced under House Bill 5925? Subsection (J) and subsection (K).”

“Mary, was that a question?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your… as I said…”

“Under… Will subse… will subsection (J) and subsection (K) still be a part of your Bill, which deals with peop…”

“Subsection (J) and (K) of the Insurance Code?”

“Yes.”

“What page on the Bill itself are you looking at? I think you’re talking about the code instead of the Bill at this point.”

“Yeah, well, you… again, you repealed the… the Small Employers Group Insurance Law. And I’m asking will the protection… you eliminated the mandates, but will the 09300112.doc 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 protection for companies not to make distinctions or discrimination against individuals solely because of their handicap. Ya know, will these people be charged a different premium? And then under subsection (K), ‘no company can refuse to insure or refuse to continue to insure, limit the amount or extend any kind of coverage availibil… available to an individual or charge an individual a different rate for the same coverage solely because of blindness.’ So, will this language still be in the Bill, the protection?”

“And I’m just looking it up in the Insurance Code right now, so just bear with me for a moment. Mary, I’ll get… I’ll get back to you on that. But one of things this… And I’m just talking to staff here. They said that this is… that the repeal of the Small Group Insurance Act, can you point out where that is in the actual Bill? Because I’m… I know the original copy, but the Amendment may have… may have taken that out. I don’t see that repeal within the Amendment itself. So, the answer to your question is then, yes, that would apply and the rating bands would still apply.”

“Well, thank you, Representative, for answering my questions in regards…”

“Both staffs have just gotten together and said that there is no repealer of that Section within the Bill itself.”

“Did you not…”

“And so, that would still apply.” 09300112.doc 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Did you not repeal the Bill, I mean the Small Employers Group Health Insurance?”

“The LIS that you’re taking from the front there is incorrect, your LIS analysis. As… here’s our technical review staff right here which has just said that within this and the Bill has an Amendment does not repeal that. So, the analysis is incorrect that you have.”

“Well…”

“So, all those Sections of the Insurance Code still apply and so do rating bands.”

“Well, you know, Representative, I’m sorry. I appreciate what it is that you’re trying to do, but I have lots of concerns with this legislation. It appears to me that what we’re doing here is advocating on the behalf of the insurance company as opposed to on behalf of the people who… the consumers who really need the service. And what we’re doing is we’re cherry picking, we want the young and the healthy to pay a premium and hopefully, they won’t need it. And then for the sick it may be they don’t know what they’re gonna have because you’re asking them to choose the insurance policy that they don’t know what’s going to happen to them once they have this policy. They don’t know what part of their body is going to be covered because you’ve eliminated the mandates. They don’t know if they will have the emergency room opportunity. And as far as the family coverage… And I think what we’re doing here, Ladies and Gentlemen, I think what we’re doing is creating havoc in the workplace. Because there were… there are 09300112.doc 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 going to be some people that’s going to be able to afford to have this in the workplace, this type of insurance or either the full coverage insurance with the mandates and then there will be some who will not be able to have it. So, will the employer penalize the one that’s asking for all the mandates or will the people who’ve been rejected by the insurance company because of their lifestyle, because of obesity, because of whatever reason, ya know, will they be rejected? And is that a form of discrimination? And then what will that do again in regards to the workplace? I think… I know, Representative, your heart is in the right place in regards to what it is that you’re trying to do. And hopefully, there ca… there’s another Bill out there later on that we can work together on in regards to making insurance affordable for everyone. But I think this Body has worked too hard for the mandates to be in place, the mandates are a necessity. If they were not a necessity we would not have passed the legislation because the insurance companies would’ve covered them, but because they didn’t they are a mandate. So, therefore, I think it should stay there. And I think what we’re doing is pooling the cream of the crop and that’s a disservice. And I would appreciate a ‘no’ vote, respectfully, on House Bill 5925. Thank you.”

“The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“Representative Miller.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Representative Mautino, what is the ultimate objective of this Bill? I’m a little concerned and also confused. Some of the comments that you made earlier suggested… Well, what is the objective of the Bill?”

“The objective of the Bill is to get more people to opt in for coverage or to slow the rate of employers who cannot afford to provide what the market is currently providing. That’s… that’s basically it in a nutshell.”

“You…”

“We’d like to have the same opportunities for your dental office and staff. You can’t buy this policy now and you would want the best for your folks, too.”

“Well…”

“But if you were ERISA funded… So, I mean, basically we wanna get more coverage and to slow the decline of people not offering health insurance.” 09300112.doc 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“All right. ‘Cause earlier in your comments you talked about the cost, I believe in your own facility or some facility…”

“Family business.”

“…but I didn’t hear about expansion of health care within those… within those individuals or the fact that your company or other companies do not have… offer benefits to particulars on this. And so… so, when we talk about the objective, I guess the real question is whether it’s more concern of saving money to the insurance company or expanding health care coverage. That’s a question.”

“Dr. Miller, and I really have to apologize, I can’t hear you over the noise in the chamber. So, I’d like to answer your question. I just can’t hear ya.”

“The question centers on the fact that this legislation, is there more concern with saving money to employers and to their insurance company or truly talking about expansion of… of ser… of health care services to… to individuals?”

“I think the insurance companies are going to sell policies regardless to those who would buy them. My concern is the policies that are out there employers aren’t choosing to buy, so less people get covered.”

“So, that’s…”

“And I… I would say that it’s… it’s an option so that we can have more companies opt to employ (sic-insure) their people.” 09300112.doc 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Okay. So, you’re saying be… you feel that it’s because of a… expansion of health care. The list that’s on our analysis and in other references, where did that list come from? Who created it?”

“Ah, what’s that?”

“The list of exclusions that were mandated on your legislation.”

“Okay.”

“Who created this… this piece of legislation?”

“Oh, sure.”

“Earlier, on the first analysis they said mammograms were not gonna be included.”

“Okay.”

“And then I would… heard that I guess they are included, so it makes me think that somebody put this list together and it’s really important to find out whether doctors have put something like this together or it came from the insurance companies.”

“Oh, okay. I follow. The… the mandates that are in there are the ERISA mandates that have to be in every policy that’s offered. That’s mental health parity, newborn mothers, minimal health stays, maternity coverage, mastectomy, prosthesis, treatment of complications. Those are the federal ones and those are in there and then in one plan here, you must offer all state mandates and then the other… So, all those things are in every policy, regardless of the level. Then the other list and I think, actually, one of the best lists put out showing all the… 09300112.doc 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 all the mandates came from Planned Parenthood. There… which shows you what the state mandates actually are and you can pick and choose amongst those. This came from a program out of Texas and seems to be workin’.”

“So, what I’m saying… what I’m asking is, is that, did this list… did you just take the federal requirements and just use that as a minimum level of service or did some entity whether it’s a group of physicians, the Illinois State Medical Society, the insurance lobby or whoever, decided that these items were gonna be on… on… excluded from any particular policy? What was the negotiation between this? I mean, who…”

“Okay.”

“…decided that mammograms were included and who didn’t if it wasn’t the federal…”

“The Federal Government decided which ones had to be in every policy and then the Bill itself requires that an optional coverage of all mandates must be offered. So, there’s one in there… It wasn’t brought to me by anyone as far as… I mean, that’s just what a cafeteria plan is. A cafeteria plan is one where you can pick and choose amongst different levels of coverage to… to design your plan.”

“Okay.”

“That’s just what… what one is.”

“Thank you, Representative Mautino. To the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“Ya know, when we talk about insurance coverage, let me just say a quick scenario, two quick scenarios that 09300112.doc 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 happened in my office… ya just, in fact, last week. A patient came into my office saying that they had dental coverage and sure enough as we go through they had to give me their insurance card and was committed that they have a particular dental coverage and felt that they could come to my office. And make a long story short, they did… they weren’t eligible for the coverage nor did they have dental coverage. So, most of the time people do not know whatever coverage or policy that they have. Another set of circumstances that the legis… that the General Assembly last year passed was in regards to anesthesia as it relates to mentally handicapped children in a hospital setting. Now, the reason this is important and any of us who have disabled children or disabled individuals sometimes in a regular dental setting it’s hard to treat those children and they have to be hospitalized. The legislation before indicated that, yes, they can get dental services in a hospital, however, that the anesthesia that is used to put ‘em under were not covered. Now, at the time, many of us may not know what type of disabilities or what type of things that may happen to us or our children and so at the face value you can say, well, this isn’t important and I’m not gonna include this in and as your dental coverage is or any type of coverage is in a particular plan, but the truth is that it wasn’t. It wasn’t until this Body passed a fact that it was just fair enough for us to give these… this particular group of citizens an opportunity to have quality health care in this regard. I stran… I stand in strong 09300112.doc 60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 opposition to this legislation because most people do not know what’s in their particular plan and in fact that when we go against these type of mandates, we’re actually lessening the quality of health care for the citizens of Illinois. The true goal, as was mentioned earlier, is not the expansion, there are other plans that we can expand coverage on. We can continue to expand different alternatives of treatment, but the real cost is the cost- savings to the insurance company that still have not heard what we dictated and passed down to the very citizens that we representing here in the State of Illinois. I would urge a strong ‘no’ vote.”

“Representative Parke.”

“Representative Feigenholtz.”

“Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he will.”

“Representative Mautino, when the people who were originally working on this Bill were talking about it, it sounded like a very, very interesting concept. Because I do believe that we have an issue with the unin… the uninsured in this state and as you know I think we have a hundred and eighteen Members in here who try their best to close that gap. Sadly, I think this Bill misses the mark. It’s not soup yet. And I have some questions for you. Earlier in this debate you started to talk about ‘we’ and you were talking about cost savings and how many more people were going to opt into this… into these plans because of this wonderful opportunity. Was ‘we’ the employers, the employees or the insurance companies?

“Would you go ahead… would you repeat that, I apologize? Just can’t hear.”

“Mr. Speaker, could you please bring some order in this chamber?”

“Okay. Could we have a little order, please? Please, a little order.”

“Thank you, Speaker.”

“Thank you. Representative Mautino, I think what you’re attempting to do here is create a system, from what 09300112.doc 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 you said earlier, that will help more people have insurance coverage. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you articulated earlier that there was a cost savings involved here and you used the word ‘we’, but you were not clear on who ‘we’ was. Was it ‘we’ the insurance companies are gonna save money, ‘we’ the employers are going to save money or as this interesting title of the Bill, the Consumer Choice Health Act or is it the consumers who are gonna be saving the money? And where in your Bill does it say the answer to that?”

“The ‘we’ would be the small businesses that drive most of the economy here that would like to offer health insurance for our employees because we spend a lot of time and effort and money training them. We wanna keep them. We want their families, in our case. This year we’re a hundred years old.”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“‘We’ is Mautino distributing. This year we’re a hundred years old on there. Our drivers are the sons of the previous drivers of the previous drivers, so we want to offer a benefit as a small business. We negotiate a lot of things. We’d like to continue to offer coverage. I say that just as a small business. So, that’s what I’m talking about.”

“Well, but you’re being very abstract and I think a little misleading and the Members of this chamber need to 09300112.doc 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 understand a little bit more in a more concrete fashion what the ramifications of this Bill are. Okay?”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“So, why don’t we talk dollars and cents. I want to know in the scenario that you have just delivered to this chamber who is going to get the cost savings of this kind of an effort and how?”

“The cost savings, okay, let me step back I’ll answer full question. Right now, if I chose to self fund premiums on there I don’t have to cover any mandates at all. I can just go ahead and design a plan, you know that. Most of my opponents, this Bill doesn’t apply to them because they’re all self-funded. What I can do in this is right now I’m currently offered two choices of plans. I can have this level plan or I can offer a barebones plan. I won’t offer the barebones plan. Now…”

“And who pays the difference on that barebones plan? If you get a savings, if your insurance broker says to you the… the bigger plan is going to cost $500 a month…”

“Which is what the… these plans do cost as an average.”

“And the smaller plan is going to cost a hundred dollars a month.”

“Okay, under this structure, each of those 54 employees would be one, at the time of application and at the time of issue, offered a policy which has everything. They would also be offered, like we are in our plan, four 09300112.doc 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 or five other plans which would have differing co-pays and deductibles.”

“And who determines what goes in that plan? The employer, the employee, or the insurance company?”

“The employer can choose whatever type of cafeteria plan he wants to offer…”

“Okay, that’s a very, very important piece of this Bill, Ladies and Gentlemen. Okay? That it is the employer that makes a decision about what benefits go into the package and this is where I think this Bill falls very, very short.”

“But that’s how things are now. I mean, re… realistically, I decide if I’m going to offer health insurance and what the level of that plan is going to be.”

“Correct.”

“I can choose this one or I can choose this one. But I can’t get a blended rate to save money so I can continue to provide at this level.”

“However, Representative Mautino, one of the things that is… that is innocuous about this Bill is the work that we have done in this chamber over the last decade or more as a state. Which is we have passed legislation where we have indicated as a Body that we want certain health care coverage for certain items? Is that correct?”

“Yes and they’re actually in this Bill. Every one of them. Every one of them by law must be offered, must be signed by the employee and employer. Every one of those within this cafeteria plan.” 09300112.doc 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Every state mandate is included in packages in this Bill.”

“Every… within this Bill, a package, one of the components has to be a full mandated coverage Bill, at the employee option. The employer can’t say, you know what I don’t want to offer anything that doesn’t have… has a lesser amount of mandates.”

“But what you’re doing in this Bill…”

“Each employee must be given…”

“Right.”

“…an option. Is that correct? Is that your reading of the Bill?”

“So, what you’re doing is you’re giving the employer an opportunity to shift the cost to the consumer. Is that what this Bill does? Because that’s how I read it. Ladies and Gentleman, to the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“Many people in this chamber over the last, have… have been here a long time and have seen a lot of legislation that has been based on their constituents walking into their legislative offices and sharing their concerns about what kind of health care coverage their insurance companies do not cover. We have worked long and hard and last year we spent a lot of time working on passing contraceptive equity in the State of Illinois for women in the State of Illinois and 70 people in this chamber supported that Bill. The second thing that’s… and if you vote for this Bill, that’s gone. It’s gone. The 09300112.doc 66  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 other things that are on here, that are optional, that are women health care specific, are pap smears, mastectomy as far as physicians determining how long the hospital stay is. I know that there are a lot of people in this chamber who worked long and hard on drive-through mastectomies, prenatal HIV testing, alcoholism treatment, colorectal cancer, limitations on organ transplants, prostate screening, mental illness and the… those are just to name a few. But for all of you who are concerned about families, the biggest and the most egregious elimination of… of coverage that we worked on in this General Assembly in 1990 is the Family Building Act which pays for infertility treatments. Now yes, those treatments are very expensive. But we made a choice as a Body that we were going to help families and help couples who are infertile pay for the cost of infertility treatment. This is not inexpensive. But we made a choice that we were going to cover that and I will guarantee you that if this Bill becomes law your constituents will be marching into your office, your infertile families who want to have more children and they are not gonna to be happy that you voted for this. This does nothing but gut the work that this General Assembly has done over… for over a decade. I encourage a ‘no’ vote on this. I… I appreciate where you’re trying to get, Representative Mautino. You’ve not demonstrated to me any savings to the consumer. And, Mr. Speaker, if this Bill is somehow going to get the requisite number of votes, I would 09300112.doc 67  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 really like a verification and I would like that request on the record.”

“And you’ll be granted, Representative. The Gentleman from St. Clair, Representative Holbrook. Representative Holbrook.”

“Thank you, Speaker. I move the previous question.”

“The Gentleman… the Gentleman’s moved that… that the question is, ‘Shall the main question be put?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it and the previous question is moved. Representative Parke, for what reason do you rise? We’re finished with debate.”

“Okay.”

“I think we… we understood that from the nature of your speech, Representative. But I thank you for clarifying the record and Representative Mautino to close.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the a… the lively and spirited debate on this issue. In answer to… to some of the statements that have been made, if you, as the employee, want the coverages, they are all there. You must… and the employer has to offer every state mandated coverage. So this is a tool. Where it’s been used in the a… in the past in Texas, 20 percent of the people buying these have been previously uncovered people. I think that’s phenomenal and it also goes to what we’re talking about when we want to bring more people in and get them 09300112.doc 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 health care coverage. As we pass the mandates, many of ‘em I have… I agree with. They need to have a program that addresses them and we built it inside this plan. This is the cafeteria plan that your local grade school and high schools have been using for 20 years. This is the plan that a hundred and fifteen of you voted for yesterday, in House Bill 4180. That Bill has the same components. It allows for flexible co-pays, deductible and the choice. We, ourselves, have this plan. Caterpillar, meanor… major manufacturers, ERISA exempt, all can do this. The only people who can’t are the people who for the most part pay our salaries. This does not give small business the option to do what everyone of us in this room can do, what everyone of our opponents can do. Actually, this Bill, most of our opponents are ERISA self-funded plans. It doesn’t apply to them. So I find that incredible that we would not look for some sort of a solution. This is not the ‘end all’ and ‘be all’ to the problem of health care crisis. It is a tool that maybe employers will be willing to cover people they weren’t willing to cover in the past because of the cost. Will it be a great cost savings? I don’t know. I know that if my premium’s 21 thousand… or 22 thousand now and someone adopts a flexible plan that fits their needs, maybe the aggregate premium is 20 or 21, in there. So, with that $12 thousand savings or whatever it might be on a quarter of a million dollars, I still have the ability to cut the… cut into the rising costs of health care. I mean it just helps me provide for my people. I 09300112.doc 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 want to do that and I want to be able to do what you can do now and what most of the people in this gallery have going for ‘em already. Appreciate an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 5925 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Joyce. Representative Joyce and Giles, would you like to be recorded? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 82 voting ‘yes’ and 30 voting ‘no’. There’s been a request for a verification by Representative Feigenholtz. She re… withdraws her request for a verification. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Repre… Representative Colvin, for what reason do you rise?”

“Yes, Mr. Speaker, we’ve got a… we’ve got a Page over here who was sent downstairs to get a Coke and he can’t remember who gave him the money. So, if you ordered a Coke from this young man over here or you want to buy a Coke, raise your hand. There you go, buddy, go get it.”

“Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 3996?”

“Representative Krause.”

“And on that question, Representative McGuire.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Some of you will remember this, this is a Bill I’ve had for the past couple years that we were not too successful with. But I want to congratulate Representative Krause, Representative Hamos and the rest of the Sponsors on this Bill. I will certainly urge your support on this Bill. This Bill does not mandate anything. It does not preempt Home Rule. It does try to clean up an area, no pun intended, for fresh air. Please vote for this Bill. It is a good Bill. And I appreciate your vote. Thank you.”

“Representative Flowers.” 09300112.doc 71  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Lady yield?”

“She indicates she'll yield."

“Representative Krause, can you explain to me how is ‘clean air’ defined?”

“Representative, so if I struggled all of my life to start a small business for me and my family and there’s a section there that says ‘smoking’. The people, this is a public restaurant, but it’s my private business. People have a choice. They have a choice. Ther… there’s something about when you go out. There’s certain things that you expect at certain places. For instance, when you go to church on Sunday you expect a preacher to preach a sermon. When you go to a bar on Saturday night you expect some music, some dancing and some smoking. And then when you go to a restaurant there’s a choice. You can either have a smoking or nonsmoking section or either you can have a choice to go that restaurant or not. So, now this Bill here, you are impeding on my personal business, my private business.”

“I….”

“But… but, you know, Representative, what I’m trying to figure out is how is… who sets the standards for clean air and when you say indoor clean air, today we’re talking about a restaurant. Tomorrow what would it be? And let me just give you an example. Riding down to Springfield last week, I was in my vehicle and there was some smoke some place. I did not see it, but I smelled the smoke. Now, is that a violation? Now, we’re talking about indoor clean air and we cannot even make sure that the outdoor air is clean. And then after I passed that smoke, riding further down, there was a pile of garbage and because of all the stuff that was mixed in the garbage, it created it… its own gases and then again up… I’m on the highway and the odor came into my car. So, I’m asking you whom are you trying to protect and what are you trying to protect? And again it appears to me that we’re just kind of stepping over the line in regards to people’s private businesses. Now when you talk about… if you were talking about a state building or a federal building or a municipal in the city I could understand that. But you’re talking about a private business, a private restaurant. You could also say that inside the beauty shops the air is not clean because of the 09300112.doc 73  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 different chemicals that they use. You could also, you know, in… in the… in the car… at Sears where you go to have your oil changed or some place like that you could say that that indoor air is not clean. Where do we draw the line? And how many people are we gonna put out of businesses? And let me just ask one final question. Across the street is one city, another is over here. There’s a ordinance over here that says ‘no smoking’. There’s another one over here where you can smoke. Don’t you think that you’re creating a hardship on a small business? And I want to just state for the record I used to be a smoker and I can’t stand the smell of smoke now. But so where I know there’s smoke I try to stay away. That’s just for the record. Thank you.”

“The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black. Representative Black.”

“She indicates she'll yield."

“Representative Steve Davis.” Davis, S.: “Thank you, Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she'll yield." Davis, S.: “Representative Krause, is there a fiscal note filed on this Bill as to what the fiscal impact is to the State of Illinois?”

“To the Bill.” Davis, S.: “Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in opposition to this Bill. I think… I think that what we are doing is putting mandates on local business owners. I can tell you that the Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association and the Illinois 09300112.doc 81  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Retail Merchants are in strong opposition to this Bill. And I would urge a ‘no’ vote. Thank you.”

“Representative Mathias.”

“To the Bill… to the Bill.”

“Rep… Representative Steve Davis, you’ve spoken in debate. For what reason do you rise?” 09300112.doc 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Davis, S.: “Yes. Thank you, Speaker. Should this Bill receive the requisite number of votes I would ask to… for a verification.”

“Okay. And you will be recognized for that purpose, Representative. Representative Hamos.”

“Thank you, Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. I also rise in strong support. I think many of the points have been made. Let’s remember that the world was a very different place 15 years ago when this… when this law was put on the books. We didn’t know as much about tobacco use. We didn’t know as much about secondhand smoke. We didn’t know about anything. And there wasn’t a whole movement at that point to really take a look at what are reasonable ways to regulate smoking. What this Bill really does is to allow municipalities to do that in the name of public health for their own communities and I urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Representative Mike Smith is recognized.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move the previous question.”

“The Gentleman moves that the main question be put. All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it and the main question is put. And Representative Krause to close.”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 3996 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? There’s been a request for a verification so it… all please vote who wish. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 59 voting ‘yes’ and 52 voting ‘no’. Would you like to put the Bill on Postponed Consideration? Okay. Representative Krause.”

“Okay. So on this question, there 59 voting ‘yes’, 52 voting ‘no’. This Bill is declared lost. Representative Slone, for what reason do you rise?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I would like to introduce to you today the Peoria Central Lions. The second year in a row Class AA 09300112.doc 84  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Champions, basketball champions. Please stand. There principal Otto Geist, coach Chuck Buescher, assistant coach Dan Ruffin and Chuck Westendorf and Sue Sargent who is with the cheerleaders. Thank you for being here.”

“Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4475?”

“Representative McGuire”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4475 we amended yesterday. And I will tell you the same thing that I told you yesterday. The Amendment rewrites and simplifies the provisions relating to the three new special funds: the Alzheimer’s Disease Center Clinical Fund, the Alzheimer’s Disease Center Expanded Clinical Fund and the Alzheimer’s Disease Independent Clinical Fund so that special methodology governing payments to the centers will be further defined by administrative rules by the Department of Public Aid. And for everybody, that’s it. I’ll try to answer any questions. I’d appreciate your ‘aye’ vote. Thank you.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Brauer, do you wish to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there 116 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this 09300112.doc 85  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4825.”

“Representative Mendoza.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4825 is the DNA fingerprint analysis Bill. As we all know, fingerprinting is an extremely useful identification tool when someone is arrested for any crime. Law enforcement keeps a database with these fingerprints whether a person is convicted or not. DNA is simply the fingerprint of the 21st century. House Bill 4825 will expand the use of this DNA identification technology which is currently used on convicted felons to include anyone who’s arrested for a felony. By doing so, Illinois will be poised to lead the nation in the solid identification of criminals. But perhaps even more importantly, the exoneration of the innocent. The DNA sample will consist of a sample of the arrestee’s saliva or tissue taken at the time of booking and will be subject to the Illinois State Police’s rules and regulations for collection, storage and processing. I’d encourage all of my forward thinking colleagues that this is a matter which should command your favorable consideration. And Mr. Speaker, I… I reserve the right to close and would be happy to answer any questions.”

“Representative Millner.”

“Representative Dunkin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she'll yield."

“Okay. Representative, does this Bill require that you are have… that you are actually arrested or is this just for questioning for your DNA can be sampled?”

“That’s a good question. It’s for arrested individuals. So, it’d be part of the booking process. Just like if we’re going to take your picture, your mug shot, then we do the fingerprints. This would be incorporated into the actual booking process for anyone who is arrested.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure. Thank you.”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative Lindner. Any further discussion? Then Representative… Representative Monique Davis.” Davis, M.: “Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she'll yield." Davis, M.: “Representative, if a person is arrested for a felony you’re asking that his DNA be taken and stored, is that correct?” 09300112.doc 87  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Yes. We will be taking a sample of the DNA from the individual who is arrested for a felony.” Davis, M.: “So, this is before the person is even found guilty of anything?”

“This would be exactly the same as what we do now. Before a person is found guilty, when they are arrested they are put through a booking process which takes their mug shot…” Davis, M.: “So, in other words…”

“…and the fingerprint. So, it’s… it would be consistent with the booking process, Representative.” Davis, M.: “In other words, if someone walked into this Body and picked any one of us and accused us of a crime they could decide at that very moment that our DNA would be taken?”

“Any person who is arrested for a felony will be subject to a DNA swab.” Davis, M.: “So, then we’re saying that even if we’re not guilty of what we were arrested for, say you’re found not guilty, you have DNA stored with the State Police, is that correct?”

“Yes. Representative, it’s exactly the same as what we do for fingerprinting right now. So, we do keep your fingerprints on file whether or not you are found guilty. And this would just simply be consistent as the 21st century fingerprint. And that we would also keep you on file whether or not you are found guilty.” 09300112.doc 88  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Davis, M.: “So, what would be the purpose of keeping a person who is erroneously arrested for a felony? What would be the purpose of keeping their DNA?”

“Well, the great thing about this Bill is that, for example, we have heard time and time again of people who have been erroneously or wrongfully convicted of a crime, arrested and convicted of a crime. And who have been trying for years and years and years to have their DNA tested, have had to appeal the courts. They’ve had to argue for permission to have their DNA sample taken. If we were to incorporate this into the booking process we would know that a person is… has been erroneously arrested and we’d know this in day five versus year five or year fifteen. This tool is very effective not only in solving crimes, in particular sex offenses, but it is just as important in terms of exonerating people who are innocent of a crime that they say they did not commit.” Davis, M.: “But there’s nothing in your Bill that states that this DNA that’s collected would be used to exonerate.”

“Oh, yes, Representative, the Bill clearly states that the DNA would be… the only people that would have access to it is the law enforcement agency as well as the defendant. So a defendant would immediately be able to say, hey, look I want access to my DNA evidence, which right now they don’t have the right to do that.” Davis, M.: “You know, Representative, if you find… let me ask you this question. If you find that a number of people are arrested and charged with crimes and very frequently this 09300112.doc 89  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 particular group of people is found to be innocent of crimes then what it appears to me that your legislation will do is say, well, you might not of done this but I know you did something. So, since I have your DNA I’m gonna find out what you really did do. You know…”

“Well, Representative, to the same extent though, maybe you’re right. Maybe the person’s not guilty of the crime that they were charged with, but I think that most Members of this Body would agree that if there’s a hit, let’s say for a sex offense, that we had no idea occurred and now we can solve that crime, that’s a good thing. That’s a benefit for the people of Illinois that individuals will be able to be tied directly to crimes that they committed just the same way that they may be able to be excluded from a suspect pool because of that DNA. So, it works on both sides. It will, hopefully, allow us to solve some outstanding crimes that are out there. But will also allow people who have been wrongly picked up to be found not guilty. Davis, M.: “So, in a way you’re saying that even though I may know you’re innocent, I want to check your DNA. I know you’re innocent, but I want to check your DNA against some other stuff so I can charge you with the felony, get your DNA and then you’re released.”

“The… the only people that would have access to that DNA file, again, is law enforcement and defendant. So, I think that in terms of what the Bill is trying to accomplish, it’s to make sure that we can use the 09300112.doc 90  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 technology that we have available right now which is DNA, which is much more specific. It’s… it’s… it’s a better tool of identification…” Davis, M.: “Had you ever…”

“…it’s proof positive…” Davis, M.: “…did you ever…”

“…we should be… we should be looking I think….” Davis, M.: “…did you ever consider all Americans just go and sign up to have their DNA taken and stored some place? Did you ever consider that?”

“Well, Representative, maybe you can introduce a Bill if you really like the idea. But I… I think in terms of this Bill….” Davis, M.: “I… I just kind of think it’s un-American. So, I wouldn’t be introducing that Bill.”

“Right. I appreciate… I appreciate your… your opinion, Representative, but that’s not the Bill that I’m introducing. I’m introducing a very specific Bill that will help law enforcement have a tool for identification. And will also be helping these people who are not guilty…” Davis, M.: “Let me ask you this.”

“…of crimes for which they’re incarcerated.” Davis, M.: “Repre… Representative, do you see any violation of one’s civil rights by mandating that an innocent individual have to give his or her DNA? Do you see an erosion of an innocent person’s rights? Representative Burke, I’m talking to Mendoza.” 09300112.doc 91  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“No. Representative, I do not see any violation of civil rights. I don’t see one when we take a person’s picture whether they’re guilty or not. I don’t see one when we fingerprint people whether they’re guilty or not. And I certainly don’t see one to the same extent using those analogies with the 21st century fingerprint which is DNA technology. So, no, I think it’s very consistent. And we’ve been very careful to implement and write this Bill in a way that makes the DNA sample equivalent and very consistent with fingerprint samples.” Davis, M.: “Where… where does it say in your Bill that a person can use that DNA to prove his or her innocence?”

“There… there is a… well, Representative, in terms of… here, clarify your question a little bit for me again. At any point, you mean?” Davis, M.: “I said where in your legislation, what line, what page does it state that a person can use this DNA swab that’s been saved to prove his or her innocence?”

“I’m looking for it right now, the actual line.” Davis, M.: “Hey…”

“Representative, the Bill specifies and if you… do you have it? I mean, can you pull it up so that we can look at this?” Davis, M.: “I’ve got it. It’s here.”

“Okay. That… this is done in the booking pro… procedure. So, right away we would know if the person is guilty of the crime that they’re supposedly being linked to because we’d be able to run that DNA right away…” 09300112.doc 92  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Davis, M.: “Guilty or innocent.”

“…right, that’s what I mean. Exactly. So…” Davis, M.: “Representative…”

“…if I’m… if I’m picked up for a crime I did not commit…” Davis, M.: “…Representative…”

“…and I have DNA…” Davis, M.: “Okay. Men….”

“…and they have me on file, they’d know right away in five hours or five days that it wasn’t me versus waiting five years or fifteen of my life that’s been taken away from me because they didn’t want to test my DNA or because they didn’t have this procedure in place. So, this without a doubt is just as beneficial at… to the person who’s been arrested as it would be to law enforcement for identification. It’s exactly the same as a fingerprint. So, again, if our argument here is whether they’re innocent or guilty, we do this now for the fingerprinting and we do this now for your mug shot. And it’s the exact same thing. It’s just one more identification tool that really is more accurate than a picture or even a fingerprint.” Davis, M.: “Representative, what will the cost be to collect DNA from every person arrested for a felony and not convicted of that felony? What will the cost be to get that DNA and to store that DNA?”

“Well, Representative, right now, the estimates that we’ve received are around a million dollars and we’re working out the apropri… so the Bill is subject to 09300112.doc 93  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 appropriation with the starting date of no later than 2007. And we’re working with the Illinois State Police in making sure that this is something they feel is valuable as do so many other law enforcement agencies.” Davis, M.: “So, it will be a million dollars to collect the DNA?”

“No. It’s a million dollar total because we already have the DNA Bill enacted that we passed last Session that dealt with doing it for convicted felons. So, this is not creating an entirely new system. It’s just adding people into that pool. And the more people we have into the pool, the better. And the more concrete that evidence will be in long run.” Davis, M.: “Representative, please don’t misunderstand. I do understand that you would like to have a DNA sample of anyone who’s ever accused of a felony.”

“Anyone who’s arrested.” Davis, M.: “Whether that… whether that person is guilty or not if there is an arrest, if there are questions to be asked then you would like to be able to take that DNA sample of the accused person. Will this DNA sample be destroyed if the person is found innocent?”

“That’s a good question. No. It very similar to fingerprints and mug shots. The DNA…” Davis, M.: “So, in other words you…”

“…let me answer the question, Representative.” Davis, M.: “…you want a record… you want a record of everyone’s DNA in our state. Is that right?” 09300112.doc 94  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“I want the record of anyone who’s been arrested of a felony. And let me just answer the question. So, if you…” Davis, M.: “How… do you know how many people are arrested for felonies and not found guilty in this state?”

“And I also know how many people are arrested for any crime and whose fingerprints stay on file and this stays consistent with that. And let me just clarify, though, that we did just adopt an Amendment that would keep the DNA fingerprinting law consistent with regular fingerprinting law for expungement. So, if I can right now expunge my fingerprints from my file, because I expunged my record, I get my card back, the fingerprints are removed. It would be exactly consistent with what we’re doing with DNA. So, if it’s good for fingerprints, then it’s good for DNA and that was a suggestion that was brought up by some of the Members in this House. So, I think we’re being extremely careful to keep DNA specific to the same things we’re doing in the booking process for mug shots and fingerprints. And we know that those are extremely valuable tools in identifying people and keeping our society safe. And I think that DNA is going to prove, like I said, that it’s just one more tool in this arsenal that we have for identifying people.” Davis, M.: “Are fingerprints kept as a federal program?”

“Yes, Representative.” Davis, M.: “Would… would this DNA be a state or a federal program?” 09300112.doc 95  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Well, right now, it would be a state program and if and when they’re… the federal program would merge the two databases, that is allowable. So, we’re keeping it exactly. What we do for fingerpri… fingerprints is the same thing we’d be doing now with DNA.” Davis, M.: “But… but the fingerprints are federal. In other words you can contact the Federal Government and get fingerprint matches.”

“Right.” Davis, M.: “But you will not be able to do that with a DNA sample? Is that correct?”

“Right now the… not every state has this set up. So, as we move forward and other states look to Illinois to adopt great legislation like this, we’ll see more of that. And then eventually we will have a nationwide system that would be….” Davis, M.: “But don’t you think it’s dangerous to set up two different systems where you may decide I’m gonna check this guy’s DNA and somebody else says we want to check his fingerprints? You know, what I’m saying?”

“Well, this is just one more additional effort Representative. I… I don’t think that… you know, I think we have trust that….” Davis, M.: “To the Bill. Thank you, Representative.”

“Thank you.” Davis, M.: “To the Bill, Mr. Speaker.”

“To the Bill.” 09300112.doc 96  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Davis, M.: “First of all I recognize this Legislator’s attempt let’s say to further find people who have committed crimes and to perhaps see that they are adjudicated properly. But because I’m a Legislator in this Body I feel compelled… I feel compelled to recognize that we do not want to criminalize people in the State of Illinois. Under many investigative tools people are part of an arrest. It’s used to interrogate and it’s used to further investigate a crime. But to decide that all of these people who are often arrested, never formerly charged and go through the entire process, never found guilty of a crime, to decide that we’re now gonna collect and hold your DNA is extremely un-American. The Federal Government currently has a system of fingerprinting people who are in the service. Will we be getting DNA from all people in the service? The Federal Government has a system in which anybody in any state can partake of that tool. In my opinion, it is grossly expensive, extremely expensive and could even lead to police arresting you for one felony simply because they want your DNA. They know that you don’t have to be found guilty. They know that that’s not required. But I just want your DNA on file. There’s something extremely un- American about that. Now do we want criminals caught? Yes, we do. Are we doing a good job of that? I believe we are. Crime is down in this state and in our country crime is down. I do not believe that adding the burden… adding the burden and the cost of collecting DNA samples from every individual who is accused and that’s what we’re 09300112.doc 97  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 talking about, people who are accused. Now surely, surely, if a felony has been convict… con… committed, surely, if you are found to have committed that felony then your DNA should be on file. But if you’re an innocent person and we know this has happened in our state over and over and over again, then you should not be subjected to having to giving DNA to a police authority. This is still America and we do not want to criminalize every American in the State of Illinois. We do not want to say to every individual I know how to get your DNA, all I have to do is accuse you of a felony. Your intentions may be good and noble. The result will be extremely expensive. And I’m not sure that the State of Illinois is ready to use DNA rather than fingerprints that are used by the Federal Government. DNA is a good tool. It is a new technology. It is continually to be developed. But to take DNA from an innocent person, a person who has not been found guilty is very un-American. I urge a ‘no’ vote.”

“Representative Reitz.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to move the previous question.”

“The Gentleman has moved the previous question. The question is, ‘Shall the main question be put?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the main question is put. Representative Mendoza to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This Bill is very simple. Right now, we have a 09300112.doc 98  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 great process in place that has held true for many, many, many years. Mug shot, fingerprint, now this is one more tool in that which is the DNA which is the most specific fingerprint we can have. Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, there… we’re talking about making sure that we make sure that the right person is behind bars. That those who are out there who maybe have gotten away with crimes that we don’t know about and if we’re lucky enough to have a hit on a system, that’s a great thing. Let’s solve those crimes. But also, if I’m the person who’s behind bars for a crime that I did not commit, my god, I certainly do want to make sure that that DNA evidence is out there so that I can prove my innocence. Now we talked about cost, let me just talk about what’s that cost of spending five or ten or fifteen years of your life in jail for a crime that you did not commit plus let’s talk about the payouts that we’ve had to pay time and time again for erroneous convictions. A million dollars a year is nothing compared to what we’ve already spent on moral injustices and economic payouts. So, I think, Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to thank this Body for the overwhelming support that I’ve received in cosponsors and would just ask for a favorable vote. Thank you.”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 4825 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Fritchey and Pritchard. Okay. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this 09300112.doc 99  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 question, there are 102 voting ‘yes’, 11 voting ‘no’ and 3 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4167.”

“Representative Coulson.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk. Representative Krause, do you wish to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4058. Representative Brady, for what reason do you rise?”

“State your point.”

“Welcome to Springfield. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Miller.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is a Bill dealing with the issues of soft drinks as a… as it relates to… access to children in schools. The Bill has been shelled. I plan to continue to work with Leader Cross and other individuals. So we want to move this to Senate to keep the language open. I ask for a favorable vote.”

“And on that question, Representative Parke.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“That’s correct.”

“Correct.”

“That it’s… yeah, that’s my understanding. Working with Leader Cross and myself and other interested bodies we wanted to come up with some language that is agreeable or that at least we can work on, some more time to work on this issue as it goes to the Senate and… and possibly back here for a concurrence.” 09300112.doc 101  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“I… I believe… I believe… I’d have to hold the people who wish to work with this… to the commitment. As far as I know there is no other…”

“As far as I know, I… you know, as far as I know I… I would agree with it to the fact that it’s just dealing with soft drinks as it relates to children in school. But working with…”

“But in… in terms of relating it to soft drinks issues in schools then I can make that commitment that’s what I want it to do… to…”

“All right.”

“And on this shell Bill, Representative Lang.” 09300112.doc 102  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“It’s just a quick question, Mr. Speaker, honest. Representative, your original Bill prohibits soft drinks in schools and you say you want to continue to work on this issue, but can you give us some general direction where you’re going?”

“Sure. There was some discussion on… on what was the definition of soft drinks. There was some discussion on who it would apply to. There was some… for instance some home school children or… ins… schools that if… if this was… put in place, that basically the kids wouldn’t be there. So, it’s various issues like that. We wanted to continue to meet with the soft drink industry. But also like you said, with the House Republican staff was interested very much in this issue and so those are the issues that we wanted to work out.”

“Will it still be your intention in the end to be mandating to schools what they can and can’t sell in their own cafeterias?”

“Well, I think at the end…”

“Have… have a can of Pepsi there, Representative.”

“Well, as long as it’s not accessed during children… for school children. But I think in the end my intention is to say to limit access. And I think that’s the underlying discussion on this Bill, to have some sense of why… why should a second grader be able to drink a soda pop… you know, that doesn’t have high nutritional value, 09300112.doc 103  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 you know, at any time during the course of the day. I’m sure if given the option would you rather have your child have… a carton of milk or… or a soda beverage. I’m sure you’d go with that. So, that’s the intention.”

“But just so I understand, in the end no matter what changes you make, no matter what negotiation, you’re gonna come back to us with a Bill that is gonna take local control away from schools on at least this narrow issue? Is that right?”

“No… no, many issues there… there is… there creates a higher sense of public awareness. As we’ve heard over in times of this General Assembly issues regarding obesity. From my background and my profession it’s used regarding dental care and health care. And so, when you… when you talk about local control I think that’s just a… an issue which you’ll start to get into saying there’s a better gru… good of people and then there’s a… there’s a greater good in which it’s the public health of our children.”

“Thank you. To the Bill.”

“To the shell Bill.”

“Well, I normally wouldn’t vote against one of my colleague’s shell Bills but I… I… I don’t want to be on this floor voting to tell our local school districts what they should be doing in their own cafeteria. So, I, for myself, am gonna be voting ‘no’.”

“Representative Daniels.”

Speaker Hannig: “Thank you, Representative Daniels. Representative Molaro on the shell Bill.”

“Yeah, well… I… well… maybe I have a wrong definition of a shell Bill. Now, we’ve got conflict interest, we got so many… is there language here that… that the Speaker’s desk is…”

“…”

“…hiding or something? Is there… I mean do you have language in this Bill or is this actually a shell Bill? So, there’s no language? Okay.”

“… it was a shell Bill.”

“I just wanted to make that you’re… and the Speaker said you have a shell Bill, you haven’t agreed to it, let’s just pass shell Bills so we can see where we’re at. And if there is language, isn’t it still the rule that it’s gotta come here… back here to be voted on?”

“Well…”

“Is that the rule?”

“…last I checked that was the…”

“Okay, good.”

“…general procedure of the General Assembly.”

“Representative Miller, to close.”

“I’d ask for a favorable vote.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Monique Davis and Representative Joyce, would you care to record yourself? 09300112.doc 105  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. And on this question, there are 28 voting ‘yes’, 73 voting ‘no’, 13 voting ‘present’. And the Bill fails. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 3985.”

“Representative Molaro.”

“I just hope… I’m gonna present this Bill, but we’re voting ‘no’ on shell Bills. I hope that it’s not…”

“How’d you vote, Representative?”

“Well, I guess it was. Anyway, to the Bill. This Bill was a… 3985. Okay. Oh, 3985 has been brought by the University of Illinois. What the University of Il… Okay. Let’s start all over. 3985 was pulled out of the record last week. We’re gonna have a vote on it and Representative Franks had a little problem with the language. Me and him talked and it turns out that the language in the Bill is correct and it does do what we’re trying to do. It’s for the Cook County ass… Cook County tax buyers. When you go in and you buy… somebody doesn’t pay their taxes, you bid some interest. So, when you buy the taxes they have to come back. When there’s an auction, there used to be two or three auctioneers, now there’s about a hundred or two hundred people. And sometimes when you get to, say 11 percent, two people would yell 11 percent at the same time and the auctioneer didn’t know who to pick. This allows the auctioneer… it allows… gives them 09300112.doc 106  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 the authority to pick one of the two when they yell it at the same time. And that’s what the Bill does.”

“Is there any discussion? And the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’, 1 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4424. Representative Osterman.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Osterman.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 4424 seeks to address the backlog in the sexual assault DNA evidence with the State Police. Legislation amends the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act and the Unified Code of Corrections. The legislation requires State Police to test and analyze all previously collected sexual assault DNA evidence within the next two years. It also requires that future sexual assault DNA evidence be tested and analyzed by State Police within one year of the receipt of the evidence. Additionally, a code… it codifies current department practice on how such evidence may be used and the quality standards by which evidence shall be handled and tested. 09300112.doc 107  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 This is supported by numerous law enforcement agencies. There are no opponents. And I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Dugan and Reitz. Okay. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4057. Representative McAuliffe.”

“Representative McAuliffe.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? 09300112.doc 108  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4092. Representative Ryg.”

“Representative Ryg.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. House Bill 4092 is an effort to maximize federal match for mental health services and enhance cost effective delivery. And requires data on how and where clients are served. It compliments legislation that was passed last spring and is now being implemented by the Department of Human Services to compile a cross disability database of Illinois residents who are potential beneficiaries of community- based services. While the cross disability database included persons with mental illness, the law did not adequately address collection of data from all inpatient mental health facilities. Data is currently collected from state hospitals and facilities, but not private mental health facilities. House Bill 4092 outlines data to be collected, provides that the Department of Human Services will provide technical assistance for electronic collection and dissemination of the data, insures compliance with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act and authorizes a multi-agency work group to insure coordination and avoid duplicate reporting. 09300112.doc 109  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 This Bill was negotiated and agreed to. I know of no opposition. And I request an ‘aye’ vote.”

“And on that question, Representative Mulligan. Representative Rosemary Mulligan is recognized. No? Do you wish to speak?”

“Yes.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“It will comply with the Confidentiality Act, so whatever that requires.”

“It’s my understanding that they’ll develop the procedures to insure confidentiality.”

“They will submit an annual report on the private facilities similar to the report that’s provided on state- operated facilities.”

“It will be distributed the same way it is now. I’m not sure if it’s something that people pay for, I believe it’s a report that’s made available.”

“Is there any further discussion. Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Would Representative Dugan wish to vote? Representative Dugan. Okay. On this question, Mr. Clerk, take the record. And there are… on this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6633. Representative Howard, for what reason do you rise?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“Today we are honored with about 200 visitors from the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois. Two of those very fine people from my district are here today, Michael Ball and Michael Flanagan. Please help me to welcome them.”

“Welcome to Springfield. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Molaro.” 09300112.doc 111  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you. As you recall, we debated for almost an hour the horse slaughter Bill, but the Illinois General Assembly has spoken. I put that Bill on Postponed Consideration, but I’m making a commitment here that I will not be recalling that Bill this week, this Session. So… so that Bill is gone from the General Assembly. I… I see people clapping, I don’t blame them. But one of the reasons was, as you recall when I first called that Bill and first brought it up I just thought it was something that the General Assembly should hear about, know about. And they did and they spoke and that’s the end of that Bill. However, while we were debating that Bill, let me tell you what did come up and this Bill everybody is for, the Illinois Horse Council, Farm Bureau, even Cavel is for this Bill. All this is, in Illinois right now what we have is we have this test that we give horses called the Coggins test, here in the United States. So, if a horse comes to the State of Illinois they either have to take this test or show that they took the test to show that they don’t have any infectious disease. So, if they come to this state as a companion animal or to breed or to work for the mounted police or whatever, it shows that they’re not sick. One of the things, however, if you are coming across the state line to go directly to a slaughter house you didn’t need this test. But Cavel and everybody else thought it would just be genuine thing to say, no matter what reason you’ve come across the state line for, that you should all get this test. And everybody’s agreed to that. And so this is 09300112.doc 112  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 that kind of a Bill, which is good for the horse industry, both the people who were for and against my Bill to agree with this particular Bill.”

Speaker Hannig: “Is there any discussion? Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, J.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Gentleman’s Bill. The Coggins stops diseases that are highly infectious, diseases that need to be completely obliterated in the nation, not just in Illinois. As a horse owner and an owner of horse… show horses, this is one thing that really concerns us when we go to a show to think there may be horses that have not had a Coggins test. However, in the State of Illinois it’s required at every single show that you have those papers with you. If you do not you will be immediately… your animal will be impounded and you’ll be immediately taken out of the show. So, this is a good idea. Thank you.”

“Any further discussion? Then the question is… Excuse me, Representative Black, the Gentleman from Vermilion.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“(Strikes microphone four times.)”

“No.”

“Well, yeah, he’s still there.”

“And… and actually in committee we had people from the veterinarians, as well as the horse council. All the people that were there for my… the bigger Bill, I should say, were there for this Bill and all signed in as proponents for this Bill, as I recall in committee. But… but I just wanna question, I’m not saying that this should come back or not come back, whatever it’s required for now, what I was being told and what the Bill does is that if you bring a horse into the show or to breed you have to have this test if it’s a certain age. But if you’re bringing it in to go straight to a slaughter house in Illinois then you 09300112.doc 114  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 don’t need this. Which when Cavel was operating… And so it kinda didn’t make sense to me that if you’re gonna show the horse we’re worried about horses catching anything, but if they were diseased and we’re gonna cut it up for meat and send it overseas, well, that’s kind of like, well, if it’s diseased who cares, they’re eating it over in Europe anyway. Ya know, let ‘em eat cake. But, so, I thought it would be a good idea to do this and everybody seems to be in agreement. There was no opposition.”

“Right.”

“Oh, absolutely. As a matter of fact, that was brought by the Illinois Horse Council…”

“…who again was in… vehemently opposed to my other Bill. And basically, what they were doing is, they ba… were saying there’s a form you have to sign when you go to auction anyway, so there’s a form you gotta give the auctioneer. This would just put on that form that certainly please be aware that it could…”

“…go to a slaughter house.” 09300112.doc 115  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you.”

“Representative Sacia.”

“He indicates he will.”

“Right.”

“Well, yeah, I… well, here’s the point. Everybody I’ve talked to is for this including even the… Cavel was for this. Because when you cross over the state line and you say you’re for slaughter only, there isn’t a direct route. There are times that the horse would come here and for three, four days or for three, four weeks they’d be stabled 09300112.doc 116  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 at a different stable area and then brought to the slaughter house. So, they thought it was important to makes sure that when they’re stabled for three or four weeks, even though their coming is strictly for slaughter, if they’re with other horses those horses may be infected.”

“Is there any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’, and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 6616. Representative Phelps.”

“Representative Phelps.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. All this Bill does is allow the 20 Cairo public utilities employees to apply to be in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Cairo, as you know, is a very depressed area. And I’d appreciate a ‘yes’ vote.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? 09300112.doc 117  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Representative Kurtz. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 5889.”

“Representative Osterman.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5889 amends the Public Aid Code to assist elderly, blind and disabled legal refugees and asylees with a continuation of a supplemental security income benefits while they continue to work to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Additionally, what it does is it sunsets after two years and puts a maximum cap of the benefit that they would receive. Currently, the Federal Government assists these individuals who sought and were granted refugee status in our country with SSI benefits for seven years while they work to become naturalized citizens. However, due to backlogs at the INS offices due… sometimes due to mental health issues that these individuals have they did not become citizens within that seven-year window. Additionally, presently at the federal level, President Bush and Congress are looking to remedy this issue. But what happens right now is after that seven years if those individuals do not become U.S. citizens, as they work to become U.S. citizens, they lose this benefit. House Bill 5889 would have the Department of Human Services pick this 09300112.doc 118  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 benefit up as these people work to become naturalized U.S. citizens. We are looking to work with the Department of Human Services, as we have been in the last month and a half, to try to find funding for this. That will something that we continue through the appropriation process. I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Hoffman. Sacia. Kurtz. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 86 voting ‘yes’, 29 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4457. Representative Millner.”

“Representative Millner.”

“And on that question, Representative Parke.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.” 09300112.doc 119  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Bost.” 09300112.doc 120  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4782. Representative Reitz.”

“Representative Reitz.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4782 simply allows wineries to serve beer and other alcoholic beverages. Allows them to apply for a liquor license in their county or city or wherever their jurisdiction is. And I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Joyce. Kelly. Would you like to be recorded? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the 09300112.doc 121  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 record. On this question, there are 100 voting ‘yes’, 14 voting ‘no’ and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 5197 for Representative Smith.”

“Representative Smith.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is an initiative by the AARP to address some concerns that have come to their attention from many of their members regarding abuse of reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages are a tool that persons over the age of 62 can use to help recapture some of the equity in their home and allow them to stay in their home. Unfortunately, there have been some abuses that some… some lenders have taken advantage of senior citizens under this Act. The original Bill provided for a civil penalty for violators of the… of reverse mortgage Act. We removed that because of concerns from the banking community that that fine was actually too excessive. So, this Bill simply states that the licensee of a reverse mortgage would have to act in good faith when dealing with a potential borrower. And this is agreed language between the AARP and the mortgage community, the bankers assoc… the Illinois Bankers Association. And I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; 09300112.doc 122  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4539. Representative Soto.”

“Representative Soto.”

“Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. House Bill 4539 amend… as amended provides that the clerk of the circuit court may notify the Secretary of State if any resident of this state makes only a partial payment and fails to pay the remainder of any traffic penalty or cost imposed on a violation of code. This is an initiative of the clerk of the circuit court and it’s just a little technician… technical change.”

“The Lady has moved for passage of House Bill 4539. Is there any discussion? The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Yes, it does. Any… yes, this would be any… any traffic fine, penalty.” 09300112.doc 123  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“And I’m sorry I said technical. I have another Bill that had a small technical change…”

“…so I’ll take that back.”

“This is a Cook County.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Parke.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Molaro.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Thank you. I was… I was looking at the Bill and I don’t know if it was a question, I don’t know if Mr. Parke actually asked this question. I know we talked… well, we talked about Cook County, whether… whether it’s only Cook County or not. And it seems, the way that I read it, it looks like it’s statewide. Can you just point out the language that said it’s Cook… Well, I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

“It is… it is. It’s just been brought to my attention. And I also stand corrected this is only for moving violations.”

“Okay. But wait, wait, wait. What’s been brought to your attention, that it’s state…”

“That it…”

“Whoa, whoa.”

“That it’s statewide.”

“I’ll ask… is it statewide or just Cook County?” 09300112.doc 127  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Yes, statewide.”

“This is statewide.”

“Correct.”

“So, it’s not just we’re doing this for Cook County, we’re doing it for the whole state?”

“Correct.”

“Okay. Ya know, I… I have a little problem with the Bill only because I do a lot of… I do a lot of work with traffic tickets. And a lot of times when people who go there and they get fined, now as you well know, and I always blame the City of Chicago this, and they know my position. So, if they wanna get mad at me they could. Ya know, everything is revenue producing and in this rough time when local municipalities don’t have any way to raise money, what they do is everything is revenue, revenue, revenue. So, what they do is instead of sending these people to traffic school, what they do is when someone has a red light, the judges come out there and try to convince ‘em to plead guilty to supervision, so you get in supervision. All right. You get supervision, it means it doesn’t go on your record; Secretary of State’s not notified. But what they say is, I’ll give you supervision but I want a $125 fine.”

“Okay. Representative, I just have to say, they are notified. They have 40… they’re notified 45 days in advance, so it’s not like they don’t know what’s happening.” 09300112.doc 128  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Oh no, I… I understand that. But I guess my point is that if they don’t make the payment… so they give ‘em supervision, they don’t make the payment. What we’re doing is we’re gonna get the… I know it’s hard to… it’s hard for us… yeah, we’re both the type of people that like to look at each other when we talk. He’s really tall, that seems to be the problem. But my… I would never ask him to move, but since he did, that’s okay. So, the only… the only trouble I do have is that when you notify the Secretary of State that again now someone didn’t pay. So, I guess by notifying them then, what happens is when the person comes in two months or three months after being notified and they pay the $35 that they owe. Now there’s an extra step that now they have to notify the Secretary of State and if they don’t notify the Secretary of State because you can’t count on the clerk of the circuit court to notify. I don’t know if you’re causing more of a problem than you’re alleviating. I understand the intention of the Bill. I just wanna make sure we’re not causing more of a problem.”

“Do you understand that this is already implemented? All we’re adding is just this… Yeah, it’s already something that they’re doing. It’s noth…”

“Well, if they’re already doing it then why do we have the Bill? Obviously, you’re changing something or we wouldn’t have the Bill if they’re already doing it.”

“We just wanted to get it legislative mandated.”

“Wha… I’m sorry. I thought it was for partial payment. The way I know it works is this, someone gets a fine, they 09300112.doc 129  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 don’t pay, it’s 30 days and they don’t pay. If they make a partial payment, the law is now that, now because it’s the clerk or the judge who gave ‘em the permission for partial payment, now it’s up to the clerk to go collect it. You can no longer bring the Secretary of State in on partial payments. The only way to bring the Secretary of State in is if there’s no payment whatsoever. So, what we’re making the Secretary of State do is kinda like be a bill collector for the clerks of the circuit court. And all I’m saying is that I think you create more problems than you alleviate. But… but what we’ll do is, I’m not gonna keep belaboring the Bill. If you think it’s important and you’re shaking your head yes…”

“And it is, otherwise I wouldn’t be introducing it.”

“I’ll… I know. I’ll vote for the Bill, but you gotta talk to the clerks of the circuit court and find out what someone has to do. They’ve been notified by the clerk, they haven’t paid, now the Secretary of State says we’re gonna suspend your license or you won’t be able to renew your license until you pay. When you now go in and pay the clerk, does the clerk automatically send a notice to the Secretary of State to lift that sanction? That’s all I want you to check on as you move this Bill forward.”

“Yes, I will. I will check on that and I will get back to you and get… with the answer.”

“Representative Bost.”

“Representative Soto to close.”

“I urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Okay. Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting 09300112.doc 131  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 37 voting ‘yes’ and 73 voting ‘no’. And the Bill fails. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 3869. Represen… Representative Phelps, for what reason do you rise?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On House Bill 4782 my switch was not working properly and I wish the record to reflect that I would have voted ‘aye’.”

“The record will so reflect. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 3869, please.”

“Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, B.: “It’s a great Bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 3869, it increases the… increases the criminal penalties for damage to farm equipment by one level to bring them in line with current penalties for damaging schools and places of worship. This is a situation that occurred in my district in the southern part of Macon County and in McLean County where the farmers… during harvest season they had some vandalism. And I think it’s a great Bill and I urge the House to give an ‘aye’ vote.”

Speaker Hannig: “And on that question, Representative Fritchey.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.” 09300112.doc 132  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“I’m asking this in all sincerity. Why would we have heightened penalties for criminal damage to farm equipment as opposed to somebody that may be in another line of work and their equipment gets damaged?” Mitchell, B.: “Well, I think… appreciate your question, Representative Fritchey. There’s one in four jobs in Illinois are related to agriculture. So when you’re between… particularly and this is between September 1 and the end of November you have… it has… a portion of this Bill has heightened penalties for criminal trespass. It is that this is farm production time when you get into the fields and when someone burns your truck up or burns a field up, their livelihood is gone and the whole economy of the region is affected.”

“I… I understand that and I have a sincere appreciation for the role of agriculture in our economy in this state, but at the same time if an individual happens to be in the trucking business and somebody damages his truck, he’s out of business as well. If somebody happens to be a store owner and their store gets vandalized, they have business problems as well. I guess my concern is we start to go down a slippery slope where Legislators are gonna wanna show their commitment to those businesses that are in… local to their district to say we want special and heightened penalties for damage to this type of property. If we wanna raise the penalties for criminal damage to property…” Mitchell, B.: “This is…” 09300112.doc 133  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“…let’s do it across the board. But if we start carving out these niches, I think it’s just… it gets us into a patchwork. And people wonder how we got from ten commandments to, ya know, 20 volumes of statutes in this state and this is the type of way that we get there.” Mitchell, B.: “I appreciate your concern, Representative, but there’s a key difference between… and it’s terrible if you have a vandalism of any property, but if when you have a vandalism of a field and there’s crops in the field and you burn the field up, you can’t replace that. That’s a year of income gone. That’s quite a different situation.”

“But this… but this isn’t criminal damage to a field…” Mitchell, B.: “Yes, it is. It’s criminal…”

“…there’s a… there’s a tres… as I’m looking at our… our analysis and tell me if I’m wrong.” Mitchell, B.: “Yeah, this is not just…”

“There’s a component for trespass to agricultural properties, but there’s also heightened criminal penalties for criminal damage to farm equipment.” Mitchell, B.: “No, it… it… it’s the…”

“So, that’s not the field, that’s the tractor or the combine or whatever else it may be.” Mitchell, B.: “It includes… it includes equipment, but it…”

“I don’t know too many pieces of farm equipment. Those are all I can name off the top of my head.” Mitchell, B.: “I beg your pardon?” 09300112.doc 134  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“I said, I don’t… I can’t name too many pieces of farm equipment off the top of my head.” Mitchell, B.: “Tractor, combine.”

“That’s about as far as I can go right now.” Mitchell, B.: “Okay.”

“But…” Mitchell, B.: “There’s also fields and when you have… when you have crops in the field and you have damage to ‘em, when you burn it up, you can’t replace it and that farmer’s livelihood is gone for the year. That’s malicious conduct. That whole economy of a region is gone.”

“And… and… and… and I am sensitive to that, but I guess I’m at a loss why we would have a heightened penalty for somebody that damages a tractor as opposed to somebody that damages an individual’s dump truck.” Mitchell, B.: “Well, again, Representative, this wasn’t just a tractor, it wasn’t just a farm truck, it’s related to any farm equipment or property, which includes the crops in the field.”

“All right. Ya know, I know you’re very well- intentioned, I… I may vote against this just because of the reasons that I stated. I’m sure it will fly outta here. Thank you for answering my questions.” Mitchell, B.: “Thank you, Representative.”

“The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“Representative Mitchell to close.” Mitchell, B.: “I think, as usual, as Representative Black spoke very articulately on my Bill and I appreciate that. This is an important Bill for Illinois’ economy. Again, one in four jobs in the State of Illinois are related to agriculture. It just recognizes that point. Representative Black said, when you have a 2, 300 thousand dollar combine in the field, a mile and half, two miles from your home, late at night when it’s vandalized there are some real serious problems during harvest season. So, 09300112.doc 137  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 this is the recognition of the importance of agriculture to the State of Illinois. I certainly urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 5105.”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative Washington. Representative Washington, you’re up. Out of the record? Okay. Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. How about House Bill 6563, Representative Washington? Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Washington.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this Bill, House Bill 6563, is a Bill that will amend the Probate Act of 1975. The Bill provides that the court may find that appointing a person convicted of a felony to act as a guardian of a minor or disabled person, it may be in the best interest of that minor or disabled person that those two be paired together. The current Probate Act would bar any person with a past felony conviction from acting as a 09300112.doc 138  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 guardian. And the genesis of this Bill, simply stated, is to reaffirm our justice system and reaffirm that we trust in the judgment of those who wear black robes and are referred to as judges to not be limited in making a determination that would give them a free hand of picking a guardian who is available for a minor or somebody no longer to take care of themselves. That’s the simplicity of the Bill. And I remind my colleagues, with the number of families who have been affected by people who have gotten a felony for one reason or the other. Recently, this general Body looked at the number of men and women who were on death row, they too had a felony, but they too were innocent and in some families the choices are very limited on who can take care of someone. And so, this Bill would only broaden, keeping it in the hands of the court system that we uphold and to reaffirm the trust that we want to have and we do have with our judges that with the many cases that come across their desks we don’t wanna tie their hands in trying to make the quality of someone who is a minor or is disabled even that much worse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“The Gentleman has moved for passage of House Bill 6563. And on that question, Representative Black.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“My colleague raises a very good question. But I am mindful that children don’t pick their parents and parents don’t pick their children. And in the family lineage there are some ‘black sheeps’, there are some individuals who probably would fall under the categury… category that you mentioned. But because someone has a felony background doesn’t in of itself measure the self- worth of that individual. It doesn’t… I would hope in the eyesight of the judges who will continue to make the determination of what’s in the best interest of a 16-year- old, the example you gave, or a minor, that those judges will use the wisdom that years of experience has brought them and do, or at least attempt to do and to give a try to what is in the best interests of a child or a disabled person who have very limited options other than being a ward of the state, a continual burden of the taxpayers. And sometimes being among strangers who they themselves may have some hidden things in the closet and may not be in the best interests of that minor or that child.”

“Well…”

“Representative Rose.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“We said that that would be done in the Senate. I’m… back there I was gonna allude to it when my colleague spoke to it, but I wanted to let him finish first. But I wouldn’t tell you something and not do it. We said when it got ready to go to the Senate, remember?”

“Yes. Yes. We said… I said to you, before… once it leaves this chambers, hopefully, that I would make sure that that Amendment was done with the next person who would be catching it over in the Senate.”

“Thank you.”

“Representative Washington to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I wanna thank the… my colleague for his trust in me. And I won’t let that trust fail. Thank you.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 36 voting ‘yes’, 79 voting ‘no’ and 2 voting ‘present’. And the Bill fails. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4635. And Representative Verschoore, what… for what reason do you rise?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize… I’d like the Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly here to help me give a round of applause to some fire fighters from my area. Great people, both active and retired, we got with us today. We’ve got Tim Gibbons, Joe Shclone, Louis Vuientes, Tom Cassidy, Scott Kurker, Jamie Hudson, Mr. Unsel, who is president of the local there, and also John Brandameier. Like to give those guys a big hand for all the work they’ve done and all the good things they did.” 09300112.doc 144  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Welcome to Springfield. And Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Young.”

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 3645 (sic- 4635) would create the… the Mid-America Medical Center District within the City of East St. Louis. And the boundaries would be Martin Luther King on the northeast, 10th Street up to Trendley on the southeast, Trendley and Collinsville to 1… to I-64, I-70 and I-55. This medical district would be operated by a medical district commission. There would be nine members on the commission and four of them would be appointed by the Governor, two by the mayor of the City of East St. Louis and three by the county supervisor. And what the commission would do would be to move the district towards more hospitals, clinics, research facilities, educational facilities and a rising technology of businesses. We have the support of the Illinois Medical District. Dr. Smith, who is the president of that district, has written a letter saying that he supports this. We have the support of the mayor, the county supervisor. And I think that this would greatly help the economy in our East St. Louis area. And I ask for your approval.”

“And on that question, Representative Parke is recognized.” 09300112.doc 145  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“No, there isn’t. Also, there is an Amendment I had forgot to say. There is an Amendment that would take out all references to quick-take or eminent domain. But this is a substantive Bill, it isn’t an appropriations Bill. And it was my intention to get the commission setup, get the district setup and then have the appointees begin the work of the master plan, including what the budget would be and all of that. So, that’s my intention.”

“It’s similar to the Illinois Medical District in the west side of Chicago, the Rushmore Presbyterian Complex with the high technology center. They have over in the last 60 years developed some 25 thousand jobs from research and technology. And it will be our intention to try to take the first step in that direction.”

“The City of East St. Louis has the power to condemn whatever property it wants to, I take it.”

“We’ve taken out any bi… or authorization of condemnation… not of condemnation, but of quick-take or eminent domain for the commission that is being created by this Act. That’s…”

“What?”

“This medical district commission and… and… is in the empowerment zone in East St. Louis. And I think that there will be federal grants and state grants which can be available because of the nature of the work.”

“That’s correct.”

“Representative Lang. Lou Lang.”

“Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Representative, I wanna make sure I understood Amendment. You took out the quick-take authority in that 09300112.doc 147  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Amendment did you not? Sho… Thank you. To the Bill, Mr. Speaker.”

“To the Bill.”

“I can’t imagine not voting for this Bill. I don’t know what the former speaker was talking about. This Bill no longer has quick-take in it. And I don’t know what he means when he says that this community can’t deal with its own affairs, or this community doesn’t know what to do with responsibilities. This is an important, viable community in the State of Illinois in the southwestern portion of our state. It’s the gateway into our state from Missouri. And what the Lady is trying to do here is what this Lady has been trying to do for a very long time in her district, create economic development, create new business, create expansion and to keep doctors in the State of Illinois. We’ve heard a lot about how doctors are leaving our state. Some blame that on medical malpractice. Whatever the reason, doctors have been leaving our state and the Lady is simply trying to create a mechanism for economic development and to improve healthcare in her region while improving her community through all of this. There’s no money in this Bill. There’s no money available today. She recognizes that. She’s taken the quick-take authority out. And all she’s trying to do is help her community through economic development, through healthcare and to keep medical people in the State of Illinois. I can’t imagine that that isn’t a worthy goal. There’s nothing in this Bill that’s egregious, nothing in this Bill that costs the 09300112.doc 148  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 State of Illinois any money and nothing in this Bill that should offend anybody. And the notion that the City of East St. Louis or the region should not be permitted the opportunity to improve what they have there is… is appalling to me that any Legislator would stand on the floor and say that a responsible government in a city in the State of Illinois should not be allowed the ability to improve and enhance its economic opportunities. So, I for one, strongly stand in favor of the Bill and hope you’ll join Representative Young in helping her community.”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative Black, the Gentleman from Vermilion.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Yes. The only way the state could be responsible would be that there is a provision in a Bill that the… the full faith and credit of the state are… guarantee the bonds. There’s nothing in this Bill like that. To merely say revenue bonds means that it… the rent or the leases or the money produced from the occupancy of the facility pays for it. But there is nothing in the Bill to suggest in any way that the state is going to be responsible for the debt of this commission. And I didn’t understand that you were expecting a… an Amendment prepared. We talked about quick- take, we talked about eminent domain and I prepared and as you know, presented that to the committee. But I don’t think there is any need to clarify further, the words are just not there to obligate the state.”

“If the commission defaults on the bonds, I guess the matter would go to court. But there… to ask the question doesn’t say that the state would be responsible if there’s nothing in the Bill about pledging the full faith and credit of the state, then it’s impossible to do that. It is impossible to make it a state obligation, Representative.”

“No. No, I don’t. But, Representative Black, I will say this, I am willing to work with you to put together words that make you feel more comfortable. There is nothing in the Bill to obligate the state, but if there is some wordage that would… can be put together in the Senate I will work with you on that.”

“Absolutely.”

“Representative Giles.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“Ya know, when you’re in this assembly and you get a chance to hear a lot of Legislators that bring forth legislation to legislate in this Body often time you… there’s… there’s a variety of things that… that you hear from different Legislators. Legislators may legislate a var… a wide range of different issues. But, you know, this is one Legislator that since I’ve been here since ’93, each and every time she’s been consistent. She’s been consistent with legislation that deal with economic development, that deals with having a stimulus for her respective area, community, district. And so for any of us to get up here and say that we feel that this particular area or geographical area of the state do not deserve the opportunity to have an advocate, to have a Legislator, to have an individual to fight for resource… resources and services for that community that’s a disservice to all of us, because that’s what we’re here for. So, it’s just… it’s just heartening for me to hear someone would allude to that fact. You know, here is a Legislator that took quick- take language out of her legislation for whatever reason or 09300112.doc 152  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 not and I think many of you can recall and this usually happens at the last hour, May the 21st or whenever we get out of here, hours prior to adjourning we get this quick- take language and oftentimes it is suspect and we end up supporting that respective Legislator because this is something that’s very important for their community. And here’s a Legislator and it’s not close to deadline or adjournment and bringing forth such an issue… an issues… that to me, that just says that this individual is genuine and trying to stimulate some type of opportunities and create some type of opportunities for his or her district. And I just want us to just keep that in mind as Members get up to legislate for their area. This is what we are here for and to respect that. And we have a Legislator that’s talking about economic development, healthcare facilities and medical research facilities, things of substance. And oftentimes we support legislation here that may not have such matters in that language. So, let’s just… let’s keep focused what we’re here for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Representative Grunloh.”

“Mr. Speaker, I’d move the previous question.”

“The Gentleman moves the previous question. The question is, ‘Shall the main question be put?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘nays’ have it. And the main question is not put. Representative Meyer is recognized.”

“She indicates she will.”

“No. I don’t remember agreeing to amend it on the floor, Representative Meyer, over the issue of whether or not the state would be obligated for the debts of this commission. My point of view is that if the full faith and credit of the state is not pledged, if it’s not in writing, if it’s not in the Bill, it’s just simply not a state obligation. So, therefore, it’s not necessary. But I have committed to Representative Black that we will get bond council and whatever language bond council believes is necessary to make it clear that the state is not obligated, I’m willing to do that in the Senate.”

“Well, there is nothing in what you read to suggest that it would be a state debt.”

“Mr. Speaker, may I take this out of the record?”

Speaker Hannig: “Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports.”

“And just a point for the Calendar, and for the Members, the appropriation committees will meet immediately after we adjourn this a… later today. So, Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4337?”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative Davis, on the Amendment. Representative Steve Davis, on the Amendment.” Davis, S.: “Yes, Thank you, Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Amendment 2 to House Bill 4337, it makes some changes that were requested, I believe, in committee and it also makes some changes that were requested by the National Transportation Safety people who brought this initiative to me. And, what it does is it allows the Secretary of State to require drivers who have been convicted of two offenses, to attend a traffic… a traffic school, before they have their third violation. These schools are set up all over the State of Illinois. They’re run by various organizations; some of them are run by community colleges in the various the circuits in the state, some are run by 09300112.doc 156  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 nonprofit organizations. I believe that the cost to go to these schools, they are already set up for drivers who… who can go to these schools if they have a moving violation. If they attend the schools they get the moving violation wiped off their record. What this does is require bad drivers, who have had two convictions in one year to attend one of these traffic schools. And it also… it exempts counties of populations of more than one million, which would exempt Cook County and I guess, DuPage County out of the program. Be happy to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman has moved for the adoption of Amendment #2. Is there any discussion? And on the Amendment, Representative Black.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Any further discuss… Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall the Amendment be adopted?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it, and the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read Senate Bill 1645?”

“Representative Phelps.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1645 deletes all the language and becomes the Bill. You probably remember this Bill as House Bill 4462 that we did right before the primary. This just maintains the status quo of the federal overtime, so that we won’t have to be held by the whims of the Federal Government. I ask for the adoption of Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1645.”

“And on the Amendment, Representative Parke.”

“This is just like in committee. This Amendment #1 just deletes all the language and becomes the Bill just like it was in House Bill 4462 that we debated on the floor a couple weeks ago.” 09300112.doc 160  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Parke, this covers the Associated Firefighters more and the FOP. They asked us to do this and it gives them more protection and it just maintains the status quo for them. And some of them are in the gallery here today.”

“Any further discussion? Then all in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Phelps.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 1645 is the same Bill we debated a couple of weeks ago, before the primary. This is supported by Comptroller Dan Hynes, the AFL-CIO, the laborers, UFCW, AFSCME, the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, the FOP, SEIU, various veterans groups. We just feel very strong on this that keeps the overtime like it was since 1938, at time and a half. If the federal regulations go through it’s gonna be straight time. There’s gonna be a lot of 09300112.doc 161  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 nurses suffer; a lot of single moms, single fathers that… that need this overtime to make ends meet. And one thing I do want to say to my fellow Legislators, in Labor Committee the other day, there was a so-called nurses group that opposes this Bill. Let me make sure that you know that there is a huge difference between the two nursing groups that we’re talking about. The one that was discussed in the Labor Committee was nursing executives. These are high level nurses who are part of management. This group includes the same folks who will try to come up to… of ways to avoid paying overtime. The group that is for this, and it represents over 6 thousand nurses in Illinois, is the Illinois Nurses Association. So, let’s make sure we get our facts straight on this. The INA support this legislation. And the other thing I want to say is that this Bill does not supersede anything in collective bargaining agreements. So, with that, I urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“And on that question, Representative Winters.”

“I have… I’ve heard of a lot of deals, yes.”

“My deal is…”

“Absolutely, many times.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Sometimes I do, though.”

“Well, Representative, I would love to know who was negotiating, because this has been crammed down our throats, so to speak, by the Federal Government. I don’t believe there’s been any negotiations on this. Matter of fact, what the one thing that I want everybody to know is that this maintains status quo. We have adopted…”

“Yeah.”

“Everybody is required to work overtime after 40 hours unless they’re exempted.”

“If they fall in that after 40 hours, I assume yes, they do.”

“Yep. They’re… No.”

“Some nurses, if their duties are management, will be exempted, yes.”

“That’s not… that’s not correct, Representative. That is not correct.”

“Probably some of the nursing executives that you refer to are, but not the Illinois Nurses Association, Representative.”

“Representative, just real quick. Very few nurses are represented by union contracts in this state. Very few.”

“Yeah, if the federal rules come into effect they will be exempted, I mean that’s for sure.”

“Representative, you know how much I respect you, but I think that’s just one thing I think we’re just gonna disagree with. I really do. And when you refer to the salary test, this will make everybody know what… what they’re voting on for sure. President Bush, that is his initiative, that’s gonna happen regardless if this Bill passes or not. That’s gonna go into effect by April 1 is the upgrade on the salary test.”

“Representative…”

“EMTs, paramedics, some FOPs, some firefighters, if these new rules go into effect, they could become a learned professional and be exempted from overtime. And I know there’s a lot of firefighters that would not want that to happen.” 09300112.doc 167  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Under current rules, that is correct…”

“…But not under the new rules. The current rules, ‘yes’, under the new rules ‘no’.”

“Because no longer will you have to have a degree to become a learned professional.”

“Because you will no longer have to have a degree to become a learned professional under the new rules.”

“EMTs and paramedics.”

“Yeah, right. And that will start including EMTs and paramedics.”

“Representative, that’s not what the firefighters believe, though. They don’t believe that at all, that’s why they came to us with the FOP and wanted to make… to make sure they were protected. And… and as I do, because this Bill’s gonna affect almost 400 thousand Illinois workers. I don’t care if we’re… we should be the first on to protect our workers and that’s why I want to do… be honored to do this Bill. Kentucky, California and Alaska is already starting this too, and then I think you’re going to see a windfall of states follow our lead.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Eddy.” 09300112.doc 169  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“If you’re covered by a collective bargaining agreement, you’re not gonna be affected by this anyway, cause this does not supersede collective bargaining agreements. And most of your schools, I would say, have collective bargaining agreements.”

“Representative, it just maintains the status quo on every one you just said.”

“If they’re exempt today, from overtime, they’ll be exempt when this Bill goes through.”

“They’re… they’re covered underneath the administrative, executive, and professional part of that.”

“Representative, those examples you gave are exempted as bona fide executives, administrators and professionals.”

“Correct. Correct.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Steve Davis.” Davis, S.: “Yes, thank you, Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in strong support of Senate Bill 1645 and I’ll tell you why. If we don’t pass this Bill 400 thousand people in the State of Illinois are going to lose wages. It’s very simple. You know four and a half weeks ago we had a very spirited debate on this issue. I think both sides of the aisle understands the issue very clearly, but for me there’s only one issue and that issue is fairness to over 400 thousand Illinois residents, 400 thousand hardworking people in the State of Illinois. If you want to vote ‘no’ against 400 thousand people in the 09300112.doc 172  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 State of Illinois then be my guest. But I would encourage everybody on my side of the aisle, especially, to cast an ‘aye’ vote for this Bill. Thank you.”

“Representative Black.”

“Yes, state your inquiry.”

“Mr. Clerk, what is the status of this Bill? Is it on Postponed Consideration?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Well, we wish we could have now, because we’re still lagging behind on this. ‘Cause this is gonna go in by April 1, so we’re try… trying to hurry to get to the Senate.” 09300112.doc 173  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“They should be adopted later this week.”

“Representative Black, in all due respect, very much so. Quite possibly, I would say, because we know what the rules are gonna be. Secretary Chow, President Bush have said this is the way it’s gonna be. It’s gonna happen by April 1, no negotiations. So we’re just doing our part to try to protect those 400 thousand workers that are gonna be affected here in Illinois that are gonna go to straight time. But, Representative, the thing about it is, this is something that we are all used to because this has been going back since 1938. The business community is used to this and so are we. So, that’s why we are just maintaining the status quo.” 09300112.doc 174  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“The way I understand, thousands and thousands.”

“Representative, it’s the same as it is today.” 09300112.doc 175  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“No.”

“Correct, Representative.”

“Collective bargaining agreements take precedence over all of this.”

“Correct.”

“Correct.”

“Correct.” 09300112.doc 177  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thanks, Representative.”

“Representative Soto.”

“Thank you, Speaker. I move to the previous vo… to the previous question.”

“The Lady moves the previous question. The question is, ‘Shall the main question be put?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the main question is put. Representative Phelps to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. You heard the debate. I won’t take long, I just want you to know that AFL-CIO, the firefighters, FOP, laborers, UFCW, AFSCME, all the veterans organizations support this. I urge an ‘aye’ vote and thank you very much.” 09300112.doc 178  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Joyce. Mulligan. Wait. Would you like to weigh in? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 82 voting ‘yes’ and 32 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6989?”

“Representative Giles.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 6989 amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to authorize that the director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to make grants of monies from September the 11th fund. Previously, this particular agency… the commerce and economic opportunity administer this program. The reason why we’re… we’re doing this particular change because the Illinois Emergency Management Agency would disperse these funds to the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, and then that particular task force will disperse the amount of dollars to two different entities. One is the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System and the other is the Mutual Aide Box Alarm System. These two associations represent law enforcement and fire services in Illinois… on Illinois Terrorism Task Force. These funds will be spent on equipment or training… training to local governments 09300112.doc 179  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 that would prepare and protect them from acts of terrorism. I ask for a favorable vote for this legislation.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Would Representative Jefferson and Steve Davis care to vote? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, you wanna read… would you read House Bill 4265?”

“Representative Poe.”

Speaker Hannig: “And on that question, the Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“Representative Franks.” 09300112.doc 183  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicate… he indicates he will yield.”

“The w… Representative Poe, the way you’ve written this Bill, is it only applicable to Springfield?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“I certainly respect what you are trying to do, Representative, and we’re all sympathetic, but what this Bill really shows is an indictment on the entire way we fund our school education. We need to get away from property taxes. This is a small solution for one area. As the previous speaker had said, we all have the same problems. In McHenry County, where I represent, we have state parks that have a lot more acreage than what we’re looking here in Springfield. This is not the solution, because the money that would be sent to the Springfield 09300112.doc 184  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 schools are gonna be taken out of everybody else’s schools. What we really need to do here is require that we have a Special Session of the General Assembly dealing only with school funding and taking it off the burden of the property tax. Because until we fix that, every person is gonna be coming with Bills like this. These all have merit, but we can’t do this, folks. We need to take a stand. We need to tell the Governor, let’s call a Special Session of the General Assembly and let’s fix our school funding problem. We need to get rid of this antiquated formula that doesn’t work, that puts 80 percent of our schools in deficit spending. And where schools, such as in Springfield, have cut to the bone, and have cut $13 million and have done the right thing, they’re still put in these types of pre… positions. Enough is enough. Let’s scrap our system. It does not work. Passing this Bill is putting a band-aid on a corpse. Vote ‘no’ on this Bill and let’s stand together and require real change.”

“Representative May.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, what is the cost of this? In other words, how much money will the Springfield school district get, under this formula?”

“Okay. Thank you. To the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative, I commend you for fighting for your district, but I tell you, I am very familiar with this concept, because I tried to use the very same concept of this Chaney-Monge Bill to help the schools in North Chicago and in Highland Park and all the places where military districts are located. I begged for votes. Everyone downstate voted against it and said this is not fair. It passed because of my hard work as a freshman. We have 10 09300112.doc 186  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 different military… school districts in this state that are affected by military bases. I will tell you that there was 5 hundred acres right in the northern part of the state that probably had the same price tag that I fought for. It is a slippery slope. Many of the people who are now speaking in favor of this voted against it and spoke against it at the time. So, we can’t arbitrarily pick one area where we will support this and say it’s right and in other areas it’s wrong. A minority community in North Chicago, has poor people, they are losing millions of dollars because the Federal Government pays no taxes, they a… and Representative Franks is right, the system is broken. But it’s just capricious and arbitrary to pick one over the other.”

“Representative Stephens.”

Speaker Hannig: “Thank you, Representative Stephens. Representative Lang.”

“Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he will.”

“Representative, other than the fact that you represent the school district in which the State Capitol is located, 09300112.doc 187  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 is there some other public policy reason of why you want us to pass this Bill?”

“Well, Representative, I think we’d all like the kind of help you’re trying to provide to just your school district. You know I have great respect for you and as I said about Representative Wyvetter Younge’s Bill earlier, I always applaud a Legislator who is trying to help his or her own district. But would you be willing to take this back to Second to add an Amendment to help some of the schools in my district that need some help?”

“And then would you be willing to take it back to Second to add an Amendment for the school districts in David 09300112.doc 188  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Miller’s district, or Rica Slone’s district, or Dave Winters’ district? I mean should we add an Amendment for every school district in Illinois?”

“Well, you know, you talk about those military bases but the military bases have children. There’s no children living in the State Capitol. We have a few that visit from time to time, but none that actually live on state grounds. So, are you suggesting, Representative, that somehow the school children of Springfield are disadvantaged because the State Capitol is here?”

“Thank you. To the Bill. Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen, again I applaud any Legislator who stands on this floor and tries to help his or her district. That’s what we’re here for. But we also have a title and that title is State Representative. And we have a 09300112.doc 189  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 responsibility to every child in the state to provide them a quality education. I don’t think we can piecemeal quality education. I don’t think we can take one school district and enhance it over the others. Indeed, when we had a couple of school districts in crisis over the last couple of years, we’ve had to bring Bills to the floor to take the power away from their local school boards and give it to a special task force. Again, I applaud this Legislator, Mr. Poe, but I don’t know why we would be in a position on the floor… want to be in a position where we’re taking money that belongs to all of us and give it to one school district, when virtually every one of us has a school district that has a need. I was lucky this spring, three of my school districts passed school referendum. But I would bet in a lot of the school districts that many of you represent you weren’t so lucky. Your taxpayers didn’t want to foot the bill for better schools. We need to have a better approach. Representative Franks was right on the button. But a piecemeal approach to dealing with the problems of public schools is not good for the taxpayers of Illinois and it definitely is not good public policy.”

“Representative Ryg.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move the previous question.”

“The Lady has moved the previous question. The question is, ‘Shall the main question be put?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And Representative Poe to close.” 09300112.doc 190  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“So the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Hoffman and Moffitt. Representative Hoffman. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the 09300112.doc 191  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 record. On this question, there are 48 voting ‘yes’, 64 voting ‘no’. And Representative Poe, do you request postponed? The Gentleman requests Postponed Consideration. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4086?”

“Representative Graham.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. We’ve had plenty of debate on this Bill. I’ve pulled this Bill out of the record twice; have talked to the Gentleman in opposition of the Bill. I have followed up some of their leads, which have led to nothing. So, I ask for an ‘aye’ vote on this Bill. It’s simply asking for four reports to be sent along with the death certificates, to the Department of Children and Family Services. Also, it’s asking for the trauma units to keep track of every death… not every death, but every injury of a child who was involved in a back over or power window accident. And I think it’s the… in the best interest of the state to know how many accidents are occurring of this nature. I’ll take any questions.”

“The Lady has moved for passage of House Bill 4086. Is there any discussion? The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“Representative Flowers.” 09300112.doc 194  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Lady’s Bill and I’m just curious, Representative, how many children, approximately, die a year in the State of Illinois?”

“Thanks for asking that, Representative Flowers. The State of Illinois currently does not track the number of children that have been backed over or killed by power window incidents. I have gone to the Department of Vital Records asking for the statistics. They can tell me how many children that were hit by a car, but they cannot tell me how many children that were backed over by a car or killed in power window incidents. Also, Representative, I’d like to add that the mission of the child death review team is simply to review cases at random. This Bill will not make the Illinois Child Death Review Team review every record. This Bill simply asks that detailed reports be sent with the death certificate to the Department of Children and Family Services. The Illinois Child Death Review Team will not have to review every single record. They review records of children that were involved with DCFS in the prior 12 months or has some sort of involvement with them, to see if DCFS has made the right ruling in the child’s death. They will not have to review every single death cert… report. These reports will simply go along with the death certificates, so that if questions come about, that these statistics will be gathered for that information.”

“Thank you. To the Bill.” 09300112.doc 195  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“To the Bill.” Flowers: “Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. You know if we can’t take care of the least of thee, our children, we really shouldn’t be here. And what the Lady is merely asking for is an account. If children were getting their necks caught in power windows, there’s a manufacture problem that the car dealers needs to know about or the car manufacturers needs to know about. If the children were getting their hands amputated in the trunk of a car because of the automatic trunk going down, the car manufacturers need to know about that, as they have done so they can fix that problem so, so many children would not be harmed by something that they could fix, but if they don’t know about it they can’t fix it. So, what we’re trying to do here, Ladies and Gentlemen, is to help the manufacturing industry to help protect our children. If children are ran over because they cannot be seen and if there’s some type of mechanism or if they die as a result of that, we just need to know about it. And it will not cost this state another penny. Hopefully, hopefully, there’s not that many children dying in this state, but in the mean time, we don’t know that. And I think this issue is too important to some mother’s, some father’s precious child. If only they had known. They would have loved to have this item. They would pay for it themselves if it would have protected their child, if it would be that their children would be here today, had they only known. I commend you for what you’ve done. I know that you have taken this Bill out of 09300112.doc 196  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 the record on numerous of occasions. You’ve worked in good faith. As a result of this Sponsor acquiescing to a lot of your answers and questions and concerns about this Bill, I would appreciate a ‘aye’ vote and if she needs to continue to work on it, I’m sure she will promise to do so in the Senate. But our children’s lives are depending on this and if there’s a problem, let’s fix it today so it can be resolved tomorrow. Thank you very much.”

“Representative Brady.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Representative Colvin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Representative Graham, did you talk to any state agency with respect to any departments that keep vital statistics for the state?”

“Yes, Representative. I spoke with the Department of Vital Records. And when I spoke to them asking them for statistics for children who have been backed over or power window accidents, he told me that… that it was coded. He can tell me the number of children that had been hit by a car and he definitely could not tell me the number of children that had been rolled up in a power window. The death certificates were vague in terms of how a chil… a child actually died or maybe the method. They would get 09300112.doc 198  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 the death certificate and just try to chart that incident per whatever the data was on the death certificate with not a lot of detail.”

“So, a child who is killed by being backed over in his driveway or a child who is killed in a car accident on the Dan Ryan is codified the same way right now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Wow. And you may have mentioned this and I probably wasn’t listening, I apologize if you did. But the mission of the Department of Children and Family Services Child Death Review Team, what’s their goal? I mean, what do they do when something like this happens?”

“The child… the Illinois Child Death Review Team simply views at random, not every single case that goes to the Department of Children and Family Services. It views at random the cases to make sure that the Department of Children and Family Services has made the right ruling in a child’s death. Because any death statute that says a child dies before their time, we need to take a look at it. If the child has not died of some sort of illness, but has died because they were drowned, shot, they need to take a look into it. So, the death review team reviews at random to make sure that the Department of Children and Family Services has made the right ruling.”

“I wanna stick with that first point that you mentioned and what I find particularly troubling in this argument is that a child who is killed by being backed over in their driveway is codified the same way as a child who is killed 09300112.doc 199  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 in a car accident as, you know, going 80 miles an hour on the Dan Ryan.”

“Yes, according to vital records.”

“So, in other words, it would be hard to extrapolate or make any real determination whether or not it’s a real problem of kids being backed over or kids having their necks caught in electric windows that roll up, because it’s all put in one lump sum category.”

“Yes.”

“And so at the end of the year we have all these child deaths, but you don’t really know how these children died. In… and that’s interesting for a couple of reasons. To the Bill, Mr. Speaker.”

“To the Bill.”

“It was just a little over 20 years ago now, when there was a huge debate in Washington, D.C. with the auto manufacturers and a number of transportation officials in Washington, D.C. of whether or not a number of rear-end accidents were happening in the United States as a result of negligence, people driving too fast, following too closely. Then one federal transportation highway official suggested or proposed that a third light be added to every automobile that’s sold in the United States and the debate raged on for actually more than two years in Washington as it related to that third light that we see on every car that’s sold in the United States now. But as a result of research and during those two years that they argued and they looked at those accidents where cars were rear ended, 09300112.doc 200  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 they were able to determine that there was a measurable problem and that we needed something… we needed some type of legislation or some type of action to deal with the fact that there were so many rear end accidents in the United States of America. And thus was born that third light that’s sold, that’s on every SUV or automobile that’s sold in the United States of America. And I think that’s what the Sponsor of this legislation is trying to get at. I don’t think we could pass any Bill or any law without the right type of research being done. It is empirical research and statistical gathering of data that tells us how to act here in Springfield. I know the Representative had a Bill earlier this year, dealing with mechanisms in automobiles that manufacturers installing something in automobiles when cars back up, so that people behind those automobiles would be aware of it. Well, this is our chance to collect data to make certain that it’s not a problem that we need to suggest… that we need to do something about. I think this is what should happen first. We need to collect good data on how children get killed in automobiles or by automobiles. And to have a system right now where children who are killed in car accidents on the Dan Ryan are codified the same way as children who are backed over in their driveways is not meeting that goal. This is a piece of legislation that does one thing, it asks these departments to collect this information so that we can make a review of that information and determine if such necessary mechanisms on automobiles need to be installed. 09300112.doc 201  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 This is important. I don’t know if we are burdening these departments or what have you. It sounds like a little bit more research when the child death review team goes out and makes those determinations. How more difficult is it to determine whether that child was killed in a car accident on the Dan Ryan or killed by being backed over in his driveway? I think as Legislators, in trying to determine if this is a problem, this is the best way to handle it. So, I urge everyone to vote ‘yes’ on the Bill. Thank you.”

“Representative Parke.”

Speaker Hannig: “You’re the last one requesting to speak, Representative Parke, but I appreciate your… your effort and I’ll call on you at another time for that. Representative Graham to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I think it’s very important that we find out exactly how many children who have died. I was blown away that the state currently does not have these statistics. I’ve gone to the Department of Children and Family Services. I’ve gone to the Department of Vital Records. I’ve done all the research, all the suggestions that the individuals that were in opposition of the Bill. I’ve done everything that they’ve asked me to do. And those… that search yielded me nothing. So, I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 4086 pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? 09300112.doc 202  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 77 voting ‘yes’, 39 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4241?”

“Representative Saviano.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Last call. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there 112 voting ‘yes’, 3 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 5613.”

“Representative Molaro.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an initiative that comes from the University of Illinois. As you well know, on university property when there’s a sale of alcoholic beverages, they need an exemption to the code. The last exemption we gave them when the Bears were playing in Memorial Stadium, down at State of Il… campus. They have a severe parking problem at U of I. It’s unbelievable when you go down there, there’s no place to park. What they’re doing is they have an ongoing development down there that they’re building a parking lot and they’re gonna have a… some development on the first floor of that parking lot. And the anchor that they’re gonna be there is a first class restaurant. They have about three people that they’ve 09300112.doc 204  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 talked to. They’re gonna put a major restaurant in there and the restaurant needs an incidental liquor license that they can serve wine and beer and some spirits with the main meal. So, this is all part of a development. It puts I don’t know how many parking spots and it’s agreed to by everyone that’s down there. So, I’d ask that for the sake of the University of Illinois and the rent that that could bring will pay for the bonds that they need to build a parking lot. So, I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“And on… and the Gentleman has moved for the passage of House Bill 5613. Is there any discussion? There being none, the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question there are 64 voting ‘yes’ and 51 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 5175?”

“Representative Yarbrough.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the General Assembly. House Bill 5175 amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. It provides that the Secretary of State shall adopt rules requiring that reasonable measures be taken to prevent the fraudulent production of insurance cards. Last year we had a series of hearings throughout the state, to 09300112.doc 205  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 address mandatory insurance and we found that this is one of the things that was going on in communities. So, as a result of these hearings, we ask… we had a meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss this. There’s no opposition to the Bill and I ask for a favorable vote.’

“The Lady… Are you finished, Representative? Okay. I didn’t mean to interrupt. The Lady has moved for passage of House Bill 5175. Is there any discussion? There being none then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115… 116 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 4402?”

“Representative Sommer.”

“The Gentleman has moved for passage of House Bill 4402. And on that question, Representative Reitz.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I… I… To the Bill. I think this is a good Bill and I’d like to commend the Sponsor. I know there were some people that had some concerns with this as it was originally introduced and he done a great job in… in alleviating their concerns and making this a very good piece of legislation. So, I plan to support it. Thank you.”

“So, then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Froehlich. Take the record. On this question, there 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 7038.”

“7038, Mr. Clerk. The Clerk has read 7038. They had it on the board wrong and that explains the confusion. Representative Soto.”

“Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. House Bill 7038 addresses the problem of teen pregnancy by requiring the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health to each submit a report to the General 09300112.doc 207  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Assembly concerning funding aimed at lowering teen pregnancy rates. This Bill is a first step in examining current programs and how they can be improved. I am open for questions and I urge a ‘aye’ vote.”

“The Lady has moved for the passage of House Bill 7038. Is there any discussion? There being none then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all… have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Hoffman. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 6747. And Representative Howard, for what reason do you rise?”

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Had I been at my desk, I would have voted ‘yes’ on House Bill 5613.”

“The record will so reflect. And Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill?”

“Representative Washington, would you like to present this Bill?”

“Yes, Sir, Mr. Speaker.”

“Then please proceed.”

“Thank you. Mr. Speaker, this Bill merely adopts language that the commissioner may remove or suspend any director, employer or agent of a savings bank if that 09300112.doc 208  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 person violates a Federal or state law regulation or order. And I urge ‘do passage’ from my colleagues of this legislation.”

“The Gentleman has moved for passage of House Bill 6747. Is there any discussion? There being none then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Phelps, okay. He has voted now. Take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4640. And Representative Lindner, for what reason do you rise? No, okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Mr. Speaker, take that back to Second Reading, please.”

“And so the Lady asks that this be returned to the Order of Second Reading at her request. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of House Bill 4510?”

“Return that to the Order of Second Reading at the request of the Sponsor. And, Mr. Clerk, what is the status of House Bill 5875?” 09300112.doc 209  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Return that to the Order of Second Reading at the request of the Sponsor. And what is the status of House Bill 4640? Excuse me. We just moved that one back, Mr. Clerk, so… Now, we’re going to go on the Order of Second Reading for a time and we’ll start with House Bill 4920. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 5025 for Representative Brady? Excuse me. Could you take that out of the record… we… for a second? Could you read, Mr. Clerk, House Bill 6992 for Representative Colvin? Out of the record. Mr. Clerk. Mr. Clerk, would… would you read House Bill 4700 for Representative Churchill?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6869 for Representative Davis?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6577? Okay. So, on that 6577 there… there are requests for notes, so we’ll hold that Bill. Mr. Clerk, could you read House Bill 4612?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 5041 for Representative Giles? Okay. Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. Representative Graham on House Bill 6769. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

Speaker Hannig: “Third Reading. Representative Grunloh on House Bill 5076 from Second to Third. Okay. Out of the record. Representative Hamos. Is the Lady in the chamber? Not in the chamber at the moment. Okay. Representative Leitch on… Okay. Representative Parke, for what reason do you rise?”

Speaker Hannig: “I’m sorry. Which Bill is that, Representative?”

“Representative Graham on House Bill 6769.”

“Representative Parkes (sic-Parke), an agreement has been worked out, it is being now drafted. It will be prepared and will be filed by tomorrow, but I did talk to the hospital association. They did tell me, in fact, that I could move the Bill to Third and that I would not call the Bill on Third Reading until their Amendment is attached and accepted.”

“But we talked and discussed on it…”

“I… se… sure. You can put it back on Second.”

“Representative… Senator Graham, I think that the Chair would concur that it’s… you’re gonna have to move…”

“Yes. Put it back on Second.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“So, Mr. Clerk, would you… would you return that to the Order of Second Reading at the request of the Sponsor? Okay. And now, Representative Leitch on House Bill 4723. Okay. Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. Representative Bill Mitchell on House Bill 3850. 09300112.doc 212  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Does the Gentleman wish to move the Bill from Second to Third? There he is. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Mitchell, apparently there’s been a request for a note of some sort, so your Bill will have to remain on the Order of Second Reading, pending the note. Mr. Holbrook on House Bill… Senate Bill 1914. Representative Holbrook, would you like to move that? Second to Third? Representative Holbrook. Out of the record. Representative Mulligan on House Bill 4975. Okay. Out of the record. Representative Lou Jones, would you like to move House Bill 4179? Out of the record. How about 4566? Okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill, please.”

“Third Reading. And Mr. Clerk, let us now return to Senate Bill 1914. Representative Holbrook.”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative, weren’t you expecting an Amendment?” 09300112.doc 213  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“There was supposed to be a Floor Amendment let out. Staff just told me, it’s been let out.”

“Mr. Clerk, is there an Amendment pending on this Bill? Representative, why don’t we take it out of the record? The Clerk will clarify it. If there is an Amendment, we’ll come back to you. Okay. So, for the moment, this Bill’s out of the record. Representative Myers on House Bill 4718. Okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. House Bill 4558. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill? Excuse me. Representative, there’s a… apparently there’s a request for some notes, so we’ll have to hold your Bill. House Bill 4285, Representative Kelly. Okay. Out of the record. Waiting for an Amendment. House Bill 6583. Representative Sacia, 6583, Second to Third. Hold it. Out of the record, then. Representative May on House Bill 6983. Out of the record. Representative McCarthy, House Bill 5018. Representative McCarthy. No. Out of the record. Representative Saviano on House Bill 4229. Could someone give me some direction on House Bill 4229? 4229. There he is. Okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Sullivan on House Bill 4990. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Watson on House Bill 4227. Okay. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, could you read House Bill 5157? Representative Watson, 5157, Second to Third. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Slone, 4850. Out of the record. How about 6848, Representative Slone? Okay. Out of the record. Representative Turner, Art Turner. Okay. Out of the record. Representative Yarbrough on House Bill 4302, Second to Third. No. Out of the record. How about 4439, Representative Yarbrough? 4439. from Second to Third. No. Out of the record. Representative Wyvetter Younge on House Bill 4116. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.” 09300112.doc 215  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Younge.”

“Thank you. This is a Bill in reference to a Bill of Rights for homeless people. Amendment #1 places the responsibility of enforcement on the Department of Human Rights and adds housing status as a unlawful discrimination. I move for the adoption of the Amendment.”

“The Lady’s moved for the adoption of Amendment #1. Is there any discussion? There being none, the question is, ‘Shall the Amendment be adopted?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Representative Younge.”

“Thank you. Amendment #2 has said the right to vote shall not be denied solely because a person doesn’t have a human… a permanent residence, notwithstanding any provision of the Election Code. I move for the adoption of the Amendment.”

“Is there any discussion? Then all in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?” 09300112.doc 216  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Third Reading. And let us now return to House Bill 4558. The notes have been filed. And so, Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill? The notes have been filed, so we’ll read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 1626? 1626. Excuse me. Senate Bill.”

Speaker Hannig: “Let’s hold that on the Order of Second Reading. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of Senate Bill 1691?”

“Let’s… let’s hold that at this time. We’ll come back to it at… at another time. So, out of the record. And Mr. Clerk, what is the status of Senate Bill 1684? Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. Some additional Second Readings. Representative Chapa LaVia on House Bill 4372. Would you like to move that from Second to Third? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.” 09300112.doc 217  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Chapa LaVia on the Amendment.”

“Thank you, Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. The House Bill 4372, the Amendment replaces lines 24 and 25 with the following: is placed into a period of military service pursuant to the order of the President of the United States. That’s the only change.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Lady has moved for the adoption of Amendment #1. Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall the Amendment be adopted?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Representative Flider on House Bill 4234. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Fritchey on House Bill 3981. Second to Third? Okay. Out of the record. Representative Granberg on House Bill 6654. Second to Third? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

Speaker Hannig: “Third Reading. Representative McGuire on House Bill 4837. Second to Third? Okay. Out of the record. Representative Mendoza on House Bill 5056. Second to Third? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill. Okay. Out of the record at the request of the Sponsor. How about Representative Mendoza on House Bill 5058. Okay. Read that Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Representative Mendoza.”

“I’m trying to get it up on my system, Representative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I ask for your approval of the Amendment to House Bill 5058. It’s been worked on at length with members of the AARP. It’s one of the COWL agenda issues and as I… as far as I’m concerned we have no opposition to the Bill at this time.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Lady moves for the adoption of the Amendment. Is there any discussion? All in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

Speaker Hannig: “Third Reading. Representative Verschoo… Verschoore on House Bill 5216. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Clerk. I was advised there was a… an Amendment pending. Has there been an Amendment adopted, in committee perhaps? Representative, could we just take it out of the record ‘til we can clarify the status? We’d like to take the Bill out of the record. There may be an Amendment that’s pending. Do you know? Yeah. There’s a… there’s a… there’s an Amendment in Rules, so you’re gonna… you’d have to move it back to Second anyway. So, let’s just leave it on Second. Okay. So, we’ll hold that on Second Reading, Mr. Clerk, at the request of the Sponsor. Okay. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4975.”

Speaker Hannig: “Representative Mulligan. There’s been a request for some notes, so the Bill will have to remain on the Order of Second Reading. How about 6920? Would you like us to read that one? Maybe we’ll have better luck. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.” 09300112.doc 220  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Third Reading. Representative Brauer on House Bill 6552, from Second to Third. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Churchill on House Bill 4019. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Third Reading. Representative Dunn on House Bill 6760. Okay. Mr. Clerk, out of the… out of the record. Representative Mitchell on House Bill 6679. Representative Bill Mitchell. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Representative Mitchell on the Amendment.” 09300112.doc 221  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Mitchell, B.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to shell the Amendment, please.”

“The Gentleman withdraws the Amendment. Is there any further Amendments?” Mitchell, B.: “I would like to adopt the Amendment.”

“Oh, excuse me. I… I think I misunder…” Mitchell, B.: “Thank you. Thank you, colleagues.”

“I misunderstood the… the Sponsor, so let’s return the Amendment #, is it 1, Mr. Clerk? Amendment #1, is that correct?” Mitchell, B.: “No, I… I agreed to it.”

“Okay. On… So, now, back to Amendment #1.” Mitchell, B.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to adopt the Amendment so the Bill will be shelled.”

“Okay. So, this… that’s… Okay. Thank you. And on that question, Representative Stephens.”

“No one can explain it, Representative.”

Speaker Hannig: “The question is, ‘Shall Amendment #1 be adopted?’ All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Amendment is adopted. Any… any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Representative Osmond on House Bill 5928, from Second to Third. Representative… Okay. 09300112.doc 222  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Out of the record. And Representative Poe on House Bill 4287. The Gent… Okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Black, would you handle the Amendment for Representative Poe, please?”

Speaker Hannig: “The Gentleman moves for the adoption of Amendment #1. Is there any discussion? All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of House Bill 4224?”

“Okay. Return that to the Order of Second Reading at the request of the Sponsor. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6954 for Representative Wait?” 09300112.doc 223  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Representative Wait.”

Speaker Hannig: “All in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Representative Hamos on House Bill 4099. Would you like to move it from Second to Third? Second to Third. Representative Hamos, do you wanna move the Bill?”

“Speaker, I filed Amendment #2 and 3 and I want to make sure that you have that…”

“Okay. Mr. Clerk…”

“…in your system. Because I don’t believe that has come out of Rules yet.”

Speaker Hannig: “Okay. Could you tell us the status of Amendments 2 and 3? Are they still in Rules?”

“Okay. So please keep it. Yeah.”

“Okay. So, we’ll hold that… we’ll hold that on Second. And Representative Hamos on 4953. Would you like 09300112.doc 224  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 to move that one from Second to Third? Ms… Representative Hamos.”

“Speaker, I filed an Amendment on that as well.”

“Mr. Clerk, is there Amendments pending on that? Okay. This… Apparently, they’re still in Rules, Representative.”

“Right. Thank you.”

“So, we’ll take that out of the record as well. Representative Black, for what reason do you rise?”

“State your inquiry.”

“I’ll check the rules.”

“I’ll check the rules, Representative.”

Speaker Hannig: “Maybe the Rules Committee should have an emergency meeting, Representative Black.” 09300112.doc 225  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“We’ll be here ‘til midnight.”

“Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 6902, Representative Rose.”

“Representative Rose.”

“And on the Amendment, all in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Back on the Order of Third Reading. Representative Bost, would you like us to call House Bill 4959? Okay. So, Mr. Clerk, read the Bill. Third Reading Bill. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill?”

“Move it to Third, Representative Bost, or hold it? Okay. Third Reading. Thank you. Representative Brady, would you like us now to move House Bill 5025? Okay. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill, please?”

“Representative Brady on Amendment #2.”

Speaker Hannig: “On the Amendment, all in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed say ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. Excuse me. Representative Black, did you wish… Okay. 09300112.doc 227  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Representative Rose, for what reason do you rise?”

“The Gentleman moves to table House Bill 6681. All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Bill is tabled. Representative Dunkin on House Bill 5180. Would you like us to read that Bill? Okay. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Dunkin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5180 simply extends the film tax credit to five years. It currently is about to sunset at the end of this year and I ask for a favorable vote. And actually, if you look at the front cover of the Chicago Sun Times and look at the bottom portion of it, it… there is a direct result of the film legislation that all of us here voted on last year with Nicholas Cage. So, this is a big win for the State of Illinois in terms of bringing film here such as The Weatherman, Ice Harvest, Oceans Twelve, Batman Returns. And as you know, tomorrow we’re gonna go see a free screenin’ of Walking Tall. So, I ask for a favorable vote on this legislation. Thank you.” 09300112.doc 228  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“The Gentleman has moved for passage of House Bill 5180. And on that question, Representative Stephens.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Well…”

“Ah, yes. There he is. There you go. He’s on the screen now.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Representative Howard.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he will yield.”

“Yes. Representative Dunkin…”

“Yes.”

“…we’ve had several conversations in the last couple of weeks regarding some dissatisfaction, some unreadiness by members of the minority community. Tell me how you have thus far addressed those concerns?”

“Thank you, Representative. So far what we have is, ya know, the Governor has formed a task force, a visual media task force, that includes members of the union community, members of the… the United Filmmakers Foundation to the Steppenwolf Foundation to send to Rickey Hendon and other 09300112.doc 229  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 Members who are associated directly with the film industry. And what we’ve decided to come up with and worked it closely on is one, coming up with a diversity officer that’s out of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, that department, which will, in effect, help to identify those qualified individuals of minority class, if you will, to work on these various projects of these films coming here in the State of Illinois. This Bill, actually, speaks to the 25 percent credit, tax credit. However, you have to qualify for that tax credit by meeting certain requirements, such as you have to have hired Illinois residents in the state here and you have to have a certain amount of minority participation, given historical nonparticipation of minorities in this particular industry. So, there’s a lot of collaboration that’s going on at the task force level, at the union level. There are a number of internships that are coming out of just this program. Actually, this is probably, when it’s all said and done, given that we’re only three months into this piece of legislation, we’ll probably have one of the model minority participation programs here in the State of Illinois and it’s all primarily volunteer. So, there’s no real liability toward the state. However, the state encourages high participation which is why they hired the diversity officer, which is why this has been a… at the top of the agenda, in addition to bringing film here to Illinois, to address… to help address that issue.” 09300112.doc 230  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“And have you conveyed that program that you just articulated, to those persons who have expressed their consternation or their dissatisfaction?”

“Well, there’s only one group, a very small group that has expressed reservations as it relates to this. However, we’ve had… the majority from the motion picture industry to the teamsters, …, to a number of groups that are… the Illinois Production Alliance, the visual arts over in Bronzeville, in my district. They’ve expressed full support of this legislation because everyone’s working together tryin’ to make sure that we address this historical issue and as a matter of fact, the Illinois film office is gonna present a town hall meeting layin’ out some of the direct programs that are gonna come as a result of this legislation. So, at the very best, it’s led to the collaboration and coalition of others who are a part of this film industry, minority and nonminorities, to make sure that we don’t have any real problems as films come here and we get blacks and Latinos in on some of the production. So, yes, there is a… a… a very active coalition and effort on the part of individuals in the film community participating in this new film industry that’s coming here in the State of Illinois.”

“So, it is your opinion, at this point, that there ought not to still be problems. That you… you think that you have sufficiently addressed those problems that had been articulated?” 09300112.doc 231  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“I… I would say this here, that with all the coalitions comin’ together and every single recognized or actively engaged film group, big or small, they’re at the tables right now, they’ve worked… they’re workin’ together collaboratively to see to it that there is participation with everyone, minorities in particular. Again, that’s why the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity hired a diversity officer to deal and address with this issue. But first we need to make sure that we have films comin’ in the State of Illinois. The film industry here in the State of Illinois is up 147 percent. Last year, we were at $25 million; this year we’ll be, so far with just four films, we’ll be almost over $200 million and it won’t cost the State of Illinois a dime, quite frankly. So, I’m… you can’t wave a magic wand and fix this problem over night, but I can say this, probably out of most of the industries here in the State of Illinois this is… has been the most progressive, the most cooperative efforts taken to help remedy a long-standing problem in the State of Illinois, as it relates to minority participation in the film industry.”

“I commend you for all of the good work that you’ve done in trying to make certain that those concerns have been addressed. I plan to vote for the Bill and I suggest that everybody else do as well. Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed 09300112.doc 232  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4154.”

“Representative Coulson.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Hoffman. Cultra. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 97 voting ‘yes’, 18 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 5075.”

“Representative Mautino.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the… the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ model law on 09300112.doc 233  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 annuity nonforfeiture. It is an exact reproduction of that and basically our other law is sunsetting and this would be the minimum rate a company can credit a fixed annuity contract on an annual basis. I know of no opposition to the Bill. We have included a three-year sunset, that way if interest rates change we can come back and address the Bill. Appreciate an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The Gentleman has moved for passage of House Bill 5075. Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4012.”

“Representative Froehlich.”

“Is there any discussion? The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“He indicates he will.”

“Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Stephens. Okay. On this question, Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 113 voting ‘yes’, 2 voting ‘no’ and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 3981.”

“Representative Fritchey.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Floor Amendment #1 simply narrows the scope of this Bill. We know of no opposition to the Bill.”

“Is there any discussion? Then all in favor… all in favor of the Amendment say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Any further Amendments?”

“Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 4179.” 09300112.doc 236  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004

“Third Reading. Representative Flowers, would you like to make your announcement at this time?”

“Yes, Mr. Speaker. Health Care is canceled for tomorrow morning. Thank you very much. Ahh, yeah.”

“Representative Holbrook, for what reason do you rise?”

“Purpose of an announcement. We’ve rearranged the times on the Environment & Energy Committee several times today. Please note the schedule that’s being passed out. We are gonna meet at 11:00 in Room 118. We have one Bill and one Amendment. Just for clarification because we’ve… we’ve sent out about four notices today and they’re e- mails. And we are gonna meet at 11:00. Thank you.”

“Mr. Clerk, would you read the… the Agreed Resolutions?”

“Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor say ‘aye; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Resolutions are adopted. Representative Mendoza, for what reason do you rise? Representative Mendoza.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a quick announcement to the Members of COWL. We will be meeting tomorrow morning in Room 115, 8:30 in the morning. So, please bring your… your agenda items, budget and legislative. Thank you.”

“Representative Biggins, for what reason do you rise?”

Speaker Hannig: “You’ll have to check the transcript, Representative.”

“Representative Stephens, for what reason do you rise?”

“Yes.”

“Now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Representative Currie moves that the House stands adjourned 09300112.doc 238  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 112th Legislative Day 3/30/2004 until Wednesday, at the hour… March 31 at the hour of 12 noon, 12 noon tomorrow. All in favor of the Motion say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the House stands adjourned.”