Illinois House Floor Debate — January 11, 2005

“The House shall come to order. The Members shall be in their chairs. We ask the Members and our guests in the gallery to turn off laptop computers, cell phones and pagers. And we ask our guests in the gallery to rise… to rise and join us for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. We shall be led in prayer today by Colonel Randy Harrison from Petersburg, Illinois.”

“We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Representative Hassert.” Hassert et – al: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Speaker Madigan: “Roll Call for Attendance. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports. Representative Currie.” 09300219.doc 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that there are no excused absences among House Democrats today.”

“Mr. Bost.”

“Mr. Clerk, take the record.”

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

Speaker Madigan: “Representative Lyons. Page 2 of the Calendar, on the Order of Concurrence, there appears House Bill 757. Representative Lyons.” Lyons, E.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 757 and its Amendments 2, 3 and 4 is language… is legislation that was necessitated because a high school student in my district who had developmentally disabilities was not able to graduate with her high school class. She was told that if she did so she would forego the special education services that was available to her until the age of 21. Therefore, Senate Amendment #2 requires schools to adopt a policy that allows high school students with Individual Education Plans to participate in commencement ceremonies and receive certificates of completion even… even if their IEP calls for a continuation of special education. This law has been dubbed ‘Brittany’s Law’ because Brittany Booth is the student who really wanted to graduate with her class and was told she could not do so. I am very proud to sponsor this legislation. It also includes Senate Amendment #3 which is cleanup language to the School Code, making election of school board members and the ballots more user- friendly. Senate Amendment #4 also provides cleanup language on previous legislation that has passed both 09300219.doc 3  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 chambers to reduce inconsistencies and update the other section of the School Code to reflect the changes in the compulsory age made by those laws. I would ask for your support for House Bill 757.”

“The Lady moves that the House concur in a… in Senate Amendments #2, 3, and 4 to House Bill 757. There being no discussion, the question is, ‘Shall the House concur in those Amendments?’ 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’, 1 person voting ‘no’. The House does concur in Senate Amendments #2, 3, and 4 to House Bill 757. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative John Bradley. On page 3 of the Calendar, on the Order of Amendatory Veto Motions, there appears Senate Bill 3188. Mr. John Bradley.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. This is a technical change to a Bill that was passed last Session. I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Mr. Bradley, did you want to tell the Body anything about the Governor’s Amendment?”

“The Amendment offered by the Governor adds an effective date to the Bill. That’s the technical change from which I was referring, Mr. Speaker.”

“All right, the Gentleman has moved to accept the Governor’s Amendatory Veto. On that question, the Chair recognizes Mr. Parke.” 09300219.doc 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Mr. Bradley.”

“This is a Bill to try to help entice the FutureGen project to the State of Illinois. We passed Resolutions in support of that in the past and this is a piece legislation to give us another tool in order to lure that project to Illinois. And all this does is change the effective date, it’s a technical change to the Bill.”

“This is technical. And I… it passed overwhelmingly, as I recall, originally and it’s just a technical change, Representative.”

“Yes.”

Speaker Madigan: “There being no further discussion, the question is, ‘Shall the House accept the Governor’s specific recommendations for change with respect to Senate Bill 3188.’ This will be final action. Those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed by voting 'no'. Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 116 people voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. The House… this… this Motion, having received 09300219.doc 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 the required Constitutional Majority, the House accepts the Governor’s specific recommendations for change regarding Senate Bill 3188. And this Bill, having received the required Constitutional Majority is hereby declared passed. On page 3 of the Calendar, on the Order of Conference Committee Reports, there appears Senate Bill 3186. Mr. McKeon. Mr. McKeon.”

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Conference Committee Report #1 becomes the Bill. It passed in the Illinois Senate last night. This Bill has been before this chamber on numerous occa… occasions and passed by this chamber on several occasions. It is an improvement over the previous Bill that… with input from both sides of the aisle. It cleans up the language and definitions, improves clarity. This Bill provides basic equity on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodation. And I appreciate your ‘aye’ vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“The Gentleman moves to adopt the Conference Committee Report. The Chair recognizes Mr. Parke.”

"Go ahead.” 09300219.doc 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

"I… I agree. In fact, that’s exactly what this Bill attempts to do.”

"That is… that is not correct. In fact, Mr. Parke, I want to thank you. You raised this issue on several occasions. We worked very hard to address that issue and what we found is, Representative Parke, the solution is very simple. Merely because somebody wants to do something as you describe, does not allow them necessarily to do that. Here is the rule that the Department of Human Rights is going to promulgate to employers across the board as they do training. If you have a government-issued identification card, Mr. Parke… I’m sorry… If you have a government-issued identification card, a State of Illinois 09300219.doc 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 driver’s license or a State identification card, and it says male or it says female and the employer, school, whomever it is has reasonable dress codes, that identification on that government issued card prevails. And that’s a very simple solution for the employer where there’s no ambiguity whatsoever and it’s going to promulgated by the department, and this is the same procedure that’s being used in many jurisdictions. It’s very simple, unambiguous, straightforward.”

“All right, Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention. We all know that this is a very contentious issue. There are now six people seeking recognition. So the Chair would suggest that everyone be permitted to speak but everybody restrict themselves to no more than 5 minutes. Can I say that again? Everybody’ll speak, but only for 5 minutes. And the next person would be Mr. Fritchey for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Speaker. I won’t even need my 5 minutes. To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, within this General Assembly, within this chamber, like even on this side of the aisle, we have a lot of differences. And the reason that this Body continues to exist and operate is because we respect each other’s difference. Life’s no different. There are differences in life. There are differences in people and we try to respect those. I’ve been down here for 8 years, and for 8 years I’ve been unable to understand 09300219.doc 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 how the Gentleman that stood for election the same time that I did, from the district right next to mine, would be able to come to Springfield and potentially be denied a hotel room in the same hotel that I tried to stay at. That a Gentleman that’s been elected by a hundred and five thousand people in his district to represent them does not have the rights that rest of us have in this room. That men and women, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters throughout this state, they’re not asking for special rights. They’re not asking to be noticed as different. They want the same rights as everybody else. There’s nothing special about this legislation, other than the fact that it brings us into the 21st century. There’s nothing special about this legislation, other than it restores dignity to every man and woman. The previous speaker said that he agreed with the concept that people shouldn’t be discriminated against. Well, they are discriminated against. They do need the protections of law. This law will give them the protection. This is about rights, it’s about decency. Please vote ‘aye’. Thank you.”

“Mr. Morrow for 5 minutes.”

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. You know, today is my last day as… in my official capacity as State Representative of the 32nd District. But from the first day that I became the State Legislator back in 1987, this issue has been before me. And I won’t use the name of the minister in my district 09300219.doc 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 because he’s now deceased, but he was one of the most vocal opponents of this Bill. In fact, his church resided in my district. I won’t mention the name of the church. And for many years I was castigated because of my support of this Bill. I also have one of the largest African American, lesbian and gay organizations in my district on East 79th Street. So, I’m proud on my last day, on my last official day as… as an elected official, to vote ‘aye’ on Senate Bill 3185. This issue became part of my campaign last spring. And I was asked my position on this and I told them I stand by Larry McKeon. I stand by Larry McKeon not because he’s gay. I stand by Larry McKeon because he’s a man. He’s a man that stood up for my community. Many times the Black Caucus could count on Larry McKeon. Larry, you’re a friend and I’ll never forget you. You’ll always be my friend. So, if all I can do in my last day to show him that I am his friend for life, I’m proud to give ‘green’ vote… my ‘green’ vote on Senate Bill 3185. Thank you and God bless you.”

“Mr. Boland for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, we know that this Bill is really just the latest step in a long march that began back in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence that called for all men are created equal. We know it’s been a long, hard struggle to expand that idea from originally just a very tiny portion, only 4 percent of the adult population at that time could even vote. They had to be property owners of a large 09300219.doc 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 estate. And there’s been a long, long battle to increase that capacity of human beings in the United States of America to live up to that dream. This has all been part of that dream and we can have one tiny step forward. We know that this type of legislation has already been passed on the local level and in some states. We know it can be done. We know it should be done on the federal level, but unfortunately, it’s not being done. But we’re the ‘Land of Lincoln’, we can move ahead. Ladies and Gentlemen, many of you may be like me, you may have small rental property. You cannot discriminate on the basis of race, thank God. Not on the basis of religion, thank God. Not on the basis of other national origin and many other categories, disability, age, today. Why not expand that out? Right now, the only group that you can discriminate against are gays and lesbians. That’s just not right. It’s not something that we in the State of Illinois should ever, ever back away from. It’s time for us to stand up and be counted. Stand up and be counted for human rights for all people. And let’s do this for our brothers and sisters who may be a little different from us in their sexual orientation. Let’s make sure that if ever there’s a Legislator who comes down here again like Larry McKeon, I remember reading in the paper and he said he was afraid he might not be able to find housing. You know, if… if he was in a different circumstance, he might have to worry about employment or getting credit. Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s make sure that never can happen again. Let’s take this 09300219.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 step forward. Let’s vote ‘yes’ on this Bill. Thank you very much.”

“Representative Flowers for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This Bill is really about nondiscrimination. Presently in Illinois, it is illegal to discriminate against someone when it comes down to employment, housing, access to public facilities based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, or military status. This Bill… here in Illinois… here in Illinois, discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation and credit is legal when it comes down to sexual discrimination. This Bill would merely make it equal protection in the State of Illinois for everyone, irregardless of what your sexual preference is, where you live, your race, it will be equal protection under the law. And I just want to say that the nondiscrimination Bill is about fairness and decency. It does not open the door to gay marriage or civil union. It does not provide special benefits or any rights to individual, group or community. It does not supercede a religious institution or the First Amendment right to hire and fire according to whatever your beliefs may be. It does not force an employer to provide insurance benefits to partners or gay employers. More importantly, I wanna note that 14 other states have similar legislation to prevent discrimination against their citizens and provide, once again, equal protection and 09300219.doc 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 equal rights for all. I would once again urge an ‘aye’ vote and, once again, this Bill is about the basic human rights. Thank you.”

“Representative Washington for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to support this Bill because being a victim of discrimination all my life, I still am a victim of discrimination. I think it’s ironic that this Bill comes on the heel of the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. And I remember so clearly some of his speech about injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, and that applies for discrimination as well. But I also would like to encourage my colleagues that as we stand up for this Bill, I could not support the Patriotic Act for the racial profiling that it does and at same time support this Bill. So if we… if we going rise against discrimination, we mede… we need to make sure that is across the board. And I urge an ‘aye’ vote for this Bill.”

“Representative Lou Jones for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. To the Bill. Myself, just like Representative Washington, has been discriminated against all my entire life. You might’ve noticed everybody that’s gotten up to talk has been African Americans ‘cause we understand what discrimination is. I know what it is to go to the bathroom and be told you can’t use that bathroom, you have to go to the one in the back. I know what it is not to stay in the same hotel when I was in college and traveled south and not stay in the same hotel with white people. I know what it 09300219.doc 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 is to go to a store and not be waited on because of the color of my skin. I have faced all kind of discrimination my entire life and I’m much older than… I would say three- fourths of the people in this room. And I understand discrimination is wrong, any kind of discrimination is wrong. When you bleed, you bleed red. Believe it or not, as black as I am when I bleed, I bleed red. I don’t bleed blue, you don’t bleed blue, red or green. We all are just alike. And we can sit up here and we can laugh and talk with each other, we can drink with each other, we can eat with each other, we can shake each other’s hands. And then when it comes down to givin’ somebody a right, a human right, then you say you want to vote ‘no’. How in the world can anybody in this chamber vote ‘no’ and deny somebody their right, their right just like you are? What if somebody said they don’t want to sit beside you because you parted your hair down in the middle, or you wore a certain kind of pants or you wore a certain kind of a dress? I’m here to tell you, discrimination hurts. It hurts your children, it hurts me. And believe it or not, in 2005, I am still discriminated against. We need to stop playing God, stop playing God and let everybody have the same rights that each other have. I urge a ‘yes’ vote on here. I’ve always supported Larry. I have a lot of, lot of gay friends. And for them, I am voting ‘yes’ and I urge you to vote ‘yes’.”

“Representative Feigenholtz for 5 minutes.” 09300219.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank… thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I’ve been around he… in this chamber for 10 years and have worked for the state for twice that time, and I have to say I’ve heard a lot of stories and arguments against this Bill from fancy wardrobes and stories about bathrooms. But I also have to say that in the 10 years I’ve been here that I’ve heard from some of my colleagues who are a little concerned about the political ramifications of an ‘aye’ vote on this Bill. And privately, we have sat and they have looked at me and said, ‘I’m for this, I just can’t vote for it.’ And… and I hope that today those very same people think long and hard, because I am hoping that today is the day that this Bill actually passes and makes it to the Governor’s desk. It’s a historic day. Ask yourselves how you want to be recorded in history when it comes to equal protection under the law and justice for all. I respectfully request an ‘aye’ vote from you and I just want to read a quote from John F. Kennedy in 1963 about our country, ‘This nation was founded by men and women of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.’ Thank you and please vote ‘yes’.”

“Mr. Molaro for 5 minutes.

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I… you know, I’m really glad that the rhetoric has stayed down on this Bill. And… and the reason I think that’s great is remember, all House of Representatives which means that as Representative you’re 09300219.doc 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 here to vote your district. And it certainly is very difficult to come up here and vote for something that you feel 30, 40, 60, 80 percent of your district isn’t for it. So, what I did was I took a look at this Bill, because sometimes very difficult to read Bills. And of all the pages that are in it, the only changes seem to come when it says that you can’t discriminate against people for any par… of any particular race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, familial status or handicap. Now we’re adding sexual orientation. Now, if you just listen to those, I think there are about 10 of them, now not all 10 or 12 of them came to us at the same time, probably religion was one of ‘em. Color, it took us a long time to get to. Race, it took us a long time to get to. Ancestry. Sex, years ago, where ya couldn’t even vote if you were a woman. It takes awhile for the public at large to understand issues, a lot of emotion involved in it. But all I can tell you is, every year our public and the people of the State of Illinois understand this issue better, and they understand it’s strictly nondiscrimination. And I think as time goes on, eventually we’ll get 70, 80, 90 percent of the public thinking about sexual orientation and nondiscrimination as we do about race and age and sex. It’s comin’. Now, it may not feel right to all of the people in this state right now, but it will. And every year it gets better and better. And I would say that probably 7 or 8 years ago we probably couldn’t even bring this Bill, probably got 20, 30 votes. 09300219.doc 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 But as people read about it, see about it, get less frightened, by it so they don’t have the fear associated that they do with all these other ones when they came in. There was fear when we talked about age and sex and race. And we realize now there’s nothing to be afraid of. So whether it was 3 or 4 years from… ago or maybe it’s gonna take 3 or 4 years from now, I think now’s the time. It feels right. The time is here and let’s add… add sexual orientation as something that should not be discriminated against. Thank you.”

“Representative Cultra for 5 minutes.”

“Sponsor yields."

“I… I can’t here him.”

“Has absolutely nothing to do with this, and not a relevant issue with respect to this Bill.”

“Not a rele… that’s not a sexual orientation. It’s a… a criminal activity that should be strongly prosecuted. It’s not relevant to this Bill.”

“Has no relationship to this Bill. It’s… in most states, including Illinois, it’s criminal behavior. It’s not a sexual orientation, never has been suggested by competent authority as a sexual orientation.”

“Mr. Beaubien for 5 minutes.”

“Sponsor yields."

“All right, there’s one more person seeking recognition and so the last speaker will be Representative Lang for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen. I rise in the strongest possible support of this Conference 09300219.doc 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 Committee Report. And before I go on with my comments, let me pay tribute to my colleague and friend, Larry McKeon, for what he has gone through to put this Bill on the posture where we can make this one of the truly historic days in the State of Illinois. When Mr. McKeon passed this in the House a few years ago, he made one of the most impassioned, emotional speeches this House has ever witnessed. And I don’t think we’ve been the same since we heard from him about his problems in the Chicago Police Department, et cetera. And so, Larry, I pay tribute to you. I also pay tribute to those in the gallery who have been waiting for this Bill for so many years, worked so hard. I’ve worked with many of them since the earliest part of my career here in the early ‘90s when we passed this Bill for the first time in the Illinois House. I was the Chief Sponsor of the Bill. And it’s taken several generations of the General Assembly to get to the point where we are today. Ladies and Gentlemen, this Bill is not about cross-dressing, it’s not about animals, it’s not about anything except basic human rights to the people that live in the State of Illinois. This Bill is about allowing people to rent property wherever they wish to rent it. This Bill is about allowing people to get credit if they’re qualified for it. It’s about people getting employment if they’re qualified for the employment. There’s no other reason for the Bill, there’s no red herrings. There’s no other constitutional issues. Just simply, are we prepared today in the Illinois House of Representatives to grant 09300219.doc 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 everyone in the Illi… State of Illinois the right to live their life with quiet enjoyment, to get the… the goods and services they need and the ability to live their lives the way we would all like to live our lives? To say to a person because they may be gay or lesbian or perceived to be gay or lesbian that they cannot get credit, they cannot get a job, they cannot get housing for that reason, says a lot about the State of Illinois. And our failure to pass this Bill before today, says a lot about our failures as Legislators and as human beings, as well. Ladies and Gentlemen, some among you who will be quiet will vote against this because of some religious reasons that you have. But I find it ironic that many of you who have fought for religious freedom, who would not think that it would be okay to persecute you or discriminate against you because of your religion will then somehow twist and turn your religion to discriminate against other people. There’s something wrong with that logic. And something must be said about the kind of logic that perverts religion into something that’s used as a measure of hate against other people. Now, for those of you who are prepared to vote against this, and I know there aren’t too many minds out here to be changed, but maybe one person, maybe one Member of this House is still out there, up for grabs, willing to listen to reason. So let me talk to you for… briefly about religion. And let me talk to you about a few things in the Bible that maybe you’re forgetting. First, the Bible says, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.’ 09300219.doc 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 That’s all of our neighbors. Not just our straight neighbors, all of our neighbors. Second, the Bible says that we are all children of God. All of us are children of God, not just the straight ones of us, all of us childrens of… children of God. The Bible talks about the golden rule, do unto others as you will have done unto you. Not just the others who are straight, all others. And finally, in the very first page or two of the Bible we all read, it says that man was made in the image of God. All men, all women, all people were created in the image of God, not only if you’re straight, but all. And Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no backing away from this. There is no backing away from human decency. And I found it compelling that many of those who spoke in favor of this are our African-American Members, those who have been through discrimination, those that know what it’s like to have people persecute them, have stood on this floor and have told you that they will not stand by and idly watch the State of Illinois continue to persecute people, not just for what they are but for sometimes just what they are perceived to be.”

“Mr. Lang.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Would you bring your remarks to a close?”

“And… and so once and for all, let’s make this a historic day in the State of Illinois. For those of you who have not yet made up your mind, let’s just simply do the right 09300219.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 thing and afford everybody decent human rights in the State of Illinois. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“The question is, ‘Shall the House adopt the First Conference Committee Report on Senate Bill 3186?’ 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 65 people voting ‘yes’, 51 people voting ‘no’. The House does adopt the First Conference Committee Report on Senate Bill 3186. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 2 of the Calendar, on the Order of Concurrence, there appears House Bill 949. Mr. Franks. Mr. Franks. Representative Currie.”

“Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. This proposal, which was heard in Judiciary Committee yesterday, would draw maps for those judicial subcircuits that have previously been approved by the General Assembly, add additional subdistricts in the counties… the circuits of Kendall, Kane and DeKalb Counties, also in Winnebago and Boone circuit. The maps that are part of this proposal were drawn with respect to traditional redistricting principles, including an effort to make sure the districts are compact, substantially equal in population, do not dilute communities of interest, including racial communities. The reason that we are doing this is because there were groundswells of public support in these areas to bring judicial elections closer to the people to enable 09300219.doc 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 people in those areas to have a better understanding of the candidates among whom they would select, a better opportunity to know who it is who is representing them on the bench. The principle of the subcircuits is already well established in downstate counties since there are resident judgeships who, regardless of population, are elected within the circuit rather than across the circuit at large. I would be happy to answer your questions about the mapping and about any other questions you may have. For the record, I would note that neither the administrative office of the Illinois courts nor the Illinois Bar Association is… has taken a position in opposition to the merits of this Bill.”

“All right. Ladies and Gentlemen, again, the Chair would suggest, as we did on the last Bill, that everybody speak but that we restrict ourselves to 5 minutes. And so, the first would be Representative Kosel for 5 minutes. Kosel.”

“Sponsor yields.”

“First of all, I believe the population doesn’t support your contention. As well, I would remind the Body that redistricting requirements include attention to compactness, to issues of population equity and that race itself may not be the sole reason for crafting districts in a particular way. We certainly took racial issues into account in drafting this map. We certainly wanted to ensure that minority voices would have an opportunity to affect outcomes of elections. But that was not the sole reason for drawing the districts as they are drawn. Other communities of interest, including political subdivisions, are important as well and I believe the numbers just do not sustain, given the requirement of compactness, population equity and so forth, the contention that this map could have been drawn differently with the result that you suggest in mind.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear…”

“Who reviewed the members…” 09300219.doc 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“The Members of the committee did. In fact, we offered these maps a week ago yesterday in Judiciary Committee, a joint meeting of the House and Senate Committees. The meeting was well-attended by interested people from various communities across these judicial circuits. There had earlier been many hearings in each of the circuits that are affected by this proposal across the last 2 years during the entire biennium of this General Assembly.”

“I don’t have a list with me, but I’m sure staff can let… can share with you whatever materials we have…”

“…from people at the local level.”

“There were… there were some witnesses from that area at the hearing a week ago Monday and I’m sure that list is available is public. There may have been additional written material submitted as well.”

“Representative Hultgren for 5 minutes.”

“Sponsor yields.”

“I believe there was a hearing in each of those districts…”

“…shortly before the maps were actually drafted and there were two…”

“…there were two hearings here in Springfield…”

“…when those maps were unveiled.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that question.”

“No. The reason, of course, is that we were hopeful…”

“…that at the hearing…”

“…we would be given advice about…”

“…what important considerations should go into…”

“Representative…”

“…the mapping.”

“All right.”

“Mr. Hultgren, to the Bill.”

“Please, please.”

“Mr. Hultgren.” 09300219.doc 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank… thank you.”

“Representative Chapa LaVia for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. I rise in strong support of this Bill. This Bill will give a voice to communities like Elgin and Aurora where the population has changed over the years and over what used to look… or be Kane County. Right now, the 16th Judicial Court covers Kane County, Kendall, DeKalb County. Sixteen circuit judges are elected to serve a 6-year term. They are… the appointments of the remaining 14 subcircuits are closed meeting. Yes, they have to be in the paper, but these… these 16 judges oversee who to select in the process of being the associate judges. The demographic makeup of Kane County has changed so drastically over the last 10 years that the population looks like this. There’s over… in the 2002 census, Kane County having 443 thousand people and some and Aurora Township and Aurora together having 40 percent of that population. Right now, Aurora and Aurora Township make up 215,843 citizens in that population, 09300219.doc 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 almost 40 percent of the population of Kane County. The ethnic makeup of the community has changed, as well. The majority of Aurora is made up of a large, large base of Latino constituents, a large base of African-American constituents. And 50 percent of Aurora’s population falls into half of the whole title of the new subcircuit that would be created by this. Presently, right now, there is only one African-American judge in that whole circuit and four women. That is it. The makeup of my district… I have 47 percent Hispanic, 11 percent African American and the rest falls under ‘other’, where I’m very proud of where my husband lies, being Italian. But this does not constitute a equity within our judicial system and we need to forge on. Just as we are elected in the Legislature and the Executive Branch, we should show the same courtesy to those constituents to elect judges that reflect their makeup. The selection of judges would be fair and a open process. The… their represent… their representation right now is disgraceful. I cannot look at my district and say it’s a makeup that reflects that population, regardless of some as a Democrat, Republican or Independent. This does not look like the makeup of my area and I am in a hundred percent full support of this. We did have a hearing, through the good graces of the Speaker, at… in Aurora in Kane County and there was a lot of people that were opposed to this. Those are the judges that have been running the system for a long, long time. I think it’s time that we get up with… up-to-date with a lot of laws, but this one representing 09300219.doc 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 the reflection of my district and the new subcircuit that would be drawn for that. And I respectfully hope and wish that the people of this General Assembly vote ‘yes’ on this. Thank you.”

“Mr. Delgado for 5 minutes.”

“Than… thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of House Bill 949. As many speakers have indicated, this is a piece of legislation that allows some parity. It allows the opportunities that Illinois is not considered a state by… by geog… justice by geography, if you will. If, indeed, subcircuits in the original lawsuit in creating subcircuits, my State Senator De Valle, who was the Sponsor of this Bill in the Senate, made sure that people of color, people of many different communities would have an opportunity to be able to represent within their communities and have the ability to win an election as a judge, to be able to have a smaller district and be able to work within a large population, if you will, in a whole society. And so, when minorities who were disenfranchised even in the campaign level, judges have to run campaigns, they can get a dollar as well as… in a minority state, they’ll get 50 cents on every dollar than a nonminority or nonfemale candidate may get. But again, this points to parity. The 1961 Criminal Code was written by many people that none of ‘em reflected the communities that are now the demographics of Illinois today, and because of that it reflects in that prison system. We have two… we have African Americans and Latinos and poor Appalachian whites 09300219.doc 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 locked up in our prison system. That’s economically depressed and that’s a result of the 1960 Criminal Code, and we didn’t have many people of color in those days on that particular committee. So, today we continue to make Illinois a greater state because by demographics in the 2000 census, out of a hundred and two counties that we have in this great state, 98 counties saw change in their demographics from Effingham to Chicago, and that meant growth of the Latino community. So, I stand in support because that’s gonna give an opportunity, regardless of what party you’re in, but you may come from a subgroup and this opportunity is there and present. And I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Mr. Miller for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I just wanted to comment first on some statements that were made by a previous speaker who… who… who questioned the fact that a minority couldn’t win with the current map. And I would just like to at least reflect back on our last remap of the legislative districts. Myself and many other African- American districts went from probably 80 percent African American to 60 percent African American to help spread out African-American Legislators. With that said, we’ve actually gained representation here in this House. And so to say that these districts need to be more compact really dilutes the African-American minority representation that this legislation is trying to address. When we look at this Bill… now, when… when… in 1990 the Representative… I 09300219.doc 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 know Representative… former Representative Younge had worked on it, Representative Morrow, Turner and others who are other Members that are still here, partnershipped with Members on the other side of the aisle to increase judgeships. Fifteen years later, 15 years later, there has been an increase in judges on… on the judicial subcircuit with only one person in this… since this time that represents… a nonminority representing an African-American district. So, long story short, people, it works. The increase in minority participation, it works. As the previous speakers just said, was people want to… as we are representative of our community, people want to know that their judicial system represents their community and have a better understanding of that community. People feel better about the judicial process which encourages participation… which encourages participation for the people to select those long list of judges at the end of all of our ballots. And so, I think this is a good model. Expanding the Cook County model to other surrounding counties is good government, plain and simple. If we open up those opportunities to minorities in other communities, I believe we’ll have a better judicial system. And lastly, the Cook County Bar Association, which is an African-American Bar Association, and their president, commi… Tax Review Commissioner Larry Rogers, Jr., endorses this legislation. I would ask all Members of the Body to support this legislation. Thank you.”

“Representative May for five minutes.” 09300219.doc 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in support of House Bill 949, mostly because it brings the judges closer to the people. In Lake County where I live, the judge… these circuits were 900 thousand. Now it’s going to be a hundred thousand. More the size of our Representative districts by creating the six subcircuits in Lake County. My district in my area is way in the southeast corner of Lake County. And there are many, many attorneys in my area who would love the opportunity to have a district where they know people and they know the judges and where people know them. Every reelection people will say we know nothing about the judges. This gives the citizens of the State of Illinois a chance to know who the judges are. But I do say opportunity, because when they run for reelection they will be running countywide. Further, in a broader scope, when I had a town hall meeting, women from elsewhere in Lake County sought out our town hall meeting in the southeast corner to decry the ‘old boys network’ of the judges in Lake County that they feel that they could not be heard and they wouldn’t listen to them. This further opens up the system. It will create opportunities, as we’ve heard for minorities, for geographic opportunity for our judges so our people will know them and… and it would be a very, very… a greater system. I urge an ‘aye’ vote so that we have geographic opportunity by creating these subcircuits. Thank you.”

“Representative Aguilar for 5 minutes.” 09300219.doc 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“We did announce the hearing schedule and the hearings, of course, were open to all.”

“It’s hard to know who pays attention to what is going on in the General Assembly. But as you know, we have a website that gives anybody with access to a computer at home or in the library access to information about what we are doing. And as you know, several of these subcircuit proposals were law before we began the mapping process. So, I should imagine that those with an interest likely would’ve come to the hearings.”

“I can’t speak about organization. I can speak about people who are members of minority groups who have testified at hearings in the districts as well as hearings in Springfield. And yes, there were members of minority groups, African Americans as well as Hispanic Americans.”

“With… certainly the vast majority did.”

“I can’t answer that question. I don’t know the answer.”

“Mr. Schmitz for 5 minutes.”

“Sponsor yields."

“Mr. Winters for 5 minutes.”

“Mr. Winters, could you bring your remarks to a close? Thank you.”

“Mr. Jefferson for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. I rise in support of House Bill 949. I am privileged to be one of the persons that hosted a hearing in Rockford, 09300219.doc 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 Rockford to which is probably home for about 300 plus thousand people, Winnebago County. Rockford has, over the years, celebrated a hundred and fifty year history. We’ve had a hundred and fifty-year birthday. At a hundred and fifty years we have never realized an African-American judge during that time. This is not all about an African- American judge or Hispanic judge but it is about fairness and equalty and inclusion. I appreciate all the sympathy and all the support I’m getting from the Republican side as it relates to African Americans and minorities. I can’t thank you enough for that. Let me tell you this, that I, as a Representative from Winnebago County, asked for this subcommittee hearing. We took in great testimony. We had pros and cons on both sides but we had a lot of people that stand in support of this. Is this gonna open up a district where a minority can walk in and get elected? No, but it’s gonna open up the process. It’s gonna make it more fair, more equal to everyone that’s out there. Why don’t we have a bigger pool to pool… to pull from? Probably because the people realize that they are not gonna be able to advance themselves by staying in a place like Rockford or Winnebago County because the system is flawed. This will help us to fix the system to make sure that those individuals that are willing to come back home and willing to do the things that they need to do to take… get to the next level. The communities are interested in having a minority on the bench. I’m saying to you that I’m speaking with the voice of the community. We had a number of people that spoke at 09300219.doc 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 the hearing. We had NAACP people, we had Ministers Fellowship people, we had ministers who were in charge of the Ministers Fellowship, a black organization in Rockford. All the people are saying that they want this process to go forward and become part of the process in Rockford. So it’s not something that I want, it’s something that they want in Winnebago County. So I would say to all of my colleagues here on the House Floor that I would urge your encouragement. More specifically, I would say to my Black Caucus Members that I would hope that you would all become Sponsors… cosponsors of this Bill and to help us make sure that this Bill is passed. Because it’s all about fairness, it’s all about inclusion, it’s all about equalness. We talk about that all the time but we don’t preach it. This is the 21st century. Rockford has been on the map for over a hundred and fifty years. If we aren’t gonna be included now, when? We’re no longer in the 18th, 1900s, we’re in the 21st century. It’s time that we make a change. It’s time that we come into the 21st century, not one of us but all of us. We talk a good game. We talk about inclusion but the… I think the different sides of the aisle reflect who’s included and who isn’t. So, let’s not play the rhetoric game. Let’s not talk the talk. Let’s walk the walk. And let’s vote this legislation in. Thank you.”

“Mr. Black for 5 minutes.”

“The Sponsor yields." 09300219.doc 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Two places. First of all, the Legislature has previously approved subcircuits in three of the judicial circuits that are at stake in this Bill. Second, resident judgeships already contemplate the idea of subcircuits and that outside of the County of the Cook is the way we do the election of some of our sitting judges today. Third, in these particular areas there were groundswells of support for the ideal of bringing democracy closer to the people. You’ve heard several Members of this chamber speak to the interests on the part of their constituents, their citizens to have an undiluted voice when it comes to selecting those who serve on the bench.”

“Those are the three motives. We already had the principle established. We already understand that resident judgeships perform the same function and third, an interest in the part of the community to stop the dilution of their votes and to make their votes count in some meaningful way.”

“I understand the Judiciary Committee has been looking at this issue for 2 years. As I mentioned previously, three of these subcircuit proposals are already law, that is to say they’ve already been debated, voted upon and signed by the Governor. I’m not a Member of the Judiciary Committee but I am sure the committee clerks and the staff had information on proponents and opponents of the original subcircuiting Bill as well as of this proposal which would put maps into place.”

“I don’t have that information…”

“…but I am sure our staff will provide it to you.”

“Again, we can make that information available to you.”

“Mr. Washington for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. I… I understand what the argument is on both sides. It’s a lot of emotion. And I… and I, as a newcomer, I’m thinking that people had the opportunity, possibly, in the past to give away to a foundation that would create more access and 09300219.doc 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 equal balance to this particular legislation. But whatever reason, it… it just didn’t happen. And of course, I’m interested in minorities accelerating as equal opportunity beneficiaries of a system that is supposed to be fair. This particular legislation that has been put together by one of the Senators, my Senator, Senator Link, they have worked on this diligently for 2 years and as a result, I think that in the 19th Judiciary Circuit this would be a… this is not the most perfect formula, but it does give us an inch until we can get to that mile. And so, I urge my colleagues that they give this opportunity a chance to flourish. And as we speak about minorities, I just want to say to my colleagues who I respect, I embrace them as individuals, but we have to very careful that we have some living example to show that we are the party that helped nurture so-called minorities be in the front of us doing the things that everybody else do. And being that that’s not the case, it… it’s hard to really embrace the sincerity that some people speak with a passion, they speak concerning this legislation. So, we have a long way to go in doing that and I think I’m willing to volunteer to any colleague on any side of the aisle that if they’re short of minorities that are qualified to do the things that others have been doing for the longest, I can make some good recommendation being that I used to be human resources director for the Urban League. And so I learned a few things that I can help with the process. But I think that this Bill, it implements the substantive language we 09300219.doc 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 previously drafted to subcircuit Lake County. As I stated, Senator Link, others put forth approximately 2 years. The Senator and others have taken into account communities of interest while drawing a compact district. And so, I rise in support of the subcircuit map for the 19th Judicial (sic-Judiciary) District and I ask my colleagues to be fair and to give this a chance to where other things have to be preexisting that seem to keep out an opportunity that exists today. Thank you.”

“Mr. Turner for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Assembly. I’m indeed honored today to be here to hear so many people talking about the rights of minority and their concern. I was around when the judicial subcircuit, like many of you, when it was voted in Cook County. And the history of that legislation was not that any one party was in favor of making it happen, but when the discussion came they realized that a coalition with a minority community, meaning African Americans on this side of the aisle, could make a difference. And it was that coalition that… that with the Members on the other side the aisle, who are now calling themselves a minority, that we all sat down and said, well listen, there’s got to be a better way. As a result, the legislation passed and there, as you know today, are many more African Americans serving on the bench in Cook County. What I’ve realized, though, is having sat down here since that legislation has passed, as our numbers have increased on the bench in Cook County so has the 09300219.doc 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 punitive mentality of this Body in terms of legislation that we pass. So, now that the judges… now that there are more minorities serving on the bench, I see more and more mandatory minimum legislation being passed out of here so that regardless to who serves on the bench he doesn’t have any discretion to make the laws happen because we say if a person is caught with a dime bag that he has to serve 2 years mandatory. There is not probation. We were saying that he has to have Class X. So, all the judicial discretion is being taken away as a result of the action of this Body today who were so concerned and committed about African Americans and Hispanics serving on the bench. If you are that concerned and committed… in some of these communities on the maps that we’re looking at today there will not be an African American or Hispanic drawn or elected from those districts regardless to how you draw those lines. But if you are truly concerned about African Americans, people that look like me, if you’re concerned about my Hispanic brothers then you’d be a little more careful about you vote on some of this criminal justice stuff that we send out of here. That’s if there’s a true concern about minorities. It’s unfortunate that we make up 85 percent of the prisoners in jail and you have some concern here about whether we serve on the other end of the judicial scope in terms of who… who’s going to determine who serves in those bodies. It’s just… you know, I’m appalled by it and yet I’m not surprised. Is this a political decision? You damn right it is. This has 09300219.doc 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 nothing to do with minorities. This is a political decision. This is a political Body and that’s what’s happening. Do I necessarily agree with it? I may not agree with it. But I am appalled that we all are concerned today and believe that if we… you’ve got the perfect formula that if we put an African American on the bench that that’s fair. We’ve got Clarence Thomas on the bench. How fair is that? I love him and I don’t knock him. I think that we ought… I’m proud that he’s an African American serving on that bench. But all of you with your liberal ideas want to know what’s going on. We’ve got… there was a judicial subcircuit in Cook County that is not represented by an African… in fact, we’ve got legislative districts that were drawn for minorities that are not represented by minorities. Are minorities losing out? I would say Representative Currie is a fine Representative and represents a minority community. I can name others in here, Representative Burke is a fine Representative representing a minority community. And so, the color of the skin or the individual in that position does not necessarily guarantee that minorities are going to be represented. This is a political decision, I don’t necessarily like it. And when I served in the minority here for a short period… no, not minority here for a short period of time. I’ve been a minority all my life. And every decision that’s made here sometimes I wonder who is representing me. Not necessarily this side of the aisle or that side of the aisle, but I appreciate your discussion. 09300219.doc 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 And I think there’s probably some merit coming from everybody here. But you’re all wrong. This is not the answer and I’ll tell you this. What… what this does… what this map does is it creates a community of interest, you heard that terminology. I have a… I have an Asian constituency now. My district went from 85 percent African American to about 60 percent. I have an Asian constituency, probably about 10 percent. The way this state is drafted there will never be… I won’t say never because that’s a bad term. There’s a likelihood that there will not be an Asian elected. But let me tell ya that 10 percent, that community of interest has a lot to do with how I represent them here in the Legislature. And by doing… creating these subcircuits you create the possibility of a community of interest that can, in fact, make a difference. And it’s for that reason that I rise in support of this Bill.”

“Mr. Churchill for 5 minutes.”

“The Sponsor yields.”

“Because the… under the census figures, that circuit will be scheduled to lose an associate judge automatically. And we know that that circuit is overburdened and we thought it was important to restore a sitting opportunity to the bench in that circuit.” 09300219.doc 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“This is the only one I’m aware of. There may be others. But if there are, I didn’t know about it.”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you. Say again.”

“This would be a resident judgeship.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Say again your question. We did… we did try again without packing minority members into districts. We did try to follow the traditional standards in redistricting compactness, population equity, the grouping of… of people within political boundaries…”

“…and in effort not to dilute…”

“…African American…” 09300219.doc 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Well, if… you look at our map I think you will see that we have met the compactness standard as well as the population equity standard. To have drawn this in a significantly different way, I think would have risked compactness, would have risked population equity and may well have been subject to the criticism that there was an effort to pack minority members into districts so that they would not be able to have, in the long run, the kind of influence that the former speaker said was so very important when we come to elections.”

“Well, I would just respond, again, we did not want to be accused of packing. And the testimony that we heard at the district hearings in that area, as well as I believe in the Springfield hearings, was that this was the kind of configuration that the people in the community thought best gave them an opportunity to influence outcomes and to share interests.”

“Mr. McGuire for 5 minutes.” 09300219.doc 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What we have today is a little bit of history, a little bit of ceremony. It’s the last day of the General Assembly. We had an historic Bill by Representative McKeon. And I think we’re talking about an historic Bill here today. I certainly support House Bill 949. And we have had some meetings on the… on the subject. In fact, some of the meetings I attended were a little less than well attended. But, I think the subject matter has been discussed. And I represent Will County so I want to speak primarily about the Will County, or the 12th judicial circuit. During the hearing we had a discussion about how to draw boundaries in the more populated areas of Will County, where there are certain communities of interest. And as you know, Will County is one of the fastest growing counties in this United States, not only in the State of Illinois. So, there are plenty of communities of interest in Will County. A map has been drawn to have greater say in electing judges than under the current countywide plan. We have people in Will County, just like the State of Illinois, that are upstate and downstate. You’d be surprised at the difference of people in one part of Will County and the people in other part of Will County, they’re very similar to the people in, as I say, in upstate and downstate. There’s a lot of variety, there’s a lot of community… community of interest in Will County. And what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to give people opportunity to be elected to the bench. That’s the bottom line. We have in this map a district anchored by 09300219.doc 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 Plainfield. We have another district anchored by Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Lockport and Crest Hill. Another map is made up of Joliet and Shorewood. And then there’s a more rural district that includes two areas of community interest. So, I’ve mentioned Will County is large, Will County is varied, Will County is growing. We think that we have a map here that gives people the opportunity to not only run for a judgeship, but to be elected to a judgeship, people of different community of interest. It does not have to be racial, but we certainly hope so. It can be people from the far eastern end of the county who, as those who live in Will County know, are much different than the people in the Joliet area of Will County. What I’m trying to tell you is that we have a variety of interests in Will County. And I think this Bill goes a long way towards solving that interest and giving people an opportunity to serve on the bench. It does not elect… it does not guarantee an election. But we think it guarantees the chance. And I think what we’re talking about here is, as we have in this earlier Bill of Larry McKeon’s, fairness, diversity, equality and opportunity. And that’s what this map is all about. Mr. Speaker, could I… could I cede my time… remaining time to Representative Art Turner?”

“Representative Monique Davis for 5 minutes.” Davis, M.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“The Sponsor yields.” Davis, M.: “Representative, a short while ago one of the Legislators from the other side of the aisle stated that 09300219.doc 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 this legislation would prevent or dilute the opportunity of African Americans for being judges. What did he mean exactly?”

“I would say that this map, the maps that we are proposing, will expand opportunities for members of minority groups to influence electoral outcomes in these judicial subcircuits. In fact, among the groundswell of voices we heard on the question of subcircuits, many came from members of minority groups who felt that the current system, even though because of resident judges there is a kind of subcircuit approach, but many felt that their voices are not taken into account in the judicial wilderness. So, part of the effort here was to make sure that communities of interest, incuting… including minority communities of interest, will have a greater opportunity to affect outcomes.” Davis, M.: “Thank you, Representative. To the Bill. I rise in support of this legislation for many reasons. One of the most is that the judicial system being a part of government, should be a system of equity and fairness. It disturbs me when I read in the paper that a teenager has murdered her baby and she gets 2 years probation. Another teenager commits the very same crime and gets 5 or 10 years in prison. That’s an unequal justice system. I’m frequently reminded of the statement made by Judge Mathis who states that if it had not been for a judge giving him a second chance, his ability to be a contributor to our society would have been totally halted. As a youth, he 09300219.doc 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 committed a crime. But the judicial system that he went through gave him an opportunity to make amends and continue on a life in which his mother would be proud. I’m also reminded of Justice R. Eugene Pincham who’s started the Probation Challen… Challenge Program, which meant first- time offenders did not or need not always be incarcerated, but sometimes given an opportunity for education, vocational training and counseling. I believe that by bringing greater fairness and equity to the judicial system, society is much better served. When you look at a judicial system and you see the majority of prisoners are African American, the concern becomes is justice being meted out equally or is there a, what should we call it, is there a mark on the justice system that says it really isn’t equitable or fair? Could it be because enough minorities, women, Latinos and African Americans don’t sit in the back room and let the judge know that many Africans Americans, in fact, most of them seek the same things for their families that each of us seek for our own. If a youth commits a crime there should be equity and fairness in the sentencing. The sentencing should not be unequal based on color. And I truly believe that this is one step in hopefully bringing greater equity and fairness to the judicial system across the State of Illinois. If the Democratic Party chooses to take me for granted, as long as they believe in pay equity, equal employment rights, human rights, an education system that’s fair, then let them 09300219.doc 66  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 continue to take me for granted because that’s the side of the aisle I chose to sit on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Mr. Leitch for 5 minutes.”

“Sponsor yields.”

“I would join you in sponsoring a measure that would change the way we select judges in Illinois to a merit, rather than an elective approach.”

“I think that would be a very good reform proposal. And if you’re up for it, Representative, I’ll certainly join on with you.”

“That…”

“In no way does that conflict with the one-person-one vote ruling by the United States Supreme Court and I do not find it offensive.”

“Mr. Lang for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. I rise in support of the Concurrence Motion. First, let me say that I’ve heard a lot of hysteria from the other side of the aisle about the issue of what we’re doing here at the last minute. This from the party who, 8 years ago almost to the exact date, took straight party voting away from the citizens of the State of Illinois, disenfranchising thousands of senior citizens and others. This Bill is not about judges and what their opinions are, it’s not even about attorneys and what their opinions are. I’ve heard 09300219.doc 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 that judges throughout these counties are unhappy with this, I could care less what those judges think. This is the Body that sets policy for where we should have judicial subcircuits, if we should have judicial subcircuits. Judges really are not in the best position to determine that. They may have their own personal interests at heart when they come and tell us what they think about judicial sub circuits. Likewise, attorneys are really not in the best position. They don’t make policy for the State of Illinois, we do. This Bill is simply about a fair representation on the bench. The Bill, as created, and the maps, as created, take constitutional principles and put them together, principles of compactness, contiguousness, and communities of interest. Now, these communities of interest and these other issues don’t necessarily guarantee Hispanic and African-American representation on the bench. In fact, race is not and should not be the only criteria, but only a criteria for determining whether we’re getting fair representation on the bench. And I note that the map that has been created that we’re trying to vote on here is a map that follows all of the constitutional principles. But I noticed that a map that had been prepared for the other side that was presented to us that goes through Kane County starts down in Kendall County at Oswego and goes all the way up to Barrington Hills. This is a map that’s 35 miles in length and only 2 miles in width. A map that’s 35 miles in length and only 2 miles in width cannot possibly, cannot possibly withstand constitutional scrutiny. In 09300219.doc 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 fact, that map, based on the formulas that have been developed, has less of a chance of being constitutional than any map we have ever seen here. And the other side that was complaining about the Currie map, which became the map that we’re all running under in this General Assembly, that had a rating of .09. This map has a rating of .07, even less contiguous, less compact, less constitutional, if you will. And so, the most important reasons that we need to do this is to create fair representation on the bench. Not to guarantee any racial group beyond the bench, but to at least guarantee that all communities of interest have an opportunity to thoroughly advance their community and the opportunity to be on the bench to get fair representation, fair decisions, and to have the judiciary reflect what society looks like in the State of Illinois. Today, in the counties that we attempt to dis… make subcircuits, we do not have fair representation on the bench. We do not have communities of interest properly represented, and we do not have a fair opportunity for all communities of interest to have an opportunity to get someone from that community on the bench, of any race, of any community, of any type. And so, this is not simply about making sure we have Hispanic judges or making sure we have African-American judges. It’s about creating constitutional ways to ensure diversity on the bench, to ensure that everyone in every community in Illinois has a fair opportunity to have their views on the bench reflected. This is what it’s about. The maps the other side has shown us are not constitutional, in my 09300219.doc 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 opinion. These maps are, these maps reflect the best of Illinois, these maps deserve approval by this General Assembly. I would recommend ‘aye’ votes.”

“The last speaker will be Mr. Franks for 5 minutes. This is the last speaker.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to comment on the previous speaker. I… I tend to disagree with the getting rid of the straight party voting. If I… if it wa… if you guys didn’t get rid of that I wouldn’t be here. But, I’ll get onto this Bill now. We’re in one of the fastest growing counties in the State of Illinois in McHenry County. And last year we passed Senate Bill 75 and Senate Bill 2287, which we provided to create a new circuit. And we split off from Lake County and now we have a new circuit starting in December of 2006, we’ll be the 22nd District. And what this Bill does is it provides for a fourth sub- circuit as well as an additional resident judge in McHenry County. And what the additional subcircuit will do is to bring judicial candidates even closer to the electorate so that voters will have an even greater opportunity to learn about the persons who aspire to make their judicial decisions. Before, when McHenry County and Lake County were put together, the size of the circuit was almost… a little over 900 thousand people. So if you were gonna run for McHenry County and wanted to be a circuit judge, you had… Lake County was basically gonna make your decision and you had to pay for a campaign to 900 thousand people. Now, our circuits… our subcircuits are going to be approximately 09300219.doc 71  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 65 thousand people. What this Bill does, folks, is it destroys the ‘good ol’ boy system’, which we need to do. We shouldn’t have a few power brokers determining who is gonna be the nominee of that party who’s gonna be the judge. Now we can have people who are qualified to run for judge actually put their name forward and be able to run in a smaller area with 65 thousand people and have an opportunity of getting elected. Because before if you had to run with 900 thousand people, if you did not have your party’s blessing, you didn’t have a chance. This is a real victory for democracy. And you hear about a lot of rhetoric on the other side saying the judges are against it. Well, folks, this does not affect any sitting judge. Not one sitting judge is affected. That is a red herring argument. We had a hearing in McHenry County and almost every judge showed up and they talked about the need for a fourth judge. They wanted us to split the maps along the county board lines, to try to do it… if we had three subcircuits it would be two county board districts per. With the fourth subcircuit added and the extra judge, what we did was one and a half county board districts per judge. This, to me, has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. I look at this a little differently. I am the only elected Democrat in my county. I am not looking to get Democrats elected to the judges… for judges. What I am looking to do, and I think all of us are trying to do, is to get the most qualified people to be elected as judges, whether they be a Republican, whether… whether they 09300219.doc 72  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 be Democrat, whether they be Hispanic, whether they be African American. We want the best people. And by reducing the size of the circuits and allowing the citizens to make these decisions, we will accomplish this. And we’ve heard a lot of rhetoric as well about the diversity, and… but the people who complain most about diversity are those who control the judges now. But you don’t see any diversity in those areas where they… where they say they want it. So again, that’s a red herring. Let the people decide what we should have. And I also know, you hear about these maps, maps are going to change. It’s 2005, we’re having another census in 5 years. I presume there’s going to be follow-up legislation in the next year to be able to reapportion these maps after the census. So, we’re gonna have that opportunity. Folks, this is a good Bill for the citizens of the state, forget the partisan politics here. What we’re doing is we are empowering people to make their own decisions on things that are so personal to them, where in the past they haven’t had a say because the party has controlled it. This is a way to give government back to the people. And that’s why I rise in support and ask for your support as well.”

“The question is, ‘Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 949?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 66 people voting ‘yes’ and 51 09300219.doc 73  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 people voting ‘no’. There has been a request for a verification. Mr. Black”

“On the verification?”

“So Democrats, please go to your seats. Don’t be leaving for any reason, Mr. Jefferson. In your seats, Democrats. Staff to the rear of the chamber.”

“Mr. Black.”

“Thank you, Mr. Black. Again, 66 ‘ayes’, 51 ‘noes’. The House does concur in Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 949. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Black on your Bill 1000”

“Mr. Moffitt.”

“All right. Ladies and Gentlemen, again, we have several people who wish to speak on this Bill. And I would suggest that everyone take not more than 5 minutes. So, Mr. Schmitz for 5 minutes.”

“Representative Hamos for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once every season, we seem to vote on a Bill, we don’t give it due consideration, we don’t necessarily listen to each other, we get tired, things get hectic. We go home and all of a sudden back home the media and the public says, ‘What could they have been thinking?’ This is that Bill of this Legislative Session. What could they have been thinking? We shouldn’t even be voting on this Bill today, as one of the last Bills of the Veto Session. But this is a really terrible idea and a dangerous Bill, with all due respect to the Sponsor. I think people have already spoken about the accident rates. People have already suggested that this isn’t kids’ stuff that we’re talking about here. But an additional issue that I don’t think has been mentioned yet is that the Consumer Product Safety Commission considers these Class C fireworks explosives. Now, in an era where we’re ta… worried about homeland security, we’re concerned about who has access to explosives, this is not the time that the Illinois Legislature should be voting to put explosives 09300219.doc 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 into the hands of untrained people. I also urge us to vote for… to vote against this and I’ve also encouraged Representative Scully to be ready to give up that trophy for the Century Club. This would be a great time to move that trophy over to that side of the aisle. I encourage a ‘no’ vote.”

“Mr. Boland for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I rise in opposition to this Bill. One of the proponents has put forth the idea that this is going to be a… a big increase in tax revenue for the State of Illinois. But if we look at the states that have legalized the sale, they really have not seen the gross sales figures that would reach the level that is being talked about here and they really are not talking about a very realistic figure. But beyond even the… the myth of how much money this would raise for the State of Illinois, probably more importantly is for us to take the recommendation of those who are expert in the field. We have one State Legislator, Representative Schmitz, who actually is an expert in the field and who has spoken very eloquently on this. But let’s look at some of the other people in the field of… of fire prevention and who take the risk of their life and limb to fight fires. Some of those who are opposed: the Office, of course, of the State Fire Marshal, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, the Illinois Firefighters Association, that’s your… your volunteer firefighters, your Illinois Fire Service Association, your Associated Firefighters of Illinois, 09300219.doc 83  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 that’s your largest union of firefighters, the Chicago Fire Department, Professional Firefighters of Illinois, Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts, the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association and the Illinois Fire Service Training Institute. If any of you’ve ever met and talked with these folks, they really know what they’re doing. And if they’re against this, there’s gotta be some pretty substantial reasons for it. But let’s look beyond even their expertise. Let’s look at some of those injuries of 2003. Fifty percent of all fireworks injuries were to children under the age of 15, 88 percent of those fireworks-related injuries that are seen in emergency rooms involved Class C fireworks, 63.2 percent of fireworks injuries result in burns. And in 2002, 8,800 people were injured by fireworks and received emergency room treatment, many more go unreported. That may be one reason why another couple of groups that have some stake in this are opposed to it. That’s the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians and the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness. And now, let’s look at it for us as consumers, as business people. We’re looking out to protect our homeowner’s insurance and so forth, medical and property insurance claims would rise. Ladies and Gentlemen, there are just so many reasons to be against this Bill. Let’s put this thing in the grave that it deserves. Thank you.”

“Mr. Miller for 5 minutes.” 09300219.doc 84  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I’ll be very brief. Since we passed this Bill, a very tragic situation happened to a good friend of mine, my neighbor, that lives in Calumet City. A Ms. Eleanore Moll, who… whose son is a dentist, was at home in the evening and some kids were playing with some bottle rockets and decided to become creative and put it in her… her mailbox and within seconds the whole entire house had been engulfed in flames. And it’s an unfortunate situation, but when I was sitting here last Session, I learned that she had… had passed away due to injuries suffered during that incident. It is just a terrible tragedy that something like this can happen. So to even think about trying to relax rules, whether it’s in Cook County, Sangamon, Lake or any county in the State of Illinois, it’s just… it’s just unconceivable(sic- inconceivable). And so, I would urge all Members, on behalf of a memory of my good friend and my colleague’s mother, Eleanore Moll, that we vote ‘no’ on this piece of legislation.”

“Mr. Clerk.”

“Mr. Molaro for five minutes.”

“Thank you… thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple points and then I’m going to ask if the Sponsor will yield if he’s able to. I see the ‘Reverend Dr.’ Black sitting down and very rare are you sitting down on your own Bill. 09300219.doc 85  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 Are you okay, Sir? I want to inquire as to your health before I…”

“I would… Thank you. You know, we’re talking and I’m getting confused here because Mr. Schmitz talked about the… these big fire shows and you said earlier it’s just the old firecrackers and bottle rockets.”

“I’m looking here and they have Class B fireworks. And Class B, which no one can buy starts talking about aerial shells, salutes, all these things that a professional would use. When I look at Class B it talks about common fireworks, firecrackers, bottle rockets. Now, is it not in the law in Illinois, like in your county, you could outlaw the sale of these?”

“So… so if these two counties wanna outlaw it, that’s what we should do.”

“Right. So, it isn’t whether or not they should be outlawed or not, because all these other speakers…”

“…if we’re worried about the safety, let’s pass a Bill that outlaws the sale of Class C fireworks and that would make more sense. But to actually say you can have ‘em but you gotta take this course or you gotta spend a million 09300219.doc 86  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 dollars, that makes no sense to me. Let me ask you this. To buy a gun in the State of Illinois, right, go show your ID, gotta have a FOID card. You gotta take a four-hour… at least… if it’s four hours to buy a firecracker, it’s gotta be 30 or 40 hours to buy a gun. How long do you have to go to class before you can buy a gun in the State of Illinois?”

“No, come on. So, you mean to tell me the Fire Marshal puts four hours to buy a firecracker, but you don’t have to go to class to buy a gun?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Okay, now if it’s a million dollars bond to buy a firecracker, what is it about 20 million to buy a gun?”

“Right. So, as far as I’m concerned, let’s bring a Bill to ban for Class C. Let’s not say it’s okay to buy ‘em, but you gotta go to class. This is silly. Let’s pass this Bill. If we think it’s… if every other speaker who’s against this Bill thinks it’s the wrong thing, let’s bring a Bill and ban all Class C. Otherwise, if it’s legal in those counties, and I’m sure the county board and the city in those counties where it’s legal, they love their children just as much as we do. And I’m telling ya right 09300219.doc 87  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 now, I have five kids and they were more hurt by sparklers then they were by firecrackers.”

“Mr. Mautino for 5 minutes.”

“The Sponsor yield?”

“The Sponsor yields.”

“Okay. I think in the original Act itself kinda… it mighta had some problems when they put this together, and I think it’s kinda proof that something not worth doing is not worth doing well. Can you tell me in this… First of all, we’re talking about a sparkler. Now, I’ve spoken to the attorneys with the fire service and this would be a bottle rocket, a sparkler. Okay. Are we aware that if I stick a sparkler in my son’s birthday cake without a permit and a million dollar… this is not in the law we already passed, folks… and a million dollar policy, I have just created or committed a misdemeanor under that law?”

“And…”

“With a fine of $5 thousand.”

“Folks, this is why people laugh at us, by the way. Okay, the Bill, I understand, had some problems that were supposed to be negotiated so that when I stop at the fireworks tent and purchase a Roman candle, which should be 09300219.doc 88  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 set in the ground, but sometimes they hold in their hand, in my backyard on 4th of July, I shoot that off. If I do this a second time, I have committed a Class IV felony, which is punishable up to $10 thousand. Now, your… your son’s sparkler in the birthday cake, under the law that we did pass, is worth $5 thousand as a criminal penalty. Sometimes you have to look at what we’re actually doing. I think this law needs to be negotiated. I don’t think it was intended to impact a sparkler, a snake, a fountain. Under the Springfield city definition of Class C fireworks it says, ‘common firework, sparkler, bottle rocket.’ I understand that. I understand the concerns on the major shows. But we do actually have a problem in this Bill where at Pete’s ninth birthday next Saturday in the State of Illinois for putting a sparkler on the cake, I commit a misdemeanor the first time, and that’s where the $5 thousand fine and a Class IV felony. The law was originally flawed. It does need to be corrected. But this… no one’s mentioned that ‘cause we’ve talked around the issue about exploding mortars. But we are, in fact, requiring me to purchase a million dollar rider. That’s what the law says. That’s what the language says. Look at your Bill. A $1 million rider on your homeowner’s policy and four hours of training for a bottle rocket or a sparkler on a cake. And you wonder why people laugh at us. This Bill should be supported if only to force them to go back and do the thing right.” 09300219.doc 89  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“The last speaker will be Mr. Smith for 5 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen. I rise in opposition to this Bill as cochair of… House cochair of the… our new Fire Services Caucus. I join with Representative Moffitt, my colleague, in opposing this. With all due respect to the Sponsor, I know he’s well meaning and I just think in… in this late hour, given the opposition we’ve heard from all of the fire service groups in the state, that it might do us well to take this out of the record and to consider it as we move into the 94th General Assembly. The Fire Services Caucus will be looking at a number of issues and we certainly can add this to the agenda. I believe the Sponsor is a Member of that caucus and we’d be happy to give this a full and fair debate and try to come up with an agreed approach to this, which is something that we… we try to do in the Fire Services Caucus. But I would say to him and to others who might be inclined to support this that we oughta look at the folks who are opposed to this, the men and women who protect us in the fire service. And all the associations that represent those various individuals are asking us to not pass this legislation at this time. And so I would encourage you to listen to their advice and, Mr. Speaker, should this Bill receive a majority, I would ask for verification.”

“Mr. Black to close.” 09300219.doc 90  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“The question is, ‘Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 1000?’ Those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed by voting ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 61 ‘yes’ and 56 ‘no’. And there has been a request for a verification. We will need all Members in their chairs. Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith.”

“Mr. Speaker, it looks like we’re all here. It’s tempting but I… I think I’ll withdraw my request.”

“Very good. Thank you, Mr. Smith. On this question, there are 61 ‘yes’, 56 ‘no’. The House does concur in Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 1000. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Hannig in the Chair.”

“Representative Younge, for what reason do you rise? Representative Wyvetter Younge.”

“Yes, Mr. Speaker, and it’s a matter of personal privilege. I’d like the House to join me in welcoming employees of the Casino Queen boat who are here for meetings and please welcome Ruth Hill and Torque Young who are here to celebrate the inauguration. Let’s welcome them.”

“Welcome to Springfield. Mr. Clerk would you read any Committee Reports?” 09300219.doc 94  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“On the Supplemental Calendar #1, under the Order of Concurrence, is House Bill 756. And Representative Mendoza is recognized on the Motion to Concur.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I move to concur on Senate Amendment #1 and #2. Senate Amendment #2 becomes the Bill and I would ask for a ‘yes’ vote. And let me explain it a little bit. What it does is… this Bill is the Bill that we debated and passed out of the House last year. The school breakfast Bill that I… I’ve talked to many of you about. And… we had some changes that we agreed upon last year. The Senate made a couple minor changes. First and foremost, all of the starting dates have been pushed back to accommodate any school to be able to participate with the new dates. They had expired based on the last time we passed this Bill out. And second of all, the appeals process which was very important to many of the Members in this House. If a school, in fact, decides that they cannot meet the mandate of providing free school breakfast to any school that has 09300219.doc 95  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 40 percent or more of its enrollment eligible for free and reduced lunch, that school would now be required to provide breakfast under this Bill. The thing is though that if the school can prove that in effect the mandate is unacceptable to them or they cannot provide this breakfast without a sizeable or even a cost to them, then there’s an option for that school to participate in an appeals process. They would present their case to an ROE, first and foremost. If the ROE sides with the school, then they do not have to participate in the… free and reduced… well, in the school breakfast program. If, however, a member of the community were to appeal or disagree with the ROE’s decision, they have an option to appeal… appeal it higher to the Illinois State Board Superintendent. If the state superintendent then decides on the side of the… of the school, then the school does not have to participate in the school breakfast program. If, however, the state board superintendent decides the other way, then the… they would have to be required to participate in the school breakfast program. It goes the opposite way as well. If the school… either… I should just say to make this simple to understand. Both the r… both the school participating in the program or are subject to participation and members of the community have this appeal process available to them and it’s a two-part process. The original Bill that we voted on had this appeal in it. The only thing is that the first appeal was to the ROE and the second appeal was to Members of the Legislature. The Senate has agreed that it… it’s probably 09300219.doc 96  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 better, and I agree with them as well which is why I asked for concurrence on this, that that appeal process be limited to the ROE and the Illinois State Superintendent rather than Members of the General Assembly. So that’s basically the bulk of the changes of this Bill and I would ask for concurrence, please.”

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

“The Gentleman from Crawford, Representative Eddy.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Yes.”

“That’s absolutely correct. Yes. Thank you.”

“That is correct. Thank you for that clarification. Yes.”

“Yes, the school… and I think that’s a very important point, because in the case where a school can legitimately show that they cannot meet this financial obligation… which let me just remind the Members of this Body, that is almost entirely covered by federal funding. I mean, we received $42 million the last time out, could be receiving 38 additional… $38 million more from the Federal Government which we’re not taking advantage of today because we’re not 09300219.doc 99  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 participating at the level that we should be. So, if a school, though, can demonstrate that they do not… it’s impossible for them to meet this mandate then they do have this appeal process there in effect for them to protect them. We don’t want to put an undue hardship upon anyone. But at the same time, we think most schools will be able to participate in this. We hoped some time ago that we could make this only a volunteer program, but running this as a volunteer program has not been as effective and we don’t have as much participation as we would’ve liked. And at the end of the day, this is an issue of health. And sometimes we do, as Legislators, have to take a policy position that we need to view hunger in schools as a health issue and not a luxury issue. Thank you.”

“Sure.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Gentleman from Lee, Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, J.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“She indicates she’ll yield.” Mitchell, J.: “Representative, can you tell me how many districts are actually out there with a 40 percent poverty level that do not serve a breakfast program at this time?”

“That’s a good question and I don’t have this number at this exact moment. However, what I do know is that whatever we would do in terms of once this Bill takes effect, we would be basing the number of school districts who would be eligible on the October 31 numbers of the previous year. So, those numbers would change from year to year. It all depends on however many schools as of October 31 of this last year would be eligible.” Mitchell, J.: “So basically, those schools that are eligible that do not have a program are actually losing the federal 09300219.doc 101  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 dollars that they would receive if they did provide the program?”

“That’s correct. That’s a very good point.” Mitchell, J.: “And what you’re saying is that if those school districts choose to opt-out they have a two-step process to appeal this Bill to number one, their local regional superintendent of school… well, I’m sorry, the… the regional…”

“Regional. Regional.” Mitchell, J.: “…superintendent of schools, which is for their district, and then to the State Board of Education if, in fact, the regional superintendent rules against them.”

“That’s correct. Yes, thank you.” Mitchell, J.: “Representative, what happens if the Governor continues with his plan to do away with the Regional Office of Education?”

“That’s a good question and we’ll have to look at that at that time and revamp this. But for now, we thought that it was very important to include an appeals process for the school who could legitimately show that they can’t meet this mandate. That’s why we have it there.” Mitchell, J.: “Well, the like… the two previous speakers, I too, am very, very sensitive about mandates. I’m also very concerned about breakfast programs. I realize that… that children, especially young children, learn better if they have a good, nourishing meal first thing in the morning. So, I’m going to rise in support of this Bill simply because the Sponsor’s worked so very hard to make sure that 09300219.doc 102  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 it… it’s as close to volunteer as you can have and still say, hey, we’ve gotta feed the kids that are hungry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Thank you.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Gentleman from DuPage, Representative Millner.”

“The Lady from Will, Representative Kosel.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“The Lady from Cook, Representative Mendoza, to close.”

“Just wanna thank all of the Members for having worked with me so closely on this Bill and for having listened so attentively when I tried explaining it and would just ask for an ‘aye’ vote. Thank you.”

“The question is, 'Shall the House concur in Senate Amendments #1 and 2 to House Bill 756?' 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 105 voting 'yes' and 10 voting 'no'. And the House does concur on Senate Amendments #1 and 2. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On Supplemental Calendar #1, under the Order of Resolutions, is House Resolution 1044. Representative Flider.” 09300219.doc 104  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. HR 1044 was introduced last Sess… or earlier this year back in June and the purpose of it was to try and insure that when the State Board of Education conducts its 5-year plan that it takes into account the special situation involving small town schools. And last year we had significant education reform in Illinois and the 5-year plan was adopted. And… and so what this will do is for school districts like Lovington, Illinois which are struggling with stable or declining enrollment, where property taxes are high, where even if they wanted to consolidate there’s not many schools who would want to consolidate with them, we have to take a look at these kinds of districts as a state and say, why are they special, why are they unique and what can we do to make sure that those schools can continue to remain in existence? And for that reason, what I’m asking for through this Resolution, I hope you will agree, especially if you have a small town dis… school district, is that when you look at the schools in this communities, like Lovington, like Findlay, Illinois and Bethany and Sullivan and so on, oftentimes these schools are the economic engines of these communities. They represent the economic vitality. They represent the highest employer in that area. And if these schools were to no longer be in existence, that actually could adversely impact those communities. So what we’re trying to do is look to the future and say how can we help maintain the economy of 09300219.doc 105  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 these communities and let’s look at it from a strategic planning standpoint. I’d certainly appreciate your… your consideration and and I hope you’ll vote ‘yes’. Thank you.”

“The Gentleman has moved for the adoption of House Resolution 1044. Is there any discussion? The Lady from Will, Representative Kosel.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“I feel this legislation… and oftentimes we don’t have a real good way of measuring the economic benefit of a school. We don’t talk about the economic benefit of a school district to a community. Oftentimes, if… and… and you can see this and one of the grave concerns that many communities have is that if a school… a school location or a school district closes a school, that has a adverse impact on that community. So, in many ways, just as a prison has been looked at from an economic development standpoint, schools, too, have a very important impact on our communities. And I’m not suggesting that we 09300219.doc 106  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 necessarily would use this in a way to… to keep a school open in an uneconomic situation. But I do think that the people in these communities need to have an opportunity to have a voice and say, here’s a reason why these schools should remain funded, we maybe have a period of time where enrollment may decline but we expect enrollment to increase again. And it’s good for our economy. It’s good for these communities. And it’s good for the infrastructure because people are working there and paying taxes and so on. I… just think that we need to be able to analyze this and study it and I don’t think the 5-year plan necessarily took that viewpoint into account.”

“I think all we’re saying, Representative, is that we would appreciate the opportunity to insure that when the 5- year plans are being looked at that the economic vitality of these communities are considered. That’s all we’re saying.”

“Thank you, Representative. And… and I would just say to you that there is no intent here to be duplicative, whatsoever. The Resolution does specifically state that the 5-year plan is the only vehicle. All I’m suggesting is that the economic… the… the schools also be viewed in addition to the value of education in these communities with relation to the economic vitality that these schools provide in those communities, something that we may from time to time overlook.” 09300219.doc 108  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

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

Speaker Hannig: “Okay. The record will so reflect your intentions. The Gentleman from Crawford, Representative Eddy.”

“The Resolution specifically provides that the economic… for… for a review of the economic aspects of a school, the benefits of… the economic benefits of a school to a community. So for example, let’s just say that you’re a school district, you’re the Lovington School District. And let’s just say that you know that those jobs create a certain benefit and value to your community. And you are the mayor of that community. And what you would like to try and do is build your community around those schools. So instead of saying, well, the way to economic vitality in this district is to close school districts and consolidate 09300219.doc 109  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 them, maybe the answer to economic development in our community is to attract residents to your community so that you can say, you know what, we have a great school system and if people move to our community we can have even a better school system, rather than looking at the dire consequences of raising taxes and closing that school district. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“My… you know, Representative, it’s… it’s really interesting because I’m trying to think of the timelime when I introduced this legislation. Because I think it… when I had introduced it, it had… actually the… the reform legislation had not passed both Houses. But I can assure you I sat at my desk and drafted this on my own, based on those thoughts in mind.”

“The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“That is correct.”

“Representative, I… I see absolutely no harm. I can only see benefit in making sure that we look at those unique situations.”

“Representative Flider to close.”

“I would like to thank the… Representative Black for your… your comments and your support and understanding of 09300219.doc 111  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 this because I know you too have a… have a number of rural schools in your area. And… the… the fact is that whether you look at Mt. Zion, Illinois or Sullivan, Illinois, Lovingtion, Illinois, any other number of communities, the schools are the economic engine. It’s what brings people together. It’s what… it’s what causes people to have jobs and pay taxes so that there’s infrastructure and so that it… it has attracted business. It has attracted people. And so, ya know, I just think it’s really important that we look at the unique situation involving these rural schools. Look at these schools as if they were economic engines and maybe take a little bit different approach and say, ya know, sometimes it maybe worth figurin’ out a way other than consolidation. Sometimes it’s… it’s a economic development benefit to our community to make sure that our schools and our communities are prospering so that it does not become ou… a drain on us when these communities are asking us for support through grants that… with money we don’t have to provide for infrastructure needs when their communities are no longer prospering like they used to. So, I would urge your support and thank you for your consideration.”

“All in favor of the Resolution say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the Resolution is adopted. On the Order of Resolutions is House Resolution 1261. Excuse me, Representative Black, for what reason do you rise?” 09300219.doc 112  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Yes, state your point.”

“The Gentleman from Cook, Speaker Madigan, for what reason do you rise?”

“Mr. Speaker, on a point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“We just listened to some discussion about proposed early retirement for school teachers and the Gentleman who was speaking to the issue, of course, exercised proper decorum in not naming names. But I’d like to rise and take full responsibility for the Bill not being considered. I 09300219.doc 115  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 did that because the Bill, as proposed and as approved unanimously by the Senate, would have raised the accrued liability of the teacher’s pension system by close to $850 million. Now let me repeat that. The budget office has been advising us for 2 years of the very dire situation that exists relative to funding of state pensions. The accrued liability is a very serious matter. It’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. It’s getting worse to the point where we already know that when we sit down to do our next budget for FY06, that the increase in… in GRF requirements to all of the state pension systems will be $450 million. That’s added on top of the other needs to fill holes because of one-time revenue. So, the funding of the system is a serious problem. The Bill under consideration would increase that liability by about $850 million. There was a very full committee hearing here in the House, I attended the hearing. There were discussions with those seeking the Bill, seeking to do the change, and there were positions set out for them. The bottom line today is that the current ERO, which is sought to be renewed, permits the situation where local districts, local teachers, local unions do economic deals and send the Bill to the Legislature to the State Government and then we pay for what they do. I don’t think that’s right. I’m here as a Member of the Legislature. I’m here on behalf of the State Government. I’m not here on behalf of some other government, I’m here on behalf of the State Government. And if there’s a situation that exists where economic deals 09300219.doc 116  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 are being done where we’re not a party to the deal but we get the bill, I don’t think that’s right. I think we ought to do something about it and we ought to work to change it. Thank you.”

“On Supplemental Calendar #1, under the Order of Resolutions, is House Resolution 1261. Representative Nekritz.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Resolution is the… oh, it’s awfully quiet in here. The… this Resolution is the result of some work by a bipartisan group of Legislators and seeks three things. The first is it urges Congress to fully fund the CREATE Program in the transportation reauthorization Bill. It is funding of approximately of $1.5 billion is for freight and passenger rail infrastructure improvements in Chicago and northeast Illinois. The need for this is clear. Metropolis 2020 recently issued a report detailing the critical rail infrastructure needs in order to maintain Chicago area status as one of the most important transportation hubs in the nation. The CREATE Program would be a major first step forward in making sure that these infrastructure needs are met. The second thing this Resolution asks for is for funding from the Federal Government to complete the infrastructure work necessary for the high-speed rail line running between Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis. Finally, this Resolution calls on the Governor to include funding in the fiscal year 2006 budget to increase service on that rail line from Chicago, Springfield to… to St. 09300219.doc 117  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 Louis for… to increase the number of daily trips from three to five. All of these infrastructure needs are critical to keep our state as a transportation leader and support sig… the significant activity that comes from this sector in our economy. And I ask for your support.”

Speaker Hannig: “The Lady moves for the adoption of House Resolution 1261. Is there any discussion? Then all in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And House Resolution 1261 is adopted.”

“Speaker Madigan in the Chair. Mr. Clerk.”

“The Clerk has read the Agreed Resolutions. Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. Those in favor say ‘yes’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Motion is adopted and the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Mr. Colvin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise for a quick announcement. The Illinois House Black Caucus will meet in Room 122-B immediately following Session… the adjournment of Session today. The Illinois House Black Caucus will meet in Room 122-B. Thank you.” 09300219.doc 118  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m very pleased to tell you that we are within three matters of adjournment, which means that we will have accomplished an early adjournment. The three remaining items are on page 3 of the Calendar on the Order of Agreed Resolutions, they are congratulatory Resolutions for Members who are retiring from the House. My experience with these in the past is that they can become a little elongated and so from the Chair I’m gonna suggest that we just have one person on behalf of each Resolution. And so, the first Resolution is HR 1308, Representative Bellock. So, one… one speaker, Bellock. It’s to say goodbye to Representative Kurtz. You could just reach over and give her your hand and that’ll do it.”

“The next Resolution is HR 1309 by… on the behalf Frank Aguilar, and that’ll be done by Representative Roger Eddy. Representative Eddy.”

“Representative Aguilar.”

“Mr. Cross moves that the House adopt HR 1308 and HR 1309. Those in favor say ‘yes’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The Motion is adopted and the Resolutions are adopted. We are now prepared to adjourn and the Chair recognizes Mr. Cross.”

“For those of you who are returning, the chambers will open at 11 a.m. tomorrow and the gallery will open at 11 a.m. In all of our correspondence, we have emphasized the security that will be in place at the entrance to the building. And so in terms of your family and friends that are coming to the Capitol for tomorrow’s ceremony, please be sure that they understand that they’re going to need some form of identification to gain entrance in the building. And again, the chambers and the gallery will open at 11 a.m. I would like to thank most profusely every Member of the House, in particular, the Democratic Members of the House and the Members of the House Democratic Leadership. I want to thank the members of my staff, Tim Mapes, Rob Uhe, John Lowder, Mike Thompson for the great, great work that we all did over the last 2 years. Last year was a very trying experience, but in retrospect why much has been accomplished because of the arduous overtime Session. In terms of establishing the integrity of the Legislature and the House and in terms of 09300219.doc 124  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 219th Legislative Day 1/11/2005 establishing the parameters of cooperation between the Legislature and the Executive Department pursuant to the constitutional mandate. And so, for all of your patience that you exhibited during that difficult time, for your willingness to understand the need to be here and to work through the difficult issues, I just want to thank everybody. Because collectively we sure made the Illinois House and the Legislature very, very proud. So, thank you very, very much. The Chair recognizes Representative Currie for the sine die Motion.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. A popular Motion, I think. I move that this historic and proud Illinois House of Representatives of the 93rd General Assembly stand adjourned, sine die.”

“You’ve all heard the Motion. Those in favor say ‘aye’; those opposed say ‘no’. The ‘ayes’ have it. The House does stand adjourned, sine die.” 09300219.doc 125