Illinois House Floor Debate — April 15, 2005

“The hour of 9:30 having arrived, the House will be in order. The Members will please be in their seats. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones and pagers, and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. We shall be led in prayer today by Lee Crawford, the Assistant Pastor of the Victory Temple Church in Springfield.”

“And we’ll be led in the Pledge today by Representative Tryon.” Tryon – et al: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

“Roll Call for Attendance. Representative Currie.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives McKeon and Yarbrough are excused today.”

“Representative Bost.” 09400041.doc 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Representative Bost, you need to… you need to get on the Roll Call. It’s still open. Mr. Clerk, take the record. There are 115 Members answering the Roll Call, a quorum is present. Representative Bost, would you like to start the day with House Bill 1314? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill, please.”

“Representative Bost.”

“I’m… I’m sorry. Did you wish to come back to it?”

“All right. So, we’ll just take it out of the record at this time. Representative Cross has House Bill 1535. Would someone like to handle that for Representative Cross? Okay. We’ll take… No. Take that out of the record, Mr. Clerk. Okay. On House Bill 1535, Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Coulson.”

“This is on the Order of Short Debate. Does anyone speak in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting no. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Mike Boland, do you have House Bill 542? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill, please.”

“Representative Boland.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 542 amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to create a tax checkoff for the Heart Saver AED Fund. And it is effective immediately.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of House Bill 542. Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 114 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’, and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, let’s return to House Bill 1314.”

“Representative Bost.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of House Bill 1314. Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, “Shall this Bill… Representative Franks, do you stand in response?”

“Thanks. I just have a question, if the Sponsor will yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“I’m looking…”

“There… Sorry, I wasn’t sure who had it. This… this is a new permit that you’re trying to do?”

“Okay. And this permit… there’s a new fee for this permit?”

“And what is the $250 fee allow them to do?”

“Oh, I see.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Representative Osterman.”

“Will the Sponsor yield?”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Just one question. What is a green hide?”

“Okay.”

“Any further discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Chapa LaVia, you have House Bill 712. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Chapa LaVia.”

“Thank… thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. What this Bill does… It came to me through a constituent last year who… him and his wife were married for some time, had a few children. The par… the couple decided to get divorced. The wife later married a sex offender. And the gentleman… did not… was not aware of this. We have laws that state that you have to tell the schools if you’re a sex offender, your surrounding neighbors if you’re a sex offender, but in this case, the paternal parent of a child 09400041.doc 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 that was living with the mother now and the husband that was a sex offender didn’t need to be notified. So, what this Bill does, it does not give a penalty, it just requests that the parental custodial parent gives notification to the other parent in which the new spouse is a sex offender. The second portion of this Bill allows the courts to look into this… the section in am… in House Amendment #1 is deleted, but House Amendment #2… Wait a second, I’m sorry, wait a second. Okay. House Amendment #1 says that the courts could go back in and based on the new evidence of the new parent with the children in their household would have to… they could revaluate where the children need to go in this case. If there is a sex offender in the household with the children. And should… shall provide reasonable notice to the other parent. I’ll take any questions.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Cultra and Representative Dunn, would you like to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Cultra on House Bill 2521. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“The Gentleman from Iroquois, Representative Cultra.”

“The Gentleman moves for the passage of House Bill 2521. Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Rep… Okay. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Chavez, would you like to call House Bill 1320? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“The Lady from Cook, Representative Chavez.”

“Good morning, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of this honorable House. House Bill 1320 amends the abuse of the Neglected Child Reporting Act. It increases the penalty for a school teacher, principal, administrator, board member or a school personnel who fails to immediately report or cause to report an evidence… incident of sexual abuse of a child by someone responsible for the child welfare. It only impacts the school personnel and not any other reporters. It is only applies for sex offenses. The need for this change in the law was prompted by the horrible incidence of child abuse and molestation allegedly pe… perpetrated by the musical tea… a music teacher in Berwyn public school attended by my constituents. So far, 20 young girls have accused these men for over 200 incidents of a child abuse. In that case, a report has been made to the school principal three years previous and she had refused to call DCFS. As a result, many more children suffer. My hope is to elevate 09400041.doc 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 the penalty for not reporting this crime so that all school’s administrators will do the right thing and report an incident of abuse immediately. This Bill seeks to have the school personnel to do the right things and make a report to Ds… Df… DCFS. Whenever a serious charge of sexual abuse is made against more responsible for the care… the care of the child, I think every parent in Illinois will expect no less for our school system so that terrible crime, like those committed in the Berwyn school could be avoided in the future. I ask for your support.”

“The Lady moves for the passage of House Bill 1320. This is on the order of Standard Debate. And on that question, the Lady from Grundy, Representative Gordon.”

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

“To the Bill.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this… this Bill… I stand in strong support for this legislation. This is about protecting the kids in our schools. Our first line of defense are the school administrators, the principals, the teachers and the school board members. It is not meant to punish them. This Bill has safeguards built in. There has to be a violation that is knowingly and willfully done if a sex offense to a child is not reported. Knowingly and willfully. This isn’t about you… that you hear something in the coffee shop. This isn’t about something that someone tells you on the street. This is a knowing violation of this in… offense. Now, we passed a Bill yesterday that said that these administrators are gonna have the information about how they are mandated reporters. We’ll give them the information. We’ll teach them about it. And now the Lady from Cook County is asking us to make them use that 09400041.doc 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 information. There are a few things I want to tell you that have happened in our state that could’ve been prevented with legislation like this. There was a case that started in the ‘70s. A man was a teacher, he was a band teacher and he was accused of molesting boys. What they said to him was, if you go, we won’t tell anyone. Just leave us alone; we don’t wanna get involved. He then got another job and it happened again. This time they said, we’re gonna take your… your teaching license, but were not gonna tell law enforcement. Guess what? The guy didn’t have a criminal record. He was then allowed to become a foster parent in our state. He took a boy in and abused him methodically for years and years and years. He was then finally arrested and convicted out of LaSalle County, served his time in the Department of Corrections as a model prisoner, got out, was on parole, never violated the law. He then became a… a music teacher at a private music school. Guess what? Teaching children. Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, that man is currently locked up in our sexually dangerous persons unit in this state where he should have been years and years ago. Ask the victims if they wanted somebody to tell. Ask the victims if they would’ve wanted to know that this man was dangerous. There’s a case in Franklin County, a teacher molested 16 young girls. Sixteen. Guess… ask one of those girls if they would’ve wanted the help of the school personnel to tell because they didn’t believe this man was doing this to them because he was a teacher. This is not about abusing or in any way picking on the administrators. This is about protecting the kids. We stood here a few de… a few days ago and a very good friend of mine on the other side of the aisle talked about saving money on the counseling for sex offense victims. Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, this is 09400041.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 about protecting the children. That’s our first duty. And these… this is our first line of defense with them. I ask for your ‘aye’ vote. I ask for you to give your ‘yes’ vote to the Lady from Cook. This is excellent legislation and everyone should support it. Thank you.”

“Representative Lindner.”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Yes.”

“No, we are not raising the penalties for… for all mandated reporters. Only for school personnel, the school board members, the school administrators and school teachers.”

“Administrators. Yes.”

“And the teachers.”

“Only if the child was a victim of a sex offense and they knowingly and willfully fails to disclose. Because they are around the children every day.” 09400041.doc 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“This only applies if a school board member knows that a child was a victim.”

“The teachers and principals reports to a school board. And if they are trying to hide this, we’re gonna have what happened in Berwyn School where 20 kids were abused. And the school board… the…“

“Any employee that works at a school. That’s the current definition in the law.”

“They’re not getting paid for the school… proper… I mean, from… from the school properties.”

“I mean, services.”

“If…”

“If a part-time person is working under the school, he should be in place an employee of the school.” 09400041.doc 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Reasonable cause is currently used in the law. It is a question of fact for the jury.”

“It’s a question of fact for the jury to decide it.”

“That, again, is a question for the jury. And all these terms are currently in the law. And we just raised the penalties.”

“Yes, the second.”

“The Lady from Cook, Representative Mendoza.” 09400041.doc 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I rise in strong support of this Bill. I understand the previous speaker and her concern for the concern of some of those involved who this Bill might apply to in terms of being possibly charged with a Class 4 felony. But I can tell you that my greater concern lies with, quite frankly, the 200-plus violations that happened in Berwyn. God only knows how many of these incidents are happening in other corners of our state. And I think we need to remember that and we need to send a strong message to people that those who are closest to our children, those who we entrust with their care during the school hours of the day, if they knowingly and willfully fail to report a very, very, very extremely serious issue, which is sexual child abuse, that they are not going to get off with a misdemeanor offense. I think when people understand that their willful and their knowing failure to report a serious crime of this nature is going to bring upon them perhaps a felony that they’ll have to defend in court, people are going to think twice about knowingly and willingly failing to report. This Bill is very simple. All we’re doing here is increasing the penalties associated with this knowing and willful lack of disclosure one class. We’re saying we don’t think it’s a petty offense enough to just call it a misdemeanor. We think that violating that sanctity of a school and that safe haven for our children is a serious enough issue to warrant it being charged with a felony offense. Again, we are talking about the current law. This is… the questions that have come up so far, the concerns that have come up so far, are concerns that are dealing with current law. What’s changing in this particular Bill, House Bill 1320, is simply that we will be raising the penalties one class. Before it 09400041.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 was a misdemeanor, now it’s a Class 4 felony. If you go on to commit it a second time, it’s a Class 3 felony. If you’re part of a conspiracy theory to keep this information quiet, it’s a… it’s a serious crime and so you go to a Class 3 right off the bat. We’re sending a strong message to our educators, to people who deal with children, to school board members who are taking too long to investigate incidents where there’s 200 incidents of possible and alleged sexual violations that they shouldn’t take that long, and they should make sure that these predators are not in contact with our kids. So, mandatory disclosure is important and what we’re saying today is, let’s support House Bill 1320 because it will send a message that we entrust our kids with you, but we also need to know that if you know something, you’re going to… you’re going to tell someone in order to protect that child, that you will not knowingly and willingly fail to report a very serious offense that is worthy of a felony. Thank you. And I would ask for your support.”

“Okay. We now have Representative Chavez has presented the Bill. Representative Gordon and Mendoza have spoken in favor. Representative Lindner has spoken in response and the rules provide that two additional Members can speak in response. So, Representative Eddy, would you like to speak in response?”

“She indicates she’ll yield.”

“Yes, I understand that.”

“This… this only applies if a child… if a school board member knows that a child was a victim of a sex offense and they knowingly and willfully fails to disclose.”

“The current law applies to all the school personnel.”

“And that covers board members.”

“If they knowingly and willfully fails to disclose it. They have to know this and they have to fail to report.”

“To the Bill.”

“Okay. We… we now have two have spoken in response and the rules provide that a third Member can speak in response. Representative Black, would you like to fill that role?”

“To who?”

“That’ll be fine. Representative Mulligan.”

“She will yield.”

“It’s just a misdemeanor offenses.”

“Would you repeat that again?”

“You mean currently?”

“That’s correct.”

“All schools.”

“Yes.”

“If they’re considered school personnel, the school teacher or school board member or a school administrator. Yes, it does.” 09400041.doc 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Would you repeat that?”

“No. Because the Amendment says not with the standing anybody or the part of the Section.”

“That’s true. But only if they knowingly and willfully fail to disclose.”

“Yes.”

“Who’s gonna pay to put the kids in counseling?”

“No. Because this… no… because it’s a crime.”

“We’ve now had the full complement of speakers on both sides. And Representative Molaro, the chairman of the committee, will be recognized to close. Representative Molaro.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two reasons: was originally part of my Bill and also the name was used in debate. First 09400041.doc 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 of all, I wanna thank the people that say came up with a great Bill last… yesterday that… that’s thankful. But I would only hope that some of the speakers who spoke against this Bill would just give a minute and the good news is I only have a few minutes anyway and I’ll be shut off. Let me explain… let me explain what her Bill, the Representative’s Bill, does so we’re clear because every argument that was made against the Bill is absolutely well thought out and is exactly right on point. However, that’s not what the Bill really says. What this Bill does do is it does add a school board member, and I wanna make this clear, it does add a school board member as a reporter, which they should be. So, if a school board member has reasonable cause to believe that there was suspected sexual abuse, they have to report. Now, it says in her Bill, so we’re clear, it says that if you are to report and you reasonable believe, then you report. She doesn’t add penalties there. She doesn’t make that a felon. Nobody’s in jeopardy if they fail to report. There’s no problem. Even if there’s reasonable grounds or reasonable cause and you don’t report, you are not a felon. We’re not changing that law; this Bill doesn’t change that. Where there is a change in the law, and I wanna make this clear, and if you read it, you’ll see it, it says that if this same people, school principal, teacher, administrator, school board member who knowingly and willfully fails to report. So, therefore, if you’re a school teacher, school board member and you have a suspected case of sexual abuse and you know that and you willfully do not report it, then you can be charged with a felony. So, I’ll repeat that again so we’re clear. If you had reasonable belief like everybody else, we’re not changing that law. But if you know it and you willfully fail to report, then you could be 09400041.doc 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 charged with a felony. And I’m just saying that it’s not bad public policy. I think, in fact, it’s pretty good public policy that we would go to a teacher and say if you know it and you willfully fail to report it, then you have a problem. So, if you know it and you willfully don’t report it and you’re a teacher, well then, shame on you. Then you should be held to a higher standard. You know it and willfully understand it and you willfully knew there was sexual abuse and you didn’t report it then, damn it, you should pay that price. Now we have to prove it and we should do it. This is a good Bill and this should get ‘yes’ votes. Thank you very much. You have a good Bill, Representative.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 63 voting ‘yes’, 47 voting ‘no’ and 6 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 2244.”

“Representative Beaubien.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed 09400041.doc 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 115 voting ‘yes’, 1 voting ‘no’ and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Burke, did you wish to call 315? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Burke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday when we passed the Amendment, just to refresh the mem… Members’ memory, 315 has been entirely changed. It is now being supported by the Illinois Veterinarians Association and there is no opposition to the Bill. There is no fee included and this legislation directs itself to the subject of controlling stray dogs in our state. It sets up a fund that would provide free spaying and neutering for disadvantaged families. And I would be happy to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman moved for the passage of House Bill 315. And on that question, the Gentleman from Bond, Representative Stephens is recognized.”

“Indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, Sir. They now support this legislation.”

“I guess there’s no more room for you.”

“Okay. Representative Winters.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, Sir. There was a $3 fee that would’ve been collected at the point of vaccination. So that would’ve been a one-time $3 fee per year.”

“Per year.”

“That is correct.”

“That is a copay for those individuals that would be taking advantage of the free spaying and neutering.”

“It’s $15. They would be charged $15 for the spaying and neutering as opposed to whatever the veterinarian would be charging routinely.”

“Oh, there’s great disparity across the state. In my community, for instance, it’s sometimes under a hundred 09400041.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 dollars; in more affluent communities, it could exceed 3 or 4 hundred dollars.”

“I would say so, yes.”

“I guess the snipping procedure is probably a little easier.”

“I should say.”

“That is already addressed in the Illinois Animal Control Act.”

“No, we are not.” Winters: Okay. Where is the fund gonna be spent? Are we setting up another fund that the Governor can then raid when he looks for additional revenue for the budget?”

“We have language in this legislation that would preclude the Governor’s opportunity to raid the fund.”

“I’d be… I have no objection to that.”

“It’s Public Health.”

“The Department of Agriculture.”

“Possibly.”

“The Department… the Department of Public Health did object to being asked to administer this program.”

“Based on cost.”

“I would certainly take that under advisement. I have no objection to the transfer of authority to Ag.”

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

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, Sir, in fact, I would…”

“…I would encourage that at this point.”

“That is correct.”

“There was previously a $3 fee that would be collected…”

“…at the point of vaccination. That is, the bid is out.”

“Well, when the piano is returned to the new Capitol Steakhouse, I believe the week that we return, I will be delighted to be your accompanist.” 09400041.doc 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“That’s a… that’s a great idea, Representative.”

“Okay. Representative Stephens, Winters and Black have spoke in response. Does anyone wish to rise in support? Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, J.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, Dan and I have… have been on a… on a very similar track this entire Legislative Session. We both had incidents that were very, very unfortunate in our districts which… which caused us to pay attention to a situation that… that we normally, like everybody else here, takes for granted. Today was to be Lydia Chaplin’s birthday. She would’ve been 15 years old had she not been mauled to death a few months ago by three pit bulls and a boxer. She was found early in the morning, stripped and frozen, because she couldn’t put up with the environment. The dogs were still there guarding their prey. Because of that, we started looking at the Animal Control Act. We have two Bills that are very, very similar, mine and this one. Both have provisions to try to strengthen the Animal Control Act, to try to reduce the aggressiveness of some animals and to do the right thing for children and for people that become victims. This Bill has no fees, has no increases, has a slight differential, which quite frankly some of the breeders sell their pups for $12 hundred or more; it certainly can be afforded. That money, I wish, we’re gonna put… be put in animal control so that we have at… at least enough money to protect the citizens with the laws we have. It’s true that… that it’s difficult to keep track of all of the stray dogs of all of those that… that are with… with 09400041.doc 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 individuals that shouldn’t have dogs, irresponsible dog owners, and I agree with everybody that’s talked to me about this whole situation that that’s what we need to address. I think this Bill helps to address that. I certainly applaud the Gentleman for sticking with this legislation. I am in strong support of it. And I hope it flies out of here with a strong, strong message and vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Okay. The rules of debate provide that one additional speaker can speak in support. Representative Moffitt. Representative Brosnahan. In support? Okay. Five minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in strong support of this legislation. I wanna compliment Representative Burke for all of his hard work on this piece of legislation. I… I think the genesis of this Bill was an incident that occurred at the Dan Ryan Forest Preserves in the City of Chicago, which is my district adjacent to Representative Joyce’s district. A woman by the name of Anna Cieslewicz was attacked by vicious dogs and murdered. I know I’ve said this before on the House Floor. Anna Cieslewicz was a friend of my family. She was a registered nurse. She was my pediatrician’s nurse, so I saw her on a regular basis. I am in contact with her family occasionally and I’ve seen the kind of damage and despair that was brought to this family because of wild and vicious dogs. Representative Burke has worked very hard to appease all parties. I know originally there was some opposition to this legislation by the veterinarians. My understanding, they are totally fine with this piece of legislation. They removed their opposition. Again, I just want to compliment Representative Burke. I think this goes a long way. It’s just not gonna benefit my 09400041.doc 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 district or urban areas; this will benefit the entire State of Illinois. It’s a very good piece of legislation. I ask for everyone’s support. Thank you.”

“Representative Burke to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, please let me, one more time, remind you, there is no fee increase in this legislation. All of that language previously has been removed. We are attempting to resolve and to correct and to assist in a very, very serious public safety issue. If you don’t have the problem in your district today, you’re very fortunate. In larger urban areas, indeed, we are seeing an increase in the stray animal population that’s off the charts. I can’t let this moment escape without, again, talking about the lady that Representative Brosnahan just referenced, Anna Cieslewicz who is 42 years old, out for a lovely run in the morning and was attacked by two stray dogs and mauled to death. Ladies and Gentlemen, last year there were 24 thousand calls made to the City of Chicago nonemergency line with respect to animal issues, in particular, stray dogs. We have a serious problem. It’s not only in the City of Chicago; it’s across the state. If we begin to attend to it through this legislation, I am confident that we’re gonna see a major reduction in this stray animal population similarly to other states that have employed close… legislation there. I, again, would insist to you, there is no fee. Those who have voted ‘no’ previously can be perfectly comfortable in understanding that there is no fee increase in this legislation. But, indeed, it would offer a reasonable solution to what is becoming a very, very serious public safety concern. And I would ask every Member to consider this very seriously and please vote in favor. Thank you so much.” 09400041.doc 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 90 voting ‘yes’, 25 voting ‘no’ and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Howard, for what reason do you rise?”

“I rise on a point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“My colleagues, you perhaps know that there’s a wonderful effort under way to try to interest young women in our state to seek public office. Today we are joined by women from the Illinois Women in Leadership Institute. Please help me to welcome them to Springfield.”

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

“A point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I’d like for all of you to help me welcome to Springfield teacher Mari Beth Hull and the FCCLA students from my hometown of Eldorado.”

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

“Point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you all may or may not be aware, April 2005 was commemorated as Car Care Month by House Resolution 107. In keeping with the spirit of that Resolution and to tie this issue with my concern for the 09400041.doc 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 environment, my car care tip for the… today is about idling your car. Every time we drive to school, use our furnace or air conditioner, clean our windows or even style our hair, we make choices that affect air pollution. These are… there are… there are steps you can take to help reduce air pollution. Restricting engine idling is one of them. Keep your automobile well tuned and maintained. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on routine maintenance and avoid excessive idling of your automobile. This and other simple and inexpensive preventive checks will greatly extend the life and safety of you, your vehicle, and the world we live in. Thank you.”

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

“A point of personal privilege, Speaker.”

“State your point.”

“For those of you that have not been to the brand new Lincoln Museum and Library, I encourage you to go. That… the day… the opening, the grand opening is Tuesday and I had the privilege of going through a few times and it is a very moving experience. And it is truly the crown jewel, the gem of all museums and libraries in the country. And the reason I stand today is because obviously we have the big opening on Tuesday, but today also happens to be the 140th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln. And I think it’s appropriate that we recognize that, being in this august Body where he served so well, and I just thought it’d be a nice remembrance to take a minute and think of our greatest son and America’s greatest President.”

Speaker Hannig: “Thank you, Representative Franks. Representative Holbrook, you have House Bill 1679. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.” 09400041.doc 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Representative Holbrook.”

“Thank… thank you, Speaker. House Bill 1679 with House Amendment #1 simply allows the Kaskaskia Port Authority and the Tri-City Port Authority to make loans from commercial lenders licensed by the state for up to 3 years. They’ve got a lot of development going on in those areas, and this would fit into their financing plan much better than some of the long-term bonding. I know of no opposition.”

“This is on the Order of Short Debate. Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting no. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Lang, you have House Bill 1916. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill?”

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

“Representative Lang.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is the Bill that would separate the Illinois Gaming Board out as an independent agency from the 09400041.doc 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Department of Revenue. You may have all seen the editorial in the Chicago Tribune today about the current Gaming Board’s activities and their desire to act as a completely independent body; the Tribune seems to endorse that notion. Just to repeat a couple of the comments from yesterday, the Illinois House Gaming Committee had a hearing with the members of the Gaming Board, which were only two, some weeks ago and we uncovered some very heavy-handed tactics on behalf of the Department of Revenue and the Governor’s Office in terms of telling the Gaming Board how to do its business, spending the Gaming Board’s money. This Bill will separate the Gaming Board out from the Department of Revenue and make it a separate agency responsible only to us and to their own consciences without any undo influence by the Governor’s Office or the Department of Revenue. In addition, this Bill has a Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics portion of this Bill was written by the Governor and the Governor’s Office, but I think he’s got some good ideas there which we should adopt. And I would ask your support on the Bill.”

“This is on the Order of Short Debate. Does anyone stand in response? The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, ther… clearly that’s a… one of the only portions of this Bill that’s controversial at all. And so, we passed some ethics rules not too long ago that said if you’re an 09400041.doc 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 elected official anywhere, you can’t serve on a state board or commission. And I grant you that that seemed like a reasonable thing at the time. And some would talk about the fact that this was carved out for an individual. But I do think that when a person serves on a city council or is making a very small sum of money as an elected or appointed official to some other municipal organization in this state, that doesn’t… that doesn’t… should not preclude them from doing the good work they can do on behalf of all the taxpayers of the state where there’s no other conflict. In this case, the City of Carbondale’s involved. The City of Carbondale doesn’t have a riverboat. The City of Carbondale doesn’t want to have a riverboat. And I’m certain that this particular individual, if on the Gaming Board, if this Code of Ethics were to pass, would recuse herself in the case where there was anything involving the City of Carbondale. So, I think we should not exclude people who want to do public service for the State of Illinois simply because they’re doing public service elsewhere.”

“Well, while we know that this particular provision at this particular point in time applies to that individual, the fact remains that we should not preclude people from serving on the Gaming Board, whether it be Ms. Simon or any other individual, simply because they serve on some other elected body. So, I don’t know if she was properly quoted or not. I read the same newspaper accounts you did. But I think she also wants to be able to… to provide service as requested by the Governor. Now, you know… well know the Governor and I don’t always get along on a lot of issues. But clearly he ought to have the Gaming Board he wants. And if we’re going to pass this Bill and provide that the Gaming Board be so… totally separate and distinct, an autonomous and independent agency, I think we will have done a great service to the taxpayers in providing that any bright person who’s competent and willing to serve and will do that job in an independent and respectful manner for the citizens of our state ought to be able to serve.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Black, your 5 minutes have expired. Could you bring your remarks to a close?”

“Representative Rose.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Lang to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the comments, but let’s keep our eyes on the ball here. The… the Bill’s about separating the Gaming Board out from the Department of Revenue so that the billion dollars we get from riverboats is protected, so that the billion dollars we get from riverboats is… is not suffering under the heavy-handed influence of the executive branch of government. I recognize the comments on the other side relative to this one individual, but I would not consider this to be special legislation. It does affect one particular person at this particular time, but the legislation says that anybody who could be appointed to the Gaming Board, who’s making less than $10 thousand in some other government work, can serve on the Gaming Board. I don’t see what the big deal is. In fact, we might want to consider amending our ethic laws to let anybody who’s making less than $10 thousand a year at any municipal work serve on any board of the state. Why should that person not be allowed to serve the citizens of the State of Illinois? This is a very, very important Bill. You might disagree on that one point, but don’t let this Bill fail for that point, even if you have some problems with it, because the importance of separating the Gaming 09400041.doc 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Board out is paramount. We must do this. Please vote ‘aye’.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. Would you like Postponed Consideration? Representative Lang, would you like Postponed Consideration? Okay. Mr. Clerk, put this on the Order of Consideration Postponed. Representative Molaro. Is the Gentleman in the chamber? Rep… Okay. Did you want to call 3849? No. We can… we’ll… we’ll come back to that, Representative. Representative Reitz. Representative Soto… Excuse me. Representative May, for what reason do you rise?”

“Yes. A point of personal privilege.”

“Yes.”

“I would like everyone to welcome to Springfield my… one of my aides in my district office, Michelle Feldman, who was just elected as the Village of Deerfield Trustee. Michelle is awesome; she’s a dynamo. Thank you.”

“Representative Reitz, you have House Bill 1074. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Reitz.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 1074 deals with out- of-state deer permits. We… It has three components, as presented. It has a fee on out-of-state deer hunters as when they apply for those permits. It addresses the residency code to make sure that we know that… have a clear delineation of people that live in Illinois. And the third component is raises the cap. It’s a… we have currently have 09400041.doc 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 15 thousand license… or licenses that they permit in the State of Illinois. We’re raising that to 20. It’s in negotiations with the Farm Bureau. The Farm Bureau is in support of this legislation at the present time. We have the money that we’re going to use is going to implement a point-of-sale system for the State of Illinois so we can get into the twenty-first century, allow people to have permits and get them over the Internet and have a lottery for deer permits for out-of-state hunters and we’re going to use the money generated by the fees to pay for this. It’s $1.6 million cost to the state. We’re using the mon… the money from out-of-state fees for this. We are… currently we have some changes to make in this in the Senate, and we are currently working with the outfitters and the other affected parties on the fee. This seems to be a point of contention at the present time. And I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

“This is on the Order of Standard Debate. And on that question, Representative Myers is recognized.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes, I did. And I spoke with the director, met with him yesterday. We are trying to get together on two fronts. One, with the bow hunters who have some concern about the cap issue. But the other, we’re going to meet with the… with the outfitters and the other affected parties, the landowners, and I talked to Senator Sieben, who I assume will pick this up in the Senate, as this… this is an initiative of the Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus. And we are going to look at that and look at the surrounding states and see what they charge and try to… ya know, our intent is not to… to run any business out-of-state. The intent is to have more… more people come in because it’s a tremendous economic benefit for the State of Illinois as these people come in and… and harvest our deer.”

“I’m glad you asked that… I asked them that also and… and I did get clarification on that. Unfortunately, the gentleman that testified in committee yesterday is the same… is the… filed the complaint and filed the lawsuit to take the caps off. That has moved now to the Attorney General’s Office. Because it’s in litigation, they have suggested to 09400041.doc 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 the department that they… they don’t discuss issues with him concerning the cap, our deer… our deer issues with… with him. I’ve spoken with him. We’re trying to find another spokesman and set up with the department and that should happen in… within the next week.”

“Thank you.”

“Representative Will Davis.” Davis, W.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?”

“…cates… He indicates he’ll yield.” Davis, W.: “Representative, as I was reading the analysis, according to what’s here, it says the Bill changes provisions regarding nonresident fees, open deer season, legal handguns and departmental oversight of application fees. So going back to the part that deals with legal handguns. What does this Bill do as it relates to guns?”

“In the original Bill, and we’re not sure why the department put that in there, it had something to do with 09400041.doc 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 determining centerfire guns, which is essentially the difference between a rifle and a handgun, I assume, and were… that part is no longer in there. There’s three components. It’s residency… Excuse me. …the residency req… language, the fee, and the language that we have on the cap. There’s nothing in there on any of this. That… that was in the original Bill and when I asked the department… that was taken out in the first Amendment. So that’s… that’s no longer in there.” Davis, W.: “Okay. So nothing relative to guns…”

“Nothing on that.” Davis, W.: “Thank you very much.”

“Appreciate that clarification though.” Davis, W.: “Thank you.”

“Representative Mulligan.”

“Indicates he’ll yield.”

“That’s correct.”

“They currently have a rule before JCAR, and I’m sure you’re familiar with what, ya know, where it is and their… their recommendation this year is to be at 15 thousand and take a portion of those and set those off for the outfitters. This will change it to 20 thousand and I guess they gave that because it will be law in there. So that… the portion, I assume the… whatever else they asked for in Rules, will… or in JCAR, will continue to go through but changing it to 20 thousand when this law becomes… when this becomes law will negate the JCAR cap basically.” 09400041.doc 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“No. Yes, they could. No. It… the language says it would be no less than 20 thousand. So they can come to JCAR and change that in the future…”

“That’s correct.”

“This sets the fee in statute. And it currently… it was set in statute before. We’re just changing it.”

“Correct.”

“Correct. But they… the 15 thousand never has been in… there never has been a number in law before. That’s… that’s an addition this year.”

“So…”

“You’re welcome.”

“Representative Reitz to close.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the questions, the clarification. We’ve been working on this and as it moves through we have some changes to make in the Senate and I hope… we’re going to meet with the outfitters, meet with the… all the affected parties. This will be back for concurrence and we will have a good piece of legislation 09400041.doc 43  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 that will help us pay for the point-of-sales system that we’re putting in… in DNR. We’ll take care of that $1.6 million cost that we have to incur somehow, but I… ya know, this is an initiative of the department to help do that and make sure we don’t pass on any fees to in-state residents in Illinois and I appreciate your support.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Granberg, would you like to be recorded? Representative Turner. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 82 voting ‘yes’, 33 voting ‘no’ and 1 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 822. Representative Washington.”

“Representative Washington. Do you wish to call this Bill? Okay. It’s been read a third time and now you can present the Bill. You’re… you’re up, Representative.”

“I’m ready.”

“Yeah, the Gentleman from Cook… or the Gentleman from Lake, Representative Washington.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this legislation, 822, it’s… it’s a patient care Bill and it is to make better, those in the taking care of the patient business, make them better assistants to the nurses who have an awesome task of trying to nurture one from the time that they get sick in long-term health care and hopefully move them to a position of returning back to normal life. I wanna thank… before I get into some of this Bill, I wanna 09400041.doc 44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 thank Representative Delgado who has helped nurture me, teach me, and craft me… helped craft this legislation along with my colleague, Representative Parke, who gave me a touch of wisdom today and added to my legislative term. I wanna thank those Gentlemen for helping me with this. This Bill will benefit residents in long-term health care. Nurses will have more time to complete their assessment, to talk with their doctors, to conduct their treatments, and interact with the residents. This program eliminates a major time obstacle that makes it challenging for a nurse to provide thorough, attentive, compassionate care at the bedsides of residents. It’s a win-win program. In addition, I would like to add that for all of those involved in this legislation, I can never thank you enough on behalf of the patients because this will establish a planning and certification commitment to develop curriculum, develop the certification requirements, and testing for continue education standards to make sure that those who already in that industry and they’re already doing important things, though they’re small in nature, to assist the nurses and others who have more important duties. This will make a better assistant of those already assisting because this provide an educational opportunity to increase their learning and give them certification that they can really be focused on the distribution of medication under the direct supervision of a nurse, and at the same time freeing that nurse, he or she, where they can prioritize other things that are more important as it relates to patient care. One of the additional benefits of this legislation is that a nursing shortage exists and it will create a cadre of people who the industry will absorb the cost of education and move them into the LPN sector, creating some additional nurses 09400041.doc 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 down the line. And I ask for support and favorable approval of this Amendment. I’m open for questions.”

“The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Parke.”

“Representative Stephens.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“The nurses dispense the medication and I would image, from what I’ve seen, sometimes there’s assistant in that regard with direct supervision.”

“No, Sir.”

“No, Sir. I do not.”

“What…”

“Okay. Representative Ryg.”

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

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Thank you. Representative, in terms of the previous line of questioning, when the nurses have the full response… responsibility for medication dispensing, what happens if they’re called to respond to an emergency or another issue that requires their attention?”

“Kathy, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. The noise was too much. Could you repeat?”

“The nurses have sole responsibility currently for dispensing medication in a long-term care facility, correc… that was your… your response to the previous questions?”

“Yes.” 09400041.doc 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Okay. And so, while they’re in that process if something else should occur that requires a nurse’s attention, they’re disrupted from doing the medication dispensing?”

“Yes.”

“So, this is an additional level of trained medical certified nursing assistant, correct? That they have to be a certified nursing assistant?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“So, is this a supplement to the nurses? Does this change the staffing level?”

“No, it does not.”

“So, this is an additional person that’s going to be assisting in the provision of health care to the long-term care residents?”

“Yes, Ma’am. That’s correct.”

“Okay. Thank… Is this done in any other facilities?”

“It’s done in 30 other states.”

“And in any other type of nursing home situations, assisted living or…?”

“In Wisconsin and Indiana, there have been no flaw in that system. It has worked perfectly to assist the nurses.”

“And… and what kind of training will the certified medical assistants receive?”

“The medical aides will receive around 225 and 250 hours of training that will certify them, some of the same training that nurses themselves get in order to distribute the medication under direct supervision of a nurse.”

“Okay. Thank you. To the Bill.”

“To the Bill.”

“When we’re in a health care crisis and talking about the issues of medical malpractice, it’s very difficult to 09400041.doc 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 understand why there’s a resistance to adding another level of provider in the health care system, especially given that we’ve had the opportunity to get input from the nurses in terms of the training they think is needed, the qualifications for supervision. And I just have to question how we can continue to claim we have health care crisis, but yet tie the hands of people who have an interest. That… the… this Bill offers a career opportunity to people who have chosen a field of work that is very difficult and not always pleasant. And what… what we’re offering them in this Bill is an opportunity to enhance their skills, provide assistance to other health care providers, and just add to the continuum of services that we so badly need. We may be in a position ourselves to be living in these long care… term care facilities and it’s… I think it’s very important to our health care system that we provide for this additional level of training and then service in health care. Thank you.”

“Representative Osmond.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Myers.”

“Okay. Thank you, Representative Myers. We’ve had Representative Ryg and Osmond speak in favor of the Bill, Representative Parke and Stephens speak in response. The rules provide that one additional speaker could speak in response. Does anyone wish to speak in response? Representative Jenisch? No. Representative Patterson. I’m looking for someone who’s against the Bill or in response. If not, then Representative Washington to close.”

“Thank you. Thank you, all of you. Thank you very much for the education I’m getting on House Bill 822, which allows licensed nurses the time to devote to more professional nursing duties and it also creates a profi… a professional career ladder for lower wage workers. I want to share in my closing… I want to respond to something my colleague said earlier that I really firmly disagree. This is an idea whose time has come and I think that change for most of us is scary, but we have to move forward nevertheless. I want to share something that was written two days ago from The Peoria Journal… The Peoria Journal Star. And it says as following, ‘Nursing jobs should not be the Legislators’ primary concern, patient care should. More than 30 states use this system, including several of its Illinois’ neighbors. Supporters say anecdotal evidence indicates care has improved since technician focus only on medicine and nurses free to focus on primary care made fewer 09400041.doc 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 errors. Wisconsin has used medication assistance in more than three decades. The training, duties, and evaluation of Illinois aides will be patterned after Wisconsin law. No system is foolproof, not the one that is proposed or the one that presently exists. Just last week, Riverview Senior Living Community in East Peoria was fined $10 thousand after a resident got medication 10 times higher than intended. Five nurses on seven different occasion over three days failed to notice the error. Local hospitals are using the new computer program that appears to be remarkably effective in raising cautionary flag. So, we can assign that there will be greater errors based on medical technician.’ I refute that and that would be undermining the intellect of those who would move up the career ladder and I thank you and move that you support this Bill.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Bradley, John Bradley. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 84 voting ‘yes’, 29 voting ‘no’, and 3 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Dunkin, for what reason do you rise?”

"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker.”

“State your point.”

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, if you all would join me in welcoming the wonderful students from the Mikva Challenge visiting us in Springfield today, over to my right. If we can give them a round of applause. Thank you and welcome to your House of Representatives.” 09400041.doc 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

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

"Mr. Speaker, this is with regard to House Bill 1074. And my button was… I pushed the wrong button and I meant to vote ‘no’ and I’d like the record to reflect that. Thank you.”

“The Journal will reflect your intentions, Representative. Mr. Clerk, would you read House Bill 45?”

“Okay. Let’s take that out of the record and go to House Bill 1370. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Jefferson.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. House Bill 1370, the Amendment… the first change was made in response to committee Members as it related to the employees being unaware they were subject to prevailing wages laws and made an underpayment in error. So what this does is amends that to say that if, in fact, you do commit this act of prevailing wage, then it would give you a warning the first time, but the second time it will actually give you the maximum penalty. This is a good Bill. What it does is holds the contractors accountable to pay a prevailing wage. If, in fact, you’re gonna work for these people, they should be held accountable for paying the prevailing wage. So, I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“And on that question, the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Parke.”

“He indicates he’ll yield." 09400041.doc 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve got it right here, Representative. Just a second. The Bill increases the criminal penalty for violating the act from a Class B felony to a misdemeanor.”

“From a Class B felony to a Class A misdemeanor.”

“If that’s the case.”

“But this would only be on the second offense…”

“…if they continue to violate this provision.”

“It’s up to the local prosecutor.”

“It’s 1 year in jail.”

“Representative Parke, your 5 minutes have expired. Could you bring your remarks to a close?”

“Okay. This is on the Order of Short Debate. Representative Lang… Representative Jefferson, could you let… would you let Representative Lang close and then we could just go to Roll Call?”

“Yes, he can close. But before he closes, just let me say this.”

“Okay.”

“I certainly appreciate the…”

“Let’s just let Mr. Lang talk then and we’ll go through regular debate. Representative Lang.” 09400041.doc 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I missed the beginning of the debate, but I came in during an hysterical moment. I don’t know what all the hysteria’s about. We have a law in the State of Illinois called the Prevailing Wage Act. It requires that employers working on projects with state money pay prevailing wage. I don’t know why anybody would even think of opposing a Bill that forces employers to do what our… the law is already. Shall we allow employers to back off of the current state of the law and not pay prevailing wage? Shall we tell the Department of Labor and the Attorney General not to enforce the law of the State of Illinois? I think not. I think we’re here to enforce the law of the State of Illinois. This Bill gives certain powers to the Attorney General and the Department of Labor to pursue these people and to pursue the dollars. Here’s a couple of examples. An Illinois corporation with an underpayment of about $160 thousand did a job in the City of Evanston. Eighteen workers underpaid by the Prevailing Wage Act of the State of Illinois. An Act we passed, an Act that’s the law of the State of Illinois. The average underpayment is over $5 thousand and two workers are underpaid by almost $30 thousand each. Another example, an underpayment of $112 thousand. A complaint involving four different public work projects in Cook County. Twelve underpaid workers. Ladies and Gentlemen, we know that there are construction companies that don’t do this purposely. They’re protected by this Bill. But we have the law of the State of Illinois, it’s called the Prevailing Wage Act. Now, if we’re not gonna allow our state agencies and our Attorney General to enforce the law of the State of Illinois, why do we bother passing a law for the State of Illinois? The Prevailing Wage Act is there for a purpose. 09400041.doc 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 It’s there to protect people on public jobs that are getting public money to make sure they are paid the appropriate salary. Employers that don’t do that are breaking the law. This Bill will ensure that they stop breaking the law. You should be voting ‘aye’ on this Bill.”

“Representative Black.”

“To the Bill.”

“Representative Joyce. Okay. Representative Jefferson to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a fair piece of legislation. All it does is hold people accountable. If you promise me a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work, what else can I ask for? But when you violate that promise and want to pay me less, then you’re not upholding your end of the bargain. So, all this simply states is that if, in fact, you’re doing that, you will be held accountable. That’s as simple as that. Do we let violators continue to get away with this? I don’t think so. If I work for you and I deserve a fair day’s wage and you don’t pay me, you should be held accountable. So, this is a fair Bill. I’m asking for you to support this. Please vote ‘aye’. Thank you.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all 09400041.doc 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 voted who wish? Representative Mitchell, would you like to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 69 voting ‘yes’ and 46 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Poe, for what reason do you rise?”

“State your point.”

“Thank you, Representative Poe. Representative Smith.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On a point of personal privilege.”

“State your point.”

“Up in the gallery I’d like to introduce, if there’s still a few left, some students from Ingersoll School in Canton. And please join me in welc… welcoming them to the Capitol.”

“Welcome to Springfield. Representative Flider.”

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of the fact that this is National Car Care Month, this is… these remarks are little bit out of order in terms of the announcements that have been made, but I just wanted to announce to you a sad event, at least it’s sad to me as… as a driver and owner of a 1997 Buick LeSabre with about 155 thousand miles on it. I 09400041.doc 60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 wanted to announce the retirement of Representative Don Moffitt’s Buick LeSabre with 250 thousand miles on it. And I was saddened to see Representative Moffitt step into a brand new Buick LeSabre yesterday. And I couldn’t hardly… I could hardly believe my eyes. It saddened me so. But the good news is that due to his diligent care, changing the mo… the oil every 3 thousand miles or 3 months, whichever occurred first, that his car not only achieved over 250 thousand miles, it still runs and it doesn’t use a drop of oil. So, I just wanted to make that announcement on that sad event. Thank you very much.”

“Representative Black.”

“Representative May.”

“Yes, Representative Moffitt, I would like to inquire. The… your car is a 1997? Oh, okay. Well, anyway, I just would like to remind anyone if they have a car of that age that they’re retiring, please, voluntarily take out the mercury switches in the trunk and the hood. Thank you.”

“Representative Moffitt.”

“Representative Black.”

“Mr. Clerk, on page 19 of the Calendar is House Bill 1133. Representative Soto. Mr. Clerk, would you read the Bill.”

“Representative Soto.”

"Thank you. Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. House Bill 1133 amends the Public Aid Code to require the Department of Public Aid to begin, during 2006 fiscal year, an initiative to prevent and treat pediat… pediatric asthma. I urge an ‘aye’ vote.”

“This is on the Order of Short Debate. Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Collins. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 19 in the Calendar is House Bill 1450 for Representative Daniels. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.” 09400041.doc 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Representative Daniels.”

“Does anyone stand in response? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Howard, would you like to be recorded? Representative Washington. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 17 of the Calendar is House Bill 2. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Davis.” Davis, W.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2 is brought by the… the issue was brought by a municipality out in the south suburbs that was trying to take over a piece of tax delinquent property, 09400041.doc 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 which had been tax delinquent for several years. The Village of Park Forest sought to obtain the property and market it for a successful redevelopment through the Cook County no ba… no cash bid process. Although the village ultimately gained the property through the process, the property owner committed waste… or he diminished the value on the property and significantly diminished the value of the property even after the village… village successfully bid on the property. Meanwhile, the property owner was allowed to walk away from millions of dollars in past due taxes, interest, and penalties merely by relinquishing a parcel that had been further stripped of its value. None of the local taxing bodies, including local school districts, had any recourse to gaining any of the past due taxes on the parcel that… that are rightfully owed to them. This Bill attempts to remedy that situation. It allows the co… the county or the municipality to file a notice with the county clerk whenever it could acquire property and later suspect that an action for waste had happened on the property. This notice must state, among other things, that if the waste was committed then each person who cause the waste is jointly and se… and severely liable. The county clerk must mail the notice to the proper party within five business days after the receipt. The property… party must then post copies of the notice throughout the premises and mail copies to all owners, occupants, and other interested persons. Furthermore, this allows a county or municipality that acquires an interest in the property to petition a Circuit Court to determine if the waste was committed on the property and then to the extent to which the fair market value of the property has been diminished as a result of the waste. If a court determines that waste was committed 09400041.doc 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 between the notice period and the date the county or municipality acquires title to the property by deed, then each person who cause that waste is jointly and severely liable to the county or municipality for the diminished… diminishment of the fair market value of the property. The monies received… the monies received by the county or municipality must then be proportionately distributed to the taxing bodies that are owed past due taxes on the property. And lastly, the county or municipality must also be awarded its cost, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and litigation expenses. I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who yes… have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 116 voting ‘yes’ and 0 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 20 of the Calendar is House Bill 2137. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Verschoore.”

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. What this Bill is… is it’s a… requires contractors and subcontractors to register in… independent contractors. In the past, they might misclassify them and what that does when they misclassify these and not register them, it could cause an individual or an employee, this independent contractor, to pay higher taxes. It would also leave the contractors… they really like the… hire the independent contractor ‘cause then they’re not responsible 09400041.doc 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 for any of the taxes, health benefits, pension benefits, workmen’s comp, Social Security, that type of thing. It not only cheats the state out of a lot of revenue, as far back as 1992 the Federal Government said by having this classification of independent contractors, it could cost the Federal Government up to $2 billion and most recently 3 to 4 billion dollars. I just want everyone to know that it’s not as restrictive as some people might be thinking. All they have to do is, within a… hiring… within the three days of hiring this person, register with the Department of Revenue. And I’d be glad to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman moves for passage of House Bill 2137. And on that question, the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Parke.”

“Representative Franks.”

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

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Representative, I applaud you for bringing this. I’ve seen a lot of abuses in what’s going on. I’m wondering… I like what the Bill’s doing. I’m wondering if in the Senate we could expand it because I see the same type of things happening in other businesses besides contractors. I see it in restaurants, for instance. I see some restaurants who are saying everyone is an independent contractor and avoid having to pay the taxes; these folks don’t get Social 09400041.doc 66  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Security. And you’re really taking… what they’re doing is taking advantage of people and they’re exploiting labor. And that worries me because these people aren’t gonna have retirement benefits and that type of thing. Would this be something you might be willing to amend once it goes to the Senate to in… to include other industry besides contractors and possibly not even limit it at all to say any employer who does this would be subject to these fines?”

"Any… anything to protect the working men and women of the state.”

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

“Representative Rose.”

“Yes.”

“Representative Verschoore to close.”

"I just encourage everyone for an ‘aye’ vote on a good piece of legislation. Thank you.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 69 voting ‘yes’ and 47 voting ‘no’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Acevedo, do you wish us to read House Bill 2004? Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Acevedo.” 09400041.doc 67  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2004 creates the Healthy Kids - Healthy Minds Expanded Vision Program in the Chicago Public Schools. Findings that 80 percent of child… a child’s learning is dealt through the visual system and mandates that the school board establish a program to identify students who are in need of basic health care, but not covered by insurance or public assistance. Through the program, school districts are to provide visual examination and glasses, dental care, hearing examinations, and hearing aids and counseling services. Priority for eligibility to be based on financial and physical need. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

“The Gentleman has moved for the passage of House Bill 2004. And on that question, Representative Parke.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Yes.”

“The Chicago Public School system would. Now, Representative, just to let you know, this program was in existence already. It was cut out of the budget last year and I’m just trying to bring the program back into the CPS.”

“It’s… no, just Chicago Public School system.”

“Yes.” 09400041.doc 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“That’s a good idea.”

“I… Like I said, Representative, the program was impl… implemented with the Chicago Public School system where it started, and I was just trying to bring the program back into existence.”

“No, it’s not.”

“The parents would take ‘em to a vision care center.”

“I believe there’s a bid process that goes out, Representative. And through the bid process, there is one certain vision care center that would be selected.”

“Yes… yes, Representative. I would like to send them some money, but right now it’s done internally through the CPS.” 09400041.doc 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Not at this time, Representative.”

“Perhaps in the future. If I can, I would like to…”

“Yes.”

“We… we get…” 09400041.doc 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Representative Black.”

“Okay. Representative Parke and Black have spoken in response. Representative Eddy is next on the list. How would you like to rise, in response or in support?”

“Response. Proceed.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Correct.”

“Representative, I… I haven’t had their commitment, but I would hope that CPS would continue working with the health care to provide those services.”

“Yes, Representative. I’m glad you asked me because the last… the previous speaker continued to… to talk about the Bill, but they haven’t asked me how much the estimate of the cost would be. The estimate of the cost would be anywhere from 2 to 3 million dollars.”

“Two years ago, Representative, the estimated cost that was allocated for the program was $1.5 million.”

“Representative, the goal is that a certain amount of funding would be set aside, just like the previous… in the previous… 2 years ago where 1.5 million was set aside. We would hope to set aside anywhere from 2 to 3 million dollars for the program. Once the funding…”

“To the Bill.” 09400041.doc 74  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“So we’ve now had three speak in response. Representative Delgado, do you wish to rise in support?”

“I… I rise in strong support as a cosponsor of this legislation. Will the Spo… will the Sponsor yield?” 09400041.doc 75  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“Representative, on this legislation… I appreciate our colleagues who are concerned about maybe this moving around the state more and bringing a burden in their areas at this point in time. But as superintendent of a school district at C… at CPS, Mr. Dunkin, is he in favor of this legislation?”

“CPS supports the legislation.”

“CPS support this legislation. So, this is coming on… and so, Arne Dunkin is onboard this piece of legislation. This here… and our Chicago Public Schools, who obviously have… all of our children receive, for the most part, are eligible for the free lunch program, too, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“And so, with that said and done, these are families who sit in a… in a situation that have poverty issues and yet learning needs… and a lot of the students just need assistance. And some of them are even within our own system within DCFS’s kids who are in those classrooms and would maybe be eligible to be able to see the board a lot clearly if they had access to some glasses that were reasonably at a minimal cost or no cost at all. Would you agree?”

“Yes, Representative.”

“To the Bill, Mr. Speaker.”

“To the Bill.”

“I would just suggest… I understand, we don’t want to cry ‘wolf’ too soon here. The superintendent of our school system supports this. And I appreciate everyone else’s concern about Chicago all of a sudden, but we can be selective in doing that. We should be able to be se… we should be able to be that adamant when we talk about other issues that support… that deal with the inner-city troubles 09400041.doc 76  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 that’s goin’ on around our neighborhoods. But on this one, this is progressive because it’s gonna help children see the board. It’s gonna help children and moms who are concerned why Johnny can’t read and why Johnny can’t write. But at least we would like to have some kind of, as you see, minimal cost, a sliding scale, that a parent participate. I don’t want a handout. I’ve never projected and wanted a handout from anyone and nor should our communities be looking for handouts. Self sufficiency. But we want the same right to be able to educate and compete in the same avenues and be able to bring our kids downstate for basketball and other games instead of having to worry about Johnny dropping out and maybe coming downstate for other reasons in our prison systems. I would support this legislation strongly and I would ask for your ‘aye’ vote. Again, the superintendent of schools support this legislation and this would help our city. Thank you.”

“Representative Parke, you’ve spoken in debate. For what reason do you rise?”

“Okay. Representative Franks is recognized in support.” 09400041.doc 77  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Thank you, Mr… thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not from Chicago, but I’m standing in support of this Bill. And I’m… ya know, I’ve heard some of the previous speakers talking about the funding here and, folks, we should not be penalizing our children because of a failure to lead in the state. Ya know, last year we spent two extra months down here in Springfield extensively to deal with the budget on school funding. We sat in this chamber and we had 18 Special Sessions of the Legislature to deal with the budget. And we were told by our Governor that the reason we were here was to make sure we had money for the schools. Well, we were here and on those 18 Special Sessions, not once did we talk about education funding. Not once have we dealt with 85 percent of our schools’ deficit spending. Not once have we dealt with the State of Illinois being in the bottom of the nation on how we fund our schools. This Bill here is important and it needs to pass. And we also need to make sure that we come… and regardless if the Governor calls a Special Session or not, that we call our own. We call our own here and we deal with the school funding issue because it’s obvious that we’re not gonna have any leadership from the Governor’s Office on this issue. I’m serious about this. We’re meeting with a lot of different groups and everybody needs these funds. And until we change the system… the equalization value system isn’t working for the state. The hold harmless isn’t working for the state. The schools in Chicago aren’t getting enough money. It’s time to blow up the system and start over. There are 49 other states that are doing a better job than we are. We oughta look at the best practices of those states and bring them to Illinois and fairly fund how we should be doing for our kids so they can get these vision programs so we can do the 09400041.doc 78  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 things that we’re supposed to do for them. Everyone here should vote for this Bill. Don’t penalize the children because there hasn’t been leadership at the top. Let’s take this issue ourselves and let’s make sure that we reform how education ought to be done in the State of Illinois.”

“Representative Parke, we’ll move this to the Order of Extended Debate which will allow two additional speakers on each side. Okay? And Representative Bellock is next in line.”

“He indicates he’ll yield.”

“I’m sorry, Representative, can you repeat the question?”

“It… it’s based on a need, Representative, and the standards would be set by the CPS.”

“Representative, if they’re enrolled in KidCare, they would be eligible. But if they haven’t signed up for it…”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

“Rep… Representative, every child in the Chicago Public School system is not… does not… is not enrolled in KidCare. You… you can give ‘em the information, but you can’t force ‘em to sign up. This just covers those students that are not enrolled in KidCare, as you… as you just stated…”

“Representative, as I said before, we… you mentioned ‘we’. We can’t force a family or a child to enroll in KidCare. Now, if CPS chooses to…” 09400041.doc 80  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“CPS can set that up as part… as part of their standards, if they choose to.”

“Representative, it seems to me… I mean, you keep saying that the… put the burden on the school districts, but CPS is in support of this legislation. We’re not putting the burden on them because they do support the legislation. Actually, they were the ones who… who got together with me to bring this legislation moving forward. I don’t see what… what… they’re not opposed to the legislation. They’re willing to take the burden on. And if you’re talking about signed up as far as KidCare goes, that’s based on what CPS… the standards they… that they have for the students who is gonna be eligible for the program.”

“Representative, it depends on the eligibility standards set up by CPS. I believe one previous speaker had mentioned in the past it had helped out 16 thousand students.” 09400041.doc 81  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Representative, your… your time has expired. Representative Acevedo, would you answer the Lady’s question.”

“Representative, I didn’t say there were 16 thousand students. I said in the past the Gentleman… the previous speaker had mentioned 16 students were helped through this program… I mean, 16 thousand. I’m sorry, I apologize.”

“Okay. We’ve now had five speak in response. Representative Mitchell, do you rise in support or response?” Mitchell, J.: “In response, Speaker.”

“Okay. You’ll be the last to speak in response.” Mitchell, J.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a strong supporter of kids in this state, the entire state. Now, a previous speaker gave a very strong speech in support of education funding reform. And I believe that that… it’s time for that as well. However, I’ve been here long enough to know that the only thing that the previous speaker’s gonna get if he keeps that kind of rhetoric up without a plan is a seat maybe on this side of the aisle. The problem we have, again, is a good program for kids and I support that good program for kids. But again, there’s so much money in this state… and it’s not enough now for all of the kids of the state because we don’t fund education the way we should. However, we have mandated categoricals that go in relationship to helping kids, especially special education children. And districts are burdened with a cost now that they can’t afford. Chicago is unbelievable in its 09400041.doc 82  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 ability to come back to the Governor and come back to the state to get more money out of the pie. And I applaud them for that. When they need it, they have the ability to get… unfortunately, it comes out of that same pie that is going to give the suburban schools their categoricals for special ed transportation, for extraordinary, for the $8 thousand for special education children, and for regular transportation all over this state. We do something great for some children and we take away benefits from other children. That’s the way it’s worked for 10 years that I’ve been down here. It’s frustrating, but that’s the way it is. Ladies and Gentlemen, if you vote for this program and the funding goes to one part of the state, it has to come from somewhere. There’s a finite amount of money. How you divide it depends upon how much money is there for everyone else. Now, I don’t wanna… to… ya know, I wish… I wish we could give every single child the amount of money they need and the districts need, but we can’t, especially not now. This program is a great program that’s being brought forward at the absolute worst time in the financial history of the State of Illinois and it will affect overall education in this state. Keep that in mind when you vote. You’re not voting against kids with a ‘no’ vote in this case. You may be voting against your own kids in your own area simply because the system is flawed and we don’t have any other choice. Tough choices, yes. And this is a tough one. But in this case, I have to vote ‘no’ with a bit of sadness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“We’ve now had five speak in response. Does anyone else seek to stand in support? Representative Acevedo to close.” 09400041.doc 83  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Ya know, Ladies and Gentlemen, the previous speakers have spoken as far as let’s wait, this is the worst time. You pick up the Sun-Times and you look at the trouble the Chicago Public School system is in and the dire need they’re in for more funding. Well then, let’s wait and let that child who can’t read the board, let him sit there about 3 or 5 years when he graduates eighth grade at 17 years old so we can dump more money into Chicago Public School systems. Let the child who… who can barely… barely see the board who gets the failing grades is gonna spend 3 years in the same classroom sitting there because we want to stick our head in the sand and wait. Let the problem go away by itself. Most people said that… the way they spoke that CPS disagrees with this idea. That’s absolutely untrue. CPS agrees with this idea 100 percent. This is about happy… helping students. Representative Franks spoke about priorities. I thought we’re down here for one reason, for our future. Our future is our children and that’s to be our #1 priority here. We’re not asking for millions and millions and millions of dollars. Someone mentioned this is an appropriations Bill. This is not an appropriations Bill. This is a program that was put in by CPS years ago that was taken out last year and all we’re doing to seek is bring it back to help the kids. You have no idea how many principals from our areas have called and said children are suffering because this program was taken out of the system. I’m asking for a little help for not only the Chicago Public School system, but more importantly, that child who can barely see the board. I ask for an ‘aye’ vote.”

“The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all 09400041.doc 84  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take… take the record. On this question, there are 67 voting ‘yes’, 37 voting ‘no’, and 12 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, read House Bill 2712.”

“Representative Beaubien.”

“Is there any discussion? Then the question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Hoffman. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 96 voting ‘yes’, 18 voting ‘no’, and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 20 of the Calendar is House Bill 2572. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Representative Nekritz.” 09400041.doc 85  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the bicycle Bill that we had the… the quality debate on yesterday. The only thing I would add is that we’ve had good support from a couple of newspaper editorials today in the… in the Rockford area and in the Bloomington area. But I urge your ‘aye’ support. As I indicated yesterday, this is… this is a critical piece of being able to move forward on bicycle facilities and bicycle safety, which really promotes a healthy lifestyle for the State of Illinois.”

“Excuse me. Mis… I think… I think you gave us the wrong Bill.”

“I did.”

“Mr. Clerk, take this out of the record. The Lady wished us to read House Bill 2390. This has been… Okay. This is on the Order of Postponed Consideration. Representative Nekritz.”

“Same thing I just said.”

“Okay. Now, I think we’ve clarified that. And now in response, Representative Parke.”

“Representative Black.”

“Representative Black, could you bring your remarks to a close?”

“Representative Fritchey.”

“Speaker, I simply move the previous question.”

“The Gentleman’s moved the previous question. All in favor say ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ have it. And the previous question is put. Representative Nekritz to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to reiterate, based on the last speaker’s comments, that this legislation has nothing to do with the relationship between automobiles and bicycles. It’s a dangerous place out there on our roadways. Motorcyclists get hurt, automobiles are in accidents and people are killed all the time. It’s a dangerous place. But without this legislation, we are never gonna be in a position in the State of Illinois to move forward and encourage healthy lifestyles and to encourage roadways where… where automobiles and motor vehicles and other modes of transportation can peacefully coexist. I urge your support.”

“There’s been a request for a verification so please vote your own switch only. The question is, ‘Shall this Bill pass?’ All in favor vote ‘aye’; opposed ‘nay’. 09400041.doc 90  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. Okay. On this question, there are 60 voting ‘aye’, 55 voting ‘no’. But Representative Parke has asked for a verification. So, would the staff please clear the aisles. Would the Members please be in their seats. Mr. Clerk, would you read those voting in the affirmative.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Clerk. Representative Washington is asking to be verified, Mr. Parke. Could you grant him that? Okay, Representative Washington is… has been verified and Representative Acevedo is in the middle aisle. Mr. Parke, would you grant him that? Okay. Mr. Clerk, please proceed.”

“Mr. Parke, do you have any questions of those voting in the affirmative?”

“He’s next.”

“Representative Parke, do you have anything further?”

“On this question, there are 60 voting ‘yes’, 55 voting ‘no’, and 0 voting ‘present’. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Lyons in the Chair.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Representative Joe Lyons in the Chair. Recognize the Gentleman from McHenry, Representative Tryon, for what reason do you rise?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. House Bill 3770 is an initiative of the Transportation for Illinois Coalition. It’s a nonpartisan group of nearly 3 dozen businesses, labor and government leaders. The cochairs of the Coalition are the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois AFL-CIO. 3770 deals with money saved through efficiency initiatives of the Department of Transportation. And to divert all the funds that IDOT saves by implementing these efficiencies away from the EIRF and instead deposit those funds into the Construction Fund, which is what they were meant for. That’s the… I ask for your favorable vote and I would be happy to answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion on House Bill 3770? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 3770 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Black. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there 116 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 17 of the Calendar Representative Mathias has House Bill 44. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.” 09400041.doc 93  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“A quick point of personal privilege.” 09400041.doc 94  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Speaker Lyons, J.: “Proceed, Representative.”

“This is to Raymond Poe. That’s the best chicken… Representative Poe. Representative Poe. Raymond. Representative Poe, I have to thank you. That’s the best chicken I’ve ever had. We don’t get it much up north. And I gotta thank ya… I gotta tell ya, right now. I… We’ve talked about this. I’ve voted with my head and sometimes my heart, but if you run for Lieutenant Governor, and Pat Quinn’s a friend of mine, I’m gonna vote my stomach, Sir. And if I get this kind of stuff, I’m with you. I gotta let you know, right now.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Life is pretty good here in the House, Representative Molaro, wouldn’t you agree? Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Monique Davis has House Bill 1870. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2001 as amended creates the Financial Literacy Fund. The goal… the goal is to teach important life lessons to high school students who may get credit cards, apply for mortgage loans and other financial instruments that are commonly used in our society today. The overall goal is to get them to understand the importance and the use and proper use of credit and all of those benefits that it affords you. It is a permissive program in that schools… it’ll be up to individual school districts to implement this as they see fit. I know of no opposition. I’d be happy to answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Parke.”

“Well, I’m… I’ve just recently received this Bill from one of our Members who is not here. I do see them as being in opposition.”

“When this Bill was presented in committee, I believe they also voiced their opposition. But one of the things I’d like to point out is they were both concerned about the cost and our rebuttal to that is that this is totally permissive. It can be implemented in a… an accounting class as well as a separate curriculum set up to deal with those basic and fundamental tools of… of dealing with how to manage your credit and your personal finances. I think it’s important in the… in the… in the sense that as credit has becomes so important in terms of living and achieving and living the American dream that we teach our students at younger ages how to manage their finances more appropriate and more efficiently.”

“That’s correct, Representative. What this will do in very specific ways allow the Illinois State Board of Education to develop curriculum which school districts can choose to implement. Can choose to. This is not a mandate. But… but will in more definitive ways open… how to open a… a savings account, balancing a checkbook, credit scoring and how to check your credit, saving and investing. These are some of the more specific ways and…”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it. But at the same time, I don’t think we can act… we can conduct the state’s business in a vacuum of fear that a fund that we would create would be swept. I think if we get into that practice, I… we’re only crippling and stifling ourselves, not just with this Bill, but I think with any piece of legislation that would require a fund to be set up. I share your concerns there, Representative, but I won’t allow that fear to stifle me from bringing what I think is good public policy with respect to public education.”

“Repeat that again, I didn’t hear ya.” 09400041.doc 104  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Mitchell, J.: “I said, I don’t believe this Bill got out of Education Committee.”

“I didn’t present the Bill in committee. It was presented by my colleague, Karen Yarbrough.” Mitchell, J.: “Right.”

“I’m not aware of the vote that was in committee.” Mitchell, J.: “Yes, it was in Education Committee. Representative Yarbrough… Yarbrough had this Bill in committee.”

“That’s correct.” Mitchell, J.: “And… and I asked the question of her and I’ll ask them again of you. This Bill seems to be a mandate on the State Board of Education, not particularly a mando… a mandate on individual school districts. Is that correct?”

“Well, I… I think what the Bill does, and calling it a mandate to the State Board of Education, I mean… I think is a little bit of semantics in that it’s… it’s proper and fitting for the role of the Illinois State Board of Education to develop curriculum that can be passed on to school districts. I don’t know if calling it do… asking them to do their job is considered really a mandate.” Mitchell, J.: “But that… that curriculum was then given to the districts to use as they see fit, but…”

“As they see fit… as they see permissible.” Mitchell, J.: “But there is no mandate to districts saying you even have to use this curriculum material if they, in fact, have material that they feel is doing the job adequately at the present time. So this basically is curriculum that will strengthen the local district’s curriculum if it’s needed.”

“That’s correct.” Mitchell, J.: “Okay. So… so basically you’re… you’re telling the state board you need to prepare this, you need to make 09400041.doc 105  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 it available, you need to get it to the local school districts so that if they need assistance in teaching the finances of this great state and this nation, then here’s some very valuable curriculum material for you to use. Is that how…”

“That’s correct.” Mitchell, J.: “…how this is suppose to go? Okay.”

“Representative, correct.” Mitchell, J.: “Have you talked to the state board at all? Are they… are they opposed to this legislation?”

“They have not indicated to… at least the original Sponsor had not indicated to me that they were in opposition to the Bill.” Mitchell, J.: “Okay. So…”

“I have not personally spoken with the State Board of Education.” Mitchell, J.: “So, as far as you know, they’re not in opposition. They may just be neutral on the whole issue.”

“I didn’t hear your question. There was…” Mitchell, J.: “I said they may just be neutral…”

“…a loose cannon on the floor I think.” Mitchell, J.: “…on this whole matter.”

“Could you repeat that; I didn’t hear it?” Mitchell, J.: “I said they may be just neutral on this whole matter?”

“Yes.” Mitchell, J.: “Okay. ‘Cause… Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I don’t see this as a curriculum mandate, particularly the individual schools. I see as a mandate to our State Board of Education, which, quite frankly, that’s their job is to help with the preparation of curriculum materials. I also see it as a very important need in all of our schools. I 09400041.doc 106  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 once did an evaluation of a special education teacher that was working on a… on the whole issue in finances and she was actually teaching her special education children how to fill out a check and then how to balance the ledger on the opposite side of the check, how to enter it, subtract it from the total balance, and keep a running balance of the amount of money in that account. I never in all my years saw that in the public… in the regular classroom. So, maybe teachers would welcome curriculum that would help them out in this situation. Since it doesn’t say you have to use it, it just says we were told to do this and here it is, it’s the best that we can offer. I think it’s a pretty good idea. So, I rise in support of this legislation as long as we don’t mandate this so that it gets added to Representative Bassi’s list, which has gotten too long for her to read at this point and probably will get longer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

“Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Clerk recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Calvin Giles.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in strong support of this piece of legislation. To answer some of the questions that was asked in committee, this Bill was deemed not to be a mandate. It was simply to ask the State Board of Election… I mean, State Board of Education to… to craft a program and if the local districts were to look at that material and deem that that material would fit into their curriculums to educate our children about financial issues, then they will accept that and implement that in their… in their curriculum. Ya know, we just got through going over 2 or 3 years of legislation, various meetings, dealing with the payday loan issue. If we 09400041.doc 107  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 would have had strong programs such as this in place on con… on a consecutive basis, I’m sure many of the individuals that we’ve tried to help in the state with the payday loan legislation would have… would have been a little bit more educated about financial issues, would have the proper credit or financial status to deal with any situation, to have a viable and successful lifestyles today. Once again, this legislation is about choice. It’s about simply a choice of and a priority that we have in this state, how we’re gonna educate our children. Are we gonna give them the educational tools to deal with life, real-life situation. This is one of these pieces of legislation that deals with real-life situation. It’s not a mandate. It’s optional. And I hope that every school district within… within the state see the merits of this piece of legislation and add factors into their curriculum that will educate our children about financial issues and so that they can live a productable, successful and… and viable lifestyle in this state. Thank you. And I urge for…” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Bill Black. Does not seek recognition. The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Champaign, Representative Rose.”

“It is, Sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly appreciate the comments that all of my colleagues have made, even those who stood in opposition. I understand your concerns and your issues. To Representative Eddy, I understand and I appreciate the perspective that he… and the light that he brought to this Bill. I also appreciate what Representative Giles had to say. Ya know, on Tuesday we passed here in the Illinois House, House Bill 1100 dealing with payday loans and trying to regulate that business. Ya know, when I graduated at high school in 1982, the bo… and what we learned in high school was how to balance a checkbook, how to open up a savings account. But the fact of the matter is, we live in a much more financially sophisticated society. With payday loans and the problems we’ve seen in automobile financing, predatory lending in the housing markets. All of these issues didn’t exist just 20 years ago. I think, as a result of all of the ways that an individual could find themselves in deep financial trouble, it has become more prevalent today to do something with respect to financial literacy, understanding how to save. The ways to save for the future are far more sophisticated then just having a savings account as it was just 20 years 09400041.doc 109  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 ago. In light of all of these situations and our markets, I would strongly urge all of us to vote for these… to vote for this Bill, House Bill 2001, and in… and in your school districts strongly urge them to incorporate all the new ways that many of our citizens have found themselves in trouble. I thank you. And I urge you to vote ‘yes’ on House Bill 2001.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Should House Bill 2001 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. 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 Bill, there are 99 members voting ‘yes’, 13 voting ‘no’, 2 voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Sangamon, Representative Raymond Poe, for an announcement. Representative Poe.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2593 amends the Illinois Vehicle Code and the State Finance Act. This Bill is also known as Dorian 09400041.doc 115  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Riley’s Law. This Bill seeks to require that ambulances are equipped with traffic control signal preemption devices. It stipulates that in Cook County ambulances owned or operated by municipalities of less than 500 thousand must be equipped with a preemption device if they travel on roadways where the lights are equipped with the necessary technology to respond to the device. In counties under 2 million, ambulances owned or operated by municipalities greater than 50 thousand must be equipped with a preemption device if they travel on roadways where the lights are equipped with the necessary technology to respond to the device. The Bill also establishes a new state fund that can be used to administer the grants to municipalities so they can meet the provisions of this Act. This Bill is subject to appropriation. The language allows a fund to receive private gifts and donations. And I have been working closely with the Department of Public Health to help me identify possible funding sources as well as the father of the young man who the Bill is named after who lost his life. We think it’ll cost about $100 thousand to equip the ambulances that need the equipment. I can answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion from the floor? The Chair recognizes the Lady from Cook, Representative Mulligan.”

“No, Representative. This is for vehicles that travel through… on the roadways that already have the signal, the opticom signal. And that… what happened to the young man, he was traveling on a roadway or the ambulance was traveling on a roadway that already has the lights. They just didn’t have the technology in their vehicles. So, I’m not asking for those who don’t already have the signal to put them up because I know it’s expensive. This is just a beginning of… at least ambulances who travel on roads that already have the light that they have the technology.”

“No. I know it’s very expensive.”

“Correct. Because this ambulance didn’t have it already, it ran into the young man, who was turning green, and the ambulance was trying to take someone to the hospital. And they didn’t have it because they didn’t have the money.”

“To have the technology in the ambulance.”

“First of all, I wanted to thank staff and Representative Hoffman for helping me so much with this Bill. I really 09400041.doc 117  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 appreciate it. We lost a great young man in my district that Representative Scully and myself knew and other Representatives here know his father and family. And anything that I could do or we could to do to help prevent this tragedy from happening again, I’d like to see done. So I ask for an ‘aye’ vote. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Should House Bill 2593 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. 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 Bill, there are 114 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Flowers has House Bill 2451. Representative. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Soon as I find the Bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2451 is the result of discussions between the Attorney General’s Office and the Illinois Retail Merchant Association. After working with the Attorney General on this Amendment, the Retail Association has removed any opposition that they had to this Bill. This bipartisan Amendment amends the Pharmaceutical Practice Act of 1987 to ensure consumers the right to compare shopping for the best price for their prescription. The Amendment provides that upon request, or either made in person or by telephone, a pharmacist must disclose the 09400041.doc 118  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 current retail price of any brand or either generic prescription drug or any type of medical device that the pharmacist may offer for sale. And I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have on House Bill 2451.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Parke.”

“I haven’t heard anything since the Amendment has been put on from the pharmacists at all. So, I cannot answer that one way or the other.”

“Well, maybe that’s what they are. But again…”

“…I have not posed any opposition, nor otherwise.”

“Mr. Speaker, I believe I have House Amendment #1 that needs to be adopted.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Representative, that… Amendment #1 was adopted in committee.”

“Okay. So, it’s been on… added on to the Bill?” Speaker Lyons, J.: “It’s good to go.”

“Okay. Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, House Bill 2388 is a Bill which is designed to increase the use of ethanol and now, with the Amendment, biodiesel fuel. The Amendment as adopted would reflect the interagency working groups environmentally preferable purchasing program, which calls for an increased use of ethanol, which the state is already meeting. But in addition to that, adds the requirement that state fleets, which use diesel, would… that 2 percent of the fleets would use diesel. So, this is a piece of legislation that is good for our farmers. It’s good for agriculture, and it’s good for our environment, and it helps reduce our reliance on foreign oil. And I’d… I would ask for your support.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion on House Bill 2388? The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Macon, Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, B.: “…you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?” Speaker Lyons, J.: “He indicates he will.” Mitchell, B.: “Representative Flider, you and I both represent Macon County and agriculture is certainly is important as is ethanol production. There’s thousands of jobs in our area that rely on ethanol. Could you kind of explain to the Body exactly what is E85.”

“E85 is a fuel in which 15 percent of the fuel actually comes from ethanol.” 09400041.doc 121  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Mitchell, B.: “Thank you. One of the things that… I used to work for the Edgar administration and at the time, E85 vehicles, I drove one. We had an E85 pump here in Springfield at the motor pool. Do we still have those at CMS motor pools?”

“Well, I can’t tell ya specifically what or where we have E85 pumps. But what I know is that we are currently meeting the requirement that 10 percent of our vehicles are using E85 fuel.” Mitchell, B.: “I… I just… just for my knowledge would like to know if like… I know, I think, they closed the motor pool here at Sangamon County. And I was wondering if they took out the E85 because at the mo… CMS motor pools, that’s where you used to get ‘em is get ‘em here in Springfield and Champaign. And I was wondering if they still have them there?”

“Well, I… I don’t know the answer to that question. And what I know is that this legislation is designed to ensure, like many other pieces of legislation that have passed out of this chamber this year, designed to promote the use of E85 fuel. And where those pumps are located, I am not specifically aware of. I do… I did read in the newspaper, however, either yesterday or today that…” Mitchell, B.: “It’s in today’s paper.”

“…there is a new… Pardon me?” Mitchell, B.: “It was in today’s paper.”

“Today’s paper, that there is a station in Lincoln, Illinois, which will have E85.” Mitchell, B.: “In Lincoln, that Representative Brauer and I represent. That’s correct. Well, I appreciate that.”

“Yes.” 09400041.doc 122  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Mitchell, B.: “I was gonna… I was gonna give that plug, but, Bob, you beat me to it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” Mitchell, B.: “That’s all right. Representative, it’s a good Bill. I urge the House to support it.”

“Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Knox, Representative Don Moffitt.”

“Thank you, Representative. Ya know, I do recall reading that… I do recall reading that information somewhere and particularly, it came to us from the Illinois Farm Bureau. However, off the top of my head, I just can’t remember those statistics. But that’s something we should be better versed on and we should know that off the top of our heads as people who represent the agricultural industry. So, kudos to you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Bond, Representative Ron Stephens.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. As my colleague, my righteous said, this is a good Bill. I’d appreciate your vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Should House Bill 2388 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Flowers, would you like to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 114 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 18 of the Calendar Representative Giles has House Bill 666. Representative Giles. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 666, please do not mistaken the number for the material that’s in the legislation. It’s a good piece of legislation. What it actually does is regulate private buying and selling of the scavenger sales tax certificate. And we went over some of… in the Amendment, adopting the Amendment, we went over some of the benefactors. But the main benefactor that I have for the legislation is to make sure that the scavenger sales is… is… is more effective in… in impoverish and blighted neighborhoods. This legislation will also allow for the transfer of the scavenger sales certificate. We will stop fraud in this actual process. And we will balance the need to keep the neighborhoods free of blighted in economically depressed communities. I ask for this passes of the legislation and willing to ask… answer any question. Once again, we resolved some of the conflict we had with the Chicago Bar Association. So, now we have the support of the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Treasurer, the Cook County Clerk, the Cook County State’s Attorneys Office, as well.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from DuPage, Representative Bob Biggins.”

“That’s correct.”

“That’s correct.”

“Representative… Representative, this will be listed as a Cook County tax. It’s dealing with the scavenger sale. I think we’re talking about, in essence, we’re talking about apples and oranges here. This is a program that has… that we’ve administered in the City of Chicago, so it will just simply be a scavenger sale ta… dealing with the scavenger sale tax certificate.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d simply urge for the…” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Should House Bill 666 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? 09400041.doc 126  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Have all voted who wish? Representative… Mr. Clerk, take the record. Representative Colvin. Representative Giles.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was hoping that people didn’t look at the number of the Bill and simply… there was an agreement made. At this time, I ask for Postponed Consideration.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “On the request of the Sponsor, we will put it on Postponed Consideration. Mr. Clerk, on page 21 of the Calendar… The Chair recognizes Repre… Representative Sacia, for what reason do you rise?”

“Mr. Speaker, on the previous vote, I hit the wrong button. I wanna re… be recorded as a ‘yes’ vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Journal will so reflect. Mr. Clerk, on page 3 of the Calendar Representative John Bradley has House Bill 730. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairm… Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 250 merely talk about 09400041.doc 128  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 the publication of the lunch menu. States that all school boards are strongly encouraged to publish the school lunch menu and the nutritional contents, including the calories of each meal. And I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have in regards to House Bill 250.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion on House Bill 250? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 250 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Schmitz, you care to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 108 Members voting ‘yes’, 2 members voting ‘no’, 2 voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 18 of the Calendar Representative Saviano has House Bill 873. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Assembly. House Bill 1662 merely tells the satellite dish companies that as… that they have a responsibility to remove disks either from… from the locations that they put ‘em when people discontinue services. Right now, there’s a clause where if you don’t take a part off of a disk as it sits up on your roof, you are indeed charged by the satellite company. And this says that they are the ones that have the obligation to remove not only that part but the disk and any other equipment from your property once you discontinued service there. And I move for the adoption of House Bill 1662.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative John Fritchey.”

“Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Indicates he will.”

“Representative, just a practical question here. If I or somebody else buys one of these dishes and has it installed up on the building, then when I leave… really, what right does the satellite company have to come in and take it… we’re requiring them to do it, but they don’t necessarily have a right to go on that property. What happens in cases of liability, things along those lines? You want me to repeat that?”

“Yeah. You said if you bought the disk?”

“If… if I bought it, it’s mine.”

“Right.”

“And I put it on a building where I am living.” 09400041.doc 133  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“Right.”

“I move out.”

“Right.”

“We’re requiring the company to come in and remove the dish.”

“No. Because you own the dish. You bought it.”

“Correct.”

“And that’s a different situation. I’m talking about in a situation where I had a constituent who has a lease agreement with the dis… with the disk company. They decided to go from disk to cable. The disk actually belongs to the provider and not to the owner, the individual.”

“Okay. I’m looking at our summary and it says here and applies to dishes that were purchased or leased.”

“The… the intent is to deal with the lease dish.”

“Solely.”

“That… because… solely with the lease dish.”

“Oh. Okay. That… that makes sense. Thank you.”

“Right. Okay.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Seeing no further questions, Representative Turner to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I just move for the adoption of the Bill.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Should House Bill 1662 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. 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 Bill, there are 108… 107 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’, 3 Members voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 18 09400041.doc 134  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 of the Calendar Representative Flowers has House Bill 644. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 644 grant compensation to anyone that is released from prison in this state because their convictions were based on erroneous evidence or because new evidence is found and proved that they were innocent. And I would ask for an ‘aye’ vote in regards to House Bill 644.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion on House Bill 644? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 644 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. 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 Bill, there are 67 Members voting ‘yes’, 41 Members voting ‘no’, 1 Member voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. For what reason does Representative Turner seek recogni… recognition?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Assembly. I know that we’ll be leaving today and Members will be taking a break within the next week. I just wanted to remind this Body that on May the 11th, the annual House- Senate softball game will be played and Representative Osterman has reminded me to tell the Members that when they come back next week, they should bring their practice clothes so that we can avoid hamstring injuries and all those other things. So, we wanna start early, guys. It’s less than a month away. And if we start out ahead of time, 09400041.doc 135  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 so bring your gym shoes and bring your practice equipment so that we can start up next week when we’re back in Session. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Mr. Clerk, on page 21 of the Calendar Representative Joyce has House Bill 3045. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 3045 is a… the end product of negotiation between the Plumbers Local 130, the nurserymen, the irrigators, the Plumbing Contractors of Illinois, the Plumbing Council of Illinois and the pipe fitters. I know of no opposition. I’d be happy to answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “Is there any discussion from the floor on House Bill 3045? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 3045 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Biggins. Take… take the record. On this, there’s 108 Members voting ‘yes’, 2 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Joyce also has House Bill 483 on page 18 of the Calendar. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 483 we amended yesterday to clear up some points on personal information that may or may not have been exempted in the original Bill. What’s happened is this regar… this is in regards to settlement agreements that usually end up in the courts and are always released by a judge. House Bill 483 would end this needless litigation for people to file Freedom of Information Act request to gain all the information regarding settlement agreements. And again, I state that any personal information, Social Security information, has… will be redacted from these FOIA requests. I’d be happy to answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: “The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Terry Parke.”

“That’s correct. The name and the amounts of what the…”

“The settlement, yes. The contract settlement agreement.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the previous speaker. As he said, these are public dollars. The public does have a right to know what those dollars are being spent on. And I think this simply clarifies that settlement agreements are public documents accessible to the public because they are paid for with taxpayer dollars. And this would eliminate needless litigation, needless additional tax dollars to go to the courts in order to gain the access to these documents and… and… and in every case before, the courts have always ruled to release these documents anyways. I’d appreciate an ‘aye’ vote.” 09400041.doc 138  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Speaker Lyons, J.: “The question is, ‘Shall House Bill 483 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Collins. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 108 Members voting ‘yes’, 2 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 15 Representative Pat Lindner has House Bill 3462. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues, this is my digital divide elimination Bill for this term. The fact is that we’re still trying to catch up; we’re still trying to make certain that all of the people in our state have access to computer technology and the Internet. So, this Bill, which is a… which is… was helped… which I got… crafted with the help of the Department of Economic Opportunities… Commerce and Economic Opportunities just calls for the appointment of two additional members to the Digital Divide Advisory Committee and also creates the Digital Divide Elimination Working Group. These two groups are gonna continue to work to try to make certain that we are covered across the state. They’re gonna look to see where we are lacking and make certain that we fill those holes. I ask for your support.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Are there questions on House Bill 3650? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 3650 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? 09400041.doc 140  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Jenisch, would you like to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there’s 110 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 17 of the Calendar Representative Joyce has House Bill 481. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 481 will forbid the implanting of eye jewelry into the eyeballs of any individual throughout the State of Illinois. And I simply request an ‘aye’ vote and happy to answer any questions.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion from the floor? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 481 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Mr. Black. Representative Lindner. Representative Leitch. Representative Bost. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 110 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 24 of the Calendar Representative Eddy has House Bill 402. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. Speaker, I rise in support of the Gentleman’s Bill. It’s easy to have a knee- jerk reaction if you don’t really pay attention to what a Bill like this does. He’s right; it’s not a fee increase. As a matter of fact, it places a cap on the amount that can be charged for driver’s ed. When the schools have come to us, as they do every year on this, we have done it without fail, we’ve approved these waivers. This places a cap on how much they can seek from us. It will actually save us work down the road; it will save paperwork and bureaucracy down the road. Please look beyond the knee-jerk reaction. This actually is a good piece of legislation. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Cook, Representative Terry Parke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Lyons, J.: "He indicates he will.”

“I’m just… when’s the last time the Republican side had the trophy? Do you know?”

“Today.”

“I see. I see. Well, I heard what previous speakers had said and they say it’s not a fee. But currently, the school places a cap at $50 on the driver’s education fee, correct?”

“Unless there’s a waiver.”

“No, I… I understand you’re very serious about this. But… but as I read it, the cap now is 50 unless we do something extraordinary and provide a waiver. What you’re trying to do now is to move the cap from $50 to $250. Would that be correct?”

“Okay. Well, I appreciate your forthrightness on this and I know you’re very serious. But I just think it’s an extraordinary measure to raise the fee by 500 percent. And… and that…”

“No, to allow… to allow the schools to charge…”

“Right. But I just think it’s… it’s too rich for my blood. So, for that reason, I’ll be… be voting ‘no’.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Sponsor of the Bill is correct; this is not a fee increase. This is a very serious piece of legislation. We have debated this Bill extensively in the Elementary & Secondary Education Committee and what we’re trying to do… I’d look at this measure as a proaction measure in which we’re trying to make sure that the various individuals that provide driver’s education do not extend the amount of fee that we have placed on here. And so, we… we’re trying to proact. We’re trying to make sure that this program is not eliminated because if this program is eliminated, each and every school district’s gonna… is going to call their Legislators and say this is a very important program and now we will be trying to find dollars and appropriate dollars in trying to find dollars from the general revenue budget in order to make up this program. So, as we continue to talk about a fee, this is a very important piece of legislation that we must pass.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Representative Roger Eddy to close.”

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 1197 is an important Bill. What it does is that today in Illinois it is legal to use electric shock in community programs for individuals with developmental disabilities. What House Bill 1197 looks to do is to look at better options for our disabled. In Illinois today, the use of aversive techniques, such as, as I mentioned, electric shock and other aversive techniques are legal. House Bill 1197 would prohibit the use of electric shock and create a committee that would write rules regarding the use of aversive techniques in community programs that serve individuals with developmental disabilities. House Bill 1197 applies to people with developmental disabilities in 09400041.doc 146  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 community-based residential programs who exhibit behaviors such as being self injurious, who may assault others, or who may damage property. And oftentimes, as we know, people who exhibit these behaviors significantly limit their ability to live in community… in communities and participate in community services. So, this legislation would basically require an individualized behavioral support plan that’s based upon a functio… functionalized, I’m sorry, behavioral assessment for individuals who exhibit these type of behaviors, but it would only permit the use of nonaversive behavioral support, except as allowed by the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. This is an agreed upon Bill. The Department of Human Services and many others are behind it. And today I would ask for your support as well.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "You’ve heard explanation of House Bill 1197. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 1197 pass?’ All in favor signify by voting ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Delgado. Representative Kelly. Robin, you want to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 109 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Mautino has House Bill 2613. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk. Representative Mautino in the chamber? 2612. On page 20 of the Calendar is House Bill 2612. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you. The… House Bill 2612, the Amendment becomes the Bill, reflects an agreement. It allows the Attorney General to reimburse the Department of Corrections and probation departments for the cost of treating and evaluating sex offenders. This Bill passed Judiciary II on 16-0. There’s no opposition.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "You’ve heard the explanation of House Bill 2612. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 2612 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Mr. Clerk… Representative Black, do you want to be recorded? Representative Kelly. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there’s 109 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 3 of the Calendar… on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Joyce has House Bill 2047. Out of the record. On page 17 of the Calendar Representative Miller has House Bill #9. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 9 simply encourages the Department of Health to… to obtain statistics on fatal and nonfatal overdose. I ask for a favorable vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion on House Bill 9? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 9 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed 09400041.doc 148  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 vote 'no'. 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 Bill, there are 108 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’, 1 per… 1 Member voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Nekritz has House Bill 2572. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 2572, I think I got the right number this time, is a Bill to ban polybrominated diphenyl ether, PBDEs. These are toxic flame retardants that are everywhere in our environment. They are used in con… primarily in consumer products and upholstery and… and carpeting. They are… there are three types of them. They’re a… they’re a… and they’re a molecule that does not bind to the product so they become free floating. And I am sorry to say that probably in… everybody on this floor in their home has PBDEs in their environment. They in… in laboratory tests on mice, they do cause develop… developmental delays. They are endocrine interrupters so they do interfere with thyroid activity as well and they are reaching dangerous levels in our environment. In Europe, where they’ve been previously banned, those levels are already declining and… and the bioaccumulation in humans is… is on the decline. So, we’re a few years behind here in the U.S. In… in this particular Bill, we are only banning two types of PBDEs, penta and octa. And we are asking the Illinois EPA and followed… to do a report on decaBDE 09400041.doc 149  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 followed by a review of that report by the Department of Public Health and then… and that is due by the end of February next year. And then we will see what we… see whether that’s a substance that we would… we would wanna consider banning as well. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion on House Bill 2572? The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Knox, Representative Don Moffitt.”

“Yes, there are. And… and… and industry is voluntarily already phasing out these… the two types of toxics that we’re banning here. And… so there are plenty of alternatives available. There are also plenty of manufacturers that do… that make PBDE-free products. And in addition, Representative, I know you’ll find this of interest, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and the Illinois Association of Firefighters have endorsed this proposal.”

“Yes. It is my understanding that they are. With regard to the third type of… that we’re gonna be looking at, that is one of the questions we’re asking the EPA and the Department of Public Health.”

“No, there are… there are, at this point, I believe five states that have banned both the penta and octa form of brominated fire retardant. That there are many other states this spring that are looking at it.”

“Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from DuPage, Representative Jim Meyer.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Lyons, J.: "She indicates she will."

“Yes, Representative, isn’t it true that many companies have voluntarily banned some of these already just because they are good citizens?”

“The two types that we are looking to ban, yes, those are being voluntarily withdrawn by industry. And the rea… but the reason we’re moving ahead with the Bill at this time, with… even though it is being voluntarily withdrawn, is that we don’t want to become a dumping ground for those products.”

“Thank you. And you have reached a consensus with the original opponent of the Bill. Is that correct?”

“Yes, we have, Representative. The Chemical Industry Council was originally strongly opposed to the legislation and they have removed their opposition, even though the EPA is proceeding with the study followed by the Department of Public Health.”

“And the EPA and the Department of Public Health will work together?”

“Yes, they will.”

“Okay. Thank you very much. To the Bill. I stand in strong support of this Bill. Many other states are doing the same thing. The Sponsor has done the responsible thing to amend it, to work with all opposition, just to call for a study. I take issue to the point that the EPA and DPH cannot work together. Our Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Public Health work together many times. Because of the legislation we passed earlier, we also have a Children’s Environmental Health officer. This point person perhaps could bring in federal dollars to work on this also. 09400041.doc 153  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 I think the Sponsor has done an excellent job. I do not think we should hold this up any further. We need to deal with the deca. We’re going to study it and I think it’s… that it’s wrong to say that our state agencies can’t come to an independent conclusion on this matter. Deca amounts to 83 percent of the PBDEs used worldwide, and it’s even more toxic than the penta and octa that are already banned. It is very toxic to firefighters. I know it’s in products to keep people safe, but we’re finding alternatives. And I urge you to vote for this Bill and keep it moving so we can get to a resolution on the deca, which is extremely, extremely problematic. It causes brain damage. And we should not hold this up because she’s worked with the opponents and we have a strong Bill. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Menard, Representative Rich Brauer.”

“Representative, I’m not sure what you mean by additional people.”

“Well, certainly, Representative, we have… we have… in the legislation, we have directed the agencies to consult all available scientific evidence, and I would think that they would be reaching out to the academic community for that. I would just like to say one thing, that… to the… the Representative from DuPage indicated that I had said in committee that they… that the E… that the Department of Public Health was unqualified. I don’t believe I said that. I think what I said was that they were unfamiliar with these particular products and were having a little hard time getting up to speed in time in order to co… in order to comment on the legislation at this time.”

“Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is an important piece of environmental legislation. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are also mentioned in the same breath with lead and mercury in terms of their toxicity and their prevalence on our environment and we need to take action now. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The question is, ‘Should the House Bill 2572 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, there are 106 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’, 1 Member voting ‘present’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 18 09400041.doc 155  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 of the Calendar Representative Phelps has House Bill 931. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the House. House Bill 931 amends the Alternate Fuels Act to redefine ‘biodiesel fuel’ to allow the use of 20 percent or higher, which is now 80 percent in use, blends of biodiesel fuel to be eligible for rebates under the EPA rebate program and DCEO’s Alternate Fuels Grant Program. This Bill’s supported by the Farm Bureau, Soybean Association. Particularly good for Illinois for cleaner air and for the economic benefits for our agricultural community. And I urge an ‘aye’ vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "You’ve heard the explanation on House Bill 931. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 931 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, there are 106 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 18 of the record (sic-Calendar) Representative Phelps has House Bill 934. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill.”

“Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, Members of the House. House Bill 934 is an initiative of ABATE. All this Bill says is that no municipality can seize or impound a vehicle 09400041.doc 156  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 or motorcycle for an equipment violation, such as muffler trouble. I urge an ‘aye’ vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Any discussion on House Bill 934? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 934 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 101 Members voting ‘yes’, 5 Members voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 7 of the Calendar Representative Colvin has House Bill 1428. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I present for your consideration House Bill 1428 which… which simply provides that when a mortgage bro… when a mortgage lender pays the taxes charged on any property, the mortgage lender, within seven business days of payment, must notify the date the taxes were paid and the amount of… the date the taxes were paid and the amount of the taxes paid. That written notice goes to the owner of the 09400041.doc 157  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 property. I’ll be happy to answer any questions with respect to the Bill.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "You’ve heard explanations on House Bill 18… 1428. Are there any questions? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 1428 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, there are 90… 88 Members voting ‘yes’, 12 Members voting ‘no’, 5 Members voting ‘present’. This… this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 19 of the Calendar Representative Washington has House Bill 1604. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this Bill requires the Department of Public Health to conduct public information campaigns to disseminate information contained in summaries of advanced directive law in Illinois and to further educate the public about available advanced directive options. The campaign includes information about living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, power of attorney for health care, and guardianship procedures. The Department of Health shall adopt, by rule, and publish Spanish language versions of the following: the statutory Living Will Declaration form, the Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Health Care, and the statutory Declaration of Mental Health Treatment Form, as well as the summary of advance directive laws in Illinois. I do ask for 09400041.doc 158  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 a favorable support for House Bill 1604 and I’m open for any questions. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion on House Bill 1604? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 1604 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk… Representative Rose. Stephens. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, 106 Members are voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Flowers has House Bill 2543. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 2543 is supported by the Department of Children and Family Services and also the Office of the… Cook County Public Guardian’s Office. It amends the court… the juvenile court to add provisions addressing parents’ visitation during the time immediately following the removal of a child from his or her parents. And I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have in regards to this Bill.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion on House Bill 2543? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 2543 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, there’s 107 Members 09400041.doc 159  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 9 of the Calendar Representative Froehlich has House Bill 2196. Read the Bill, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 3823 amends the State Prompt Payment Act which would require state officials or agencies that are late in payment on a bill for goods or services to pay interest on those… on those vouchers. The Bill provides that in computing the interest, the amount of the bill or invoice means the aggregate amount of the voucher submitted by a vendor on a given day, not the items take individually.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "You heard the explanation on House Bill 28… 3823. Are there any questions from the Members? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should House Bill 3823 pass?’ All 09400041.doc 160  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, 107 Members are voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 20 of the Calendar Representative Nekritz has House Bill 2572. I just did that. Out of the record, Mr. Clerk. The Bill has passed. Mr. Clerk, on page 29 of the Calendar a Motion appears on House Bill 242. Representative Winters on House Bill 242.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Amendment #… move for Amen… adoption of Amendment #3 and it gives permission for DCFS to have the physical health done for child in the case of 09400041.doc 161  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 emergency, not unless it’s otherwise noted by the court, the parent will still retain the right. I move for the passage… or the adoption.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Representative Flowers moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #3 to House Bill 248. The Chair recognize… Representative Pat Lindner, the Lady from Kane.”

“There is no opposition to this Bill. This is the DCFS’s language.”

“Right.”

“Yes.”

“There’s… there’s… Amendment #3.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the proceedings dealing with the rights of parents being terminated, there must be 09400041.doc 162  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 some type of admissible evidence brought in to qualify that the author of that information that’s given is authentic. And I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have in regards to Amendment #4.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any discussion on Floor Amendment #4? Seeing none, the question is, ‘Should Floor Amendment #4… The Chair recognizes the Lady from DuPage, Representative…”

“There is no opposition to…”

“Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Seeing no further questions, the question is, ‘Should Floor Amendment #4 to House Bill 248 be adopted?’ All those in favor signify by saying 'aye'; those opposed vote 'no'. In the opinion of the Chair, the ‘ayes’ have it. And Floor Amendment #4 is adopted to House Bill 248. Mr. Clerk, any further Amendments?”

“Mr. Speaker, number… Amendment #4 overrode Amendment #3.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Representative, we do have… a note has been attached to the Bill, so we’ll be holding it on Third 09400041.doc 163  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Reading… on Second Reading. The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Lee… Lee, Representative Jerry Mitchell on House Resolution 201. Mr. Clerk, on page 28 is House Resolution 201. Read the Resolution.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Resolution. I rise in strong support and pleased to join with Representative Mitchell and others in cosponsoring this Resolution. This is an issue that’s been around for a couple of years. Many of us were dismayed when an agreement was supposedly reached between the regional superintendents and the Bureau of the Budget, or Office of Management and Budget, which seemed to simply disregard the fact that those of us in the 09400041.doc 165  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Legislature would make the decision how many regional superintendents there are in the state and not the Bureau of the Budget. We intend to have thorough hearings on this in my committee, the Appropriations Committee for Elementary & Secondary Education. In fact, we’ll be having a hearing, I think, in 2 weeks when we come back and begin the process to examine this issue, to remove it from the politics of the budget, and to find out what is best for the delivery of education in our state. And I’d ask all my colleagues to support this Resolution.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Lake, Representative Sullivan. The Chair… Representative Stephens no longer wishes to be… The question is, ‘On House Resolution… should it be adopted?’ All those in favor signify by saying 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. In the opinion of the Chair, the ‘ayes’ have it. House Resolution 201 is adopted. Representative Mitchell.” Mitchell, J.: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, if… if you are interested in having a hearing over the summer in your particular part of the state, it would be fine if you would let either staff know or let Representative Bassi, Representative Smith, myself know and we’ll try to arrange that and accommodate it for you. I know that there will be interest all over the state. What we want to do is make sure that there’s some core things that regional offices of education do that should be done everywhere for kids and for school districts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes Representative Watson. For what reason do you wish to be recognized? Representative Watson, your light is on. Ladies and Gentlemen, on the Resolution… House Resolution 201, it does 09400041.doc 166  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 require a Roll Call vote. Therefore, we will… we’ll take a vote on House Resolution 201. All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. 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 Bill, 107 Members are voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. House Resolution 201 is adopted. Mr. Clerk, on page 29 of the Calendar Representative Frank Mautino has House Resolution 260. Read the Resolution, Mr. Clerk.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This does extend the date of the Private Sewage Disposal Commission by… created by House Resolution 1033 and allows for its report to be filed on January 30, 2006. Appreciate an ‘aye’ vote.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Is there any questions… any discussion on House Resolution 260? The question is, ‘Should House Resolution 260 be adopted?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? House Res… Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 107 Members voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’, 0 voting ‘present’. This Bill is… this Resolution is adopted. The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from DuPage, Representative Millner. Representative, do you wish to be 09400041.doc 167  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 recognized? Your light is on. Okay. Mr. Clerk, what’s the status on House Bill 866?”

“Yes, Representative (sic-Mr. Speaker). Will the Sponsor yield for one quick question?” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Indicates he will.”

“You know, last year we were dealing with this issue of braiders in terms of African hair braids and there was something that we were trying to do to see if we could bring them in or exclude them from the barber’s license. Does this in any way affect their ability to perform their services now? Or will it change their ability to… to do braiding?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“All right. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from McHenry, Representative Franks.”

“…Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Lyons, J.: "Indicates he will.”

“I’m reading the analysis here, and is there any fees involved?”

“Okay. What are those increased costs that you don’t want to say are fees?”

“I’m sorry. How much will they go up?”

“Okay. ‘Cause that wasn’t in our analysis. I wasn’t trying to be cute. I didn’t see it.”

“Okay. Will it cost more now for a license or just for the… Is there a requirement for continuing education for barbers?” 09400041.doc 169  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005

“And is that mandatory?”

“Okay. Okay. Thank you very much.”

“Mr. Speaker, I move to table… I move to reconsider House Bill 637 and I would like to table the Motion.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes Representative Bill Mitchell on the Motion.” Mitchell, B.: “Thank… thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to reconsider the vote on House Bill 637.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The question is, ‘Should the… should the Motion be reconsidered by which House Bill 637 passed?’ And 09400041.doc 170  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 on that Motion, we recog… recognize Representative Ron Stephens.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 1044 would require the Department of Public Aid to report the information for each employer who has more than 100 employees receiving public si… public subsidized health care. And I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions that you have in regards to this Bill.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "Mr. Clerk, what is the status of House Bill 1044?”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I very much respect the previous speaker, but I think his analysis of this Bill is incorrect. I think that the Lady who’s brought this Bill brings a very important Bill because it sheds light on things that some people don’t want to have light shed upon. When I talked to the Speaker… the Sponsor about this Bill, we looked at some of the different companies that are… whose employees are receiving the most public aid. And what’s interesting is that one particular company, which is one of the largest companies in the world, we… they have about 40 percent of their employees who are eligible for public aid. So, as a result, one of the most profitable companies in the world is having its health care for its employees subsidized by all the taxpayers of the State of Illinois. I think that’s important information that people ought to know, and I think it’s a question of what’s fair and what’s right in how employees are treated. All she’s asking for is that this be made public. I think it’s good public policy. We always talk about sunshine being the best disinfectant and that’s exactly what this Bill does and I ask for your support.” 09400041.doc 174  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 41st Legislative Day 4/15/2005 Speaker Lyons, J.: "The Chair recognizes Representative Flowers to close.”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. And I want to clarify that the Amendment to this Bill came from the Department of Public Aid, so they are in support of this legislation. And I would urge for an ‘aye’ vote. Thank you.” Speaker Lyons, J.: "The question is, ‘Should House Bill 1044 pass?’ All those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this Bill, there are 41 Members voting ‘yes’, 4… 62 Members voting ‘no’, 1 Member voting ‘present’. This Bill, having failed to reach the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared lost. Mr. Clerk, read the Adjournment Resolution.”