Illinois House Floor Debate — October 25, 2005

"The House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction of Resolutions. House Joint Resolution 65, offered by Representative Currie. This Resolution is referred to the House Rules Committee.”

“Governor Blagojevich, Mr. Speaker, assembled Representatives, and to my Representative, the Honorable Pat Verschoore. First, let me thank Representative Verschoore for the opportunity to stand before you. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in this time of turbulent transition for our world, our nation, and our state, we stand humbly with bowed heads in gratitude for Your divine protection and daily provision for America. Father, we invite You into this sacred house that has been set aside to make fair and just laws to govern Your people. We pray that our legislative mandates will reflect the integrity of Your Ten Commandments, our source of social justice. We pray that each and every Representative will be a man of principle rather than 09400067.doc 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 political correctness, a woman of lofty ethics rather than lowered expediency. We pray that they will put the welfare of people before the interest of profit. We pray that they will be people of what Lloyd C. Douglas calls the Magnificent Obsession, the daily desire to be the best, and do the best for all of Illinois, both upstate and downstate. Father, we pray for the spirit of John F. Kennedy upon every Representative, so that they will have the courage to do what is right, what is moral, what is ethical, what is good, and what is life affirming for every citizen from the baby in the womb to the senior a heartbeat away from the tomb. That their legislative legacy will honor them as Profiles in Courage. In the name of Jesus, God’s son and model for mankind, we pray. Amen.”

"Rules Report. Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules, to which the following legislative measures and/or Joint Action Motion were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'approved for floor consideration' is House Joint Resolution 65.”

"On the Order of Agreed Resolutions is House Resolution 545, offered by Representative Mendoza. House Resolution 546, offered by Representative Washington. House Resolution 547, offered by Representative Monique Davis. House Resolution 548, offered by Representative Jefferson. House Resolution 549, offered by Representative Kelly. House Resolution 550, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 551, offered by Representative Tryon. House Resolution 552, offered by Representative Tryon. House Resolution 553, offered by Representative Joyce. House Resolution 554, offered by Representative Joyce. House Resolution 555, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 556, offered by Representative Flowers. House Resolution 557, offered by Representative Kelly. House Resolution 558, offered by Representative Kelly. House Resolution 559, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 560, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 561, offered by Representative Berrios. House Resolution 562, offered by Representative Berrios. House Resolution 563, offered by Representative Sacia. House Resolution 564, offered by Representative Mautino. House Resolution 565, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 566, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 567, offered by Representative Jefferson. House Resolution 568, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 569, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 570, offered by Representative Hoffman. House Resolution 571, offered by Representative 09400067.doc 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 Watson. House Resolution 572, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 573, offered by Representative Gordon. House Resolution 574, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 575, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 576, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 577, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 578, offered by Representative Hassert. House Resolution 579, offered by Representative Joe Lyons. House Resolution 580, offered by Representative Jones. House Resolution 581, offered by Representative Bellock. House Resolution 582, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 583, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 584, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 585, offered by Representative John Bradley. House Resolution 586, offered by Representative Kelly. House Resolution 587, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 588, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 589, offered by Representative Kelly. House Resolution 590, offered by Representative Osterman. House Resolution 591, offered by Representative Jones. House Resolution 592, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 593, offered by Representative Eddy. House Resolution 594, offered by Representative Monique Davis. House Resolution 595, offered by Representative Reis. House Resolution 596, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 598, offered by Representative Madigan. House Resolution 600, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 601, 09400067.doc 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 602, offered by Representative Reis. House Resolution 603, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 604, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 605, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 607, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 608, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 610, offered by Representative Eddy. House Resolution 611, offered by Representative D'Amico. House Resolution 612, offered by Representative D'Amico. House Resolution 613, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 614, offered by Representative Mautino. House Resolution 615, offered by Representative Mendoza. House Resolution 616, offered by Representative Biggins. House Resolution 618, offered by Representative Brosnahan. House Resolution 619, offered by Representative Jefferson. House Resolution 620, offered by Representative Jefferson. House Resolution 622, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 623, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 624, offered by Representative Black. House Resolution 625, offered by Representative Eddy. House Resolution 626, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 627, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 628, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 630, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 631, offered by Representative Fritchey. House Resolution 632, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 633, offered by Representative Cross. House Resolution 635, 09400067.doc 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 636, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 638, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 639, offered by Representative May. House Resolution 640, offered by Representative Granberg. House Resolution 641, offered by Representative Mendoza. House Resolution 642, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 643, offered by Representative May. House Resolution 645, offered by Representative Dunkin. House Resolution 646, offered by Representative John Bradley. House Resolution 647, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 648, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 649, offered by Representative Hultgren. House Resolution 651, offered by Representative Howard. House Resolution 652, offered by Representative Munson. And House Resolution 653, offered by Representative Howard.”

"On the Order of Agreed Resolutions is House Resolution 655, offered by Representative Miller. House Resolution 656, offered by Representative John Bradley. House Resolution 657, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 658, offered by Representative Bellock. House Resolution 659, offered by Representative Turner. House Resolution 660, offered by Representative John Bradley. House Resolution 661, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell. House Resolution 662, offered by Representative Chapa LaVia. House Resolution 664, offered by Representative Beaubien. House Resolution 665, offered by Representative Lang. House Resolution 666, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 667, offered by Representative Flider. House Resolution 668, offered by Representative Mendoza. House Resolution 669, offered by Representative John Bradley. House Resolution 670, offered by Representative Black.”

"Committee announcement for this afternoon. The following committee announcements: 1:30 p.m., the Executive Committee will meet in Room 118, Human Services will meet in Room D-1, Transportation & Motor Vehicles in Room 114. At 2 p.m., Elementary & Secondary Education will meet in Room 118, Judiciary-Civil Law will meet in Room C-1, State Government Administration will meet in Room 114, Tourism & Conventions will meet in Room D-1. At 3 p.m., Elections & Campaign Reform will meet in Room 122-B, Personnel & Pensions will meet in Room 115, Registration & Regulation will meet in Room 114. And at 4 p.m., Judiciary-Criminal Law will meet in Room 118.”

Doorkeeper Crawford: “Mr. Speaker, the Honorable President Jones and the Member of the Senate are at the door and seek admission to the chamber.” 09400067.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005

"A quorum of the House is present.”

“Joint Session Resolution #3. RESOLVED, That a committee of ten be appointed, five from the House, by the Speaker of the House, and five from the Senate, by the President of the Senate, to wait upon the Honorable Governor of the State of Illinois and invite him to address the Joint Assembly.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Honorable Governor of the State of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich and his party wish to be admitted to this chamber.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Senate President Jones, Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly. Before I begin, I’d like to ask each and every one of ya to join me in a moment of silent prayer on the passing of Rosa Parks, a great civil rights leader. Because of her heroism… because of her haru… heroism and refusal to accept the way things are, one person did indeed make a big, big difference. And so, please join me in a moment of silent prayer. Thank you very much. Speaker Madigan, Senate President Jones, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to speak to a Joint Session of the General Assembly. I know this is rare and unusual to do this during a Veto Session, but I asked for this time because I wanted to talk to all of you about something that I can’t imagine anything more important than what I’m gonna talk about today and what we’re trying to get done for the children of our state. First of all, let me firmly assert that we all love our children and there is nothing more important than keeping them healthy and happy and safe. And so, I asked for this time because we have an opportunity now to do something that has never been done 09400067.doc 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 before in Illinois and something that no state anywhere in America is currently doing and that is providing health care to every single child in the State of Illinois. Over the last two and a half years, we’ve had an opportunity to work together on a variety of different issues. When I took office two and a half years ago, we walked into a budget deficit of more than $5.5 billion, in the second year, a $2.3 billion, and in the third year, more than $1 billion. Notwithstanding, record budget deficits of nearly $9 billion, together we’ve been able to dig ourselves out of the worst fiscal crisis in our state’s history and keep our promise to the people of this state. We did it without raising taxes… we did it without raising taxes and we did it without sacrificing our values. We put more money in our schools than any other state in the Midwest. We provided more money for public safety and crime rates are down now to lower levels than any time in the last generation. And we put more money to give 3- and 4-year-olds a chance to go to preschool because of your hard work, 25 thousand kids who couldn’t go to preschool can now go to preschool today. And in the area of health care, at a time when 40 other states across the country are balancing their budgets on the backs of families and children who need health care, thanks to so many of you here, we in Illinois have done it differently. Today more kids have health care in Illinois than had it before we had a chance to have a say in this process. When I first took office, there were nearly… there was more than 400 thousand kids in our state who 09400067.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 didn’t have access to health insurance. Thanks to your hard work and the efforts we put together, a hundred and seventy thousand more kids have health care today than had it before. Thanks to your hard work… thanks to your hard work, we’ve been able to provide health care, make it more affordable, and more available to a lot more people. We’ve helped our senior citizens by having a law called the no senior… Leave No Senior Behind Law, which covers our senior citizens in the areas where the new Federal Medicare Bill would not. We now have a program in our state, the I-Save (sic-I-SaveRx) Prescription Drug Program, that gives to every single senior citizen in Illinois a chance to get the same medicines they get now made by the exact same companies only through our program they can get it for discounts of 25 to 50 percent off. We’ve vastly expanded access to women’s health care. We’ve provided more money in the FamilyCare Program so more than 160 thousand men and women who work but didn’t have health care, now have health care today. And again, because of your hard work, 170 thousand more kids have health care today because we invested more in the KidCare Program and we enrolled more kids in the KidCare Program. In spite of these historic deficits, we’ve advanced in the area of health care and in spite of the challenges we’ve faced, we have advanced and given more kids the opportunities that every kid and every child in Illinois ought to have. Yet in spite of our best efforts, there are still more than a quarter of a million children in Illinois who don’t have access to health care. 09400067.doc 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 There are still a quarter of a million children whose parents can’t afford to take them to the doctor for regular checkups. Whose parents can’t afford to take them to the dentist to keep a cavity from requiring a root canal. Whose parents can’t afford to take their daughter to the eye doctor because she might need glasses so she can do better in school. A quarter of a million kids whose parents can’t afford the high cost of medicine and God forbid if their child needs to go to the hospital, can’t afford the high cost of a hospital stay. In fact, the number one cause of personal bankruptcies in America are working families who do what they have to do when their children are very sick, they take ‘em to the hospital anyway, but they can’t pay those bills and then those families who deal with an unbelievable challenge, a sick child, find themselves where they are financially ruined. I asked to speak to you today because we have a unique opportunity right now, right here in Illinois. I asked to speak to you today ‘cause I would like all of you in this chamber, Democrats and Republicans, to join me to give every single child in Illinois the same kind of health care that we have for our kids. We have the chance to do here in Illinois something no other state has done and what our leaders in Washington won’t do. We can provide health care to all the kids in Illinois. Throughout our history… throughout our history some of the greatest advances in social progress have begun in the states. In the middle of the nineteenth century, at a time when only the kids of the 09400067.doc 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 wealthy and only the kids from families who had means could go to school, Horace Mann led a movement in Massachusetts that gave every child a chance to get a public education. In the mid-nineteenth century, Horace Mann led the way and Massachusetts did something that the Federal Government and our country ultimately adopted. In the early twentieth century in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, at a time when a 10-year-old child would work in a coal mine, those states passed laws that abolished child labor. And at the end of the last century, as recently as the mid-1980s in a state just north of us, in Wisconsin, welfare reform was examined and explored. A laboratory of change in Wisconsin that ultimately led to President Clinton’s signing, at the federal level, welfare reform legislation in 1996. And now here at the dawn of the twenty-first century, right here, right now in Illinois we have an opportunity to lead the nation. If we seize this moment… if we seize this moment, we can do for the kids in Illinois something our country did for senior citizens back in 1965. Forty years ago our country made a decision that every senior citizen should have access to affordable health care; 1965, we made a decision as a country to guarantee access to all of our elderly so they can go to the doctor if they need to. Forty years after Medicare, 99 percent of senior citizens have access to health care, but 40 years after Medicare more than 8 million kids in our country don’t and a quarter of a million of those kids live right here in Illinois. Now, who are these kids? First of all, let me tell ya who 09400067.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 they’re not. They’re not our children. Fortunately for us, our kids have health care. The Governor and the men and women of the General Assembly, the men and women in the Congress, the President, all of us fortunately, those of us who make the rules are fortunate and blessed to be able to afford health care for our kids. These kids are not by and large the children of the wealthy. The wealthy and those with means can afford health care for their kids with some exceptions in cases of preexisting conditions and other issues where private insurance won’t cover an illness. And they’re not the kids of the poor because fortunately and thankfully, we have programs in place that provide health care to the poor. No, the kids I’m talking about… the kids I’m talking about are kids that come from primarily working-class and middle-class families. Families that in America do what you’re supposed to do, they work for a living. There are tens of thousands of families all across in Illinois who every single day do what you’re supposed to do. They get up every morning, they go to work. They work hard. They pay their taxes. They play by the rules, but through no fault of their own, they make either too much money to be eligible for public assistance but not nearly enough money to fi… to afford health care premiums of two, three, four, five hundred dollars a month. The children of working families are the children that are falling through the cracks. It’s not supposed to be that way in America. In America if you work hard, you’re supposed to get ahead, you’re not supposed to fall behind. It is not what the 09400067.doc 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 American dream is supposed to be. They are families like families that I’ve had a chance to meet. Like the Sanchez family that lives on the 59 hundred block, South Kolmar near Midway Airport. Bianca Sanchez is a single mom with a daughter named Soledad, age seven. It’s the two of them against the world. They live in a basement apartment in a little bungalow, a modest little space, but it’s their space in their little corner of the world. And every single de… day Bianca, being the loving mother that she is, gets up every single morning, drives her daughter to school and then she goes to work. And then she takes her lunch, not at 12:00 or 1:00 like most people do, but schedules her lunch at her job at a health clinic at 3:00 so she can go to school, pick up her daughter, and then take her back to day care when she then goes back to work to fill out her shift. Bianca Sanchez, when she was first hired at the health care clinic she now works at, was being paid $6.25 an hour. And when she was paid that wage, she could afford to pay for health care for her daughter, Soledad, through the KidCare Program. But then Bianca did something that you’re really supposed to do. She did a good job on the job. She worked hard, her employer and boss noticed it, they gave her a promotion, gave her more responsibilities and they did what you’re supposed to do, paid her more money. So much so that now she’s being paid $36 thousand a year, but one thing happened to her. She literally worked herself out of health care for her daughter. Something is upside down. If you do what you’re supposed to do, you 09400067.doc 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 work hard and you’ve made it worse for your child, not better. That’s not what America is supposed to be. Take the Baldwin family that I met recently in Moline, a young couple just staring out with a 17-month-old son, Zachary. The two of them both work, mom and dad both work. Dad works the daytime shift at the Blackhawk Freight Company in the Quad Cities. He works 52 hours a week, works hard, works overtime. Mom works at night as a supervisor at the Burger King. Together mom and dad are working 82 hours a week. Their combined income is about $38 thousand a year. Too much money for the KidCare Program but not nearly enough to afford health care premiums of $378 a month, which is what the Blackhawk Freight Company would offer to the Baldwin… to Mr. Baldwin or the $1 thousand deductible that they’d be required to pay anytime little Zachary had to go to the doctor. And then there’s the Evans family, a family of six from the Southside of Chicago, mom and dad and four kids. Dad works making $53 thousand a year, mom is raising the four kids. In order to get health insurance for the four kids, it would cost the Baldwin (sic-Evans) family more than $13 hundred a month. On $53 thousand a year, the Evans family simply can’t afford to give their kids the health care coverage that we are blessed and fortunate enough to provide for our kids. The Baldwin family, the Evans family, and Bianca and Soledad Sanchez are being penalized for working. This is not what our country is supposed to be about. And don’t think these problems are isolated or only confined to only some parts 09400067.doc 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 of Illinois, because there are stories like this in every part of our state. Right here in Sangamon County, in the seat of our State Government, nearly 9 percent of the kids in Sangamon County don’t have health insurance. In Pulaski County, in the southern tip of our state, 14… 15 percent of the kids… 15 percent of the kids in Pulaski County can’t afford to get health insurance, their parents can’t afford to provide them health insurance. In Cook County, 12 percent of the kids don’t have health insurance and even in DuPage County, one of the 25 wealthiest counties in America, fully 7 percent of the children in DuPage County don’t have health insurance. If we ignore this problem, what does it say about us? If we look the other way and we fail to act, what does it say about us? A recent editorial from the St. Lo… St. Louis Post-Dispatch sums it up. They wrote that children who get regular checkups are healthier than children who don’t. Children with chronic illnesses like asthma or diabetes aren’t as sick as often if they can visit their doctor regularly. Children, who get to see the doctor when they need one, don’t suffer as much as children who can’t. And finally, keeping children healthy shouldn’t be a partisan issue. So I say to you, this is a matter of common sense and simple human decency. Working together we can do something in Illinois to help those children. Why should any child have to suffer, if we have it in our power to do something to prevent it? How can we say to the Baldwin family, the Evans family, to Bianca and Soledad, and tens of thousands of families like them all across our 09400067.doc 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 state that we can’t help? How can we do nothing when, for a relatively small investment, we can do the right thing. That’s why I proposed the AllKids Program. It’s an affordable program; it’s not free. It’s a comprehensive program which means that the families that participate in this health care program will be able to take their child to the doctor for regular checkups, visit the dentist for regular checkups, see the eye doctor for regular checkups, help them pay for the high cost of medicine to keep their kids healthy, or get them healthy, and of course, in those situations, God forbid, they have to be able to afford the cost of their child being in a hospital. Now, the question many have asked and rightfully so, is how do we pay for this? First of all as I said, this program is not free. Families that participate in this program are required to pay premiums based upon their income and the number of kids in their families. It’s a sliding scale based upon families’ ability to pay and their affordability. So for example, a family of four that earns between 40 and 50 thousand dollars a year would be required to pay monthly insurance premiums of $40 per child. In a family of four with two kids, it would cost $80 a month and then it’s capped after two kids. So you could have three, four, five kids, it would cost no more than $80 a month. Those families would… would be required to pay copayments of $10 for every visit. For families earning between 60 and 80 thousand dollars a year, families participating in this program would be required to pay insurance premiums of $70 09400067.doc 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 a month, two kids would cost $140 a month but no more than that if there are more than two kids, and the copayments for those families would be $15 a month. Now, 70 percent… 70 percent of the kids in Illinois who don’t have insurance are kids who come from families that earn between 40 and 80 thousand dollars a year, 40 and 80 thousand dollars a year. We have a chance to help those families. In addition to the contribution the families that participate would pay into this program, we would also save money by adopting what 29 other states across the country have done, an element of managed care in our Medicaid program. By having what is known as a primary care case manager, a doctor. Not an insurance agent or an insurance adjuster or a claims adjuster but a doctor. Having that doctor serve as a gatekeeper and providing continuity of care for the men and women and children currently in the Medicaid program, we can save more than $50 million. And by having another component called ‘disease management’, which very simply is if a child has asthma make sure that child gets an inhaler before that child needs to be hospitalized for asthma. Or if an adult or grownup is a diabetic and needs insulin, make sure that diabetic, that grownup, gets the insulin before he or she needs to deal with it… stay at the hospital because of a diabetic seizure. By implementing a primary care case manager and disease management and coupling with that the money that the families that participate would pay into the program, this is how we pay for our AllKids Insurance Program. We would save $57 09400067.doc 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 million next year and $100 million in 5 years. In short, we have found a way… we have found a way to insure all the kids in Illinois without raising taxes and without any additional spending. Plus, it’s good for the economy. A health care industry… the health care industry in Illinois is the second fastest growing industry in our state. According to a recent study by FamiliesUSA nearly $88 million in business activity is attributed to investments made in health care. In addition to that, under our AllKids Program, if we make these investments, wages will increase by $30 million in the first year of the program. And providing health care to all kids without insurance, also helps all of us. Because the reality is when a child is sick and doesn’t have health care and that child needs to go to the hospital, ultimately, that hospital bill is passed on to the consumers, passed on to the rest of us who pay in the form of higher insurance premiums. That same study by FamiliesUSA indicates that all of us with insurance pay for the uninsured to the tune of $1,059 more every year in the premiums that we pay in order to insure our kids and our families. I believe this issue is as simple as the golden rule. Something so many of us here in this chamber learned when we… (inaudible) went to Sunday school. That you oughta do unto others as you would have other do unto you. We have an opportunity together to live the golden rule, to give to all the kids in Illinois what we’re fortunate enough to have for our kids. There are a lot of reasons to do this, common sense, financial sense. 09400067.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 We know it will work. But there’s one overriding reason. You see it every time you look at your son or your daughter. We need to do this because this is the right thing to do for the kids. That’s why we’re here, it’s why we all ran for office. We’re here to help people build better lives. This is a historic chance to do that and we have a historic opportunity to help children. Health care is not a privilege, it’s a right. It’s a right as fundamental as civil rights, it’s a right as fundamental as giving every child a chance to get a public education. Our founding fathers built our country on the promise that all of us have an inalienable right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is our chance to give all of our kids the opportunity to follow that vision and to pursue that dream and to live a life as full and as healthy as we would expect our children to lead. I hope you pass this Bill. Thank you very much.”

"The House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Committee Reports. Representative Hoffman, Chairperson from the Committee on Transportation & Motor Vehicles, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted' House Joint Resolution 66. Representative Richard Bradley, Chairperson from the Committee on Personnel & Pensions, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted' House 09400067.doc 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 Resolution 606 and House Resolution 654. Representative Franks, Chairperson from the Committee on State Government Administration, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted' Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1843, Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1879, House Resolution 597, and House Resolution 621. Representative Dur… Representative Dunkin, Chairperson from the Committee on Tourism & Conventions, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'recommends be adopted' House Joint Resolution 64. Representative Delgado, Chairperson from the Committee on Human Services, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 1620. Representative Fritchey, Chairperson from the Committee on Judiciary I-Civil Law, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Standard Debate' Senate Bill 1681. Representative Saviano, Chairperson from the Committee on Registration & Regulation, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 331. Representative 09400067.doc 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 Giles, Chairperson from the Committee on Elementary & Secondary Education, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 293. Representative Jefferson… Representative Jefferson, Chairperson from the Committee on Elections & Campaign Reform, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 204 and Senate Bill 1445. Representative Burke, Chairperson from the Committee on Executive, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 1213. Representative Molaro, Chairperson from the Committee on Judiciary II-Criminal Law, to which the following measure/s was/were referred, action taken on October 25, 2005, reported the same back with the following recommendation/s: 'do pass as amended Short Debate' Senate Bill 273 and Senate Bill 319; 'recommends be adopted' House Resolution 530. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 663, offered by Representative Miller. This Resolution is referred to the House Rules Committee. Introduction and First Reading of Bills. House Bill 4131, offered by Representative Franks, a Bill for an Act concerning children. House Bill 4132, offered by Representative 09400067.doc 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 Burke, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4133, offered by Representative Myers, a Bill for an Act concerning employment. House Bill 4134, offered by Representative Feigenholtz, a Bill for an Act concerning civil liabilities. House Bill 4135, offered by Representative Jakobsson, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. House Bill 4136, offered by Representative Hannig, a Bill for an Act concerning public employee benefits. House Bill 4137, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. House Bill 4138, offered by Representative Osmond, a Bill for an Act concerning name changes. House Bill 4139, offered by Representative Ramey, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. House Bill 4140, offered by Representative Monique Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning business. House Bill 4141, offered by Representative Monique Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4142, offered by Representative Monique Davis, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. House Bill 4143, offered by Representative Hamos, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. House Bill 4144, offered by Representative Boland, a Bill for an Act concerning government. House Bill 4145, offered by Representative Bellock, a Bill for an Act concerning health. House Bill 4146, offered by Representative Bellock, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. House Bill 4147, offered by Representative Flider, a Bill for an Act in relation to economic… a Bill for an Act in relation economic development. First Reading 09400067.doc 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 67th Legislative Day 10/25/2005 of these House Bills. Second Reading of Senate Bills to be read a second time and held on the Order of Second Reading. Senate Bill 1213, offered by Representative Jones, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 1620, offered by Representative Franks, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 293, offered by Representative Sacia, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 1681, offered by Representative Yarbrough, a Bill for an Act concerning courts. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 204, offered by Representative Kelly, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 1445, offered by Representative Currie, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 331, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 273, offered by Representative Saviano, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Senate Bill 319, offered by Representative Brosnahan, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 09400067.doc 29