Illinois House Floor Debate — August 8, 2007

"Mr. Speaker, Representative Molaro just spoke and he mentioned Representative Tryon, who could not be here today for other reasons than what he mentioned. But Representative Tryon is my suitemate in Stratton and I will put up five (5) pounds of Stockton cheese from the Stockton Cheese Company, the largest manufacturer of Swiss cheese in the nation, that Crystal Lake will probably beat these guys. So, I'll do that on behalf of…"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Inquiry of the Chair."

"Yes, is wagering allowed on the House Floor? I mean, I just heard this Gentleman make a bet. Five (5) pounds of Swiss cheese? Holy mackeral. Mr. Speaker, in all due respect to these good Gentlemen, and may the best team win, but wagering on the House Floor? The ship of state is steaming in circles. It's headed for a disaster. Now, I 09500113.doc 2  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 don't know about the rest of you, but I may use the Swiss cheese, but I'll tell you something I brought my life preserver because I know where we're headed. I saw the movie, I read the book, I know what happens to the Titanic. The good Captain Blagojevich is steering us toward an iceberg and when we start sinking, and we already are sinking, you're welcome to come over here and use my life preserver. What a day we've had. I expect the Comptroller and the Governor to have a duel at noon today out by the statue of Everett Dirksen. That's what things have come to."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to table Committee Amendment #1 that puts the Bill back in its original form, which I assume you'd want that discussion, and then there's just a technical correction."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're back to the original Bill which is just a transfer of property. This is a technical Amendment that the Historic Preservation needed because it involves an armory and we have to comply with Historic Preservation issues. That's what Amendment #2 does."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this provides for the transfer of two properties that have been used as armories, one in Galesburg, one in Monmouth that the state no longer needs. Both city 09500113.doc 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 councils have indicated they would like to have these properties. A new readiness center is being built, near completion in Galesburg, which will serve both Monmouth and Galesburg. So, the state no longer needs this property, both councils would like to have it. Galesburg's in my district, Monmouth in Representative Myers' district. I'd appreciate an 'aye' vote."

"We withdraw Floor Amendment #2."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This legislation has a combination of items on it, several of which have already passed the House on other Bills. The underlying Bill for this was to allow fire districts to pay volunteer firefighters from 911 funds. It's a permissive if they want to, if they have to man, for extended length of times, the 911 centers in the case of an emergency. That was the initial language. In addition, there's some changes made to help our 911 centers downstate and we started out with the idea that there might need to be a fee increase, there is not. It's a fee reduction. I repeat, this is a fee reduction for any wireless outside of Chicago. The current fee has been seventy-five cents ($0.75) that will go down to seventy-three cents ($0.73) per month. In addition, instead of only getting forty- eight cents ($0.48) of that, the locals will now get fifty- seven and a quarter ($0.5725). So that's an increase of nine and a quarter cents ($0.0925) to run our 911 centers. This will require an audit of our 911 fund to see what kind of fees are needed to operate our 911 centers. It also provides for an eight million dollar ($8,000,000) pool of money, that's the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund, to go to our local 911 centers. So it's a decrease in fee, it's giving an eight million dollar ($8,000,000) pool distribution, and with the increase of the percent of the fee from forty-eight cents ($0.48) to fifty-seven and a 09500113.doc 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 quarter ($0.5725), it's nearly an additional eight million dollars ($8,000,000). That's what it does outside of the City of Chicago. I'd like to turn it over to Telecommunication's Chair Brosnahan to explain the portion for Chicago."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. I rise in support of Senate Bill 837. As the Representative who represents O'Hare Field and its surrounding areas, this Bill to supplement the 911 Fund is important from our Homeland Security position, not only in the City of Chicago, but the whole state. We have a lot of out constitutes that travel through the airport and those surrounding areas. And I think it's very important that we support the city's 911 system to ensure the safety of our constitutes, who travel in and out of O'Hare field. I would urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Normally, I would not rise in support of a Bill of this nature raising a fee, but I think in the City of Chicago, and especially with trying to get the Olympics here, I think this is something that we desperately need. Like the Representative Brosnahan said, we haven't raised the fee since 1997 and I think that by doing this we'll be better prepared for if there would be a terrorist attack and I 09500113.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 rise strongly for the Bill and ask for an 'aye' vote. Thank you."

"Outside of Chicago there would be no… no… in fact they would get a reduction from seventy-five cents ($0.75) to seventy-three ($0.73). What this does is empower the Chicago City Council to… instead of a dollar twenty-five ($1.25) cap to be able to go to two fifty ($2.50). But only within the City of Chicago." Davis, W.: "So it… so it raises it for the City of Chicago, and you're saying, it lowers the surcharge for everywhere else?"

"That is correct." Davis, W.: "So does that mean that suburban communities will get less money?"

"No, it means they'll get more money. You mean outside the city, right?" Davis, W.: "Yes, outside the city."

"It means they'll get more money for two reasons: One, there's a pool of money that was the Wireless Carrier Fund that is now available in the amount of eight million dollars ($8,000,000) that can be distributed around the 09500113.doc 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 state to the 911 centers. So there's an increase in funds. The second increase in funds is because of that what had been seventy-five cents ($0.75), the locals got forty-eight cents ($0.48) of the seventy-five ($0.75). Under this, it goes down to seventy-three ($0.73), but their percent, their portion, their part of that goes up from forty-eight ($0.48) to fifty-seven and a quarter ($0.5725). So, their local… your local 911 call centers are gonna get an increase of funds available, and that's almost eight million ($8,000,000). So the first… the eight million ($8,000,000) from the Carrier Fund is a one-time infusion. The eight million ($8,000,000) from the increase in the percent of the charge will be on an ongoing basis. It also calls for an audit by the Auditor General to determine if any other increase is needed. Perhaps it's not with this change. We're hopeful it might not even be needed." Davis, W.: "So, when I read and it talks about volunteer firefighters, and maybe that's just something specific to fire protection districts, so in suburban communities where we actually have paid firefighters or paid personnel that are manning these 911 centers, does that have a different impact on them because they're not volunteer and they're actually paid employees?"

"That part of the language, of course, is permissive and it gives authority to the fire districts to be able to pay volunteers, if they choose to, from 911 funds if they're needed to man a 911 center." Davis, W.: "Okay." 09500113.doc 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007

"It would be an exception. It would be unusual. It doesn't happen very often, but volunteer firefighters are trained and their purpose is to fight fire and respond to calls to the fire department. To man a 911 center in an emergency for extended lengths of time is not part of their usual duties. And the fire districts just said they would like to have the authority to be able to pay them from 911 funds if they're needed to keep the 911 center. It's a very unusual request of them, something out of the ordinary, but then they could, in the case firefighters that are already paid, it would not have any impact." Davis, W.: "Okay. Thank you very much, Representative."

"The Gentleman from DuPage. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that. To the Bill."

"Thank you. Actually, if the Sponsor would yield. Okay. Representative, you've worked pretty hard on this Bill, haven't you?

"We've been working on this for several months and this encompasses language that has already passed on various Bills, including the Chicago portion, including the allowing to pay the… the volunteers, and including the downstate portion that reduces a fee. But they're… now it's all in one Bill…"

"The Chicago portion wasn't on your Bill to begin with, was it?"

"Not to begin with." 09500113.doc 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007

"And you made the deal with the phone companies to actually save money for the rest of the people in the state?"

"It lowers the fee, yes, and then the Carrier Fund through negotiations that we've had for months now, the carriers agreed that the Carrier Fund could be divided among the 911 call centers, which again helps keep the fee down and prevent any need at the present time from going up. So, yes, it actually helped to reduce it."

"Okay. Who's gonna answer the question for Chicago, then? Representative Brosnahan? I don't think he's paying attention. To the Bill then. Ladies and Gentlemen, Representative Moffitt did a fine job with this Bill. I've been following him in the work he's done… working with… 'cause I'm on Telecommunications Committee. He's worked with the phone companies to save people money and to get more money expended for the services they need downstate. Then all of a sudden comes this from Chicago, they're doubling the fees. Why can't they save money along with everybody else? As I understand it, there's two hundred seventeen million dollar ($217,000,000) hole in their budget in Chicago and they're covering forty million dollars ($40,000,000) with doubling these fees. I urge you to vote 'no'. Unfortunately, it's a great Bill but it was ruined by the City of Chicago. Thank you."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield? Representative, the sunset date on this tax is extended until 2013, is that correct?" 09500113.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007

"That is correct."

"Okay. There was an article in one of the Chicago papers and this so often happens when we deal with something for Chicago. It had a picture of a firefighter and the gist of the article was that Chicago has purchased, or is in the process of purchasing, a twenty-two million dollar ($22,000,000) upgrade in… in radios, digital communication, so that they can talk to each other, fire, police, first responders. And the article goes on to say that they have not implemented this, even though they appropriated the money, even though allegedly, the digital handy-talkies are there. They don't intend to implement it for at least another year. And in the Downtown Loop fire, I believe it was in '05, maybe '04, their inability to communicate with each other led to a number of deaths in a high rise building. And so, my… my only concern is that when you give Chicago money and they say they're going to do something, they so often don't follow through. What guarantee do we have that they're actually going to use this additional tax to upgrade their land and cellular 911 system?"

"Representative, of course, it's the City Council, the elected body of the City of Chicago that would be empowered by this. They're the ones that are going to have to make that decision and defend their vote and it simply changes the cap. All the money does have to go for Homeland Security Public Safety. So, if the fee is raised, that's what it has to go for. That is one of the guarantees that's in here. It's an elected body, they're the ones 09500113.doc 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 that are gonna have to justify it. I think that recent article that you referred to certainly would cause some response, I think, and none of us want unneeded equipment being bought, but that's the beauty of local control. It's a local body deciding even if they need the money and it'd be a local body deciding what equipment is needed. It's not a case of us dumping equipment on them and say here, here's your new radio now use it. We're saying, if you need additional funds, you're gonna have the power. Chicago, and I don't think we want to be too specific nor do I pretend to know the answers, but on any list of high probable targets for future attacks, Chicago is high on the list. And anything we can do to help them improve their Homeland Security is a move that I think we should be making, but not us telling them what they need, maybe they don't need walkie-talkies, maybe they need something else. So that's the beauty of this. It's local control, it's empowering them. They'll decide if they even need the fee and they'll decide what they need it for."

"I noticed that it goes to landline upgrades of their 911 center as well as cellular. Now, in the state, there are now more cellular phones being used than there are landlines. I… and most counties are beginning to transition their costs from landline to cellular technology. Now, does Chicago need to upgrade its… I thought they just did their landline system sometime… like in the last ten (10) years, a considerably upgrade, a new communication center. So this additional tax, if the City Council of Chicago would agree, does it all go to a… or is 09500113.doc 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 it some division in your Bill, and excuse for not having read it. Is their come division between landlines and cellular or will that be left up to the communications people in Chicago?"

"Representative, it's my understanding, and if you want us to check further, that would be a local decision…"

"Okay."

"…it is all for Homeland Security. I would think some of that possibly could involve landlines, but it is all Homeland Security. Another point that you brought up, and it's the same across the state, there are fewer landlines all the time, so the revenue to 911 centers is either… is either level or falling. And of course, when I brought up my first Bill, you were one of the first ones to say we ought to have an audit to see what's really needed. We know that there are fewer landlines and more cell phones, that's why we needed to look at adequate funding. If the landlines… if the cell phones increase enough to offset, the charge is less downstate on a cell phone, so that's why one cell phone does not replace the loss of one landline. In Chicago that's still a local decision, though."

"Okay. I appreciate the work that you've done on this. One last question. If you are a family, you live in the City of Chicago and you have a family plan, maybe your family has five (5) cell phones, as that already answered? Each cell phone will pay the tax?"

"Representative, that would be up to the city council and I would… that came up in committee and the answer that I received was that that would be a local decision. If 09500113.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 they're gonna put it on all… even if it's a family plan, I would think it would be a lower fee, but that's a local decision, not one that we're making for them."

"Okay. All right. Well, Representative, again, thank you very much for your answers and thank you for the work that you've done on this. I was one of the original Sponsors of the cellular 911 technology many years ago and my interest was sparked in that by the Tammy Zywicki case where they sold a lot of cell phones saying, you know, this is… this is in an emergency, you dial 911, but the technology had no idea where you were. And I had a constituent whose husband died along I-57 because the cellular 911 signal bounced around from county to county and they had no idea where she was. So we've… we've certainly made some progress, I like the fact that you've called for an audit and I also appreciate the fact that the Chicago portion certainly wasn't your idea, but it's up to the Chicago City Council. Now, I hope they will do what they think is necessary and will do it right, and I hope that you and I don't hear from Chicago residents that we mandated this tax, because I think we need to make it very clear. We’re not mandating the City of Chicago do anything. We're simply telling the Chicago City Council that if you want to do this, you have the authority to do it. And whatever they do, I hope they do it in a reasonable and fair and just manner. And once again, thank you very much for all the work you've put in on this Bill."

"Thank you, Bill."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield? Representative, your Bill says that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall, not may, shall enlist a nonprofit corporation to implement a comprehensive statewide high speed Internet deployment strategy. Do you have any idea what that nonprofit corporation will be?" 09500113.doc 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007

"All right. Will that be determined by a bid process? You'll send out a request for proposals or… I guess the only thing I'm concerned about is I don't want to wake up some morning and read in the paper that a politically connected non-profit firm gets this contract. I'd like some…"

"Okay, fine. That's all I wanted to make sure of. Thank you, very much."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to announce a Republican Caucus at 3:30 this afternoon, 3:30 in Room 118, Republican Caucus. Thank you."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have an inquiry of the Chair. Mr. Speaker, you have a legal staff, a parliamentarian, both partisan staffs have appropriation people. But my inquiry of the Chair, I haven't been able to get a good answer and I think the House, and I hope you pay attention to this, I think the House of Representative… Representatives need an answer. The Governor, who says there was nothing magical about today's date because schools will be all right, nonetheless, says he transferred a hundred and seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000) from the Illinois Finance Authority to schools who need the money. Now, my question is, I thought the Illinois Finance Authority only dealt with bond money. Now, does the Governor have the legal authority to transfer bond money from the Illinois Finance Authority and make available loans to school districts? I can't find out what kind of arrangements and agreements will be made if, in fact, he loans money. Will there be a promissory note? Will there be some recommendation on how they're going to repay it? Or will we simply repay it out of General Revenue Funds? And it's my understanding that the Illinois Finance Authority doesn't even have a hundred and seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000). So, you know, I… I… I'm really a little bit tired of these competing press releases. I spent twenty (20) years of my life in education and I don't want to see schools go without money. They open in the next week. I don't want to see anybody go 09500113.doc 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 without a paycheck. But I'm tired of this magic money and I would… I would hope that your legal staff and our appropriations people on both sides of the aisle can let us know before Session tomorrow just what authority does the Governor have to transfer money from the Illinois Finance Authority, which is bond money as I understand it, and make available loans to school districts. What criteria is there for these loans? Any school district apply? Do they have to meet certain criteria? You know, this is ridiculous to throw a figure out there allegedly to calm people's fears about schools not being able to open, when I don't even see where the money is. I don't understand how he has the authority to transfer bond money in the first place, and I have no idea what the criteria is and what a repayment schedule might be. And I think before we go much further in our negotiations on a budget, we need to find out just what the heck is going on around here. I'm getting tired of the competing news releases and all of the confusion. And Mr. Speaker, if the Speaker is not prepared to seek a… an opinion from the Attorney General, I certainly am. I think we need a legal opinion on this whole hundred and seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000) in magic money, because I have a hunch that that's all that it is, magic money."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know how school districts can borrow money if they don't know what the actual budget's gonna be because their budgets have to be predicated on what they actually are going to have for the 09500113.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 coming year. So, for the Governor to go on television, particularly in the media markets in our area, and make it appear that for the last umpteen years we have put out an artificial date of when things actually fall apart is very disingenuous. At some point in the last five (5) years, I would think that he would have gotten himself a course on budget 101, he does not seem to have that ability nor does he seem to desire to want to. So, if you put it out there that we're all a bunch of phonies and we're putting out a fake date, and he's gonna let people borrow money on a budget that they have to have a sum certain which they can't borrow if they don't know what the sum certain is, in order to publish, that's very disingenuous. And certainly, I think the vast public doesn't know because he has the bully pulpit. So, I just wanted to go on record that I don't think that's an option and I'm tired of his posturing, and I think this is a real crisis and I agree with the Comptroller."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to just make a couple comments regarding the Governor's attempt to calm the nerves of school superintendents and school boards across the state with what is obviously becoming as time passes more of a publicity stunt than an attempt to actually make funds available. I think Representative Black pointed out some of the fallacy involved with producing this, he calls magic money, but the other fallacy is that when we received the e-mail from the State Board of Education in our administrative offices across the state, that e-mail made 09500113.doc 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 it appear as it any school district in the state, any school that wanted to access the amount of money that they normally would get from their first General State Aid payments would simply have to call a number and there's not very much paperwork involved, you just kinda call in and you get your money. Now, as it turns out, as they begin to administer this magic money, only about forty (40) school districts in the state are eligible for the money. There are over eight hundred (800) school districts in the state. Forty (40) of them are eligible now for this money, from what I understand. So that means a vast majority of school districts that expected this magic money have seen it disappear. In addition, the Governor has at his disposal a House Bill that was passed almost two (2) months ago that would help school districts in a substantive way deal with part of this issue, House Bill 357, that has strong bipartisan support and, in fact, went out of this chamber unanimously. Passed the Senate unanimously. Would allow school districts to transfer funds between funds and possibly, in a… in a short-term crisis, have flexibility to use money. And has he acted on that Bill? Has he taken the time to review legislation that would allow school districts to give themselves the flexibility necessary to perhaps deal with this crisis internally? Has he addressed this Bill? No. Governor, if you want to help school districts, get your pen out, get House Bill 357 signed today. I know the magic sixty (60) days is coming up and it automatically will become a law in a few days. But if you want to help school districts, do something real. Stop 09500113.doc 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 113th Legislative Day 8/8/2007 having press conferences. Stop trying to make us all impressed with the fact you're gonna come up with a hundred and seventy-four million dollars ($174,000,000) and a couple days later not even, you know, one-twentieth of the schools that are in the state are eligible for the money. Let's get some responsibility to this and help school districts. Sign House Bill 357 and stop the shenanigans."