Illinois House Floor Debate — January 9, 2008

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record reflect all Republicans are present and ready to do the work of the people."

"Merry New Year, Mr. Speaker. I'm actually rising to give my personal thanks to you and to Leader Cross, and to this Body, for the FutureGen legislation that was passed last summer. As many of you know and some of you may not know, Illinois was victorious over Texas in landing the first of its kind FutureGen plant. This plant will mean over a thousand (1,000) jobs to our state, and more specifically, to my district. And we had a good and vibrant discussion last spring and summer and it ultimately yielded a piece of legislation and… that helped us bring FutureGen here to Illinois. I just wanted to say my sincere thanks to everyone in this room who helped with that legislation, but also, and frankly more importantly, I want to give my thanks to both Tuscola and to Mattoon. Our local communities put forth an incredible effort to put them in the running to begin with and then ultimately to 09500205.doc 3  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 bring this project to Illinois. And I could not be more proud of the truly team effort from the bottom up in Mattoon and Tuscola, all the way to the Governor's Office, that this has been. And I just wanted to say a word of thanks to all Members of this Body who helped help with that."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you and Mr. Mapes for your accommodations in allowing us to deal with this Resolution on short notice. We appreciate that accommodation. John Kennedy, said: 'One man can make a difference and every man should try.' And if you've ever been on the stump with Representative Watson as a historian, someone who took those words to heart, someone who to this day, lives by that sense of honor. Some people in public positions like ours like to talk about leadership; while others talk, Jim Watson leads. Jim is going to Iraq for one reason, because America is there. There's a job to be done. He knows that he belongs next to his Marines in harm's way because Jim Watson is, above all, an American Marine. We should all be proud of the 09500205.doc 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 commitment that he has made. Regrettably, some will never understand why Jim is doing what he's doing and why he would choose to make such a sacrifice, but we should all be able to identify with it. Too often those in positions of influence or authority do everything they can in their power to assure that they never wear our nation's uniform and that their family never serve. Like many of you, I ache for the day when our country made a commitment that everyone step forward. Regrettably, it's been generations since someone has taken the steps that Representative Jim Watson takes today. Every American and every politician should sacrifice in a time of war. Jim Watson knows that. Rather than debate it or discuss it, he is letting his actions speak for him. We are proud of you, Jim Watson. We are witness to your historic action and we are better for it. America is better for it. And John F. Kennedy would be proud of you today. We wish you Godspeed. We solemnly pledge to you that you will be in our thoughts and prayers on a daily basis and we are anxious for your return. And we will celebrate that day with you. So, we wish you Godspeed, Jim. Mr. Speaker, I would ask that leave of the Body that all Members be added as cosponsors. And I would be sure to invite all of you to Brown's tonight at 6:00 where we will be in a celebrative mood. Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think this Body all respects Jim Watson for what he's doing. When Jimmy first came to the General Assembly and he was my seatmate, finding out he 09500205.doc 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 was also a Marine caused for a lot of fun conversations. But when you talked to Jim about his service one thing you can tell is that… if needed he's more than willing to continue to serve and that's what he's proving by this. He knows what his job is. He knows what needs to be done. We're going to miss him around here for the two hundred (200) and many days that he will be gone, but we do look forward to the time he comes back and to hear of the positive side of the adventure that the United States Marine Corps is sending him on. So, to my friend, Representative Jim Watson, and to a Marine Staff Sergeant Jim Watson, we wish you well. We'll do what we have to here to help you in any way possible. Look forward to tonight with you and look forward to that first day when you're back as well. God bless you. Semper Fi."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Every so often our country asks that we send some of our best and brightest to serve. Thus it has always been and as I get older, I'm afraid thus it will always be. I think in this case the Commandant of the Corps has certainly taken one of the best, if not the best, 09500205.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 Legislators I have ever had the privilege of serving with. One of the best human beings I've ever known to do a job, a difficult job, one that many of us would not be perhaps as willing to take on as Jim Watson has been. A job that, if he performs anywhere near the level of expertise and energy and creativity we've all witnessed since he has been in this Body, will bear fruit. And may bear fruit in a long period of time where Jim and his comrades in arms may make a significant difference in a very volatile part of the world. So, we’re sending one of our best. As I left a message for Jim the other day, I hope this General Assembly can prove itself worthy of the sacrifices of so many of our sons and daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters, uncles, aunts, what have you… who have answered their country's call. But I hope we'll prove ourselves worthy of having one of our own spend active duty time in Iraq, trying to rebuild that country's basic government, infrastructure, and the other things that will hopefully, let them enjoy what so many of us take for granted. This is a tremendous sacrifice he's making. It will not be easy on him, certainly not easy for his children. It will not be easy for his constituents. They will miss him, but I know many of us stand ready to help him in any way we can while he is serving us. I think perhaps if we could, a lesson to be learned from his service and the sacrifice that he is willingly making, is that we rededicate ourselves to making 2008 a year in which we perhaps could send a message to the people of Iraq trying to build a basic government structure. We can do a much better job than we've done. 09500205.doc 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 So let's put 2007 behind us, delightful year that it was, and wish all of us a happy new year and perhaps show that not only will we be concerned about Sergeant Watson and his tour, but we're concerned about doing some of the very things he's going to Iraq to do and that we begin the process of working together and bringing about the necessary and needed changes in our state, as Jim will be trying so hard to do in the nation of Iraq. Jim, we wish you Godspeed. We appreciate your service more than words can adequately express. Advice that my father said he heard during World War II, keep your head down, do your job, come home safely. And until that day, my friend, we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers, and we will certainly do everything we can to help… however you want us to help while you're gone. Thank you for your service. Thank you for being the kind of man that you are. And I look forward to some very interesting stories and perhaps, lessons to be learned upon your return."

"Thank you, I think. No, seriously, Mr. Speaker, I am, you know, humbled by your words and by your kindness. Just three (3) things quickly. One question that's always asked is why? You know, why would you do this? And you know, some of it was mentioned in the Resolution, but I came across this bumper sticker that says, 'It can't always be someone else's son.' And I believe that, or daughter. There are one hundred and sixty thousand (160,000) 09500205.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 Americans serving in Iraq right now. A hundred and sixty thousand (160,000) men and women carrying the same water over and over again. And I think, given the buildup and nature of our Armed Forces, those of us who have a skill base need to help out when we can. And I feel a calling. I feel that I have a set of skills that will be productive in our efforts in Iraq, but it's important to me, that each of you know that you are an important part of the foundation of those skills. I have learned so much from my time here. I have learned as… we have differences like they have in Iraq; have differences of gender, geography, and ideology, and religion so do we, but the important thing I've learned here is to respect your passion that each of you bring when you advocate on behalf of your constituents, to respect your courage when you stand up, when you say this is wrong, regardless of who it will upset, regardless of what those consequences could be. Most importantly, I respect each of you and your commitment to this state and to your districts. I respect this process and I think it's important that we make sure this process is respected. So, when I go to Iraq, you know, we talk, yeah, I'll have an M4 and I'll be armed with a 9 millimeter, but probably more important is I will be armed with your respect, with your passion, with your courage and those are necessary things to win a counterinsurgency war. I little bit of you guys will be with me. Second thing, there hasn’t been a lot to be proud of in Springfield the last year or two (2) and we all know that. I wish that the public could see some of the things that I've seen. This 09500205.doc 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 is a perfect paradigm, right now, what has happened this last week of how this institution could work and should work. The day I went in and it kind of went public, Representative Dan Beiser, called and said if you need anything I'll help you, a Democrat reaching across the aisle. Leader Cross wasn't real comfortable with my decision, but when I decided to do it, he stood and said, 'I got your back.' Representative Mitchell, Representative Stephens have been there from the beginning, Representative Myers and Tracy, Poe, and Brauer, Representative Bost have all stood up and said, 'If your district needs something, I will be there when you're gone.' Speaker Madigan, the Chairman of the Democrat Party, has said, 'There's a time to put things aside, we will help.' Ladies and Gentlemen, we can do better than we have done in Illinois and this is the perfect example of how it should be done and how it could be done. It's a matter of the makeup and the leadership and the will of the people in this Body. I am honored to serve with you, I'm humbled that the people send me here to serve with you and I appreciate your words and I look forward to… coming back in two hundred and seventy (270) days and… hopefully, we'll have another… another pleasant gathering, but I do have one question. It probably, well, Leader Cross isn't here, so I would ask the Speaker. Oh, there he is. If I get in a situation where maybe you… I mean, you two are kind of like the generals of this battlefield, so to speak, if I find myself in a situation where I have to question, or challenge a general, do you recommend I use Representative Black's tactics or 09500205.doc 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 Representative Davis's tactics? With that guys, thank you very much."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Republicans will caucus immediately upon our adjournment or our time in which we will be suspended from the House Floor. There will be a caucus in Room 118. And Representative Watson, I certainly want to offer my best wishes and my thanks for your duty to your service and your country. Thank you."

"Somewhere in between an hour to maybe an hour and a half."

"Mr. Speaker, will the Sponsor yield?"

"Representative, this kind of just caught us by surprise. Could you tell us exactly what's happened with this Bill from the time it… it started out not being this and the Senate amended it? And the Amendment became the Bill, is that correct? Or…"

"Okay. What does the Amendment do?"

"So, is this a… would this be like a Resolution, that you're recommending this? You can't do away with the Constitution and the electoral college, so I'm confused as to what exactly this Bill does." 09500205.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"So, how does that affect the electoral college?"

"So, you're doing away with the electoral college?"

"Okay, bear with me, Speaker. I'm kind of reading as I go along with this. There was another Bill that came through this chamber that would change how… the electoral votes for Illinois would be determined. But you're saying that we're not going to do that anymore, this is just going to be a popular vote."

"Isn't a part of the U.S. Constitution that the electoral college is part of…? How does this Bill… how would that change that?"

"Mr. Speaker, maybe there's some more questions that could get to the bottom of this, but I would recommend that the Sponsor pull this Bill out of the record until we've had more time to look at it. And maybe, as I said, more questions that come up, we'll find out exactly what this Bill does." 09500205.doc 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"So, I think you're confused about what your Bill does."

"And that why I wanted you to… to pull it out of record until you understood it."

"You said that you were going to elect the President by popular vote, and that's not what Molaro's Bill did."

"With all due respect, Representative…"

"You're explaining the Bill. I'm asking the questions, so…"

"Will be used to determine Illinois's nineteen (19), or twenty-one (21) electoral votes."

"That isn't what you said before, so…"

"Well, I stand in opposition to this today, just as the same as I did before. If anything and I think Representative Molaro agreed to this, was that if we want to change it to a popular vote, let's do that by Senate… or congressional district. So whoever wins that congressional district, that congressional vote would go towards that candidate. But for just to say whoever wins the popular vote in the United States would automatically get Illinois's nineteen (19) electoral votes, is just wrong. It's not what our founding fathers set out to do. We got to protect own government from our own tyranny and abuses that goes on and…"

"And this electoral college has worked for years and to change it to a popular vote, I just feel is wrong."

"Thank you for your answering the questions."

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

"Representative, this is a statutory Bill. Would you not have to change the Illinois Constitution in order to move towards a popular vote, winner takes all?"

"In the State of Illinois?"

"Our staff attorneys indicate that you must change the Illinois Constitution. Otherwise, it provides for electors of both Parties, and I assume those electors a year from 09500205.doc 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 now will meet, as required by the Illinois Constitution, and they will cast their electoral votes, right?"

"I don't think this Bill can change the Constitution."

"Then why would we pursue it? I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, if I heard you correctly, you said… well, it might be right. This Bill does not change the Illinois Constitution, and if it doesn't do that… it doesn't really change anything, so why should we pursue the statute? You're making a statutory change that in my humble opinion does not change the Illinois Constitution. So, regardless of whether this Bill becomes law, it will not change the way electors are selected in the State of Illinois and those electors will meet about year from now and cast their vote for the winner of the Illinois vote."

"I know that."

"And since it doesn't change the Constitution, it doesn't do anything."

"The law is in conflict with the Illinois Constitution on how the electors will be chosen and meet and cast their vote in, I think, they generally do it here in Springfield." 09500205.doc 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"The Illinois Constitution states how electors are chosen in the State of Illinois."

"And when and where they will meet. And that they are bound by the Illinois Constitution to cast their electoral votes for the winner of the presidential contest November of 2008 in the State of Illinois. This Bill will not change that."

"Hang on. I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I'm listening to those that are. Just a second. The staff informs me that we have an agreement about the national electoral group and that unless all states follow your lead…"

"…this Bill is meaningless."

"And I don't think… and I don't think you're ever get Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana to ever agree to this."

"And there are reasons why they won't. Right? I know that… I realize that your constitutional authority there is Representative Froehlich. I… I see… I see him giving you 09500205.doc 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 the answers. Be careful if he moves his hand up your coat, he'll think he's Edgar Bergen."

"Well, he was doing a wonderful job. I'm one of the few old enough on the floor to remember Edgar Bergen and I'm not about to call you Charlie McCarthy. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. I think I'm going down a blind alley here. Ladies and Gentlemen, excuse me, I know it's very popular, particularly in recent electoral history, to want to declare the winner of the Presidential Election on the basis of the popular vote and I don't have any philosophical objection to that, but if you'll just look at the United States Constitution and the positive brilliance of the people who wrote that. Okay, you want to elect a President by virtue of the popular vote. Let's say a candidate that you particularly don't like, or is not of your Party or persuasion, wins California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois by huge pluralities. Would… would you not, perhaps, be in a situation where eight (8) or nine (9) populous states who vote overwhelmingly for a candidate could elect that candidate by virtue of popular vote even though the vast majority of the states, in fact, did not vote for that candidate, but a Wyoming or a North Dakota or a Kansas don't have the population to match the voter turnout of California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Michigan. You're… you're… if you're not careful with a Bill like this, you're going to let a President be elected by a popular vote that occurs in a minority of the states. You 09500205.doc 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 know, the drafters of the United States Constitution… I don't know how they were imbued with such inherent intelligence. And I think we should be very, very careful before we try to change something that has not been thoroughly discussed, has not been thoroughly debated; sure a popular vote idea sounds pretty good, it's how we run. But remember the diversity of this great country of ours, and where the population is moving. It's leaving… you know, it's being concentrated now in ten (10) or eleven (11) states and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't want to sacrifice my vote in Illinois to what may be a three million (3,000,000) vote landslide for a candidate who does very well in California, Florida and Texas and other states. I don't think this Bill really accomplishes anything. If it makes you feel good to say we're for a popular vote, okay. But this isn't going to change anything. And I think if we really want to change the electoral college set-up perhaps we should amend the United States Constitution and that could certainly be done by our federal officeholders, but it has worked fairly well. And I think the reason it has worked fairly well, certainly with some bumps in the road in recent electoral history, is that it tried to guarantee all states in this country a reasonable ability to elect and vote for a candidate of their choice. If this Bill becomes law, and it would have to become law in a vast majority of states, you are giving tremendous power to those huge states. I don't think that was the intent of the 'Miracle at Philadelphia' more than two hundred (200) years ago. I don't think it's time to do 09500205.doc 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 it now, in this format. It's late in the Session, or early in the Session, I'm not even sure what Session we're in. I think this is something that we should have public hearings on, discuss it and debate it openly for a serious… for a long period of time. Let's not do it today; let's not do it under these circumstances. Let's admit that the Jefferson's, the Adams's, the Franklin's, those people who met in Philadelphia must have had remarkable, good common sense. And what they did, I think, has stood the test of time. And I stand in opposition of the Bill."

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

"Representative Ford, I have one concern with the idea of the… proposal you have before us, that a majority of the… voting electorate of the entire United States would then determine how electoral votes are cast by the states that agree to this compact. My concern is that if we have a close election, say, one that is determined… the major… excuse me, it wouldn't be a plurality because there will always be votes cast for someone other than two (2) leading Party candidates. So, we almost automatically will see a plurality and say, by some miracle, it is such a closely run, beautifully debated, evenly matched contest between two (2) stellar and outstanding candidates that the voting public almost evenly divides. And you have maybe a hundred vote majority or plurality or a thousand vote plurality. Now, you're not going to be able to tell where that plurality of a thousand (1,000) votes came from Illinois, 09500205.doc 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 or Florida, or New York, or California or Wyoming. You're going to… under the provisions of this proposal, you would then have to have every precinct in the United States would have to be certified, looked at again, making sure there weren't any hanging chads or anything else that would determine the loss of one (1) or two (2) votes. You would call for a national verification of every vote, if we happen to have a close… a close vote. Currently, under the …the case of the electoral college, if there is a close challenge, it's going to be in one (1) state and we would see a recount, a checking of those votes, in one (1) state, such as Florida in 2000. Where at least, we're not looking at the other forty-nine (49) states. I think this is inherently a dangerous proposal in that we could have the Federal Government of this United States tied up for months, even years, we could see no President other than ones selected by Congress, because the recount… almost the revote would take so long in all fifty (50) states, each state under its own electoral rules, that you would, in fact… you would, in fact, tie up the Federal Government for years. Is there any response you have in the relatively minor chance, but nevertheless a realistic chance, a very, very close Federal Election? How would you handle the recount that would be needed, if there was that close of a vote?"

"But we don't recount the entire country." 09500205.doc 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"Right."

"But we only recounted one (1) state and we were able to concentrate the legal resources, fight it out, in one (1) state. We would have to do that for all fifty (50) states across the country if, in fact, this compact takes place."

"Say there's a thousand votes (1,000)."

"Say there's a thousand (1,000) vote difference between the two (2) leading candidates. I'm not going to, as member of one Party, say that Wyoming maybe only has two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) voters, but I might pick up one hundred (100) votes there if I verify and recount every …every vote in that state. I'm not going to let any state go unexamined if this Bill takes place and you have a close election. I think that's where the electoral college virtually guarantees a majority and a large majority of the electoral college even in a relatively close election."

"Mr. Speaker. In the case that this Bill should get a Constitutional Majority, I would ask to verify the Roll Call."

"That's fine."

"Right. So this is… this is the vote."

"Can you repeat what you just said?"

"Could you repeat what you just said?

"Thank you."

"Thank you very much."

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

"The previous speaker raised the comment about the bedrock concept of majority rule. We hear that phrase a lot, but what I'd like to ask the Sponsor is, in this chamber does the passage of a Bill require a simple Majority vote? Could we pass a Bill in this chamber with just a simple Majority vote?"

"I… I would beg to differ. We need a Constitutional Majority. We need at least the number which is greater than 50 percent; that's not a simple Majority. Simple Majority could be any number as long as it’s the largest of all the different sides. Am I correct?"

"Would you agree with me on that?"

"Would you agree with me on that?"

"Well, I'm just saying, in this chamber to pass a Bill you need a Majority. Now, let me ask the following question. On the idea of Majority when it comes to leading nations, because we're talking about what it takes to lead 09500205.doc 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 nations, and the bedrock principle, what it means to lead one of the great nations of this world, let's look to how the other democracies… how do they understand that? If you look at the other great democracies, I would ask, is there any other country where their leader can be elected by a mere simple Majority, just a simple Majority? So that if you had a three or four candidate race, you could have a winner with only, say, 25 or 30 percent. Is there …are there… is that a common practice among the democracies of the world?"

"Well, I would argue that it's not. If you look at Canada, Britain, Germany, the ones that use parliaments, they need again, like we do with our Bills, a Majority means at least 50 percent. This proposal, I understand what's being tried to be reached with this, and I think as Representative Black mentioned, there's a way to do this by dealing with the Constitution. However… however, in other parliamentary democracies they require that a Majority means a parliamentary majority, much like we do with our Bills. Let me consider those countries that elect their President directly, not by parliament. Let's look at France. What they have is they have a runoff, that is, if you had the case where nobody reached a 50 percent Majority level, 50 percent plus one (1), they have a runoff to make sure that a fringe Minority candidate does not sneak through. Does this Bill have any runoff protection to keep a fringe Minority candidate in the multipart… member race from sneaking through? Is there any protection?" 09500205.doc 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"To provide a runoff, let's say you had four (4) or five (5) candidates and the winning candidate only had 27 percent of the vote. Is there any protection that would provide for a runoff to make sure that was not a fringe candidate that was certainly not representative of the will of the American people."

"No, as I'm pointing out, elsewhere…"

"Both in this… both in this country, in various states and in other democracies around the world, the principle is that you need to protect the country from a fringe candidate who would get through with a small number, say, 25, 30 percent in a multimember race and the other countries have protection from that. This Bill offers no such protection against a fringe candidate getting through in a large… we're used to two-party races, and in two-party races I can see how your proposal would basically work. However, this would apply to any race, a race where you might have four (4) or five (5) candidates, all vying for significant fraction, and the fringe candidate could sneak through at that point. Other countries other states often have protections. We have protections with the way we do Bills. Let me also make one other point. Are you aware then in the early 1970s there was an attempt to do this by… roughly by Constitutional Amendment, to actually reform this and provide a mechanism? There was an attempt. Are 09500205.doc 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 you aware that that Constitutional Amendment when proposed had a runoff protection procedure? They had a… they had a procedure in there to provide that if no one reached a certain threshold in percentage, there would be a runoff. There would be some kind of protective measure, so that you would not just have a simple winner with what could be very small fraction of the vote. Were you aware of that?"

"I didn't say you were. I said could someone win the national election for the presidency with as little as 25 percent of the vote, if I had five (5) or six (6) candidates running?"

"Yes."

"It is not possible now unless the…"

"…because…"

"…they would need a majority of something. They need majo… right now today, they need a majority of electors. So they do need a 50 percent plus 1 majority of something, and in this case it's electors. What you're saying is…"

"Of the electors."

"There is something much like our Founding Fathers based it much like… when they looked at the other 09500205.doc 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 democracies that existed at the time they recognized you need some kind of protection. Does the electoral college sometimes get it wrong? Sure, we've seen sometimes when it get it wrong. There are right ways and wrong ways to fix it, and I would point out that even if you want to do this, there should have at least been the same protection that was contemplated by people, including some of those very same people who've put forward this popular vote compact. Some of the very same people who are in favor of that some thirty-odd years ago, they did not, for whatever reason, put the same protection in that they recognized was the right way to do it. For that reason, I would strongly urge a 'no' vote. And if these people are serious about putting in this kind of thing, either do it correctly with a full U. S. Amendment to the Constitution, or by at least providing the basic protections to keep fringe candidates from potentially winning with a very small percentage of the vote. Thank you."

"Mr. Speaker, I… I think you'll agree that this has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime or the other way, I don't know which, but this is absolutely incredible what we're witnessing here. Representative Fortner just stood up and with total understanding tried to explain legislation to another of our Members and I don't how many were listening, but it's clear to me that Representative Fortner understands the electoral process to a degree that most of us can barely comprehend. The fact of the matter 09500205.doc 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 is that I was just thinking, man, this could be the worst piece of legislation that I have seen this Session, or then I thought, well maybe it's just this year. And then I thought, well maybe it’s the worst piece I've seen today. But then I looked back, Rep… Mr. Speaker and you made me think of this, you said that you had made a mistake. I don't know that I've ever heard the Chair admit to a mistake, but then I know what you're referring to. The Democratic Party of the State of Illinois has abandoned its people. You have abandoned your people. I'm looking at a Roll Call from the last vote, only 2, Representative Franks and Representative Phelps, standing up for your districts, standing up for Illinois, not putting another four hundred million dollar ($400,000,000) hole in the budget. I thought that we were debating the worst piece of legislation of the day, but no we've already passed the worst piece of legislation of the day with a one point seven dol… mil… billion dollar ($1,700,000,000) shortfall in our budget. The Democratic Leaders of Illinois have said let's make it worse. Shame on you. This is an election year; you will pay and pay again."

"Thank you. I'd just like to remind everyone, this Bill sits in the Senate. House Bill 858 was voted on months ago; it’s the same exact language, check your computer. If you voted against it, you're probably going to vote against it. But… Mr. Speaker. I would like to call the previous question." 09500205.doc 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"Well, Mr. Speaker, I thought we'd called the previous question. I just want to remind all of my friends on the other side of the aisle, those eloquent remarks of Representative Molaro is not what the Democrats said when they got caught by surprise on a simple Majority vote. Most of you have already forgotten the Lyndon LaRouche Party. Set yourselves up for it again, be my guest."

"Representative Bassi."

"Yes."

"Representative Dugan."

"Okay. Representative Joyce."

"Just came in the door. Representative Mendoza."

"All we have."

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

"Can you… it appears as if we're preparing to adjourn. We're not. Okay."

"Okay. Thank you very much. I was just… my inquiry has to do the budget implementation Bill for education. I've had several calls. Is that something that is on the agenda or soon to be? The status of…"

"Pardon me?"

"Well, I would… I would… I think… I can think of a couple dozen things I'd like to say, but I don't think I'll… I'll say any of them. I was just hopeful, of course, that… that… is something and I know the Speaker's indicated it could possibly be on the agenda and I've had a lot of calls on it. I'm hopeful that it's something we act on soon and I just wanted to inquire. Thank you." 09500205.doc 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"Mr. Speaker, the Rules are very clear, you cannot have concurrent meetings when the House in Session, but I'll be willing to waive the Rule. But now we have to turn on the lights in a different room, turn up the heat, a staffer has to go down there. Look at the carbon imprint. We should all stay here in one room so we use less electricity and we have less of a carbon imprint and if we could all… and I promise I will sit down and breath more slowly, so as not to exhale as much carbon dioxide. And after a brief period of time if we could… if we could have Mr. Ellis lead us in a rousing chorus of Kumbaya, perhaps we could even adjourn. You know I… as strange as that may be. But I… these concurrent meetings… I… I'm worried about the carbon imprint by opening up new rooms, having staff have to waste time and energy. We should stick together here in one room and by the way, we can turn down the lights and if you can get the building engineer, tell him he can turn up the air conditioning. It's… it's colder than you know what in 09500205.doc 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 here. I just talked to a well digger and he won't even come up here, it's so cold."

"I had a question on Amendment 14."

"I just have a question about it before you go to it."

"No, I have a question about an Amendment that was withdrawn."

"Now… I know 14 was adopted, but another one she took off the table, so to speak, 12. I want to know why. I just have a question and I'm sure she can answer it."

"Representative Hamos, in one of your earlier Amendments you had a provision in there that allowed for DuPage County to col… take their one quarter percent increase in the sales tax to use it for both transportation and/or public safety. My understanding now with Amendment 14 that is no longer a option for DuPage County."

"Why?"

"So, the discretion that DuPage County would have had under the Amendment 12, giving them more discretion as to how they want to spend the money, has been taken off the table."

"Right."

"I assume you polled every DuPage Legislator."

"Okay. Bottom line is at the end of the day, you've now taken away whatever discretion DuPage County would have had if, in fact, this Bill passes. I just wanted to confirm that under Amendment #14. Thank you the for chance to inquire and I know we'll debate them further… debate it more on Third Reading. Thank you." 09500205.doc 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

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

"Representative, I notice you've made one public policy change and I want to thank you for that. In the earlier Amendment it gave the Chicago Transit Authority Board the ability to levy the real estate transfer tax. I thought that was horrible public policy. I've noticed that you have taken that out and we're back now to where the Chicago City Council, if they choose to do so, must levy the real estate transfer tax. Is that correct?"

"I think that is a… you're to be commended for that. I think that's a public policy decision that certainly makes 09500205.doc 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 it more palatable and… and it lets people hold those who impose a tax accountable, the CTA Board isn't elected. Let me ask you just one other question that I have a concern about. Does the state tax dollars matching funds… do we have to match only what the city real estate transfer tax will generate or that plus the sales tax?"

"All right. So, we're matching the sales tax, now at a higher rate, right? Which will cost the general tax dollars more money, right?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

"If the real estate transfer tax is… is imposed I have to assume, hopefully, the Chicago real estate market will …will bounce back. The only thing that concerns me about this Bill, Representative, is the amount of money from General State Tax Funds that will be sent to Chicago to do the match is not capped. It could be a hundred million (100,000,000) next year, it could be a hundred and fifty 09500205.doc 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 (150,000,000), a hundred and seventy-five (175,000,000), there's no cap. Was it impossible to reach an agreement on what… what a cap on general state tax dollars could be?"

"All right. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. The only trouble with a 5 minute clock is when we get a 2 minute answer. But to the Bill. I do commend the Sponsor particularly for the removal of what I thought was a very egregious abuse of public policy and that was letting an appointed CTA Board levy a real estate transfer tax in the City of Chicago. I thought that was a horrible piece of public policy; that's been corrected. If the Chicago City Council wants to levy this tax, fine. They'll have to do so by a recorded vote. The only problem I have with this Bill is the amount of money coming from general tax revenues that would have to match the sales tax and the real estate transfer tax 09500205.doc 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 amount. And I… I understand the urgency of helping the Regional Transportation Authority in northeastern Illinois, but with the Comptroller's report… and I'll listen to the debate… I'm not comfortable obligating the state for a hundred million dollars ($100,000,000). To match that will, I'm sure, go up when we don't have the money to do the things that we're supposed to do. And I… I think last but not least, Mr. Speaker, let me say, I'm very disappointed that this Bill is moving without an opportunity to address a jobs Bill. My district needs those jobs, we need highway improvements, we need bridge improvements, we need water system and sewer system improvements and there's no capital jobs Bill and we have said along that we should link the two (2), and it now appears that they will not be linked. My fear is we may not ever, in this Session, come back to a desperately needed capital jobs Bill. And I think that's… I that's a mistake."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Lady yield?"

"I rise in strong support of this Bill. Representative Hamos and I were the Mass Transit Committee for a number of years before there was a mass transit crisis. We saw this coming, we knew it was on its way and we have… when… along with the new Mass Transit Committee have been working very hard to try in a bipartisan fashion to come up with a solution for what is a true crisis. We are using the same 09500205.doc 60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 funding source that has been used for the last twenty-four (24) years unchanged. It needs to be changed in order to address current needs. This Bill has been… the Bill itself has been over three (3) years in the making and as opposed to Senate Bill 307 which was passed earlier, it does not, I repeat does not, put a four hundred million ($400,000,000) dollar hole in the budget. This provides a funding source that will allow them to move forward. The reforms we asked for are in the Bill. There is no question but that we need to be looking for capital, a capital jobs program on the way through. But in the meantime, we have money for paratransit. We have money to be sure we can keep the RTA system moving. We will not add two (2) million more cars to the road, to the gridlock that is already existing in northern Illinois. There is funding for downstate and I urge the passage of this Bill. Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I, too, want to commend Representative Hamos for all the hard work she's done. I've seen her work… try to work through this problem, not only this year, but last year the year before that. She's actually been working on it for, I believe, about four and a half years. But when I came here this morning, and I came to Springfield, I was hoping that I was going to get the opportunity to vote on a transportation Bill, one (1) that was for mass transit, and one (1) that was for roads for the metropolitan region of Chicago. 09500205.doc 61  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 Because this mass transit crisis is a financial crisis and it's a financial crisis that consists both of an operational shortfall and it consists of capital needs by the CTA, Metra and Pace. In fact, the capital needs of the CTA are greater than the operational needs. The CTA testified two (2) weeks ago in committee that if they did not get four hundred and sixty-five million dollars ($465,000,000) in capital that we would again return to doomsday by the end of the summer because they would have to put new wheels on the trains, new brakes on the trains, and fix sections of the L and without that money they would seriously impair and have to shutdown sys… parts of the system. That… by virtue of that fact, it ties capital to transit. It is necessary to tie capital to transit. You're asking us to vote on one (1) part of the problem without seeing the solution of the other part of the problem. You see, in my county, I have to say to you, our mass transit system we… is one (1) of roads. We move our masses on roads. We haven't had road money in seven (7) years of any significance; we haven't had a capital Bill in seven (7) years. It's a very difficult sell in McHenry County, in any collar county, to go back and say, I can raise taxes on you in McHenry County and half of that money is going to go directly to the CTA, but I can't fix your intersection at Route 31 and 62. It's ridiculous; it's a transportation system that consists of roads. It's a transportation system that needs expansion into the outlying areas for Metra and for Pace. Imagine being a resident in the Village of Huntley or the City of Marengo 09500205.doc 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 or the City of Hebron where you have no services offered. You don't have Pace, you don't have Metra, you don't have CTA. You have no way to get your citizens from the doctor to the home, to the home, to the store. There is no transit, but 100 percent of those people are going to pay this tax. And the only way I believe that we should be considering a tax increase on the people of the Metropolitan Region is to be able to… be able to apply a tax that is fair and equitable and this is neither fair and it's neither equitable. And it's not equitable because anywhere you go in the region outside the City of Chicago, whether it is suburban Cook or whether it's the collar counties, only about 2 percent of the population is going to use mass transit, and 100 percent of the population is going to pay this tax. But inside the City of Chicago, 30 percent of the population uses mass transit every single day. And I'm sympathetic to the needs of the City of Chicago, but the City of Chicago Representatives have to be sympathetic to the needs of the transportation system of the suburbs, and the rest of the state's. When I look at… at this Bill and I look at the genesis that this Bill's gone through, just with the governance sharing issue. Okay. We're going to add an appointment for the Cook Board County chairman, Todd Stroger, to make an appointment to Metra. All right? But when I look at the funding formula and I see collar county and suburban Cook money going into the City of Chicago, I don't see any City of Chicago money coming into Metra, but yet fifty-seven (57) Metra stops exist inside the City of Chicago and 20 percent of the 09500205.doc 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 Metra riders live inside the City of Chicago and to add insult to industry… insult to injury, now the Cook County Board chairman's going to get to make an appointment to Metra and the City of Chicago Cook County Board members are going to get to approve that appointment. That's not fair; that's not equitable. I think we can do better on this Bill because it's an important Bill. I am not antimass transit; I am pro mass transit. I need to see the ability to expand Metra services into McHenry County and into the areas of the region that don't have adequate mass transit. But the only way we can get a transit Bill that is fair and equitable is if we include capital. If we include the capital that it takes to expands those transit services…"

"Absolutely. If we include the capital Bill into the transit Bill or we do them together, I think we could put together a package that we all could vote on, that would be good not only for the City of Chicago but for suburban Cook, for McHenry County and for the rest of the state. I think we need to vote this Bill down today and continue to pressure the Leadership in this chamber for a capital transit Bill. Thank You."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. I stand in opposition to this Bill because it is not dealing with the entire state. This Bill is fatally flawed because we have a system that is completely out of whack. The people that are riding the CTA buses need to know that the 09500205.doc 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 lowest paid job seems to be those who clean the buses and clean the trains, and they start at twenty-six dollars ($26) an hour plus benefits. Is that anyway to run an efficient mass transit system? I… I posit that it is not. We're not asking them to compete, as the private market in other cities. London changed much of their public transit over to private companies to compete and they drove so many more efficiencies that now they have twice as many buses running in London and they're running at a lower cost to the rider. What we have is a public monopoly, and until we break that system we're going to continue to shovel money into the Chicago system. I would also point out that the other two (2) leading cities in the United States, New York City and Los Angeles, subsidized their mass transit, New York City to the tune of two hundred and seventy million dollars ($270,000,000) a year, Los Angeles more than three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) a year. What does the City of Chicago, out of its budget, give to their mass transit? They give five million (5,000,000), a total of five million (5,000,000) and Cook County is generous and adds another two (2,000,000), whereas New York and L.A. almost three hundred dollars ($300)… three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) a piece. What we're doing is, we are doing another short-term fix. As Representative Tryon said, we'll be back here by August because the wheels are going to be falling off the CTA and the Metra trains. Well, Gentlemen and Ladies of this House, it seems that the train is leaving the station. What I'm going to ask you to do is to stand in front of that train. If four (4) or five 09500205.doc 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 (5) of you have the guts to stand up to the Leadership and say, this is not the way to handle Illinois's economy. We need jobs all over the state, we need highways all over the state. We need improvements in state buildings, we need improvements in passenger rail not just in Chicagoland but throughout the state. I can guarantee you if this bai… Bill fails, we will be back within one (1) week with a capital Bill and a funding source. It simply takes the guts to say 'no'. I urge you to say 'no' and to …help us get jobs throughout the state, not just in the Chicagoland area. With that, I ask for a 'no' vote."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Well, first, just to clarify. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"I just want to clarify for the record the difference between the Amendment that was adopted and the previous Bill. Could you just go over that one more time what was… what the changes are?"

"No, from the last time when we voted on this Bill."

"Thank you for that. And to the Bill. First, I'd like to thank Representative Hamos. After the last Bill, obviously, there were not a lot of Republicans votes on the Bill the last time this came up for a vote, but yet, even in spite of that, you worked with… with myself and the committee and the Republicans to make the Bill a better Bill, regardless of how the vote turns out, that you always work us on a bipartisan manner on this Bill and I appreciate that. I am going to support this Bill as I did last time. The reason we're here today is because it's all started with a deficit in the CTA. And because of that deficit, obviously, as time progressed, there was also a deficit in Metra and Pace. This is not strictly a CTA. But the reason we're really initially this came up was the CTA deficit. So in my own mind I know that there is still going to be a capital deficit for the CTA, Metra, and Pace and because CTA is an integral part of that, I have no doubt that the same reasons why we're here voting to… to vote for the operating expenses, we will need to be back here to vote for a jobs Bill for capital. And so that's why I know I would prefer that these are linked together, but the immediate crisis, today's crisis is operating expenses. We're going to take care of that. Tomorrow's crisis will be jobs and the capital Bill and we'll have to take care of it because otherwise the CTA won't be able to use the operating expenses we got today without wheels on their trains. So, I urge an 'aye' vote." 09500205.doc 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" 09500205.doc 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008

"Representative, just a couple of clarification questions. The Governor's been very choice in his words, saying, 'Please send us a Bill that I can sign or one that I can rewrite.' Is there any provisions in here that the Governor cannot rewrite this Bill and just write in 307, which he says he endorsed?"

"You're not the only one."

"Okay. In all fairness, some clarifications on here and I sat in on some of your mass transit meetings this summer. Are there any… isn't there a Federal Law that says if you increase taxes by a certain amount that there has to be a dollar-for-dollar match in fare increases? And there were some provisions in your original Bill that we voted on in September that said that we recognize that Federal Law, but we're going to phase it in over ten (10) years. What… where does it stand now after seventeen (17) Amendments on what we're voting on now?"

"So, after five (5) years then, we will have increased fares by three hundred and eighty-five million (385,000,000)…"

"…the same as the tax increase on the… on the …that you're implementing with this legislation?"

"Okay. I rode the Metra trains in from the suburbs when I worked in Chicago. I've also ridden the train system in Washington, D.C. People ask me why don't we go to a system where the longer you ride the train, the more you charge, which is only fair for the people that ride longer. Has anyone looked into that, to make the fares truly …represent how long a person's on a train or a bus?"

"And I'm glad you bring up capital, and that brings me to my last question. The city system has what we call down on the farm, they've mined their assets. They haven't bought new wheels, they haven't bought new buses, they haven't bought new cars, they haven't kept up their train tracks. Is there any provisions in this Bill, that's supposed to be reforming a lot of things, that kind of spells out that they have to spend so much of this on capital improvements each year? They cannot just keep putting money that's put into a system to help alleviate a doomsday scenario if they don't keep up their capital purchases in the future. And I think that's what got them in trouble. So, does this Bill address that in any way?"

"Exactly."

"So, all we're going to do with this is pour more money into it."

"Are they going use that for operating too or are they going to…?"

"Okay."

"Thank you, Representative."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have any questions. I… find this to be a rather interesting day. I want to preface all of my comments with… make it very clear that there's no question we need to resolve the mass transit problem in northeastern Illinois. And I want to applaud Representative Hamos, she spent a lot of time on this and 09500205.doc 74  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 so have Representatives Mathias, and Bassi, and Mulligan, and Coulson. It's very important to them and they're passionate about it. They've been very concerned about this issue from day one, and I want to thank them for their leadership and their tenacity on the issue. It's a very emotional issue. But what strikes me about today and the kind of the absurd nature of today is a little while ago we passed a Bill or you passed a Bill …doesn't surprise us, I guess, you followed the wishes of your Governor, to pass a Bill the shortfall almost four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) out of the General Revenue Fund. Now, we talked about that idea, it came out of our side, several months ago in an attempt to compromise, but when we talked about it, we talked about making sure that we filled that hole 'cause we acknowledged that there was going to a shortfall by taking the sales tax off gas to help solve the CTA problem. Unfortunately, today under the Bill you passed, all of you, your upstate and downstate Members, you didn't address the shortfall, the hole in the budget at all. Completely ignored it. No reference to it, no suggestion that we need to fill it, just simply, well, this is what the Governor wanted and we're going to send it to him, heck with a four hundred million dollar ($400,000,000) hole. I guess we really shouldn't be surprised. It was the same Party, the same group on your side of the aisle that shorted the pension system for four (4) years to balance a budget, spending money we didn't have. Now, there's some good things in this Bill that we're talking about now under the Hamos Bill. Again, we need to solve 09500205.doc 75  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 the mass transit problem and I somewhat argue that this is probably the best way to do it. And I in some ways I agree with that. But again, what adds to the confusion and the problem of today is you do kind of the same old game of putting in some things we need, but taking an underhanded approach to some other things. Here's an opportunity today to maybe help some of the other counties, help DuPage County. You've got a piece of legislation that you threw out today to say, DuPage County, you're going through some tough times, we understand that. We're going to take a quarter percent increase in the sales tax and allow you to use it for public safety, but now five (5) hours later you yank that out and decide that we're not going to give them that. We're going to focus on one thing and one thing only and that is to take care of the City of Chicago because it's January 1 and we don't need to work with the other side of the aisle. Let's do the typical thing we've been doing for the last six (6) years under a Democrat- controlled House, a Democrat-controlled Senate, a Democrat- controlled Governor's Office and take care of only certain parts of the state at the expense of the rest of the State of Illinois. It's the Chicago power grab. It's really not a surprise to any of us. We've changed this Bill from a governance standpoint to give the county board chairman, Todd Stroger, who we all know, I like Todd. Hasn't had a great record since he's been the county board president. We're now going to give the Cook County board president an appointment to the Metra board and to the RTA board, take care of DuPage County… or take care of Cook County but not 09500205.doc 76  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 DuPage. We're not going to take care of DuPage. We're only taking care of Cook County and the City of Chicago. We're also now going to change the governance provision to say that for suburban Cook folks we have the ability to appoint members to RTA and specifically Metra. We're going to allow you to do that, but not without the City of Chicago members on the Cook County Board, who represent the City of Chicago, to have a say. Once again, we want to take care of the City of Chicago, the City of Chicago only. Is that really the spirit of bipartisanship? Is that what we're all about? Is that working together? Of course not. And that's the sad reality of what's going on here, something that has to be done. This is probably going to pass, and quite frankly, we need to do something on mass transit. But the way it's been done, the protection of certain segments of this state and population at the expense of others and the totality of today is a huge mistake. Now, the other extremely significant or in… significant part that's lacking in today's debate and issue is we've only done half… solved half of the problem, half of the problem. We've taken care of one need and acknowledged… and we all knew that has to happen, but we have completely ignored a jobs Bill, a capital Bill, an infrastructure Bill. Does anybody understand, if you don't you should, that all that work on 355-South, all that work on the Dan Ryan, all that work on the tollway system is done. It's dried up. Gone, finished. Housing market isn't particularly strong right now in this country and certainly not in the State of Illinois. We have an 09500205.doc 77  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 opportunity in this state to infuse ten (10) to twenty (20) billion dollars ($10,000,000,000 to $20,000,000,000) into our economy, to build schools, to improve state buildings, to widen roads, to lengthen roads from Cairo to Waukegan, from Quincy to Danville, but we haven't done it. We haven't done it. We've done half the problem, taken care of one half the problem and then completely ignored the real… the bigger issue, I think, maybe not the bigger but equally as important, as the first issue… we're not doing anything about a jobs Bill. We're completely ignoring the needs of all of the people of the State of Illinois. Taking care of part it, but not all of it. Ron Huerberman has been quoted, he's been in committee, says we have almost six billion dollars ($6,000,000,000) of needs of capital in the CTA system. Trains slow down to five (5) miles an hour in the City of Chicago 'cause the rail system is so bad. We need new tires on those… or wheels on those trains; we need to make improvements. The list goes on and on. I've been told by all the Leaders of the Legislative Caucuses that they want a jobs Bill. I'll take them at their word. I've taken them at their word for a year now. But I'll continue to take them at their word because the reality is we need to do a jobs Bill. And I will give… and I haven't done this lately… I will give the Governor credit. He has said he's for a jobs Bill and I take him at his word. He's been very tenacious and been very committed to a jobs Bill and I believe him. But we can talk a lot about this and we can take care of a component of it today, but we will be doing a disservice to all of the people of 09500205.doc 78  STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 205th Legislative Day 1/9/2008 the State of Illinois, regardless of where they live and to those looking for jobs, if we don't complete the picture, if we don't do the thing we need to do soon, not later, because we're about to lose federal money. You know what's going in D.C. now, they're saying, we're working on a highway Bill out there. Well, why should we give Illinois more money? Why do we want to give the Legislature and the Department of Transportation, the State of Illinois any more money for a transportation Bill 'cause they haven't even accessed the money we sent them from several years ago? Why would anybody give us any money right now? Our inaction is going to cause us a lot of pain and a lot of hurt. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time and I appreciate this commitment and I believe sincerity on your part Representative Hamos, in pursuing this and the four (4) Members on our side who I know have worked hard on this. I appreciate it. But our job's not complete. I'm saddened by some of things that have gone on today, but that happens, when you're not in control and you've got a Majority in all the… in the House and the Senate and I guess the Governor's Office. Hopefully, the people of this state, especially those downstate, will see what happened today. And I know that people will vote what they think is best for their districts. Thank you."