Illinois House Floor Debate — February 25, 2010

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record reflect that Representatives Coladipietro and Mathias are excused on the Republican side of the aisle."

"A point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."

"I would like the Body to help me celebrate the birthday of my seatmate, which the birthday is tomorrow. And you can all help us celebrate by participating in eating her birthday cake which is back in Representative Saviano's office area. So, you're welcome and let's wish Representative Suzie Bassi a happy birthday, tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4863 simply says that there will be no more administrative chargebacks to the State Employees Group Insurance Act which are… or fund which basically helps women's crisis centers provide insurance to some of their members and they otherwise may not be able to have it. Be happy to answer any questions."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 4864 is the Counselor Licensure Rules were changed a few years ago only to allow master's or doctoral degrees. Because the law was changed… because the rules were changed, the law wasn't. This Bill just cleans up that language. The Amendment to this Bill adds a grandfathering provision in case there is someone that's going after the bachelor's level application, which the Bill originally stated. It 09600104.doc 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 grandfathers them into being able to apply for the counselor licensure."

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

"I just wanted to ask, if in the master's or the doctorate degree, is there a stipulation as to what category that has to be in? Because I see the Undergraduate Degree does not have to be in any form of human services."

"For the counselor licensure?"

"Yes."

"For the professional counselor, it requires two years of having a counselor licensure. But by rule, you have to have a master's or a doctorate degree to get a counselor degree."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Creates an offense of false representation to a tattoo or body piercing business 09600104.doc 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 as a parent or legal guardian of a minor. And I ask for your support."

"Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this is a Bill that was brought to me by the March of Dimes. And it… does… or it works with metabolic screening for newborns. And what this does is, when they do the screening that first day, they can run 28 tests on a blood test and it saves a lot of things in the future as far as diseases. And what this would do is keep those funds from being swept that they collect. Ask for a favorable vote."

"Yeah. Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this is a Bill similar to what we had last year, and what it does, it keeps the funds from being swept, our Illinois Historic Sites Funds. And the moneys collected usually works for the maintenance of those facilities. What happens when we sweep those funds, we don't… we're not able to keep our sites open and keep them fixed up. And then we had deferred maintenance down the years and we'll pay for it later. So, I'd ask for your support."

"Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. Mr. Speaker, House Bill 4966 is a redo of the Soil and Water Conservation license plates that were passed last year. And additionally, we have added St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is a… St. Jude's children's cancer hospital to this for a plate for them. And that's what it does."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 5093 is putting into Code something that we found that was missing in a 09600104.doc 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 classification for someone who escapes from a mental facility who has been deemed to have been serving there and can't leave on their own. Had an escape from the Elgin facility in my… close to my district. Individual wound up in one of my towns, in Bartlett, and when they returned him, they found that there was this glaring omission in our law. So, I wish to correct that. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"They do not have to be found fit first. The problem being is if a person escapes and let's say they went off to Wisconsin, we had nothing in the law that says we can go get them to return them to the facility. So, this is to help with that issue."

"Well, the problem here is, is that DHS wrote this Bill for me. One, they needed a deterrence for them to… that maybe think they are still unfit, but they shouldn't be deterred from escaping. Also, the idea that they're in these facilities is that they should be getting better, so not necessarily unfit anymore. And as I mentioned earlier, currently it's not a crime to escape or as they call it from these facilities 'elope'. And again, it helps with the extradition back to Illinois."

"They're not…"

"Okay."

"Well, the way you place it, Representative, and being a very logical man that you are, not quite, 'cause I asked 09600104.doc 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 the same questions. But the issue being is that they're not going to be put in the prison until they are released on their own having been found not so much insane anymore. So, that issue won't come until they are completed what their term DHS finds them fit to be released."

"That… and under consideration, correct, but as it was explained by DHS, they should be getting better. And if they… what would they have found in the four escapes or elopements as we talked about in committee, that these people planned these escapes. It wasn't just, you know, random. They were planned. So, they were cognizant of what they were doing."

"No, it does not."

"Correct."

"Correct."

"I was really hoping to hear Representative Reboletti's rebuttal to Representative Lang first, but I'm kind of listening to Representative Lang and this is the weirdest thing 'cause yesterday I agreed with Representative Hamos and now I’m kind of agreeing with Representative Lang. How on earth… I mean, if someone's been committed because they're unfit, I guess… I guess you could argue that five years ago they were declared unfit, it doesn't mean the day 09600104.doc 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 they escaped they were declared unfit. But was this happened?"

"Yes, it has."

"How many times has it happened?"

"Well, we… I had one recently by my district as of last August, and DHS came up with four other elopements that they discussed in committee. Now, here's the reason. I understand the previous speaker's logic, as he placed a foot on it, and I asked that same question to DHS. The reason for this change is that when a person is found unfit to stand trial, found not guilty by reason of insanity, there's no underlying crime by which to base the issuance of a warrant if they escape."

"Right."

"So…"

"But they're still unfit to stand trial."

"But…"

"You're going to charge them with a felony. They're going to come in pleading, you know, that they're unfit and you're going to have a…"

"The… As a result, law enforcement agencies have no legal grounds to bring in the escaped individual. So with this Bill, it provides the legal basis for the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the individual that has escaped. That's what we need in place. And this is what DHS found…"

"You mean you can't bring them back?"

"No. There's no legal grounds to bring them back."

"That makes no sense whatsoever, Representative." 09600104.doc 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"I agree, Representative, that's…"

"So you're creating a new crime to go arrest them and bring them back?"

"That is correct."

"Okay. If it… But hold on a second here, Representative. That makes no sense because if you were unfit to stand trial, then a judge would have to make that decision, you would then… if you left, and they're going to commit you, you'd be involuntarily committed, you would then be in violation of that court order, you go back to court and the judge could bring you back."

"They could, but as it says, if they got to Wisconsin, they can't extradite them back."

"Sure they… sure they can."

"This is what I was told by DHS."

"I'm glad you… I don't have as much faith in DHS as you do, Representative."

"Well…"

"Let me ask you one other quick question, cause I could see this in the case of say an involuntary commitment for a sexual offense. If you were a sexual predator and you're involuntarily committed and you escaped, that doesn't mean you're unfit to stand trail because you've been involuntarily committed. So, I could see this in that scenario, but my… to my knowledge, and I stand to be corrected and probably should be, I thought that that population was all still within the Department of Corrections in a specialized treatment facility."

"That may be, Representative." 09600104.doc 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"In the IDOC."

"But the issue being is that, the four… five individuals that we spoke of, all were part who have committed murder. Okay. So, they were found not guilty…"

"Right, but…"

"…by reason of insanity. What… and now… and there's still one person out there that they have not found."

"All right. Well, Representative, I appreciate your answers. I'm going to hang up here and listen to Representative Reboletti's rebuttal. Thank you."

"Thank you."

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

"Are you telling us that DHS requested this legislation?"

"Along with myself. When we had this escape last year in August, I had two concerns with what occurred. First one was the notification of local officials. There was a four… a five hour gap from when this person escaped to when he was found. Now, the issue being was, Bartlett police found this person, took him to a train station, didn't know he was gone. So, that was the first issue. Second issue was, DHS found that there was no enforcement of the escape. So, they had… they wrote this up so that if he was found, police could then hold him on the escape issue."

"Who at DHS asked you to do this?"

"Randy Wells and Pat Knepler." 09600104.doc 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"They are not part of the division of mental health, are they?"

"Mr. Knepler is the lawyer for the Division of Mental Health."

"Well, that's even worse. This is got to be the goofiest Bill I've seen in a long time, with all due respect. I can't imagine…"

"This drives you crazy."

"I think Representative Lang said this… made the points on this very, very well. I would just strongly suggest that you withdraw the Bill and take another look at this because I don't believe the assumptions brought to you by DHS are founded in any way. There are all kinds of people who are housed around the state unfit to stand trial. Very seldom do they elope, but when they do, it's just a matter of returning them to the facility. So, I think this is a Bill you ought to take another look at, with all respect. Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the request of my learned colleagues, I will request this put back on Second to work on some better language."

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

"Representative, as I look through this Bill, and it's obvious to me, and I think you would agree, this administration intends to put the Department of Agriculture on a fee basis, no General Revenue Fund at some point in the near future. Fair statement?" 09600104.doc 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Let me… let me ask you just… a few questions about some of the sections of the Bill. Under the Egg and Egg Product Act, until I read this, I had no idea how many ways we could go after somebody that is in the egg business. I guess we should go after the chicken, but that's not what we're going to do here. There's a section in here that says, 'the director can suspend and revoke a license for an egg producer'. What's the due process? If I'm an egg producer and I used to have one in my district when I was up in Iroquois County, I can get fined up to $600 and the director can simply suspend and revoke my license to be a producer and provider of eggs. So, what's my due process?"

"All right. And I suppose although, what happens, and you know this as well as I, many small businesses can't afford to go to court. I mean, that's the ultimate due process. I assume that any business could say, well, I just don't agree with this at all and I'm going to ask the court to intervene. But that gets very expensive."

"And I… that gives one individual a great deal of authority and power over a particular industry. And I… I wasn't aware we were having a whole number of problems 09600104.doc 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 about the egg business in Illinois. So, I mean this… to me the Egg and Products Act just seems to be in there because of increased fees. Now, let's get into the Animal Disease Laboratories Act. If you have to have your hogs checked or your cattle checked, those fees are going to go up a great deal, correct?"

"Right."

"I'm sorry? Ten dollars…"

"All right. In this recession, doesn't that seem a little excessive?"

"Well, I think the fear of the Federal Government coming in and taking over most everything is probably a legitimate fear at this point. But as I… I look in these things, you know, it's one thing to have the Farm Bureau involved and other entities involved, I just have a hunch that no 09600104.doc 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 production farmer in any of our districts was involved in any of these meetings. Some of these fees with the wet spring, the late harvest, the uncertainty in the ag commodities pricing, the increased cost to dry corn, farmers are operating on the edge, Representative, as you well know. I mean, we both come from similar districts. When you… when you raise the pesticide product registration fee from the current 200 to 300, the experimental use of permit fee by a hundred… holy cow, the late registration assessment goes up a $100. The applicator fee goes up by $20. I mean, it goes on and on and on. All of that… all of that is translated into an increased cost per acre of input. And as you know, the farmer is the only person who does not control the price of his or her product. I mean, it's whatever the market the Chicago Board of Exchange, whatever. Whatever they say a bushel of corn is worth, that's what it's worth and that's what you have to sell it for unless you have a lot of storage on your land, and many don't because that's so expensive. It just seems like a very bad time in the agricultural industry, after the disastrous year we've had to increase input costs when there's no way for the production farmer to increase his unit cost per bushel. And at some point and long before Willie Nelson discovered Farm Aid, there were a lot of farmers going out of business in my district and a lot of foreclosures, you're getting bigger and bigger and bigger to even operate today. I don't… I don't question the efficacy of the Bill. I know where we're headed, and I think the Farm Bureau feels that 09600104.doc 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 we will need some of these services from the Department of Agriculture and we will have to pay a little more for some of them because general revenue is not going to be able to make up that difference. But this is relatively early in the Session. Believe it or not, I still have farmers in my district who haven't taken out their corn. I don't even know what that would be worth at this point. I… I just… Representative, I'm not standing in opposition to the concept, I worked with you last year on DNR fees, and I thought… think that was necessary and I think Director Miller has made it very clear that those fees will be used to enhance our parks and our recreational facilities. I'm just… I just stand in opposition at this point to this Bill that increase input costs, no matter how small per acre of product, there's no way to recover that cost. I know we have to visit it. I just think we're coming off of a terrible year to impose new costs on the agribusiness industry. One of the largest soybean extraction plants in my immediate area announced Tuesday that they were closing. That cost a 100 jobs in the City of Danville. Because of over capacity in the soy bean…"

"Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. If Bunge North America, a huge elevator operator, feels it necessary to close the soybean extraction unit at a plant that has been in Danville for more than 70 years because of uncertain markets, uncertain capacity, I just can't, in good conscience, vote for this Bill today based on the 09600104.doc 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 difficulty that our agribusiness industry is having from one end of this state to another. And I know many of the people in this chamber, not you, Representative, but many of the people in this chamber are generations removed from the farm. They don't even connect anymore about what that farmer does and what they can buy in the supermarket or grocery store. It… I know that you're on the right track, I know this is where we have to go, I just think it's the wrong time, too many fees for farmers to absorb in what… in what has been a horrible year for agribusiness. And I intend to vote 'no'."

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

"Representative, I think I heard correctly, but I want to double-check one of the concerns that many have related to this type of fund establishment. Is there specific hard language in this Bill as it's written that would not allow any of the funds to be swept?"

"I… I understand that, but I got to tell you, Representative, I heard that before when we swept funds, they called those funds not excessive, but that… I mean, 09600104.doc 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 the same argument was used, albeit by a different administration, but maybe the same budget people. And the last I looked, we had one of those budget folks still involved with crafting budgets on the second floor. So, I guess for me, that's almost a prerequisite when it comes to a fund is to have the hard language in there, and it's not… it's not anything against the director of Agriculture, it's not against the Governor, it's just plain… you fool me once shame on you, you fool me twice shame on me. And then I’m going to go back and these funds are going to be at some time or another, maybe not next year, maybe not the next fiscal year, but at some time they're going to be in peril for some kind of a sweep, and I will have voted for a fund that could be… could be swept. And I think that's a major flaw… a major flaw in the Bill right now. Let me… let me explore another avenue that Representative Black kind of turned down a little bit that road, and it had to do with establishing the… in the Department of Agriculture, kind of almost a fee department rather than a GRF supported department. Are we headed down that road with this type of legislation?"

"So, how much is the estimated revenue that all of these individual increases will…"

"Okay. So, for about $2 million in additional fees, will we see a corresponding decrease in general revenue for the Department of Agriculture, dollar for dollar? Is that some kind of agreement that's been made or…"

"Well, you know…"

"…once the people…"

"…of the State of Illinois has helped the Governor construct the budget, we might get to there."

"But my concern is, I mean, it's obvious, and I also… I have to echo some of what Representative Black said. I… last year we had DNR fees and a lot of us participated in that because we felt comfortable, but that was going to directly impact the programs that we in our area of the state were concerned about. We felt comfortable with that. I just don't feel comfortable in the same way with this, especially this… at this time, and especially if we don't have that hard guarantee. We got a long way to go with the entire budget process. The Governor asked for the process itself to be delayed for a period of time. I think that it would be appropriate to also delay this type of a fee increase until we've heard from the Governor. And maybe 09600104.doc 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 we have an opportunity for those individuals who we supposedly wanted to hear from. Why don't we wait and see how many people go on the Governor's Web site from my district or rural areas of the state and make a comment regarding this type of thing. I mean, we got time. The Governor asked us to take that time. Let's let the people speak."

"I appreciate that, and for the record very quickly, I know my time is up, I'll finish. The groups that opposed it haven't supported it; I think they've gone neutral."

"At least that's what the Farm Bureau folks in my area and quite frankly, they've gone neutral, someone felt like they were threatened almost, and if you don't go neutral on this or at least back off, you could see a corresponding decrease in GRF. I just think we'd be well served to wait on this. And if we're going to vote on this… this today, I'd encourage a 'no' vote."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" 09600104.doc 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Representative, I heard the discussion in committee as well as today, although you made a comment or two. I want a clarification on the answer. Did you state how much this is estimated to generate?"

"Two million…"

"Okay. And of course the concern that I raised in committee and has been mentioned here, looking back, have any of these funds ever been swept?"

"Okay. Now you're saying these… these won't be swept. Is that… so that would be a change if the…"

"And you're saying they won't be swept now?"

"Have you… have you done any estimates of what do you suppose this adds to costs for an average farmer? You can 09600104.doc 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 paint whatever scenario you want, but just wonder what kind of costs we'd be looking at."

"My concern is simply the track record. I appreciate that, you know, you saying you're a man of your word and you'd indicated the Governor and the director so they wouldn't be swept, but my concern is the past. And of course, we can look at other things and, you know, the Fire Prevention Fund had never been swept 'til last year, and 10.4 million could have gone for public safety, fire trucks, training, equipment, and it was swept after having never been. And that's my concern, is what's happened in the past. I thank you for your indulgence and your… answer to the questions. It's just that is a concern that I have."

"Thank you… thank you seatmate. That was great. Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, House Bill 5120 is very simple. Last year we passed a Bill to require all school buses to have two-way telecommunication devices out of student safety concerns. The problem with that is, in many years of rule in downstate Illinois, those devices to not have coverage and service… they don't have service coverage. In fact, Arthur School District, which myself and Representative Bob Flider split Arthur's school district territory, they already had cellular phones for emergency communications, you know, they… kids gone missing or a kid maybe's been dropped off at the wrong house, and we effectively outlawed what they already had, one, and forced them to go buy something that doesn't have service coverage in their area anyway. So, this Bill would simply allow the use of cellular radios, telecommunication devices or a cell phone in addition to what was already in the law from last year. It should be a commonsense change. And I'd appreciate your support."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. 5125 is a Bill I've had before you, previously. This is a Bill that has been in negotiations for years. We passed it out of the House last year with 107 votes, but it got held up in the Senate. And basically it's an affordable housing Bill. What it does for 501(c)(3) only that have bought affordable housing units in townhome or condo associations, although, at this point they're all townhome associations, if indeed they ban rentals, that 501(c)(3) can continue to rent until such a time as they sell, and then new owner comes under the new association rules. So, I'd be happy to answer any questions."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to ask the Sponsor a question. Will she yield?"

"Thank you. Representative, I believe had the founders of our Constitution ever envisioned condominium associations, they'd probably have made sure that you couldn't have one cause I think condominium associations, in many cases, take away people's property rights even after they buy the property. So, my question is, if I'm just a property owner, whether I'm a non-profit property owner or a regular property owner, and they change their bylaws and their declarations to say that from this day forward nobody can rent their condo unit out 'cause… Can they do that?"

"Apparently, yes, they can."

"Okay. Do they have to pay any kind of damages to the property owner because they may have, in effect, affected their value?"

"They do not."

"Is this situation a situation where an existing condo owner took… association took away an existing right, or was this… did this group actually purchase the condo knowing that they would never be able to lease it?"

"No. These groups purchased the condo and the association rules allowed them to lease them at the time of purchase."

"So, they changed the rules?"

"Correct." 09600104.doc 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"I think you have a good Bill here. I just think you should make it applicable to everybody, because I do not think in the State of Illinois, if you purchase a condo in a condo association, and you have a declaration that sets forth the rules and regulations and there's no mention whether or not you can… you can rent your unit out, and they then they take that right away, and they harm you financially because they took that right away. I can see them saying, in all future uses, that I actually think you should amend this for everybody. So…"

"Thank you, Representative."

"…maybe I'll support this and come back and work with you on a Bill that… that… "

"I would love to do that."

"…for all Illinoisans."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Body. This Bill is an initiative from the Cook County State's Attorneys Office. We worked on this Bill last year. We've come back with some changes, but what this Bill does is allow… it actually makes the Department of Corrections file a warrant… get a warrant to pick up individuals who are on parole and commit a Class III felony or above, all the way up to murder. In the past, it's been discretionary; however, I worked with Representative Howard and the Attorney General last year, I believe, because we had an instance where a parole warrant was not issued and somebody ended up murdered. So, we don't want that to happen. There was no objection in committee. And I stand ready to answer any questions. Thank you." 09600104.doc 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Thank you. Will the Gentleman to my left yield?"

"Thank you."

"Hi, seatmate."

"Hello, seatmate. Is this… Representative, it seems to be some pretty commonsense legislation here that, you know, are you basically saying that DOC ought to issue parole violations and issue the warrant for people who commit crimes when they're out on parole?"

"When they're on parole, we believe that a warrant should automatically be issued, yes."

"Yeah. It's stunning that that isn't the case already, isn't it, Representative?"

"It is. And what this would require is that they be returned back to the department and they would have a hearing in front of the admin… the PRB. And then most likely, their parole would be violated and they would serve the remainder of their parole awaiting trial on the new charges."

"You know, it's amazing to me that, you know, when I was in the State's Attorneys Office talking to cops, talking to parolees, people out on parole commit crimes in our communities, and DOC wouldn't bring them back. It made no sense. So, I'm really happy you're doing this today, Representative." 09600104.doc 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Well, I appreciate that. There were times when we called the department to ask for warrants, that they wanted to pick somebody up, and they declined, and that person went back on to the street. They were on bond and unfortunately, committed new crimes."

"Well, Representative, I'm glad you're doing this because this is just common sense, and I think the average Joe in the State of Illinois, the average taxpayer, would demand this. And so, I appreciate you doing this. It's frankly unconscionable that the department has done it for as long as they have. And I'm looking forward to voting for this Bill."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

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

"Representative, I'm confused, we've had so many of these Bills today. Does this Bill say that if I'm on parole and I somehow escape from parole, I'm going to go back to prison? I mean, does that make any sense? Is that logical?"

"It is absolutely logical, and the fact of the matter is, that the Department of Corrections should already be lodging warrants against people who commit new crimes, and that's why we've introduced this. Because if these people go in front of a bond court and get a bond, 09600104.doc 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 which could be low, they're back on the street, and not necessarily… the parole is not necessarily violated at that time. We have to wait for an adjudication of the new crime to determine if they should go back to the Department of Corrections. But they should… they should serve the remaining balance of their parole time in custody."

"But if I was found unfit, and was under the care of the Department of Human Services, and I committed another crime, surely… surely it's not logical to say I have to go back to prison. I should go back to an institution."

"That's where…"

"Or is that the other Bill?"

"That was the other Bill, Representative."

"Oh that was the other Bill. Oh, well, that's where I was getting confused. I thought you had picked up the Representative Ramey Bill. I…"

"That one's being worked out, Representative."

"I see. Okay. So this says, if a person on parole or supervised release for a forcible felony… Give me an example of a forcible felony."

"Home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated use of a weapon."

"Good grief."

"Terrorism."

"So, they're on parole for home invasion, and while on parole they create… or commit another home invasion, and because somebody's home they stab the homeowner to death, you're asking that they go back to prison?"

"Absolutely." 09600104.doc 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Well, what are we going to do with parole officers? Are we going to lay any off?"

"I don't think we'll be laying the parole officers off. They already have a pretty heavy burden of people to monitor as is, Representative."

"Well, Representative, I just want to congratulate you. This appears to be a commonsense measure that you got out of the Judiciary II Committee. Would you call this an enhanced penalty Bill?"

"No, I would not call it an enhanced penalty Bill."

"Well, everything I take there is considered to be an enhanced penalty Bill and it goes to some subdivision and they meet once… once every other year on an island off the coast of Borneo. So, I don't have a lot of hope for any of my Bills."

"Leader Black, I do have some news for you. I've talked to the chairman of the committee, and you'll be getting a hearing on your Bill next week."

"I… and maybe I'll even bring the grandparents over so they can testify about the death of their grandchild. So, what you're saying here is if a violent criminal who's for some reason on parole or supervised release, commits another violent crime, they should go back and finish their prison sentence. Is that what you're saying?"

"They should finish their prison sentence while they're awaiting trial on the new crime, yes."

"My goodness. What… what a remarkable idea. Most people out there think that's the way it already is. I'm glad you brought this forward because people we represent 09600104.doc 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 need to know that is not the way it is. And there are very violent people walking among us on parole or supervised release and then commit another violent crime. Holy mackerel. I thought that was the purpose of criminal justice and incarceration. I think you've stumbled onto something here, Reboletti… Representative Reboletti. And I'm proud to vote for your Bill. And I would enjoy being a cosponsor."

"Thank you, Leader."

"That's correct." Davis, W.: "Are you familiar in a situation where the supervisor… and the way it's online here, we're talking about first degree murder, Class X felonies, you know, I would assume violent crimes…"

"Right. We're…" Davis, W.: "…pretty violent crimes. So, are we… is there a situation we're responding to where a supervisor did not respond by issuing a warrant for someone that's done this?" 09600104.doc 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Well, actually, Representative Howard had a Bill last year dealing with when people were arrested for domestic battery and there wasn't a warrant issued. In dealing with a violation of order of protection, there was not a warrant issued and that lady ended up murdered by her former boyfriend. And we rectified that last year. There are situations where… I don't think there should be a discretionary ability of a parole supervisor to issue a warrant or not issue a warrant when you have a murderer or armed robber out on parole who commits a Class III felony or above. A Class III felony, Representative, could be aggravated battery of a police officer or pregnant woman. A Class II felony could be burglary. Class I could be aggravated robbery using a firearm. So, these are people who already have violent convictions. We're not looking for somebody who is on parole for a drug offense such as possession of cocaine and then they violate that. We're not looking at that. We're looking at violent offenders who pick up new offenses. They have to serve the remainder of their parole time. It may be… most of these guys are going to have three-year parole. So, they're going to probably be revoked. They'll have a hearing by the PRB. The Prison Review Board will determine if there's enough probable cause to violate their parole, and they'll go back and serve the remainder of that parole. While they're serving the remainder of that parole, they will then be awaiting the charges in whatever county it was committed, and then they can defend themselves against those charges with their lawyer." 09600104.doc 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 Davis, W.: "So… so, 'cause I just want to make sure I understand. Now, you say the supervisor has the ability to issue or not to issue it. So, it wouldn't just be automatic that if they violate…"

"This is…" Davis, W.: "…their parole that they would automatically just go back?"

"This is… we're only issuing a warrant for their arrest. They still are entitled to a hearing once they're returned to the Department of Corrections and they have due process there to determine if there was enough evidence for the new arrest for them to be violated. When you're on parole, Representative, you cannot even commit a new offense." Davis, W.: "Right."

"That's one of the conditions of parole. So, at that point, they can determine if there's enough. They go to a hearing. If there's enough to… to withstand that burden of preponderance of the evidence… actually for probable cause, then they can be returned to serve the balance of their parole." Davis, W.: "Well, that's what I want to just be clear on. 'Cause if they violate their parole, isn't there something that automatically invokes… I mean, that would not require us necessarily to do this 'cause it automatically happens?"

"It doesn't automatically happen. So, we don't auto… the Department of Corrections does not automatically pick somebody up on… with a new felony. They have the discretion to pick them up on a warrant or not to issue a 09600104.doc 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 warrant. So, they don't have to violate them for picking up a new offense." Davis, W.: "So… so… is it possible that… 'cause I'm… and maybe I'm again, very parochial on my thinking, but I just want to be clear. So, I'm out on parole, you know, I'm like Representative Black. So, we're out on parole. We're hanging out together, you know, and something… something happens, but isn't… aren't there certain things that you automatically violate parole? And so, is this Bill trying to make sure that things… that things may happen that aren't necessarily automatic parole violations are kind of included so that they're automatic parole violations?"

"This war… this Bill only addresses the commission of a new offense. This does not tell a parole agent that if they're random urinalysis shows that's dirty for drugs, that they have to now issue a warrant and they have to go have a hearing to see if their parole is revoked. That's still left in the discretionary. We're saying if you commit an aggravated battery to a police officer while on parole, a warrant should be issued for your arrest to then have your hearing to determine if you should spend the rest of your parole, not as a free person, but incarcerated back in the Department of Corrections." Davis, W.: "Okay. Thank you very much, Representative."

"You're, welcome. Thank you."

"That's correct."

"Well, besides people who are sentenced to natural life without parole or to the death penalty or serve a hundred years, at some point, people are going to be… once they've served their sentence, they're then put on mandatory supervised release or what's commonly know as parole."

"Well…"

"I agree, Representative, with you on that. I don't… we've looked at that. I think we wanted to start with this first and see where the Body was at. I think if you violate parole even for misdemeanors, like domestic battery or sex crimes, that a warrant should be issued. Now, if the person is on mandatory supervised release, and picks up a Class E misdemeanor cannabis, then we have to discuss as a Body if we want a parole warrant to be issued, a parole agent to execute the warrant on that Class E misdemeanor."

"Speaker, I'm having trouble hearing Representative Franks."

"That's correct, Representative."

"Representative, I wouldn't have an issue with that. I would be more than glad to file that Bill. I think that it should be mandatory for anybody who is on mandatory supervised release but this was… this was what we started working with the Cook County State's Attorneys Office on last year. And we were trying to work with all interested parties to see if we could craft something that makes sense that we could pass. I think this was our first step."

"I think that would be the way I'd like to go on it or work on it in the Senate with a Sponsor that I have well, I have… not talked to a Sponsor yet over there yet."

"Representative, I would be more than willing to work with it in the Senate or file a new Bill or take a shell Bill. And I think Representative Black hit the nail on the head by saying people in the State of Illinois already assume that if you violate parole, that you're going back to prison or you're going to be rearrested by the Department of Corrections. And that's not happening." 09600104.doc 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The actual Bill that we're trying to call is my fault, 5206. I made a mistake. It is not 5194, I apologize. It is 5206."

"Thank you very much."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 5206 would amend the Election Code. Would grant authority to county clerks to cancel voter registrations of deceased residents upon the establishment of what is now the electronic reporting… of filing a death certificate system. I'll be happy to answer any questions."

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

"Representative, I need to know how exactly is this going to affect the voter turnout in Chicago? Just wondering."

"I… I can only believe that it will help things in a more secure fashion in that particular area."

"Yes."

"First off, Representative, the electronic filing system has been now developed across the State of Illinois as it continues to be worked on. With the county clerks, when they would be allowed, there would be a certain access code which they would only have. Some of them happen to be registrars already, and they would have to, in accessing that code, make sure from the electronic system itself that they indeed did have the correct individual, and that would be certified by the Department of Vital Records. So, that the individual who is deceased is the actual correct individual that they are trying to purge from the voter roll."

"Uh huh." 09600104.doc 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Sure."

"Right. Actually, Representative, you bring up a very good point. And right now, it has been done actually by looking by paper in obituaries. Some clerks have used this being a more sophisticated system with a special access code. The information that is actually entered into the Department of Vital Records by the funeral home which is in charge of the decedent would have the factual information from the family that is certified with Department of Vital Records before it would go to any clerk's office. So, there's a process that's in place to make sure that all of it, all the information and the individual is, in fact, correct before the… before the certificate would even be issued. That has to be done first before the clerk, in this case, could access things. So, that has to be done… that 09600104.doc 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 it would prevent a mistake from being made of purging the wrong person off the rolls. So, I certainly understand your question. It's a good question, but the safeguards are there, in fact, to make sure that who's purged off the voter records match with the actual official document that's being electronically filed with the Department of Vital Records."

"Thank you."

"Would the Spon… will the Sponsor yield for a question?"

"Representative, in the language of the Bill it says, The cancelation of a deceased voter's registration. Upon establishment of an electronic reporting system for death registrations as provided in the Vital Records Act. What does the Vital Records Act require as far as notification? Is it certified… a death certification that's been…"

"The Vitals Record Act dealing with births and deaths in the State of Illinois, when you're talking about the death side of things, what it requires is certain information within the certificate itself, date of birth, social security, different things along those lines that verifies that, one, the death has occurred and it's actually the individual in which the certificate which will become a certified copy is issued for." 09600104.doc 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"Okay. So, this would take a certified copy of a death certificate so that the proceeding would take place to cancel the voter's registration?"

"Correct. What it is, is the certified copy of the death certificate except being electronically done."

"Seems reasonable. Just one other question. I think this is important legislation. Does this… will this also apply, it doesn't under the current Bill, to people who are holding public office?"

"I… I saw that I'm… what was that again, Representative?"

"Does this apply to people who are holding public office, 'cause I… once in a while I think we have to go around and check individuals even here."

"Only if they die in public office."

"Okay. And you're here just in case to certify that, so I think we're safe. I think you have something that's very reasonable here, and given the technology that we have now, it's an advancement in how this is done so that we can have more accurate elections. Thank you."

"Thank you very much, Representative."

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

"Representative, this is interest to me because my father and I live in the same precinct. I don't think he's going to die any time soon, but the previous… one of the previous speakers asked if there was a mistake made, don't 09600104.doc 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 we already have provisions within the Election Code for this, through provisional ballot, catching a provisional ballot at the polling place? Should you arrive and you're… you're all of a sudden not on the… on the roll?"

"You have that in a way of a provisional ballot if I understood your question correctly."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"So, while you have a good Bill here and you're trying to do all your due diligence to not make errors, potentially a data entry error could happen, but you have recourse at the ballot?"

"Well, they have recourse at ballot, yes."

"Okay."

"And I doubt very seriously that anybody dead is going to make their way to the ballot box."

"But say I got removed from… on accident. I could go cast my ballot provisionally and have it worked out after the fact?"

"That is correct."

"Thank you."

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

"I really appreciate this… this Bill. I think it's going to be a great addition. I do have one question in regards to how it would apply to those jurisdictions where the clerk is not in charge of elections. In one county and 09600104.doc 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 a number of municipalities, there are separate Election Commissions. How does that voter registration cancelation work in that… in those circumstances?"

"Presently right now in those circumstances, it's done by actually trying to match through obituaries that appear in print media. In this particular situation, we're starting with the clerks as we have the system developed over the last nine years which has now gone statewide. Other election authorities, once this would be worked through, I anticipate would be added as well."

"So, this Bill would then only apply to those 101 counties where the clerk is in charge for the other jurisdictions. That's something we anticipate adding in the future?"

"Correct."

"Thank you very much."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Bill 5412 is an initiative of the Fire Caucus. It's been approved by all the associations in the fire service. It would… what it does is, provide that the Fire Investigation Act is amended so that it would require 2.5 percent of the Fire Prevention Fund would be directed to the Cornerstone Training Program. It's one that impacts fire training around the state. This reaches all parts of the state: Chicago, the collar counties, downstate. They usually figure they train 10 thousand firefighters a year. I guess last year was… it reached 13 thousand, but it would guarantee that… that funding. This helps fire departments across the state with training and reimbursing them for coming and it helps fund the training at the University of Illinois Fire Institute. Be happy to entertain any questions."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill simplifies the process of applying for special… for gifted education funds 09600104.doc 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 should those ever become available through the State Board of Education. Currently, the process requires that you address every part of the comprehensive plan. This would say that you could address specific parts of the comprehensive plan and will allow more schools to participate in the gifted education program should funds become available. Thank you."

"Thank you very much. This Bill passed out of here last year with 117 'yes' votes, got tied up in the Senate and didn't get passed, and so I am bringing it to you again. When a person enters a taxicab in the State of Illinois, they have an expectation that they have some safety concerns. We have no statewide… statewide requirements for taxicab drivers. This would make sure that the driver was legally licensed, that he had not been convicted of street racing or drag racing or homicide with a vehicle. This was 09600104.doc 57  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 worked on with the Secretary of State's Office, and it is very similar to the provisions that we have for church bus drivers, for senior citizen cars, and for school bus drivers. So, I would ask for your approval once more, and hopefully this time we'll get it through the Senate."

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

"Representative, I certainly support your Bill, I just… you were listing things that there was some background checks for. I was reading, trying to find it. Does this specifically, I mean, a cabdriver is sometimes would be… passengers would be children perhaps by themselves. Does it require a background check that would include if they had any criminal record involving children?" 09600104.doc 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010

"I think that would be covered under the stipulations of the offender to begin with, that he would not be allowed to do that, but no, we do not have that in here as of this point. Very frankly, we worked very hard to even get these things in there to start with. And I am very, very willing and able to look at further things to add to this list."

"I certainly commend you for this. I'm going to support it, but I just think if we have omitted something like that and there's always concern when someone can be, in effect you know, you be alone with children that… and not be someone with a criminal sex record or something like that. So, if that needs… that'd be a future Bill and certainly work with you, but…"

"I would agree with you. And if there's any Amendments made in the Senate, I would actually ask that that be added also. Thank you."

"Okay. Thank you very much."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this is a rather simple Resolution. It was brought about by an issue that occurred right at the turn of the 09600104.doc 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 year. You will recall that we passed legislation last year to raise registration fees and title fees, and there is little question in my mind that legislative intent was for titles to be included in the legislation for the turnover to be right at the time of the year. As the issue evolved, it became apparent that the Secretary of State's Office was demanding that title fees of $65 be received no later than the 31st day of December. This put an unbelievable encumbrance on dealerships throughout the state. I know my office has received concerns. Representative Eddy's did. You will recall I passed around a letter directed to all of you right after the first of the year asking you to join me in opposition to this. And I would appreciate your support on this Resolution. I'd be happy to answer any questions."

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I think everyone should be paying some attention to what happened here and be as outraged as Representative Sacia is. Let me… let me just explain in practical terms what happened with… what was intended to be by this Body an increase when the Capital Bill was passed to pay for costs associated with those projects of a title fee from 65 to 95 dollars that was supposed to take place January 1. That was what individuals in this Body voted for. The Secretary of State's Office, or someone at the Secretary of State's Office, decided that even if you bought a car within a 20- day period of January 1, they're going to go ahead and 09600104.doc 60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 charge you $95 instead of $65. So if you bought a car on December 27, 28, 29, 30, you didn't pay $65. You didn't pay $65 because somebody at the Secretary of State's Office decided it's going to $95. And not only that, when my constituents called to complain about it, the people at the Secretary of State's Office said, that's what your Representative voted for. Did anybody in here vote for the registration and fee to go up before January 1 for those of you who voted for that fee increase? You voted for the fee increase to take place after January 1, isn't that right? That's what we thought was happening. When somebody in the Secretary of State's Office decides they're going to supersede the will of the people who are elected to represent them, we need to stand up together and say, oh no, you don't. The Secretary of State, the Honorable Jesse White who I've always known to be a very honorable person, I've known him since his days when he used to come to my high school with his tumblers. Needs to step in and stop this. Because people across the State of Illinois were cheated. They were cheated out of 30 bucks by the Secretary of State's Office. That's what happened. We should be outraged. Hopefully Secretary of State White is listening or someone in is office is listening. And those people that paid this extra $30 will get their money back, because this is absolutely outrageous. It's thievery, it's thievery… from the people of the State of Illinois."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can… a point of personal privilege."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, over the last couple of weeks a few things have happened that I think need to be brought to the attention of the Body. And I think that… we've got several months here left for this particular Session, and it is my hope that it doesn't continue or deteriorate to a level that it looks like it's going to. Twice last week, I tried to move a Bill through a committee, two separate committees, and though the procedure that was used was well within the rights of the chairperson of each of those committees, it isn't necessarily the things that we normally do in this House out of respect to other Members. If we're not going to allow the Member to call a Bill for a vote or we're going to actually stop someone for making a Motion, as I did in one committee… Actually one Democrat Member made a Motion to pass a Bill of mine and that chairman refused to take it, and then a Republican Member later on in that same committee made that same Motion and the chairman refused to take it. Now, true, it is within the chairman's power to do that, but as the spokesman of that committee, I guess I should have probably been told a little bit in advance so we kind of knew what we were going to deal with. Then likewise, we got ready to testify and I got to the committee and found out… another committee, found out that, no, we couldn't testify. Now, since that… 09600104.doc 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 since then, we have testified this week on that, but maybe the Member that was trying to present the Bill, and I was going to let that go, I was upset and a little bothered, but then yesterday… yesterday a senior Member of our side of the aisle set for 45 minutes while others were passed and allowed their… them to pass their Bills, and hear their Bills, while this Member set and waited. It is the… it is a courtesy that has been in this chamber all the years that I've been here that more senior Members, Leadership Members, for their time sake, are allowed to call their Bill, but instead, what happened is, a staffer was sent out to whisper in this Leader's ear, your Bills are not going to be called today. Ladies and Gentlemen, is that the right way to treat another Member of this Body, one that has 25 years in this chamber, 25 years in this chamber. That occurred yesterday to Representative Black. And I know you all know that Representative Black is very capable of defending himself, but folks, is that the way we want to continue down this path because if we do, it's going to get very uncomfortable around here. There is certain respect that should be given to each of our colleagues. And here, I'm going to explain this to you as well. One Member of your side of the aisle, she actually tried to push the chairman into going ahead and calling for Representative Black because she said, when she was called on, she said, the Leader is here, knowing good well… good and well the process, he should go first. The chairman then bypassed her Bill and went to another. Ladies and Gentlemen, you don't want to start ruining the relationships that we have 09600104.doc 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 104th Legislative Day 2/25/2010 here. Now, all of us… many of us, have been around here a long time. We also know the procedure that, okay, hey, your Bill has got a brick ru… got a on it. It's not going anywhere. And we understand that, but give us our hearing. Allow us an opportunity to speak on our Bills. You know, we keep hearing about how it is that we don't want to participate from our side of the aisle. Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to participate. I want to work for my constituents. I want to serve the people of the 115th District. I ask you to stop playing the games and if your Leadership is pushing you to do it, then stand up to your Leadership and say, enough is enough. I'm asking for you to give the respect to every Member in this Body when you're in your positions of authority, in those chairs. I believe it's the right thing to do, but I've seen it over and over and over again this year already. And we don't want to continue down that path."