"The hour of 11:30 having arrived, the House will be in order. We shall be led in prayer today by Wayne Padget, the Assistant Doorkeeper. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off cell phones, and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Padget."
"Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You today in sound body and mind, praying that on this day You grant to us the grace to remember with love and reverence that we are to go forth in peace with courage. Hold fast to that which is good, rendering to no one evil, for evil, but help us to strengthen the fainthearted. Let us pray to support the weak, and help the afflicted, to honor all people loving and serving You in the same love and spirit in which You have loved us. This we ask in Your Son's name, Amen."
"We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Connie Howard."
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Speaker Mautino: "Roll Call… Roll Call for Attendance. Representative Bost… Majority Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Gabel and Lang are excused today."
"Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record reflect that Representative Jerry Mitchell and Representative Sommer are 09600143.doc 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 excused today here on the Republican side of the aisle. All the rest of us are just waiting for all the excitement that we know the day will bring."
"Mr. Clerk, take the record. 112 Members answering the Roll, a Quorum is present. And the House is prepared to do its work. Mr. Clerk."
"Introduction of Resolutions. Referred to the House Rules Committee is House Resolution 1300, offered by Representative Golar."
"The Gentleman from Jackson, Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I… I misspoke. I suppose Jerry Mitchell is present today, and we'd like to have him added to the Roll."
"The Clerk will add him to the Roll. On page 11 of the Calendar appears Senate Joint Resolution 118. Representative Tracy."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would… this Resolution will designate an expressway between Kansas City and Chicago and expressly the Illinois portion of that. And I would ask everyone to support this Resolution. And I would answer any questions."
"The Lady has moved the House adopt Senate Joint Resolution 118. On that question, Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates that she will." Davis, W.: "So, you're trying to call it the Illinois Expressway? What… what will it be called?" 09600143.doc 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"It… it will be within Illinois. It will be designated The Kansas City - Chicago Expressway, or Chicago - Kansas City Expressway." Davis, W.: "What… what will be the significance of putting Kansas City on that?"
"Chicago… The idea is to show that there is four lane interstate transportation between Chicago and Kansas City. In my region, we've been working very hard to put connecting portions of interstate travel between Missouri, Iowa, Illinois to facilitate transportation and commerce and economic development and this designation allows it to show that we have that travel in place." Davis, W.: "But… but there's no one expressway. So, we're not talking about one expressway. So, it's not like we're not talking about I-88. You're talking about several different expressways being called the…"
"But they're all linked together." Davis, W.: "…so …so, I'm reading a portion of Interstate 290. So, a portion of Interstate 290, which runs through the south… the west side of Chicago, would be called the Chicago - Kansas City Expressway?"
"At certain points, there will be designations, not…not a lot, but at certain points. We worked with IDOT, and this was their recommendation to, put in these portions." Davis, W.: "I'm still… I mean, I know in some parts that we, you know, we designate the Ronald Reagan Expressway and the Jane Addams Expressway…"
"Right. It's not to commemorate…" Davis, W.: "…and the Veterans' Memorial…" 09600143.doc 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"…it’s not to commemorate the highway, it's to commemorate the fact that there is a mode of interstate travel between those two locations. In Missouri, going up from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minneapolis, there's been a lot of transportation coalitions to work to get what they call the 'Avenue of the Saints'. In Missouri, they have a Kansas City to Chicago designation and… and we're trying to meet that, to show our cooperation and our coalition, the connection. So that it's understood that between those two links of vital transportation, you have interstate travel. Four lane." Davis, W.: "Is there… is there any particular link between Chicago and Kansas City that I'm not aware of?"
"There is a… a link of transportation. If you look at those highways, the idea being is downstate there has not always been these connections. Now, we are working with trans… coalition of transportation to make these links. So that it's known that you can travel easily through the interstate system from this link to the other." Davis, W.: "Okay. Is there a… is there a cost associated with doing this?"
"Just a signage. And… and it will be… that's why it, be… it'll be nominal, minimal signage but IDOT has suggested the places that it will be. And… and it was with their recommendation." Davis, W.: "Wha… you say minimal, what's minimal? And I… and I only raise that question because anytime we try to put…"
"Well, I understand." Davis, W.: "…things that cost money, you know…" 09600143.doc 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Hey, absolutely. Abs…" Davis, W.: "…your side of the aisle often talks about the fact…"
"Right." Davis, W.: "…that we have no money. So, then since we have no money, then why would we want to do this right now?"
"And it will be at IDOT's… the Transportation Department's opt… whatever their option is, is to place the signage. But… and… and it will be within their budget, and when they can get it done. So, I… you know, I don't know exactly how many signs, but it would be at least, maybe, one or two." Davis, W.: "But you have no idea how much it would cost, actually?"
"Per signs?" Davis, W.: "Well, I mean, total."
"You know, like I say, this is IDOT's and… and they know their budget, and what they have allowed for signs. So, you know, as they can afford it, within their budget constraints, then they will put up… be put up. So, I… I don't know how much an actual sign costs." Davis, W.: "Well, does this direct them to do that? So, if this passes, that means they're required to put up the signs?"
"On their schedule." Davis, W.: "Oh, you say on their schedule?"
"Right, I mean, like I say, I mean it… it, this is their recommendation, when it will be put up and within their scheduling. So, it… like I say, is… is as they can afford it within their budget constraints. And they will do it." 09600143.doc 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 Davis, W.: "So, would this be discretionary money? Does it come out of a particular pot? I mean, I’ve got some pot holes in the 30th District…"
"Well, within the…" Davis, W.: "…that they could use money to fill these pot holes…"
"…if you look at…" Davis, W.: "…versus…"
"…within the Department of Transportation there is a line item I… I assume for signs. And that's the budget it will be coming from." Davis, W.: "Well, I mean… I know, I understand what you're trying to do…"
"Okay. Right." Davis, W.: "…but I mean, again, since we're in such a…"
"And you understand this passed the Senate. It was a Senate Resolution. It's a Joint Resolution of my Senator, John Sullivan." Davis, W.: "Oh, okay. It was a Senate Resolution, and they maybe didn't care, but I'm just asking a question…"
"Sure." Davis, W.: " …particularly since over the last couple of days we've talked about the fact that there's absolutely no money to do anything with, and yet they can find some money to put up some signs."
"Within their schedule." Davis, W.: "There are more pressing needs in the State of Illinois than putting up signs right now."
"Your point's well taken…" 09600143.doc 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 Davis, W.: "And I'm sure… and I'm sure that I had introduced this Resolution, your side of the aisle would be saying the exact same thing to me, about why are we doing this, because there's more pressing needs in the State of Illinois, than putting up signs to designate various highways in the State of Illinois as Illinois Chicago Kansas City Expressway. Correct me, if I'm wrong."
"Again you're… your're… I don't know that I would criticize you trying to develop and… a commerce within the state, no." Davis, W.: "Well, maybe not…"
"Yeah. Is that a question?" Davis, W.: "…maybe not you specifically, but I mean, that's the nature of the types of debates that…"
"The Gentleman bring his remarks to a close." Davis, W.: "I… I've said enough, Representative. Obviously, folks will vote their conscience and we'll support this whether they do or don't. But again, just using the same logic that I think your side would have used on me. I'm just asking her a question, and I think they’re more pressing needs in the State of Illinois, right now, than putting up signs on the highway. So…"
"Rep… Representative Smith for two minutes. The Bill is on Short Debate."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Lady yield?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Representative Tracy, as you know there's… there's been an effort to… in a study, in fact the state has spent 09600143.doc 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 millions of dollars to study the expansion of Route 336, from Macomb east to Peoria, which is the historical route for the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway. Are you aware of that?"
"Yes."
"So, I'm curious why we would be doing this, at this point, when Route 336 is a designated study and route for the Department of Transportation. It seems to me that, if we wanted to be accurate, the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway, if it ever exists, would follow that route."
"Well, Representative Smith, I… I know your part also of this Economic Summit that has been working very much with the… the transportation coalitions, and this doesn't exclude that particular piece from being part of that, but it… for the time being, it's not finished because of economic monetary constraints."
"Well…"
"So, you know… you know that there…"
"…is this… was this an initiative of the Department of Transportation?"
"It was an initiative of the Tri-State Summit."
"Okay. To… "
"The Economic Development Group…"
"Thank… "
"…and the Coalitions."
"…thank you. To the Resolution, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would ask for a 'no' vote on this Resolution. With all due respect to Representative Tracy and my friends in… in the western part of the state that 09600143.doc 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 she represents we have worked together in a regional basis to support the development, the construction of Route 336, which would realize the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway that was talked about from…"
"Bring your remarks to a close, please."
"…which has been talked about from the 1960s forward, and this really circumvents that effort. We, in the Peoria area, have supported Quincy and Macomb and the construction of 336 from Quincy to Macomb, and this just really kind of is a… is a back door attempt, I think, to kind of slap the rest of 336 in the face. So, I would ask for a… a 'no' vote on this Resolution."
"Further discussion? Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Yes."
"Representative, just… have you talked to the various tourism councils, and groups and economic development groups that… that this would involve, you know, from these different regions?"
"Did I… no, not myself personally. This was Senator Sullivan's and… Resolution that he brought forward and it was an initiative of all of the coalitions and the coordinators of… of that have been involved in the Economic Summit."
"Okay. But not… not all of them anyway. A question, and… and it's not that I'm necessarily against it, but I certainly have some concerns, some of them have been expressed. Like, some of I-74, I think, is now called the Dirksen… is now called the Dirksen Interstate Highway 09600143.doc 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 System, or that stretch that goes through… I think, from Peoria, Bloomington to Galesburg. Some areas might be called Lincoln Heritage Trail. I know there's some of it called Eisenhower. There's some of this involves the Reagan Trail. Will we lose all those designations, if this becomes… if we adopt this?"
"No."
"They would… they would still be… we'd still have Reagan Trail, et cetera?"
"Yes."
"Are you familiar out in Iowa there's an area there where they've done some tourism development that's a national historic designation, I think, called Smokestacks and Silos(sic-silos & smokestacks) where you know, they're trying to link some communities together. Are you familiar with that?"
"No, Representative Moffitt, I don't think I am."
"One more question. There's some discussions that have been started, I don't know at what level it's advanced. I know there's a meeting coming up in the very near future trying to connect like the…"
"Would you bring your remarks to a close. And also, Representative Tracy, there is a Floor Amendment, the Clerk informs me, for this Bill. Does that need to be placed on that Bill?"
"Yes, it does. Thank you."
"Okay."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. One final question. There's some discussions going on between 09600143.doc 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 tourism groups in Ro… in Moline with the John Deere Commons. Peoria, we're looking at the Caterpillar Center. Galesburg, looking at a National Railroad Hall of Fame. Calling that area possibly something like tractors, trains and tracks. I… I wouldn't want to do something that would take away from their attempt to market those communities together either. Do you think that this would do that?"
"No, I do not at all."
"Okay. Thank you for your indulgence."
"Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Dunkin."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield? Representative…"
"Yes, she will."
"…do you know who the chairman of Tourism is in the Illinois House of Representatives?"
"I believe that would be you, Sir."
"Yes."
"Of the committee for Tourism."
"Yes. Now, why haven’t I heard of this legislation… this… Senate Joint Resolution? Who have you been jointing with because it's the first time I ever heard of it. And especially as it refers to tourism. That was a question."
"Did… did your committee meet this year?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Well, I… I…"
"Are you… oh, okay. Okay."
"…as the Tourism Committee director or co… chairman, I… I… I welcomed you to join me in this Resolution." 09600143.doc 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Well, and I would have joined you, Representative, but it did not come through our good committee. Unlike your’re trying to go through the Quad Cities, and Monmouth and Route 67 and Macomb and Illinois 336, Interstate 172 to Quincy, Interstate 172. I mean, you're all over the place. Now, you know, the downstaters sometimes are not too fond of the Chicago mantra the way of things… the way things occur. So, why would you name it the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway?"
"Tha… that…"
"You think the people in Galesburg will appreciate that?"
"…it's the Link… Lincoln System. The idea being is to… to show and encourage transportation from one region to another. And it did go through Transportation Committee, as it is a… actually a transportation…"
"Representative, you should have insisted that it…"
"…it was assigned to Transportation. I don't know why it wasn't assigned to Tourism Committee."
"…that it went through the Tourism Committee. You're… you're speaking of tourism. You should have insisted that it come through the Tourism Committee. Don't you think that's fair?"
"Well, I could've, but I'm not sure that would have made any difference."
"Okay. You know, Representative Bill Black often talks about pay as you go…"
"Representative Myers." 09600143.doc 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. To the Resolution, I should say. I… I think you… you're trying to read too much into this particular Resolution. There's a group over in western Illinois called the Tri- State Economic Development Summit. It's a group of Representatives and people from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, that are doing their upmost best to build economic development over there. For long, long, long periods of time, western Illinois was without any four-lane highway whatsoever. This effort, for the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway, goes back to when I was a kid. So it's been an effort for a long time, like Representative Smith has… has indicated. There is nothing in this Resolution now that would prohibit in the end, when… when the 336 ultimately gets built, from Macomb to Peoria, for that designation to change. But currently the four lanes are in place. We're trying to build economic development in western Illinois, out there where that bulge is and I would encourage everybody to at least give us a little bit of… of support and effort in that effort because it's not just Illinois, it's Iowa and Missouri. We're seeing those states dramatically increase their highway road building program to the point where they have four lanes connecting Illinois… or connecting to Illinois, but once they get across the border… across the river, we're sorely deficient. This is an effort to designate one of those highway connections, from Chicago to Kansas City and show that Tri-State Economic Development Summit and the people of the western Illinois, eastern Missouri… eastern Iowa 09600143.doc 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 region, that we are serious, and that we are all cooperating together. I urge an 'aye' vote on this. Thank you."
"Representative Mitchell, Jerry." Mitchell, J.: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Sponsor… she yield?"
"Yes." Mitchell, J.: "Representative Tracy, I… about 14, 15 years ago, I worked pretty hard, and it wasn't easy to have Interstate 88 designated as the Ronald Regan Memorial Highway. You say this won't have any affect on that… what does that mean? Is there going to be signage on… on 88 that calls it the Kansas City…"
"Your… your question is, will it impede or… or… hurt the designation of the Ronald Regan Expressway? I don't think so. The idea being is, is that this signage will show… obviously it will be placed, probably… it's wherever IDOT chooses. And… and they did a… they've… they've suggested some signage and I imagine it will be more towards the Chicago side, and then at certain intervals. So, I don't think… the idea being is, is it won't do anything to take away from the Ronald Regan designation. In that region, I mean, from where you're talking about. But, the idea being, it will put a mind-set of travel between these regions and ease of access. The idea is to encourage and show that we're part of a interstate transportation system and connection. It'll be good for every region along the way." 09600143.doc 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 Mitchell, J.: "So… so, no signs now that are there will be replaced or… or have…"
"No." Mitchell, J.: "…something put in front of them, or have something put up above to…"
"No. I… I think if you notice, already we have a lot of designation on highways. It… there will be no replacement of the signs you’re talking about." Mitchell, J.: "Okay. Thank you."
"Representative Black."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Inquiry of the Chair."
"Yes, Sir."
"Are we discussing Floor Amendment #1, or are we discussing the Resolution as a whole?"
"That would be a question for the Sponsor. Are you… is that the contents?"
"I would like to adopt Amendment 1."
Speaker Mautino: "The Lady moves the adoption of Floor Amendment #1. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'yeses' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments."
"Mr. Black."
"Well, thank you. I think that clarifies 30 minutes of pure verbiage. Floor Amendment #1 becomes the Resolution. And I… I'm having a hard time digesting some of the things that I've heard. As I read Floor Amendment #1, it doesn't call for the construction of any new roads: it doesn't call for the denial of construction of any road whether it's 09600143.doc 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 336, 339, 662, 48, 32, hut; let's punt the ball. It's a rather simple Floor Amendment to a Resolution that we've passed hundreds of in the past. It doesn't say that you take down every sign along an existing route. If you're on the Winery Trail, the Winery Trail is still there. If you're on the Ronald Regan Historic Roadway, that's still there. I mean, come on my friends on the other side of the aisle, I voted for the Bishop Ford Expressway that we… used to be the Calumet. I didn't know and wasn't aware of who Bishop Ford was. You said it was a good idea. It was up in the Chicago area. I voted for…"
"Mr. Reboletti."
"To the Resolution. I wish we had a budget that had line items that we could talk about like this for the next three hours instead of getting two thousand-page Bills dumped on our desks. But this we can vet as if this was the only thing we could do to solve the budget was we could figure… save a few signs from helping expand tourism and creating jobs. This is not about filling pot holes in somebody's district. Or in my district, where there's pot holes where 290 meets 294, and there's tons of traffic there with airport expansion and everything else. This is about trying to put some signage up to bring people to the State of Illinois where they might spend some money. God forbid, we would invest in that. But we can spend time trying to understand if this is going to save us four dollars, and I wish we could save four dollars 'cause we can't even look ourselves in the mirror, and try to save a billion dollars from welfare and entitlement programs by 09600143.doc 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 looking for waste, fraud, mismanagement, and abuse. So, when we can get to that part, we can micromanage the small part about the signs. If you don't want to vote for the Resolution, then vote 'no'. If you support tourism, if you support bringing jobs to the state, then vote 'yes'."
"Representative Golar."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to yield my time to Representative Dunkin."
"Representative Dunkin for two minutes."
"Thank you so much, Representative Golar. And Representative… Mr. Speaker, you're pretty quick with the cut-off switch up there."
"Actually, it happens automatically."
"Okay. And a hundred… one minute and fifty-one seconds. Representative Tracy, you know who the Tour… the Tourism chair is, correct? I'm just curious of why this didn't come through Tourism."
"I… I don't control who… where the assignments are and actually, if you say you met one time, I believe your committee met prior to this coming over to the House from the Senate. This only came over in the last month."
"Okay. So, Representative, again, pay as you go, that has been communicated time and time again this Session from a lot of my good friends and colleagues on your side of the aisle. Is there any significance with this here given the fact that the State of Illinois is broke? Where's the money going to come from?"
"I appreciate your comments, Representative Dunkin." 09600143.doc 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
" I'm channeling Bill Black and Dennis Reboletti, Roger Eddy, and Brother Pritchard over there, Ramey. Who's going to pay for it? Our budget is tight like it is already. You want to put signage up with Chicago's name going through to Hannibal, Missouri…"
"I would hope that if…"
"…Galesburg, Illinois."
"…if you'll let… allow me to answer."
"Why won't this go to… through Peoria?"
"Representative, Dunkin, I would hope that as a Representative from the region of Chicago that you would want tourism and transportation going to that area, and this…"
"Absolutely."
"…Resolution is to promote that and it will be pay… the signage will be paid as it… as it is afforded by the State of Illinois, which…"
"Representative, I have a few seconds."
"…as you admit, and I acknowledge…"
"I think you should reintroduce this Bill and have it go through the appropriate committee, immediately."
"Further discussion? Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move the previous question."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman has moved the previous question. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The Motion fails. Representative Black. Your name was used in debate."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It was used about four times, and I think in a foolish and petty way. What 09600143.doc 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 in the world are we doing here on a Resolution? Hell, you’d think we were talking about the budget. How dare the Gentleman over there ask us why a Bill is assigned. We don't assign any Bills to any committee. Ask your side of the aisle. Let's get it straight about who does it. I don't talk about PAYGO. Your President of the United States talks about PAYGO. Who paid for the signs when I voted to make the Calumet Expressway the Bishop Ford? I didn't ask any silly questions. Somebody from Chicago said it was a good idea, and I agreed with it. Who paid for the signs to make I-72, between Decatur and Springfield, the Penny Severns Memorial Highway? A Democrat Legislator. I voted for it. It's also the Purple Heart Highway. Who paid for those signs? I can tell you who paid for those signs, the people who bled. The people who lost arms and legs. They paid for it. What in the world is this all about? She wants to designate a series of highways. Not build them. Not tear them up. Designate a system of routeage between Kansas City and Chicago. That's all. If you're worried about the money, why didn't you file a fiscal note? Or do you have to have permission on your side of the aisle to do that? I think this whole line of questioning has been a little personal, a little petty and a little foolish. If you're worried about the money, file a fiscal note. If you're worried about the money, then don't vote for it. But don't sit here and beat somebody up on a bunch of things…"
"Representative Franks."
"I just wanted to yield my time to Mr. Dunkin." 09600143.doc 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Representative Dunkin."
"Thank you, Speaker. I don't think this is the right subject matter for us to get bent out of shape over, Representative. I think… I think that was some… some legitimate questions asked, and I think that… whoa… whoa. Some…"
"To the Bill…"
"…some… some…"
"…at hand."
"…someone got out on the wrong side of the bed."
"The House…"
"Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed. I tell you. What I tell you, you don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes."
"To the Bill."
"Rep… to the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, this Bill is… this Resolution…"
"To the Resolution."
"…this Resolution comes at a very interesting time. It goes through a number of our… our cit… our cities, our small towns. And quite frankly, since most of us are so concerned about where dollars are flowing these days, this should be something that we should take a nice pause with and vote 'no' on it. This should receive nothing less than 100 'no' votes and we should maybe re… revisit this at another time. And like… unlike some other folk here, I didn't get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Vote 'no'." 09600143.doc 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Representative McCarthy for two minutes, to the Resolution."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move the previous question."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman has moved the previous question. That Motion is order. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'yeses' have it, in the opinion of the Chair. And the question is put. Representative Tracy to close."
"Thank you. Certainly, I didn't anticipate that this Resolution would be so hotly debated. If you'll look at the Amendment language, which is the Resolution, this is an attempt to encourage travel between Chicago, the Quad Cities, Galesburg, Monmouth, Macomb, and Quincy. This is about commerce and economic development, and designating and as I said, developing a mind-set that we can travel easily from one part of our country to another, within regions and to promote those travel ways within the state. There have been hundreds of people that have dedicated and volunteered much of their lives to working to see that we have those transportation links in place and they're continuing to work. I appreciate the comments of Representative Smith. Had I… if I'd realized that he would see this Resolution as an attempt to… it's not meant that at all. I will continue to work with him to develop funding and find ways to do capital programs so that we can have 336. And I would ask that the Body support. I think it's been a long, contentious week. This is not a partisan Resolution. It's actually a bipartisan Resolution. 09600143.doc 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 Senators John Sullivan brought it forth in the Senate. It passed. It's been over in the House and I… I appreciate the accommodation of… of developing and promoting commerce within the state and transportation, and tourism. And so I'd ask your support that, as we end this week, we work together once more towards developing commerce and economic development in the State of Illinois. Thank you."
"The question is, 'Shall the House adopt this Resolution with a record vote?' All in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative DeLuca, Harris, Osterman. Mr. Clerk, take the record. This Resolution, receiving 76 'yes' votes, 33 'no' votes, 1 'present', is declared adopted. Mr. Clerk, page 3 of the Calendar appears Senate Bill 333, Representative Boland. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 333, a Bill for a Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Boland."
"Thank… thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. Senate Bill 333 deals with the compensation of Rock Island County officers and board members. It freezes their salary at the… what they were getting on May 1, 2010, and it provides that any increases in compensation without any… without limitation, any additional compensation for serving as committee chairperson, taking effect then is null and void. This Amendment is in response to the Rock Island County board's recent approval of $4 thousand bonuses for its county board members who serve as committee chairs and 09600143.doc 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 12.7 percent pay hikes for the County Clerk, Treasurer and Sheriff coming up in years 2012 and 2013. It also provides that the County Recorder, Coroner, Auditor and County Board Chairman in Rock Island are scheduled to receive $3500 pay increases in fiscal year 2011. And Ladies and Gentlemen, after passing these atrocious increases, the very next day they ask for furloughs from the Rock Island County employees. And my phone has been ringing off the hook, people are very upset about this, we know that this is the wrong time for that type of spending, that there's other… better uses for the money. We… we have a situation where we're trying to get a… an additional space for the elephants at the zoo. And so, this is really at a time when you and I all know the economy is in dire straits. We've got high unemployment, probably in a lot of areas, not just Rock Island County, and people are losing their homes. They're having to take pay cuts, they're going without any raises, some people losing their homes. It's just a terrible situation and a terrible time to pass a massive increase of 12.7 percent plus these big bonuses. I ask for your support."
"The Gentleman moves passage of Senate Bill 333. And on that question, the Gentleman from Crawford, Representative Eddy."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Inquiry of the Chair. Has House Committee Amendment #1 been adopted?"
Speaker Mautino: "Mr. Clerk, what's the status of House Committee Amendment #1?" 09600143.doc 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"That is correct. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee."
"Okay. And to the Bill… Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Yes, he will."
"Representative, does… this becomes the Bill then, and… and it's very short. It just…"
"Yes."
"…simply states that Rock Island County Board and officers… the compensation will be rolled back prior to the… the raises that you talked about. Can you tell me, is this all county officials in Rock Island County?"
"This… these are the county officials, the county wide officials and the county board members. And it's not a actually a rollback. It's a freeze as to where they were on May 1."
"Well, it makes raises effective May 1, 2010…"
"Right."
"…null and void."
"All right."
"So, I guess that's how I describe it as a rollback. Yeah."
"Whatever… whatever… whatever way you want to call it."
"Okay. Well, is the state's attorney included in this?"
"No."
"Is the county clerk…"
"Yes."
"…the treasurer."
"The county clerk is." 09600143.doc 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Okay. 'cause the way it's… it's written, it says the… the compensation of all county officers and county board members of Rock Island County is frozen. And I don't see a specific definition of county officers and I ask the questions about a state's attorney because I… that I would consider to be… a state's attorney is a county office."
"I believe that's out of the control of the county board."
"Okay. So, because they're paid by the state?"
"Yeah."
"So, you're talking about any office that is specifically paid with county funds?"
"Yes, yes."
"Okay. Well, that then brings me to the next question. And… and I'm not… I'm really not going to take issue with idea that a twelve and a half percent raise seems to be, in these times, incredulous, but I think the bigger, broader question becomes is it our purview, in the General Assembly, to enter into what a county decides to do when we're not the ones paying the salaries?"
"Well, as… as you know, Representative, we pass laws all the time dealing with local governments at all levels."
"Mr. Speaker, I… I'm sorry. I can't… I can't hear the answer."
"I'd ask the Members of the House to bring the noise level down."
"Okay. Let me…"
"Staff that are in the aisle please move to the back so we can hear the debate." 09600143.doc 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Let me repeat myself there. That we… as you know, we pass laws all…"
"The Gentleman will go… turn the mics back on, be granted an additional minute because…"
"Thank you. Thank you."
"…of the volume in the chamber."
"I appreciate that. He was answering the question and I… I would like him to proceed."
"I… I just wanted to say that as you know, as all of us know, we pass laws dealing with local governments all the time. Local governments are the creatures of the State Government as we all knew in Political Science 101; we're taught that."
"Well, and… and I appreciate that, Representative. I guess I'm one of those that is very hesitant to get into that arena. I… I like to see local governments operate outside the purview of Springfield, and I'm going to be honest about it, with the trouble in this situation, compared to what the State of Illinois does, I'm not so sure that they're better off without our advice. If… if you look at the track record from Springfield the last several years, I… I'm not so sure we're wise counsel to anyone, if you look at our situation. And… and that's what concerns…"
"Yeah."
"…me. It's the theory."
"Okay. Let me just say this. That as… as you know and probably all of us believe that, that's our philosophy, but there are…" 09600143.doc 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"The Gentleman may complete his answer."
"…there are situations where we decide that it is the purview of the Legislature to step in. Right now in Rock Island County, the people almost don't have, if you und… if you know much about the… the politics of Rock Island County, you would know that they don't have a whole lot of choice or ability in this area, except us stepping in, I believe."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman for Jac… from Jackson, Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me explain to you that in a… in the… try to help the Gentleman move the Bill out of the committee. But here… let me explain to you that Jackson County, my own home county, just recently the county officials came forward and asked for a 14 percent raise facing the same type situation. Though I might not disagre… might not agree with that, it was up to the county board which was pressured by the community to not grant those raises, and they did… they didn't. This… though the Representative said that… that we do this type stuff all the time, we've never went down this path before. We've never went down the path of controlling… agree with it or disagree with it… controlling a local body, a local elected body… body that have to face the voters every day. If this Body is and has done something wrong before the people, then they have the right to vote them out. Now, I think he's sending a clear message by just carrying the Bill. But Ladies and Gentlemen, I do not think we need to vote for this Bill 09600143.doc 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 because we are setting a precedence that is not going down a path we want to do. We don't want the Federal Government coming in, even though they do with some financial things, to try to tell us how it is that we want to run our state. Ladies and Gentlemen, we don't want to do this to our local governments. We could carry a Resolution. If he wanted to car… the Gentleman wanted to carry a Resolution saying we're… we aren't happy with their… their procedure, then that's fine. But to actually set in statute and take away their power to control what they pay with their own tax dollars, which they collect, their property taxes in their own community, is the wrong direction to go. I just…"
"Grant the Gentleman an additional minute."
"Thank you. I… I encourage people to vote 'no'. Thank you."
"Further discussion? The Gentleman from Rock Island, Representative Verschoore."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think everyone in the chamber knows that I very seldom get up on a Bill. But I'm getting up on this Bill. 'cause I think that it's totally wrong that we're trying… like former speaker Eddy, and Representative Bost pointed out, that we're trying to dictate to a county how they pay their people. We don't dictate how superintendents get raises, or we don't dictate how other people gets raises. Why are we dictating how the county does their business? And if it's such a good Bill, why is it for only Rock Island County and not every other county? Now, I've talked to the Rock Island County Board Chairman as recently as this morning, and the county has 09600143.doc 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 already frozen all of the county board members raise… or salaries, where they are right now for four years. They've frozen the new treasurer, the new sheriff and the new clerk coming in for two years. So, I'm asking, as the other two speakers before me asked, either a 'present' vote or a 'no' vote because this is a terrible piece of legislation. Thank you very much."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Froehlich."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, we do have a strong tradition of local control in this state, but that tradition is not absolute. There are occasions where this Body has voted to overrule locals. Just last year, for example, the Cook County sales tax became the highest sales tax in the country. Representative Mathias had a Bill, it was House Bill 715, and it wasn't going to just leave it to the voters. It wasn't going to say local control's absolute. And a matter of fact, Representative Mathias was so persuasive he convinced every Member on his side except one, to overrule local control, when it came to Cook County's sales tax. So, the point is, there are occasions when we do intervene, when we think it's appropriate, there's not a hard and fast principle here based upon the vote last year to overrule the Cook County sales tax, and not leave it just to the voters to rectify. I think we have another example here of something that a Member on the other side called outrageous said it's incredible and we're trying step in and correct that. So, I'd urge a 'yes' vote." 09600143.doc 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Further discussion? The Lady from Lake, Representative Cole."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Yes."
"Representative Boland, I use to be a county board commissioner, and vice chairman of the county board in Lake, and let me ask you a specific question about this Bill, that's a little bit different. Where is it in County Code that the States allows… the State of Illinois allows counties to compensate committee chairmen?"
"We… we're changing the law right now."
"That wasn't my question. My question was, where in count… current County Code are committee chairmen on the county board allowed compensation?"
"I… I don't know the site right now."
"Okay. In County Code, committee chairmen are not allowed any compensation, in County Code. This Bill… I don't know why your county is compensating their committee chairmen because that's not allowed by law. In this Bill, you're freezing committee chairmen at, I believe, $3500 a year, and we will codify allowing committee chairmen to be compensated. That's my concern about this Bill. Even though you're freezing the rest of the salaries, you are permitting county chair… county… committee chairmen, to be compensated."
"This actually follows exactly what you're saying in that it's now allowing them…"
"No, you're freezing…"
"…to have that compensation." 09600143.doc 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"…you're freezing that $3500. You are not… you are literally…"
"Well…"
"…allowing $3500 for committee chairmen in this Bill."
"…well, if it's disallowed in the law, then it's disallowed in this Bill as well."
"But you're changing the law by freeze…"
"Grant the Lady an additional minute to finish her statement."
"You have problems with this Bill because you are codifying something that's currently not allowed by law. I… I don't often do this. It's just that I've gone through this process myself being vice chairman of the county board in Lake County. I think there's a… I… I know you don't intend to do that: that's what this Bill does. I would hope you would change this Bill because you are codifying something that's currently not allowed. You're going to allow $3500 for committee chairmen and no other county in the State of Illinois, outside of Cook, allows that according to County Code for State law."
"Further discussion? Representative Brady."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Representative, just a couple of questions. First off, the reason you're bringing this to this Body is because your constituents have… have an outporing… asking you to do something regarding it?" 09600143.doc 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Ab… absolutely. My district phone, back in my district office, has literally rang off the hook with people who are upset about this."
"And in earlier discussion, one of our colleagues indicated, from Rock Island, that they have… they have taken steps though to freeze salaries, and have… have addressed this issue on a county level somewhat? Do… do you concur with that information?"
"No… no. They actually increased the pay."
"And so this… this legislation is only addressing the county board and the present three elected officials that you have, and the county clerk, the treasurer and the sheriff. Is that correct?"
"It… it addresses the… the county board members, the county treasurer, county clerk, county recorder, county coroner, county auditor…"
"Okay."
"…and county sheriff."
"Okay. So… so and you're going… you're going to all the elected county officials?"
"Correct. Right."
"Okay. And… is this… does this have anything to do with the stipends that those county elected officials receive from the State of Illinois? Is this reducing, changing, doing anything with those stipends?"
"No."
"Okay. Thank you very much."
"Further discussion? The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Durkin." 09600143.doc 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Will the Sponsor yield? Representative, is there…"
"Yes."
"…a expiration date or a sunset for this legislation?"
"There is not."
"So this is going to be a freeze that will last in perpetuity unless there is a time and a place in that county in which they maybe are worthy of a raise and they've… but it's going to require another grand Act of the Legislature and a signing from the Governor for that to happen."
"Absolutely. When they…"
"It is…"
"…when they learn to manage their money better, they can come back to us and I’m sure we would be more than happy to… set them… allowing them to do it again."
"I understand what you're saying, but the precedent which is being set with this is just horrible, and I understand what's going on with… in that particular county, but Representative Cole made a very good point, that we are now, as a matter of law… giving… based on this legislation, that we're going to have $3500… is going to be now the compensation for these committee chairs and I think she's right. So, I can't support this legislation. I don't think that this is our area we should be dealing with. If you had a sunset on it, you could probably pass it. But the fact is, I don't think that we should have to come back down here, two or three years after the fact and… and go through this process to allow for a minor pay increase for these individuals." 09600143.doc 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
Speaker Mautino: "Further discussion? The Gentleman from Champaign, Representative Rose."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield, please?"
"Yes."
"Representative Boland, a… a minute ago you …I don't know what you were talking about. You said something about elephants needing a bigger space or something? What… what was that? I missed that reference."
"I… I'm not getting into that. It's just a… a situation of… of county money, a situation."
"Okay. Speaking of county money situations, yesterday, I believe you voted to spend anywhere from eighty to a hundred thousand dollars of Champaign County's money that they didn't have, and about $60 thousand of Coles County's money that they didn't have. Isn't that accurate? I think you spoke in favor of that Bill, didn't you?"
"Would… would you repeat that? What's that?"
"Yesterday you voted to spend eighty thousand dollars of Champaign County's money, when they just got done making…"
"Oh."
"…serious budget cuts, and about sixty thousand dollars of Coles County's money, when they're facing similar situations. Now, I… I find it interesting that yesterday, you had no problem spending other peoples' money, not yours Representative. You don't pay property taxes in Champaign County. You don't pay property taxes in Coles County, but today, you want us to save people in your county?"
"Yes, I do. We pay very high property tax, and…"
"Well…" 09600143.doc 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"…and I want to save it."
"…I'll remind the citizens of Champaign and Coles County, when their taxes go up, that I'll give them your phone number to call."
"That's fine."
"Thank you."
"Further discussion? Representative Monique Davis." Davis, M.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will." Davis, M.: "Representative Boland, has this Body passed legislation in reference to County… Cook County?"
"Yes, it has. Oh. You… you said…" Davis, M.: "We have…"
"…legislation dealing with Cook County?" Davis, M.: "We… we have passed legislation prohibiting Cook County from doing… I remember twice last year."
"Absolutely." Davis, M.: "This is an excellent piece of legislation because some people… some people don't realize there is a recession in this country. Some people in the State of Illinois want to pretend that it's okay for people to do things like raise their salary, when people are out of work. They pretend to be conservative, but what… when you look at what they do… when you look at what they do, it is shocking. It is amazing that they would approve increases, when people are out of work, when people can't pay their bills. Oh, it's okay for them to do this. Well, what side are we on. Are we on the side of getting this economy together? This 09600143.doc 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 is a good piece of legislation, and it will be an excellent example, an excellent example to those other counties that want to mistreat the people who elected them. I commend you Representative Boland for having the courage and the strength. Now, these same people want to spend money to name a highway something. Here we are trying to piece together a pension Bill and a budget, but they want to spend money on naming some highways. You can't have it both ways. You can't have it both ways. Either you're fiscally conservative or you're a spend thrift. Pass this Bill. Pass this Bill."
Speaker Mautino: "Further discussion? This Gentle… the Gentleman from Peoria, Representative Leitch."
"Will the Gentleman yield?"
"Yes, he will."
"Representative, are you in favor of the $336.2 million in pay raises in the state budget?"
"No, I'm not."
"Is that not a bit incongruent? How do you oppose the county pay raises, but be in support of $336 million we don't have in Illinois in the state budget?"
"Yeah. I… I don't necessarily support that at all."
"I thought you just said you were in support of that."
"Not of the… no, I said I was not in support of… of those pay raises."
"So, you're in support of House Resolution 1218 that would call on the Governor to reopen contracts with the state union employees and get rid of the $336.2 million that he's put into his budget?" 09600143.doc 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Well, right now I'm concentrating on my county, but bring that to me, and I may very will be in favor of it."
"Well, it's… it's here, it's in Rules. We need a little help getting it out. But I'm very happy that you're tentatively supportive."
Speaker Mautino: "Further discussion? Representative Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"I just want to cure the record of some quest… based on some questions that were asked earlier, Representative. Your… your Amendment doesn't include a specific compensation rate, does it?"
"It doesn't include what? I can't hear you?"
"A specific compensation rate. It doesn't include the figured $3500, does it?"
"No."
"It simply freezes the compensation in the Code."
"Right."
"And it doesn't establish a salary for county committee chair people, did… does it?"
"No."
"It simply freezes the compensation for those committee's chairmen based on what's already established."
"Absolutely. Right."
"Thank you. Thank you, Representative."
Speaker Mautino: "Further discussion? The Gentleman from Vermilion, Representative Black." 09600143.doc 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Thank… thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate all the things that have been said. This… this is a very slippery slope. There… there's no question about that. But on… we have visited this slope before. Just about a year ago, when a Member on our side of the aisle, asked for a rollback in a… a county tax. Will the Gentleman yield for a quick question?"
"Certainly."
"Representative, did the county board unanimously pass this increase?"
"No, they did not. There were, I believe five or six brave individuals who voted 'no'."
"I've met one of those courageous individuals, and I'm glad you said that, because at least he stood up for what he thought was right and I think that's refreshing to know, that it wasn't a rubber stamp. I… I served 10 years on a county board and I… I've got… I have some really mixed feelings about this, but I… I do find that somewhat disingenuous when people talk about salary increases and why we should stop this but I've never seen them come forward yet… we haven't stopped our own pay raise. We are due to get a cost of living pay raise on July 1. Now, you can… not you individually, but personally, the General Assembly can point to what passed out of a Bill yesterday to stop the COLA but you and I've been here long enough to know, that that has to be passed by both chambers in identical Resolutions and the game is, when we pass something, you pass something, so everybody can go home and say they voted against it. But you still get it. So, we 09600143.doc 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 haven't even addressed our own pay raise. But, I… I do think you raise a very valid point, probably should be addressed by the voters and… and the Members of…"
"Grant the Gentleman an additional minute."
"Yeah, just to conclude my remarks. There… there've been some very good points made and as I said earlier, it is a slippery slope. And maybe the… maybe the county board of Rock Island should address it, maybe the residents of Rock Island County should… should address it, but I… I commend Representative Boland for having the courage to bring this concept forward. We just need to make sure that it goes forward in many, many, many different ways. There are some counties and some cities, particularly one rather large city to the north, that pay very, very handsome salaries to city council members. So, I… I commend you for bringing the idea forward."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Dunkin."
"Thank you, Representative. Representative… will the sponsor yield, Mr. Speaker? Representative, I'm looking at March 26 of 2009, this was from a Roll Call, when we stopped the County of Cook, it was House Bill 715. Do you recall that Bill?
"Yes."
"When we stopped the County of Cook from… well, the veto override?"
"Yes."
"As well as the Home Rule taxes that we wanted to roll back?" 09600143.doc 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Yes."
"A number of our colleagues voted to intervene in… in the County of Cook. Do you recall that?"
"Yes."
"What's the big distinction from this Bill and the Math… the Sid Mathias Bill that… that went on last year with House Bill 715?"
"I… I couldn't hear you."
"I said, what's the big distinction from Sid Mathias' Bill, of House Bill 715, compared to your Bill?"
"It… one… you know it was both dealing with the counties."
"I can't hear you."
"It was both dealing with counties."
"Well, it was even more specific than that. We intervened at the county level to stop…"
"Right."
"…or to shorten their veto from three-fifths to two- thirds, if I… if I can recall."
"Yes."
"We also intervened to stop Cook County from its tax increase, to reduce their tax. Do you recall that as well?"
"Yes. Yes."
"So, why are we doing this right now? Do you think that's… that's good government for the State Government to intervene at the local level?" 09600143.doc 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Well, sometimes in desperate situations you have to take measures to correct that. That's what I'm doing with this Bill."
"Representative, you voted 'no' on that… on House Bill 715."
"I don't even remember."
"It's… I'm looking at the Roll Call. You know a lot of us, certainly myself, have a lot of respect for you, but do you think we're out of place with doing… with moving this kind of legislation and that should be up to the locally elected officials?"
"Time's expired, but grant the Gentleman an additional minute."
"Did you understand the question? You voted 'no' on House Bill 715 to intervene with Cook County's government to reduce their veto power… the veto override and require it… to require it to be three-fifths vote."
"Right. I'd have to go… go back and look at it to… it might be…"
"No. Was it… I'm looking at the Roll Call, Representative. It's right here."
"Yeah."
"You… you voted 'no'. I voted 'no'."
"Uh huh. Okay. Hopefully we voted the right way. I'd have to look at. This is… this is a different Bill."
"How different is this, Representative, we're intervening in county government."
"Well, we're… we've got a situation where the citizens of my county are up in arms about, what they consider and 09600143.doc 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 what I consider, atrocious pay increases at a time when people are hurting, people are out of work, people are…"
"Representative, Representative… we have our…"
"…people are losing their jobs, all those problems."
"…we have our own problems here."
"Gentleman bring his remarks to close."
"I… to the Bill. I… these are very interesting financial times and I think we certainly have a lot of work before us to take of care on our own, and I really think that we should allow locally elected officials, who also local… elected by the people to govern themselves especially when it doesn't impact the rest of the state, or have no impact on our budget. I… you know, we would hate for the U.S. Congress to come and intervene at the local level here in the State of Illinois. I think we should… should reconsider this, Representative. And I… I don't think this is the right time. Let the voters there decide on what they want to do. Don't you think that's… that's fair? Thank you."
"The Gentleman from Jackson, Representative Bost."
"Thank… thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the record reflect that Representative Tryon would be excused for the rest of the day, please."
"The Clerk will record that and the record will show. Representative Fortner, the Gentleman from DuPage."
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sp…"
"Continue." 09600143.doc 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield? Representative, when we looked at this question of Cook County, which has come up now quite a bit now in debate in last year's vote. In my mind, there was certainly no question that the tax increase raised the Cook County, in particular, the Chicago sales tax levels to truly unprecedented levels. It was being cited nationally at what high level it was. What I don't have in my analysis, and perhaps you have can help me is how does this scheduled pay increase, by the county board of Rock Island, how does that compare with the other 101 counties in Illinois? Do we know… are there other counties out there that are looking at double-digits? Is it… is it really way out of line? I… 'cause I don't have data in my analysis, so I was hoping that maybe perhaps you would have that."
"I do not. I just want to say, the people of my county are very upset at this. It's an unprecedented thing. They're, you know, a lot of folks in my area…"
"And… and I don't blame…"
"…are very low income. And they're not working."
"…and I don't blame them from being upset. My concern is, if there are other counties out there who are also looking at large pay increases and you… then I would agree, it's inappropriate given the fiscal state that we're in. However, to do it in one county, and then if we find out there are others we should have been doing, it just seems to me there's a piece of our homework we haven't done here, which is to say are there other counties that would be equivalent? Why would we only provide the relief to the 09600143.doc 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 county of Rock Island when there might be other counties that need this same relief?"
"Well, if there are others, I will gladly support individuals in this Body who want to correct that situation in their county, and so I'm asking you, to help me correct…"
"Well, I just… I disagree about, you know…"
"…the situation in my county."
"…the precedential that we're only fixing one place where we may have a larger issue. I…"
"Grant the Gentleman an additional minute to close."
"Thank you, Speaker. I mean, I'll continue listening to discussion, but that… that's the concern I have. Is that, this has come upon us very suddenly just this week and the chance to get what I think would be the supporting data to say is this really a unique problem that should be addressed in this unique way, with this Bill, or is there really a larger issue at question here? Thank you very much."
"Representative Boland to close."
"Thank you very much, Gent… Ladies and Gentlemen. We've had a thorough discussion of this and I ask for your support. The people of my county are hurting. They're up in arms. They're facing high unemployment rates. A lot of them have lost their jobs. A lot of them are in fear of losing their jobs. None of them probably are getting any pay increase at all. And so it is… it is really unconscionable for the county board in Rock Island to do 09600143.doc 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 this at this particular time. Thank you. I ask for your support."
"The Gentleman has moved passage of Senate Bill 333. All those in favor will vote 'yes'; opposed will vote 'no'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. 70 voting 'yes', 32 voting 'no', 8 voting 'present', Senate Bill 333, having received Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 12 of the Calendar, under Motions in Writing, there's a Motion to reconsider the vote on Senate Bill 3710 filed by Representative Bradley. Mr. Bradley."
"I withdraw that Motion."
"Motion is withdrawn. Representative May, on page 10 of the Calendar appears House Resolution 1166. Representative May."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Has the… has the Floor Amendment 1 been added to the… to the Resolu…"
"Representative, there is an Amendment."
"Yes."
"We need… are you speaking to the Amendment now?"
"Yes. It… through a drafting error, the date of the… the date of the National Safe Drinking Water Week was… was left out. So, that's what the Floor Amendment does."
"The Lady moves adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Resolution 1166. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 09600143.doc 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 'no'. The 'yeses' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk, any further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments."
"Representative May on the Resolution."
"Yes. It just names the first week of May as National Safe Drinking Water Week for protecting source waters from pollution, promoting water conservation and urging all of us to work hard to make sure that the citizens of the State of Illinois have safe, fresh, reliable, high-quality drinking water."
Speaker Mautino: "The Lady's moved the House adopt House Resolution 1166. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'yeses' have it. And House Resolution 1166 is adopted. On page 11 of the Calendar, is House Resolution 1240, Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 1240 introduced… we've all heard about the current problem in the Gulf from a drill… drilling rig that caught fire and then exploded. This just reaffirms the importance of developing bio-fuels. They don't cause oil slicks, profits stay in the U.S, choosing domestic and renewable resources creates the jobs here and this is reaffirming that. Send this Resolution especially to our Congressional Delegation. Appreciate your 'yes' vote."
"The Gentleman moves the House adopt House Resolution 1240. No one seeking recognition. All in favor say 'aye'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Representative Flider, House Resolution 1254. Mr. Flider." 09600143.doc 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This legislation would proclaim that May is Safe Electricity Month. And I ask for an 'aye' vote.
"Gentleman has moved… the House adopt House Resolution 1254. No one seeking recognition. All in… excuse me. The Gentleman from McHenry, Representative Franks."
"I… Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sure."
"Thanks. Well, we just passed Safe Water Week, didn't we, Representative, which is the first week in May?"
"I think we did."
"You there?"
"I'm here. I think we did."
"Okay. Well, how can the whole month of May be Safe Electricity Month, if the first week is Water Month?"
"We probably could've put them both in the same Resolution, but I always…"
"But that wouldn't be safe, would it?"
"…want to make sure and we do not want to mix water and electricity. It's Safe Electricity Month. It's the month. Hers is a week; we're a month."
"Okay. I'm just worried that if we combine these two, someone could get hurt."
"Yeah. We do need to be careful about that."
"Okay."
"And on that note, the Gentleman moves that the House adopt House Resolution 1254. No one seeking recognition. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed say 'no'. 09600143.doc 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 The 'yeses' have it, in the opinion of the Chair. And the Resolution is adopted. House Resolution 1174, the Lady from Cook. Representative Mell."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Resolution 1174 creates the Clean Technology Task Force Cer… for Commercial Clothes Cleaning to identify barriers to using environmentally friendly alternatives to perchloroethylene in dry cleaning operations in Illinois."
"The Lady has moved House Resolution 1174. This will require a record vote. So, all in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Collins, Harris, Hoffman, Winters, do you wish to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. 108 voting 'yes', 4 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present'. The House Resolution 1174 is declared adopted. On page 10 of the Calendar appears House Resolution 1129, Representative Hoffman."
"Yes, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. House Resolution 1129 simply urges Congress to procure C- 17’s. That's all it does. They provide jobs and economic development and they are large cargo planes. I understand that the Department of Defense is looking at additional procurement."
"The Gentleman moves that the House adopt House Resolution 1129. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the House adopts House Resolution 1129. Representative May."
"Yes. Point of personnel privilege." 09600143.doc 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"State your point."
"I would like to note that Representative Wait is trying out Art Turner's chair, and I think he said it fit just right. Thank you."
Speaker Mautino: "And for something completely different, Representative Reboletti."
"This is a little different, Speaker. What's the status of House Resolution 912?"
"Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Mahoney: "House Resolution 912 is on the Order of Resolutions."
"There was an Amendment filed. What's the status of that?"
"Mr. Clerk."
"Floor Amendment #1 was referred to the House Committee on Rules, where it remains."
"They haven't had a chance to take a look at that yet, Mr. Speaker, from April 30?"
"I will check back, and get you an answer for that."
"Thank you."
"Mr. Black."
"Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was back in the green room during a vote and for the first time ever, I would like the Journal to reflect… reflect my intention was to vote 'no' on Senate Bill 333."
"Well, I know it can very busy back in the green room, and I will have the Journal reflect your intentions, Sir." 09600143.doc 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010
"Thank you very much."
"The Lady from Cook, Representative Bassi."
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"I… I just wanted to let the Body know that we have filed a congratulatory Resolution for Lee Dewyze, who just won the ninth season of the American Idol. So, since he's one of our homegrown Illinois boys, we thought that would be appropriate. And hopefully that will get on the Agreed Resolutions list for today. Thank you very much."
"Thank you and I'm sure he appreciated your singing talents as well. Page 9 of in the Calendar is… Representative Feigenholtz. On House Supplemental Calendar #1 appears Senate Bill 28. Speaker Madigan on Senate Bill 28."
"Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. Senate Bill 28 is concerned with reforms at McCormick Place in Chicago. The Bill was before us in the House and the Senate. The Governor filed an Amendatory Veto. The Senate has overridden the Governor's Amendatory Veto. The Bill is now before us, and I plan to move to override the Governor's Veto. You're all familiar with the original Bill. You're all familiar with the reforms that were contained in that Bill. Just yesterday, I presented a trailer Bill, which was partly responsive to the Governor's Amendatory Veto. Taken together, an Override of the Governor's Veto and the trailer Bill, which will be considered by the Senate today, I think we can move forward with substantial progress at McCormick Place, which will greatly improve the commerce of 09600143.doc 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. So, Mr. Speaker, I move to Override the Veto of the Governor."
Speaker Mautino: "The Gentleman has moved. And on that question, Representative Crawford… Rep… Representative Eddy."
"Thank you. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Speaker Madigan, I think the… the cogent point is that, as… as the legislation moved through originally it had a lot of support, and it took a lot of negotiations to get to the point where there was a lot of agreement on how that… that should take place and… and a lot of give and take. And basically, if you supported the original legislation that took that long, then certainly overriding the Governor's Veto would be the appropriate response."
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Thank you, Speaker. I… I agree. I… I think we should get this done…"
"Yeah. Yeah."
"…and vote on the… on the measure. Thank you."
"Okay."
"Further discussion? The Gentleman from Cook, Representative Froehlich."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Yes. Speaker Madigan, so the trailer Bill yesterday addressed a couple of the issues raised in the Amendatory Veto. Did I understand you correctly, the 09600143.doc 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 procurement question and the succession issue? Those are a couple of the…"
"Among others."
"Okay. And that… but it leaves the tax… the departure tax issue?"
"That's correct."
"Okay. So, we're basically… this Bill contains a 100 percent increase in the departure tax on cabs leaving O'Hare and Midway?"
"You're correct. Representative, but I'd hasten to point out that that tax is being imposed upon people who have enough money to buy an airline ticket. It's not being imposed upon those that are riding in a Greyhound bus."
"Okay. Thank you."
"No one seeking further recognition, Speaker Madigan to close."
"Just… just request a favorable vote."
"The question is, 'Shall the House pass Senate Bill 28, notwithstanding the specific recommendations of the Governor?'. All in favor vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Feigenholtz, do you wish to be recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. 93 voting 'yes', 19 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', the House does pass Senate Bill 28, notwithstanding the specific recommendations of the Governor. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
"On the Order of Agreed Resolutions is House Resolution 1294, offered by Representative Lyons. House 09600143.doc 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 Resolution 1295, offered by Representative Mautino. House Resolution 1296, offered by Representative Black. House Resolution 1297, offered by Representative Black. House Resolution 1298, offered by Representative Lyons. House Resolution 1299, offered by Representative Eddy."
"Representative Currie moves the House adopt the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor vote 'yes'; all opp… all in favor say 'yes'; opposed say 'no'. The 'yeses' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Speaker Madigan."
"Mr. Speaker, have we done the Agreed Resolutions? Okay."
"Yes, we have."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are prepared to adjourn. The Senate has a certain amount of work that they will finish today and their plan is to adjourn today. We'll adjourn, subject to the call of the Chair, in the event that there are further matters to come before the General Assembly, in the next few days or over the next several months. So, if there is nothing further, Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do stand adjourned to the call of the Chair."
"Mr. Clerk. The Adjournment Resolution."
"House Joint Resolution 123. RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that when the House of Representatives adjourns on Thursday, May 27, 2010, it stands adjourned until the call of the Speaker; and when 09600143.doc 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 96th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 143rd Legislative Day 5/27/2010 the Senate adjourns on May 27, 2010, it stands adjourned until the call of the President."
"Representative Currie moves adoption of the Resolution. All in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'yeses' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. And now allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, the House will adjourn to the call of the Speaker." 09600143.doc 54