"Good afternoon, Illinois. Yes, this is June 22, and this is your House Representatives that will come to order. We shall be led in prayer today by Wayne Padget, the Assistant Doorkeeper. Members and guests are asked to please refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones and pagers and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Wayne Padget."
Assistant Doorkeeper Padget: "Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today praying that on this day You give us wisdom and guidance. Let us also pray for the men and women in all branches of our Armed Services. And Lord, humble us to remember that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift and that is why it's called the present. These things we ask in Your Son's name, Amen."
"We'll be led today in the Pledge by Sommer and Winters. Keith Sommer, and Dave Winters would you lead us in the Pledge." Sommer, Winters – et al: "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 Lyons: "Hello, again, everybody. Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Barbara Flynn Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record reflect the excused absences of Representatives DeLuca, Jehan Gordon, and Howard."
"Thank you, Leader. Representative Mike Bost, GOP." 09700072.doc 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let the record reflect that Representative Coladipietro, Cole, McAuliffe, Mulligan, Rosenthal, Schmitz, and Stephens are excused on the Republican side of the aisle."
"Thank you, Leader Bost. Mr. Clerk, take the record. There's 105 Members responding to the Roll Call, we have a quorum present. We're prepared to do the work of the people of the State of Illinois. Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Bolin: "Committee Reports. Representative Burke, Chairperson from the Committee on Executive reports the following committee action taken on June 22, 2011: recommends be adopted Floor Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 630 and Floor Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 1633. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 449, offered by Representative Berrios. House Resolution 450, offered by Representative Gordon. And House Resolution 463, offered by Representative Nekritz."
"Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
"Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 451, offered by Representative Rita. House Resolution 452, offered by Representative Jakobsson. House Resolution 453, offered by Representative Watson. House Resolution 454, offered by Representative Crespo. House Resolution 455, offered by Representative Beiser. House Resolution 456, offered by Representative Reis. House Resolution 457, offered by Representative Riley. House Resolution 458, offered by Representative Rose. House Resolution 461, offered by Representative Cross. And House Resolution 462, offered by Representative Unes." 09700072.doc 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
Speaker Lyons: "Leader Barbara Flynn Currie moves for the passage of the Agreed Resolutions. All those in favor signify by saying 'yes'; those opposed say 'no'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are passed. Mr. Clerk, Adjournment Resolution."
Clerk Bolin: "House Joint Resolution 40, offered by Representative Currie. RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that when the two Houses adjourn on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, the House of Representatives stands adjourned until Wednesday, October 19, 2011, in Perfunctory Session, or until the call of the Speaker; and when it adjourns on that day, it stands adjourned until Tuesday, October 25, 2011, at 12:00 noon, or until the call of the Speaker; and the Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday, October 19, 2011, in Perfunctory Session, or until the call of the President; and when it adjourns on that day, it stands adjourned until Tuesday, October 25, 2011, or until the call of the President."
"Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Adjournment Resolution. All those in favor signify by saying 'yes'; those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Adjournment Resolution is adopted. Representative Chris Nybo, for what purpose do you seek recognition, Sir?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to… clarify for the record that it was my intention to vote 'no' on 09700072.doc 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 SB2185 which was voted on, on May 31. So, my intention was to vote 'no' on that Bill."
"The Journal will reflect your wishes, Sir.
"Mr. Clerk, what is the status of Senate Bill 630? 6-3-0? Speaker Madigan in the Chair."
"Senate Bill 630 is on the Order of Senate Bills- Third Reading."
"Mr. Clerk, put that Bill on the Order of Second Reading. Are there any Amendments?"
"Senate Bill 630, a Bill for an Act concerning education. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2, offered by Representative Currie has been approved for consideration."
"Representative Currie on the Amendment."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. This is a… very much like Senate Bill 620 which was adopted by this Assembly, sponsored by Representative Soto and I hope she will close on the Amendment. And what that did was respond to the Educational Facilities Task Force in Chicago to provide greater security for youngsters when they are being moved because of boundary changes, school closings, and phaseouts. There were some flaws in that Bill although it passed both chambers unanimously. And this is an effort to recreate the provisions of Senate Bill 620 while making changes that make it possible for the Chicago Public Schools to operate effectively. For example, if there is an opportunity to open a new school in an overcrowded area, Chicago Public Schools will be able to do that without 09700072.doc 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 waiting a year as they would have had to do under the original Bill. In addition, there are some counseling requirements. This clarifies that that's not intended to mean individual counseling. There are other technical changes including the addition of an immediate effective date. I'd be happy to answer your questions and I'd appreciate your support for adoption of the Amendment."
Speaker Madigan: "The Lady moves for the adoption of the Amendment. Those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Are there any further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Put the Bill on the Order of Third Reading and read the Bill for a third time."
"Senate Bill 630, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. This is identical to Amendment 1… Amendment 2, just described. I'd appreciate your 'aye' vote."
"Mr. Eddy."
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields?"
"Representative, this was 620, the Bill that was negotiated. Is the language from 620 included in this Bill or…?"
"It is."
"With just some minor changes and I think you alluded those changes when you were dis…" 09700072.doc 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Exactly." Eddy: "Okay. And with those changes, are there any opposition? There was a group that worked on this for a long time. Is that group satisfied with these changes, they feel comfortable?"
"The advocate groups are satisfied and so is the Chicago Board of Education."
"Okay. Thank you, Representative. It's something that, I know, many of us worked with Representative Soto on for a couple of years. She worked very, very hard on it and certainly want to continue to support that from our standpoint because I think it's going to bring some very good reforms to the system. And I also understand that a new administration needed to kind of look it over and found a couple of things they wanted to change. So, I would urge everyone to support this amended version of what was 620 and hopefully this will allow for some additional reforms to the system. Thank you."
"Representative Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, I know that this was an issue that many concerns about the Chicago Public Schools system were expressed. Were they in agreement with this language now in 630?"
"The technical and other changes that are in this Bill now are those that were requested by the Chicago Board of Education so as to make the operation of this new 09700072.doc 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 transparency in budgeting and so forth work effectively for our students."
"And are there provisions in here that there's going to be ample community notice when a school building is going to be closed or modified in some fashion?"
"Yes."
"And there will be counseling for parents to know where they can go if a school is closed?"
"Informational briefings will be available for any of those school actions."
"Okay. And this Bill was really put together, as you indicated, by Representative Soto and there was an task force on this. Is that task force going to…"
"Yes."
"…continue to monitor?"
"Correct."
"Very good. I urge this Body to support this piece of legislation."
"Representative Currie to close."
"Appreciate your 'yes' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall this Bill pass?' Those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed by voting 'no'. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 104 people voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. This Bill, having received an extraordinary Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of Senate Bill 1586?" 09700072.doc 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
Clerk Bolin: "Senate Bill 1586, is on the Order of Third Reading."
"Mr. Clerk, read the Bill? Mr. Clerk, put the Bill on the Order of Second Reading."
"Senate Bill 1586, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. Floor Amendments 1 and 2 have been adopted. Floor Amendment #3, offered by Representative Zalewski, has been approved for consideration."
"Mr. Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move for the adoption of Amendment #3. It removes certain provisions from the Bill."
"The Gentleman moves for the adoption of the Amendment. Those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Are there any further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Put the Bill on the Order of Third Reading and read the Bill for a third time."
"Senate Bill 1586, a Bill for an Act concerning elections. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Zalewski. Mr. Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 1586, is an elections Bill that changes a number of… makes a number of revisions to the Elections Code. We removed everything that deals with early voting anything, that has a cost measure association with it. So, the Bill is revenue neutral. I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Osmond." 09700072.doc 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, the issue dealing with Lake County. Lake County has a program right now dealing with the request for absentee ballots and it's sent out. And you can record your name right now saying that you would like it sent to your Florida home. Has this… has this been addressed at all?"
"What we're trying to do with the provision you're referring to, Representative, is just make it clear that to avoid any appearance of fraud that you're getting the correct ballot, the correct absentee ballot. So, we want that application process to occur every year."
"So… I mean, does… is there any thought about how expensive this turns out to be at every election?"
"I don't see how there would be any additional expense or any expense associated with this if we're simply requiring the same application to be submitted every year."
"Well, we have it in Lake County where if I'm going to live in Florida I can specify in there that this ballot should be sent to me for the next… until the time that I choose to change it. So what you're saying is that every election, regardless of what the election is, I would have to personally request this… an absentee ballot form again, mail it in and then have them mail it back to me after it's accepted."
"Sure."
"So that is an additional cost." 09700072.doc 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Well, Representative, I think that the counterpoint to what you've just raised is and there are instances where people are out of state or for whatever reason need that absentee ballot and circumstances change, it makes sense for the clerk to have a better procedure by which every year they're ensuring that the ballot application and the ballot go to the right person and that there's no fraud involved. I… I certainly understand what you're saying, but I think in the interest of providing fair and accurate and better elections for absentee ballots that our change makes sense."
"All right. Thank you."
"Mr. Eddy."
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, the underlying Bill dealt with issues related to judicial elections. Do those… do all of those conditions… does that still exist in this Bill? You mentioned in your opening that this basically took care of some sites. Is that the only change?"
"What the Bill… with the change… what the Amendment #3 did, Representative, was remove any of the issues related to early voting or grace period voting or ballot or… polling place that were… that clerk's felt would be added expenses. So we tried to make this Bill revenue neutral…"
"Okay."
"…so that it simply adjusted some of the things in the Election Code that people found problematic." 09700072.doc 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"So… so, other provisions of the underlying Bill, for example, the changes to the judicial elections that increase the number of signatures for judicial vacancies, is that still in there?"
"Yes… yes."
"Okay. So, that goes from 500 to 1000, the grace period for registration is extended. Are all those previsions still in there?"
"That last item was removed, Representative."
"Okay. Okay. So as it relates to for, example, Members of the General Assembly, the significant change here I think is this Bill now caps the number of signatures that can be turned in for Senate and House races?"
"Correct."
"Okay. And it's 1500 I believe for House and 3000 for Senate races."
"Would you repeat that question, Representative?"
"Yeah. So it's… the cap in this Bill is 1500 signatures for House races, 3000 for Senate races?"
"Correct."
"Was that modeled after some type of ratio?"
"No. It's three times the len… the minimum amount of signatures need for those two positions."
"And… that's the current law for statewide candidates as well. I mean, there are caps, not the same numbers, but there are caps?"
"It's similar to those provisions. Correct, Repre…." 09700072.doc 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"What if somebody collects 2500 signatures or collects 2000, do they simply then choose which 600… 1500 they file in a House race?"
"The first 1500 signatures submitted to the board would be those that would be counted toward their candidacy."
"So we would look through… you can't submit more than 1500. So you would choose, if you have over 1500, which 1500 signatures that you present."
"Well, you could… you could submit more that 1500, but those first 1500 would be the ones that were considered or you have the option of, like you just said, going through the sheets and choosing… redacting the ones you felt didn't comply with the statute."
"Okay. So, the final question on that is then, if you submit 2000 signatures and the first 1500 contain 100 signatures that are determined later to be in someway flawed, are the additional 500 signatures then allowed to replace any of those that are eliminated?"
"No. No, Representative."
"Okay. So, I understand. Thank you. The final question I have has to do with the school board advisory ballot. What does that do exactly?"
"This was a… this was an initiative where it allows school boards to place an advisory question on the ballot. I believe your colleague from Crystal Lake had this Bill in our committee. So it just simply allows for advisory language to be placed on a ballot with regard to school boards." 09700072.doc 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Okay. Does that start with the next election? Is that then ongoing after that?"
"It starts with the next election. Correct."
"Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Mr. Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, this allows a grace period for registration. Why are we moving from seven days to three days?"
"One second, Representative. Representative, that was taken out of the Bill in Floor Amendment #3."
"Excuse me."
"That provision you're referring to was taken out of the Bill in Floor Amendment #3."
"Okay. What about the reproduction of absentee ballots, is that still in your Amendment?"
"No, Representative."
"What about the election ballots for military? I know there has to be a mailing 46 days before. Is there any other provisions to try to make sure that military serving overseas would have an opportunity to vote?"
"What we've done is… what we've done, Representative, is two things. We've attempted to make e-mail addresses of our service men and women more easily accessible so they can get it… the clerks can get them the information. And we've said that that line has to be 46 days out to give the clerks the necessary time to get the ballots overseas." 09700072.doc 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Well, we certainly need to work on that. There's been problems around our state. So, I am glad to see that you've got some provisions to help there. There's also a provision, I believe, in your Amendment that deals with closing of early voting sites due to emergency. How are you going to notify the public where they can make up those days that might be lost due to an early closing?"
"So, what we've done in the Bill, Representative, is say that if that event occurs, that voting time has to be made up in the second day prior to the election."
"So, there's no provisions in here about how to inform the public, however?"
"I mean, I'm assuming… they… they would just… it is my understanding, Representative, they would just simply use the same methods they used to inform people that early voting is about to end or those communication channels."
"Well, I hope they use reasonable methods in doing that. Finally, you talk about audits of early voting machines. Who audits those machines to make sure that they're clean and working properly?"
"So, the election authority of that jurisdiction will do it based upon information from the state board."
"So, I know in the General Election machines are audited in the presence of the different party representatives. Is that the provision in this also?"
"We would anticipate that that would be the same process for this provision."
"Are you doing this as just a proactive means to assure the public that the election is proper or have there 09700072.doc 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 been problems with these machines perhaps not being set at zero?"
"I think that we're… the first point you made is the right one. We're just doing this to be proactive to ensure the machines are operating properly."
"Very good. Thank you, Representative. These are very good reforms and I'm glad to see you were able to get consensus from the four caucuses."
"Mr. Brady."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?
"Sponsor yields?
"Representative, first off, as the minority spokesman on Elections & Campaign Reform, I want to thank you for your efforts of working with a number of us that had questions on the first go-around and then taking this Bill out of the record the eleventh hour when we were here several weeks ago. And I, too, because I brought up sometime ago the overseas ballot issue and the problems that we had through the clerk's offices around the state and the actual just blatant disregard for what the federal legislation had required of them. And so, I appreciate the fact that we're now going to require election authorities to have a sufficient number of military personnel… or the ballots available at least 46 days prior and then we are also going to allow the election authorities to request the e-mail addresses from members of the military and we're going to also make those e-mail addresses exempt from FOIA search. So I appreciate those initiatives. I think they are good initiatives and also Representative Nekritz who worked with 09700072.doc 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 me back when we had initial inquiries of the military ballots and the problems that were going on in the clerk's office for holding… those a couple hearings that we had. So, thank you, for your efforts and for working with us, not only on the entire Bill and cleaning up a lot of the areas that we felt needed attention from this side of the aisle, but especially from the military side of things. So, thank you, Representative."
"Representative Ramey."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Thank you. Representative, in here on Amendment 3 you talk about the elimination of the Secretary of State maintaining deputy registrars, is that true?"
"Yes."
"Does not the Secretary of State still do Motor Voter?"
"That's what we're trying to do, Representative, is move them toward the Motor Voter form. They have… the law had a provision in it with regard to deputy registrars having to be there. We're trying to get them just to use the form."
"Well, doesn't it take a deputy registrar… because it says in here they are going to send in the applications to the Board of Elections. That's what a registrar does, does he not?"
"So, the Secretary of State's Office will still have to get those forms in through their processes, but…"
"So who's verifying the application?" 09700072.doc 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"So once the… once the election authority received that application, Representative, they would authenticate it and that would be the certification your looking…"
"Is anybody signing off on the application at the Secretary of State's Office?"
"I couldn't hear the question Representative."
"Is anybody signing off on the application at the Secretary of State's Office?"
"No, Representative."
"So that we can make it up as we go?"
"I… I… Representative, I think you are mischaracterizing what the Bill does. This Bill is…
"Well, I'm just reading what it says. So, I'm asking you the question."
"Well, what the Bill does, right, is say that instead of signing a deputy registrar to every Secretary of State location throughout the State of Illinois, we're going to streamline the process and allow that Secretary of State's Office to be an intake for Motor Voter forms which we already use in Illinois…"
"Right."
"…and those would be sent to the election authority and that would be… they would certify whether the form was properly filled out. So, Motor Voter is already in place, we're just transferring it to the Secretary of State, so they don't have to waste an employee on deputy registrars."
"Right. O… Well, so we have no verification who saw that application filled out. Is that correct?"
"Can you repeat the question, Representative." 09700072.doc 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"We have no verification to see… who saw that application filled out?"
"Again, Representative, the narrow answer to your question is no; however, that's already in the law with regard to Motor Voter forms. Motor Voter forms are forms you fill out and you send into the Election Authority."
"Well, they fill them out on the computer, but that's okay. My next question for you, Representative, since this is an omnibus Bill, is there a requirement to show ID to vote in this Bill?"
"No, Representative."
"Why not?"
"Wha… We have… You want to know why there's no ID requirement?"
"Yeah. I introduced that Bill in your committee and I didn't get a hearing on it. So I was wondering if you were going to use it perhaps in your own Bill here."
"We… Representative, we have other ways of verifying identity when it comes to voting."
"How is that? How do we verify indentify… the identity of a person who comes to vote?"
"Your question is…"
"Without asking for legal identification, ID card or driver license?"
"They verify it based on signature, Representative."
"And if it's ineligible they just say, okay, that's fine. We'll take it anyway 'cause your name… it matches up?"
"Are you referring to the Motor Voter form now?" 09700072.doc 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"No. I'm talk'n about somebody who goes to vote."
"With respect to verifying identity at the polling place, they look at the signature and they determine whether there's a match and whether that person is eligible to vote. If it doesn't match, then they can move to secondary efforts of requesting identification."
"But don't you know that at the Secretary of State's Office they use the picture ID to verify people on their own screens, so that there isn't any fraud at the Secretary of State's Office."
"Can you repeat that question Representative?"
"Did you know at the Secretary of State's Office that on their screen will be the picture of the person when the name comes up so they can verify that person is standing there?"
"I… again, Representative, I think we're talking about two different things here."
"Well, I'm getting to a point here. The point is that we have this great reform to the election system and I think the best reform that we can have would be to make sure that somebody shows us identification when they come to vote, so that we can stop a lot of the fraud that's going on out there, when you have places that have more registered voters than they have residents of their towns. So, I would think that a simple addition to your Bill, which would make it a fantastic Bill, would be to say that a person should show legal identification when they go to vote. So I'm asking your opinion, would that be a great idea?"
"You're asking for my opinion on…" 09700072.doc 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Sure. An ID."
"IDs at the polling place?"
"Yes."
"Representative, I think this Bill is a reform Bill that will make it easier to vote in Illinois. I'm not in the position, nor do I care today, on a day when we're trying to do several different things, to get into the discussion of IDs."
"Well, you're just saying you make it easier to vote in Illinois. That's what you just said, making it easier to vote."
"I think it's main that, I think, are… it's making elections more efficient in Illinois, this Bill."
"I think… to the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I think it would be a more efficient way if we were to request and require a state issued identification for all those persons going to vote. That's how we stop the fraud, that's how we make it easier, and that's how we can verify our elections are true. Thank you."
"Representative Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question of the Sponsor."
"Sponsor yields." Harris, D.: "Representative, just a quick question. My analysis say this. It says the Bill changes the filing date for presidential delegate and alternate delegate petitions to provide the delegate and alternate delegate petitions filing dates shall be established in accordance with national party rules. Okay. Our delegates file for 09700072.doc 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 election at the Primary Election. Are we now establishing a different filing date for those folks?"
"Well… what we're simply doing, Representative, we did something similar to this for the Republicans two years ago. The DNC national rules require this change in our Election Code and we're doing this to comply with… with the national party's rules with regard to delegate appointments." Harris, D.: "So this provision primarily just effects the Democrat delegates."
"Absolutely. Yes, Representative." Harris, D.: "Then I should have no concern."
"Absolutely not." Harris, D.: "Thank you."
"Representative Zalewski to close."
"I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall this Bill pass?' Those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed by voting 'no'. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 82 people voting 'yes', 22 people voting 'no'. This Bill, having received an extraordinary Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, what is the status of Senate Bill 1633?"
"Senate Bill 1633, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. The Bill was read for a second time previously. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2, offered by Representative Currie, has been approved for consideration." 09700072.doc 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Representative Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. This is a measure that would enable us to attract more federal Medicaid match before midnight June 30. As you know, we get better than a 57 percent match on moneys up until that time. After midnight June 30, we'll be back to a little over 50 percent. We have worked with the Comptroller's Office and everybody agrees that this methodology, transferring money from General Revenue to the Hospital Provider Relief… Health Care Provider Relief Fund, will enable us to garner somewhere between 90 and 100 million dollars. All the money will be paid back into the Budget Stabilization Fund by July 15 of this year. I'd be happy to answer your questions and I'd appreciate your support for the Amendment."
"Representative Bellock."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"We were all in favor of this Bill before. I just wanted to go over what the specific changes were. Is it just the change in the date or are there changes in the funds also from what we…"
"The fund will be General Revenue Funds, that's where there is some excess money right now. We'll pay it back by the 15th of July. So what's happened, in the meantime, was identifying where fund availability makes the possibility of churning this money and getting a better Medicaid match possible." 09700072.doc 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Right. And what was the final amount that we expected to get back?"
"We think between 90 and 100 million dollars in additional Medicaid reimbursement."
"Great. Okay. Thank you very much."
"Mr. Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, didn't we pass something similar a couple weeks ago?"
"But that was borrowing from a variety of other funds. This just says take the money from General Revenue where we know we have money that will be available for this purpose, paying it back by the 15th of July."
"Okay. I think the last time we had a problem, as I recall, when we didn't have the time frame correct."
"We did not have the time frame nor did we identify the fund."
"So, this will be a very short-term loan for three weeks and we'll come out to over $100 million ahead."
"Exactly. Between 90 and 100 million."
"Great idea. Thank you."
"Representative Currie to close."
"Please vote 'yes'."
"The question is… Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Amendment. Those in favor say, 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Are there any further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed." 09700072.doc 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Put the Bill on the Order of Third Reading and read the Bill for a third time."
"Senate Bill 1633, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Currie moves that the House pass Senate Bill 1633. On that question, the Chair recognizes Mr. Eddy."
"Thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, just to be completely clear. The underlying Bill that related to TIF and enterprise zones is no long relevant?"
"Correct."
"Okay. This very simply changes some dates to which funds would be paid back. Is that the gist of this along with some identification of specific funds?"
"It makes a transfer from the General Revenue Fund so that we can capture between 90 and 100 million dollars of enhanced Medicaid match."
"Okay. The date… the repay date of July 15, the legislation that we've previously passed related to the dates, is this the same date?"
"No, it wasn’t, but this is a different proposal, a different methodology."
"Okay. So, the idea though is the same is that you capture the enhanced rate of 57 percent rather than 50. What happens to the Bill we passed that related to how the funds were going to be used?" 09700072.doc 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"It's not going to happen. This is not a borrowing. We are transferring money to General Revenue. The money will go back into the Budget Stabilization Fund by the 15th of July."
"Okay. So, the Bill that we voted on related to funds taken from dedicated, that will no longer be used. These… this is funds from the General Revenue that are going to be used and that'll just be using that cash for that purpose and then it will be returned by July 15. That how simp… "
"Correct."
"Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate the further explanation. We did have questions over here as to whether or not the TIF and enterprise zone stuff had anything to do with it. That is no longer relevant. I would urge an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall this Bill pass?' Those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed by voting 'no'. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 104 people voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. This Bill, having received an extraordinary Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2414. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2414, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. The Bill was read for a second time on the previous day. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2, offered by Representative Currie, has been approved for consideration."
"Representative Currie on the Amendment." 09700072.doc 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Thank you, Speaker. I move we adopt the Amendment and then if there's discussion, discuss on Third Reading."
"The question is, 'Shall the Amendment be adopted?' Those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Are there any further Amendments?"
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Put the Bill on the Order of Third Reading and read the Bill for a third time."
"Senate Bill 2414, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. This is very much the same as House Bill 2189. And what this does is to reappropriate the pay-as-you-go money and also some of the capital changes that we had adopted in an Amendment 2 to House Bill 2189. There are a couple of minor changes. I'd be happy to answer your questions, but you've seen virtually all of this before. And I would certainly encourage your 'aye' votes, if you want to take advantage of the summer construction season."
"Representative Cross."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make a few observations. I think everybody knows why we're back here today. And that is because of the dispute the last… the last week of… the last day of Session where the other chamber wanted to spend over $400 million of additional money in the budget and held up the construction Bill. We voted and passed a construction Bill… a road Bill a month 09700072.doc 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 ago and sent it over there and it got stuck over there because of their desire to spend the additional money. This Bill does not contain that additional money and that's a good thing. But what I've heard about over the last few weeks is from variety of angles that our budget in the House either didn't spend enough, didn't cut enough, cut too much, was not a good budget. And I thought it would be worthwhile for us to revisit our budget and talk about the highlights of it. And it was a budget as we all know that this Body spent a lot of time on and the Appropriation Committee and folks on both sides of the aisle spent a lot of time on. And we need to remind the folks that are taking shots at this budget that we set a revenue number and we said we weren't going to go over it, 33.2 a little bit less than that. And we said if there's more money we'll pay down bills. So, what we did in this chamber is not only set a number, we passed a budget that did not exceed revenues, we paid our statutory obligations which included the pension payment. We, in all likelihood, are going to have extra money where we can pay down bills. And we didn't borrow, as the Governor wanted us to do throughout the Session. It's a pretty good budget. Is it a perfect budget? No. Is it a budget that could have had more reforms? Yes. Perhaps more cuts? Yes. But it's a very good starting point and if you look at where we were from the year before, we spent approximately half a billion dollars less. We spent approximately half a billion dollars less than we did the year before. Now the cuts aren't easy. I look at some of the cuts in this budget and people have said there aren't 09700072.doc 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 enough cuts that are difficult and we all have areas that we care about. I look at the area of early childhood. I happen to think early childhood is a significant area, and an area that we need to invest money because it pays off down the road. We unfortunately had to cut $17 million in this budget. And you have examples of that throughout this budget where we had to make cuts, where people have said we haven't done enough, I would invite them to belly up to the bar and in real Bill form put their cuts on the table. You can talk in theory all you want. You can make suggestions, you can have menus but when it comes down to the real deal and sitting at the table and making cuts, this chamber did it and it wasn't easy and I applaud all of you for that. We also did a lot of work in the area of Medicaid reform. I see Patti Bellock, over to my left, who took the lead on this. You think about the fact that we increased managed care in the world of Medicaid. We reduced All Kids eligibility. We capped FamilyCare. Those weren't easy. They're not easy. But what we all know in this chamber is, there's more to do. And there's an agreement maybe, an unwritten agreement if you will, between both sides that we will continue throughout this budget year to look at more reforms and look at other ways to make this government more efficient. What we need to remember though, as we move forward, is that this was the first of what I believe will need to be many years or at least several years of holding the line on spending. This has to be a way of life. We need to be more efficient. We need to cut. We need to do more reforms. And if we want to improve our state's budget 09700072.doc 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 situation and have a truly balanced budget like we did this year, this has to be a way of life. If we want to pay our bills on time and make sure that we pay our bills, this has to be a way of life for the years to come. If we want stability and certainty in our budget, we need to know that we need to continue to do this for the next few years. If we want a state that has a strong jobs climate and people want to invest in Illinois, we need to make this a way of life and do this on an annual basis. If we want to make our tax increase temporary, as so many people have promised, we need to make this a way of life. If we want to put Illinois first, be a state we can be proud of, quit being the laughingstock of the country, if not the world, we need to make this a way of life. We had a very good budget; it was a good starting point. If we continue down this road in the years to come, we can climb out of this hole. It's not going to happen over night, but it's going to continue to require us to work together. So, thank you for the opportunity to speak. For those of… those of you that hear from people that want to criticize this budget, do not back away from this. Be proactive, be aggressive, point out the things you have done, the things we have done, the things we will continue to do to make this a budget that ultimately down the road will be balanced without the hole we have, our bills will be paid and one we can be proud of. So, Mr. Speaker, thank you, and I, obviously, am rising in support also of this Bill. Thank you very much."
"Representative Currie to close." 09700072.doc 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"This is pay-as-you-go capital; let's do it before the construction season is over. I appreciate your 'yes' vote."
"Those in favor of the Bill vote ‘yes’; those opposed vote ‘no’. Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 103 people voting ‘yes’, 0 voting ‘no’. This Bill, having received an extraordinary Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. HJR4, Representative Currie."
"Thank you… thank you, Speaker. This is a Concurrence Motion. We have a task force looking at barriers to public schools providing recess. All this measure does is to delay the reporting date for the task force from June 1, which is already passed, to the end of December 2011. I'd appreciate your 'yes' vote."
"The Lady moves to concur in Senate Amendment #1. Those in favor signify by voting 'yes'; those opposed by voting 'no'. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? The Clerk shall take the record. On this question, there are 103 people voting ‘yes’, 1 person voting ‘no’. The House does adopt the Lady's Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment. HR459, Representative Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. This makes a temporary appointment to the vacancy in the Clerk's Office and the appointee would be Mr. Mapes. So, we'll see Mr. Mapes in the well instead of in Room 300 and we anticipate that the appointment will be actually quite short in duration. But in order to make sure that we get appropriate Clerkly appointments to various boards and commissions like the 09700072.doc 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 architects, this is an important Resolution for us to support."
"Mr. Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm was just wondering Tim, you want to be the Clerk? All right. I mean… he can't answer. How are you going to Clerk then? I need to ask some questions. You know, I'm going to vote 'yes' for this. Will you be the permanent Clerk or temporary? All right, I'll vote for this. I think you qualify."
"Mr. Eddy."
"Thank you. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, I noticed that in the Resolution there is no compensation or reimbursement."
"Correct."
"In lieu of that, is it possible that we could have cake?"
"No."
"Still no cake. Thank you."
"Mr. Bost."
"Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Has anybody checked to find out if Mr. Bolin's voice can hang… whenever… said… Tim… probably he's going to be doing a lot more reading?"
"No one's checked as yet."
"Okay. Well… did anybody check with him? To see if there's…" 09700072.doc 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011
"Mr. Bolin looks extremely happy and I'm not surprised. Why wouldn't he be?"
"Mr. Jackson."
"Yes, Mr. Speaker, could my vote reflect 'yes' for House… HJR4? It was…"
"Let the record reflect your request, Mr. Jackson. Mr. Arroyo."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could Tim Mapes explain what his job as an acting Clerk is? Mr. Speaker, I don't know what that does. Is he going to be able to read like the Clerk reads now? He's a good reader. Is Tim Mapes going to be able to do that or is he just going to just stand up there where he's at now?"
"We'll get back with you with an answer, Mr. Arroyo. Will Davis."
"Okay. I have one more…"
"Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I see that we're treating this like a first Bill. So does that mean that we can make fun of Tim? No, that's okay. Thank you."
"Mr. Sacia."
"Mr. Speaker, will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"With Mr. Mapes going to the well, will that mean we'll be able to eat chicken on the floor."
"No."
"Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Resolution. Those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is 09700072.doc 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 adopted. Mr. Clerk, do you have an Adjournment Resolution? Mr. Clerk, an Agreed Resolution."
"Agreed Resolution. House Resolution 460, offered by Representative Mulligan."
"Representative Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolution. Those in favor say 'aye'; those opposed say 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Resolution is adopted. Representative Rose."
"Speaker, I need… if I could… if our new Clerk could record me as intending to vote 'aye' on Senate Bill 1586."
"The record shall reflect your request, Mr. Rose. Mr. Winters."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I wanted to acknowledge that we have all found out what our future district maps are going to look like and for the next campaign, this may be rising to a high enough degree in many of our minds that I think the State of Illinois actually suffered a earthquake last Wednesday morning. If you didn't feel your own district shake, I would show you the front page of the Freeport, Journal-Standard. It's showing a historic building collapsing and I think it was from the redistricting maps and those changes. The subheading says downtown structure owned by Jim Sacia, three story building with his campaign office. I'm not sure if he had campaign literature in there or if their files and records might have led him to cause this collapse. But, 09700072.doc 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 I wonder if Representative Sacia might inform us of where he is with this building."
"Mr. Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of personal privilege, if I may for a few moments."
"State… State your point."
"Mr. Speaker, I'm concerned. I want to talk a bit, since we are all here together extraordinarily, about the business future of the State of Illinois. Last week I wrote an op-ed criticizing Governor Quinn for offering select corporations incentive packages while leaving the vast majority of Illinois businesses to fend for themselves. I'm sure we're all hearing from our businesses that complained of being hamstrung by burdensome regulation and ever- increasing taxes. The Wall Street Journal, just the other day, editorialized on Illinois's high corporate taxes and the special breaks doled out by the Governor. They called it politically corrupting, and ineffective economic development strategy. I agree that it would be… Thank you. I believe that it's fundamentally flawed and painfully in need of transparency. Our local bus… our local businesses are calling and writing because they're not getting the same subsidies to lessen the blow of the recent tax hike. As you know, the corporate tax rate is 9.5 percent which is the fourth highest in the country. Our employers… our small to medium employers are not given the red-carpet treatment that these special corporations are afforded. Our small businesses support innovation and entrepreneurship and they're vital to our economic recovery. They are the job 09700072.doc 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 creation engines in Illinois. And my question is, why should our local businesses have to pay a tax that a multinational corporation is essentially exempted from? And we must recognize that if we're serious about improving the climate for Illinois business that we should repeal the tax hike. Now putting aside for just a moment the decision on these secretive tax breaks, we must address the issues raised by the incentive packages themselves. Let me be clear. I don't fault companies like Motorola and Navistar for getting such sweetheart deals. I do, however, fault the Governor's Office for being so desperate because they raise taxes that they're willing to mortgage our future for temporary political gain. Navistar, for example, and you need to understand these numbers, can get $120 thousand for each employee that it fires. Motorola can get even more, $139,240 for each employee that it fires. Not that it keeps but that it fires. Such transactions must be made public once negotiated. There's absolutely no transparency in these agreements. We need to make sure that they're a good deal for the taxpayers. Now adding insult to injury, if we passed a Bill here last month that didn't get called in the Senate but the reason we passed the Bill is because our Governor refuses to refund the money to small companies that have already overpaid their taxes. Instead, he's using that money from small and medium-sized companies to take large companies to fire its employees. Pat Quinn isn't Robin Hood stealing from the rich; rather he's the Sheriff of Nottingham that steals from the poor and gives to the rich. Nobody else got any tax breaks except for the well- 09700072.doc 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 connected multinational companies. Every Illinoisan had their taxes raised by 67 percent, except for those few chosen multinational companies who are all getting part of our hard earned tax dollars for the privilege of firing taxpaying Illinoisans. Now, I think the Governor intentionally avoided our clawback laws requiring job creation by allowing these companies incentives based on employment levels below their current workforce. I believe it's made a total mockery of our incentive programs and is an insult to the taxpayers. Simply, if we want to attract and retain business we need to lower taxes for everyone. Mr. Speaker, I think that these agreements ought to be suspended until they are vetted by the Legislature to determine whether they benefit the citizens of Illinois. Thank you."
"Mr. Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise for a point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you for having us come back to Springfield today. I don't have any gas to get back home, but I did bring my nephews. If they could rise and we can all recognize. And we have Juwan Ketchin, can you stand. And we have Malki Ford, if you could stand. And Davieon August, if you could stand. Those are my nephews and they're happy to be here. Thank you."
Speaker Madigan: "The Chair is prepared to adjourn. Representative Currie moves that we stand adjourned in accordance with HJR40 as previously adopted. Those in favor 09700072.doc 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 72nd Legislative Day 6/22/2011 signify by saying 'yes'; those opposed by saying 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The House does stand adjourned." 09700072.doc 37