"The hour of 9:30 having come and gone, the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois will come to order. Members and guests are asked to be in their seats, refrain from starting all laptop computers, silence all cell phones and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. We'll be led in prayer today by Representative Tom Morrison."
"Please join me in prayer. Oh mighty God, we often take for granted the privilege of prayer, of bringing our petitions before the throne of the one who rules Heaven and Earth, who has ordained civil government, who alone has the power to build up or tear down nations, who appoints or removes leaders at every level. With this enormous responsibility that You have placed on us, we humbly ask for wisdom as we make the decisions that affect the residents of our great state. Yes, we do live in difficult days, but I ask that for my colleagues and me, that You would provide protection and guidance as we seek to do what is right, not by our own thought or will by Yours. Would You please grant safety as we travel home this weekend to reconnect with our loved ones and to be refreshed before the final two weeks of this Spring Session? And I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.
"We'll be led in the Pledge of allegiance by Representative Morrison."
"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."
"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie." 09800132.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record reflect the excused absences of Representatives Acevedo, Berrios, Lilly, Turner, and Zalewski."
"Thank you. Leader Bost, GOP."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representative Anthony, Fortner, Kosel, Osmond, Schmitz, Senger and Sosnowski are excused on the Republican side of the aisle today."
"Thank you. Mr. Clerk, take the record. With 106 Members present, we have quorum. We're ready to do the business of the State of Illinois. Leader Currie."
"Please add to the list of excused absences Representative Hernandez."
"That will be added. Representative Jones, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Mr. Speaker, yesterday I left here, kind of disheartened about what happen in this chamber, about the level of civility. You know, I've been here four years, haven't said too much on this House Floor, but yesterday, I left here kind of feeling disheartened about some of the nasty comments and issues that happened. And part of me wanted sit in silence today about how we treat each other and how yesterday went. And I'm not going to do that. I wasn't sent here to be silent. I wasn’t sent here to not let the things happen that happened yesterday. And I know that sometimes that we think we can reach each other by making each other look bad, but when people see us on TV they see how we treat each other. And if 09800132.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 you think the system is broke, then people look at us and think that we're part of the problem when we treat each other like that. So, yesterday, attacking a Member, even if it's on one side, is not the best course. So, as we sit here and we listen to great prayers that come up and we pledge allegiance, we should think about that when we make our talking points or we look at what we're going to post on YouTube, because people that are looking at us on TV, they look at how we treat each other. And I ask… and many of you owe people on this side an apology from yesterday. So, if you don’t do it in person and if you don’t do it at all, that's between you and God. But I just stand up and just say that the level of civility in this chamber needs to reach everyone and needs to… when we talk about each other, we need to decide how we're going to treat each other. If… I'm not going to go out and drink with you if… or not going to be around you if that’s the way you decide to treat me and treat people on this side. So, I just hope that today we can start anew and hopefully as we end this Session, we end this Session as friends and we can all talk to each other, but not in the way that we did yesterday. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Thank you. Representative Chapa LaVia, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Make your point."
"Actually, two and… and it’s a… it's a happy day, as my seatmate over here, Fred Crespo, is 25 years old today. So, we'll wish him a happy birthday. And then second… second, and to thanks to all my colleagues and all your ability to 09800132.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 work with us yesterday. Our Representative, Lisa Hernandez, has a beautiful granddaughter. She arrived at 5:46 a.m. and she weighs 7 pounds and 1 ounces. So, thank you, everybody, for accommodating that."
"Congratulations. Representative Meier, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Make you point."
"I have actually two, also. I would like to recognize our Pages today from Breese. I have Logan VanNess, John Hilmes and Sam Aubachon, all from the Cub Scouts… Boy Scouts at Breese. And then also, this past weekend, we dedicated Route 143 in Highland in memory of Sergeant Ripperda. And I have a certificate of honor that's presented to the Illinois House of Representatives for the compassion and honor you have shown us in our darkest times. Your thoughtful acts of service are noticed and will forever remain dear to our hearts. With deep appreciation, the family of Corporal Aaron Ripperda, United State Marine Corps. Thank you."
"Thank you. Thank you for those remarks and thanks from the family. And thank you for the Boy Scouts being here. Signs up. Representative Pihos, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"Make your point."
"I would like to introduce to you my Page today, Rachel Patterson. Her father is up in the gallery, Michael Patterson. Rachel graduated from Glenbard South High School, the same high school my own children graduated from, and she is a junior at Butler University studying political science." 09800132.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
Speaker Riley: "Thank you very much for coming down to Springfield. Thank you, dad. Representative D’Amico, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to announce that next week is our annual House-Senate softball game. So, make sure everybody brings their equipment. Come on out. On Wednesday is the ball game. Depending on weather, we will have practice Monday or Tuesday. And we just want to keep that trophy here in the House, away from the Senate. So, thank you."
"Thank you. Representative Bellock, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"I just wanted to say thank you very much to Representative Michelle Mussman for all the work she did and all the other people that ran the COWL event the other night. It was spectacular. And they did a lot of hard work and everybody that joined. She may have wanted to say something too, but I wanted to especially thank her for all her hard work. Thank you."
"Thank you very much. It was a great event. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
Clerk Hollman: "Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 1109, offered by Representative Cross and House Resolution 1111, offered by Representative Welch." 09800132.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
Speaker Riley: "Leader Currie moves to adopt the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor state by saying 'aye'; all opposed 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Representative Crespo, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you for the birthday wishes. But I also wanted to acknowledge one of our staff persons, Julia Bertolino, who celebrates her birthday as well. She's up in the gallery and I think she was born a little bit… a couple hours before I was. It makes it seem… so, she might be a little bit older, but happy birthday, Julia."
"Happy Birthday. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."
Clerk Hollman: "Committee Reports. Representative Jackson, Chairperson from the Committee on Counties & Townships reports the following committee action taken on May 15, 2014: do pass as amended Short Debate is House Bill 5889; recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 3552. Representative Hoffman, Chairperson from the Committee on Labor & Commerce reports the following committee action taken on May 16 (sic- 15), 2014: recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 to House Bill 3814. Representative Flowers, Chairperson from the Committee on Health Care Availability and Accessibility reports the following committee action taken on May 15, 2014: do pass Short Debate is Senate Bill 3440. Representative Nekritz, Chairperson from the Committee on Personnel and Pensions reports the following committee action taken on May 15, 2014: do pass Short Debate is Senate 09800132.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 Bill 452; do pass as amended Short debate is Senate Bill 3309; recommends be adopted is Floor Amendment #1 House Bill 408. Representative Chapa LaVia, Chairperson from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs reports the following committee action taken on May 15, 2014: do pass Short Debate is Senate Bill 3222; recommends be adopted is House Joint Resolution 91 and House Resolution 1026."
"Thank you. Members, on page #6, we're going to be considering Senate Bills on Third Reading. Senate Bills on Third Reading. Senate Bill 219, Representative Hurley. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 219, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Hurley."
"Good morning, Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 219 creates a new lottery scratch-off game to benefit the Special Olympics organization. I am open for questions and would appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"Representative Harris."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This Bill will probably pass out, I'd say, maybe 110 to 1. But let me tell you why I'm going to be the 1 'no' vote. This creates a new scratch-off lottery game. The Department of the Lottery does not run the lottery. The lottery is run by a project manager known as Northstar under an agreement known as the… the program management agreement, the PMA. Right now in Illinois, we have only four scratch-offs. We have a scratch-off for breast cancer research, we have a scratch- off for AIDS, we have a scratch-off for veterans, and I 09800132.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 believe we have a scratch for MS. Those four scratch-off games were put into place before… before we had the PMA, the program management agreement in place with the per… the entity that now runs the lottery. The entity that now runs the lottery has, believe it or not, a business plan… has a business plan on how they are going to achieve their objectives. Whether or not you think that business plan is a good one, they have a business plan. Their business plan does not include additional scratch-off games unless they are in sync with them. So, the point is, we've only have four. We're now starting to add ones on our own, which is not in sync with what the program manager has in mind. The second and perhaps more important issue is that anytime we do something here which is not in sync with the program management agreement in place, that allows the program manager to come in and say, aha, you're fooling around with my business plan and therefore the objective that I have to reach is not valid. I can lower the amount of money that I have to reach in order to meet the… the agreement that we have in place. Okay. So, they can literally take it to arbitration and say, you've done something which is not in our business plan and therefore we can lower the objective target that we have for lottery proceeds. That's a significant issue. Then the last issue is this, and I realize I'm probably the only person who's going to vote against this and I have nothing against Special Olympics, believe me. It’s the issue involved. Why just Special Olympics? Why not every other charitable organization that may want to have its own scratch-off game? Once we start doing this, then it's… it's a snowballing effect that just 09800132.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 keeps going and going and going. So, I understand what the Sponsor is doing. I understand why she's doing it. I will tell you that the scratch-off games before that have been in place, the amount of money that has been coming into those four has been declining slightly over the past couple of years. So, they're not as, sort of, as profitable for the entities as they used to be. But again, the third issue is Special Olympics is great. The Red Cross is great. The American Cancer Society's great. All these charitable organizations may be great. Why just Special Olympics? There's… there's an issue here dealing with the program management agreement that is in place with the entity that runs the lottery. And for that reason, I'm going to rise and tell you that I'm voting 'no', and I'd ask you consider the same vote."
"The Chair recognizes Leader Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates she will."
"The reason why we're going down this path is, isn't it true that this was actually the management funds for our Special Olympics here in the State of Illinois were managed through one of our universities, and that is no longer the case, and so we're trying to make up for that loss?"
"That is part of the reason, yes."
"Yeah. And… and other states have some way in supporting them in this act or in this same way. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"And… so, really what we're trying to do here is just make sure that we can still provide some type of revenue stream 09800132.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 for them to continue this activity here in the state because somehow in this process, we made a choice to eliminate what we were doing in the management scene. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"All right. To the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I stand in strong support of the Bill. I understand what my colleague was bringing up a while ago. But with these contracts, we can also, if one… if they would choose to change theirs, we can change who we have the contract with. That's a possibility as well. There's a reason specifically why we're doing this. Not just because it's… it's one of many charities, but it is something that we were working with in the state before and things have kind of moved around and this is a revenue stream that we're needing. I do stand in strong support of the Lady's Bill. Thank you."
"Representative Hurley to close."
"Thank you for the discussion. Special Olympics is a wonderful organization and I'd appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 219 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. With 94 voting 'yea', 11 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 219, having reached the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 226, Representative Moylan. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 226, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Moylan." 09800132.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly. Senate Bill 226 creates the Support Your Neighborhood Commission within the Department of Central Management Services. The purpose of this commission is to help increase the number of American- and Illinois-made products sold. Commissions will serve… commission members will serve without compensation. I have the support of the Illinois AFL-CIO and there are no known opponents at this time. And I respectfully ask for an 'aye' vote."
"There being no further debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 226 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Burke. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea'; 0 voting 'nay'; 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 226, having reached the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 230, Representative Jakobsson. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 230, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Jakobsson."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 230 provides that Illinois public universities, when drawing against General Assembly appropriations, shall present vouchers to the Comptroller, signed by the university present… president. Under current law, university vouchers compai… contain multiple signatures, and this will help streamline the whole process for all of our state universities." 09800132.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"The Chair recognizes Representative Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield for a few questions?"
"She indicates she will."
"Representative, I'm looking at my analysis and it says the purpose of this is to streamline the signatory requirement process, I assume payments and to… for the universities to manage their cash better. Is that an accurate…"
"That's correct."
"…rationale?"
"That's correct. And remember, these are already appropriations."
"Understood. And I see the Comptroller is a proponent. Are you aware of any opponents?"
"I am not aware of any opponents."
"Thank you."
"Representative Jakobsson to close."
"I urge an 'aye' vote, please."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 230 pass?' All in favor vote… vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please record yourself. Feigenholtz, Nekritz. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 97 voting 'yea', 9 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 230, having reached a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 347, Senate Bill 347, Representative Cloonen. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 347, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this Senate Bill." 09800132.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Representative Cloonen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen. This… Senate Bill 347 is an initiative of the Illinois Association of County Clerks. It allows the property tax calculation to go beyond three decimal places. Let me be clear, this will not raise property tax. In fact, it will allow people to pay slightly less. It passed out of the House unanimously last year and out of the Senate unanimously this year. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 347 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 1 voting 'present', Senate Bill 347, having achieved the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 498, Leader Mautino. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 498, a Bill for Act concerning local government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Leader Mautino."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 498 is an initiative of the state's economic development regional union… units, and basically, it sets them all equal for… it removes the moral obligation of the state. So, basically, anything that the economic development regional units will do in the future, will be based on their ability to finance them locally. We don't… we will no longer carry any of the moral obligation on those. And there's only one less… left that actually still has that 09800132.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 authority. It will allow for residential projects to be financed as well. Makes the changes to the Housing Development Authority, in that they will no longer need to sign off on specific projects. There's an additional step, which is already taken care of. With that, I'd ask for an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 498 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Record yourselves, Members. Franks. Mr. Clerk, take the record. With 71 voting 'yea', 33 voting 'nay', 1 voting 'present', Senate Bill 498, having achieved the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Brady, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege, please."
"State your point."
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, please join me in welcoming my Page today from Bloomington, Mr. Austin Lopez, who's with his father, Mr. Lopez, up in the gallery. Please give them a nice Springfield welcome."
"Welcome to Springfield. Enjoy your day. Next we have Senate Bill 640, Representative Smith. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill…"
"Out of the record. Representative Meier, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"State your point." 09800132.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"We have the former Representative, Paul Evans, over here to my right, talking to Mike Bost right now. I'd like him… to welcome him to the floor."
"Thank you. Welcome to Springfield. Representative Pritchard, for what reason do you rise?"
"Personal point of privilege, please."
"State your point, Sir."
"It's my pleasure to welcome to the chamber today Brandon Phillips from Ottawa, who is a junior in history at Northern Illinois University. And Representative Demmer and Representative Mautino and I are trying to show him the inner workings of our chamber. So, please welcome him."
"Are you sure you want to do that? Welcome. Thank you for coming to Springfield. Next, we have Senate Bill 644. Senate Bill 644, Representative Unes. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 644, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Unes."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 644 is an initiative of the Department of Insurance. It is a trailer Bill that passed in the 97th General Assembly. That Bill mandated that arbitration for auto insurance disputes were needed under $2500. That mandatory arbitration language was later found unconstitutional. The department has worked very diligently to fix that language and they believe that they have the corrections to that constitutional issue in this Bill. And I ask for an 'aye' vote." 09800132.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 644 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 644, having achieved the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1724, Representative Hurley. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1724, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Hurley."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 1724 simply says that if someone is committed into a mental health facility, they will get their certificate that says why they are there and the possible course of treatment. There's no objections. I'm open for questions and would appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate. The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 1724 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea'; 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 1724, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1941, Representative McAuliffe. Mr. Clerk, call… read the Bill, please."
"Senate Bill 1941, a Bill for an Act concerning business. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative McAuliffe." 09800132.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 1941 would create the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act, which will establish what constituents (sic-constitutes) legal material and designates official publishers in order to properly authenticate electronically published legal material. Be happy to answer any questions and would ask for a 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 1941 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Kay. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 1941, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1996, Senate Bill 1996, Representative Nekritz. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1996, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
Speaker Riley: "Out of the record. Senate Bill 1999, Representative Ives. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1999, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill just provides the requirement of a copy of a high school diploma for a day care licensure may be satisfied with either the copy of the high school diploma or a college degree from an accredited institution of higher education or vocational institution. I ask for your 'aye' vote." 09800132.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 1999 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 1999, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2002, Senate Bill 2002, Representative Tracy. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2002, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Tracy."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, fellow Members of the House. Senate Bill 2002 amends the Trust and Trustees Act. It actually contains cleanup language for the directed trust section of the Act. The change makes it clear that a trustee may decant or participate in a virtual representation agreement to create a directed trust and still be an excluded fiduciary under the terms of the statute. The purpose of a directed statute is to insulate the trustee from liability for acting at the advisor's director… as the… as the advisor's director. And I will welcome any questions. And if no…"
"There being no further debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2002 pass?' All in favor state by saying 'aye'; all opposed 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2002, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby 09800132.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 declared passed. Senate Bill 2003, Representative Sandack. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2003, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This legislation is a trailer legislation to a law that was passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Quinn to the Workplace Violence Protection Act. This Bill was an agreed Bill with all the domestic violence groups participating with the Governor's Office and other advocates to perfect the Bill, clean up some language. And again, it's an agreed Bill."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2003 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2003, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2586, Representative Gabel. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2586, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Gabel."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill establishes a workgroup under the Office of Health Innovation and Transformation. So, it's a workgroup which is convened to identify financing strategies to develop and sustain community-based mental and substance abuse care at the community level for people who… 09800132.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 where it's appropriate for them to be in the community but are at risk of institutional care. I appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2586 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; all those opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2586, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2690, Representative Moffitt. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2690, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 2690 will increase the upper limit on our interest-free revolving loan fund to purchase fire trucks. This has been a very popular program in the State of Illinois. And I want to commend the State Fire Marshal's Office and State Fire Marshal for all they've done to administer this program over the years, working with other agencies. But they've made sure the integrity's there, transparency of making these loans and have promoted it. This… currently, there's a $250 thousand limit. Reason for raising this is the cost of trucks. This program's been in place for 11 years. Cost of fire trucks keeps going up. It would raise that level from 250 thousand to 350 thousand. We hear a lot of problems with government programs and I want to tell you, 09800132.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 there's never been a default on any of these loans. They've been good loans. Again, the credit goes to the State Fire Marshal for an excellent way they select the committee and make their decision. They assure that these loans are made all around the state and that they're… go to where they really need the money. Be happy to entertain any questions. But this will help our fire service. It does not involve General Revenue Fund money. It's insurance fees, it's from fines, and originally there was some bond money."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2690 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Record yourselves, Members. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2690, having achieved the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. 2695. Senate Bill 2695, Representative Unes. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2695, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Unes."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2695 amends the Criminal Code and simply says that an employee of a law enforcement agency commits official misconduct when he or she knowingly uses or communicates information acquired in the course of employment with the intent to obstruct, impede, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of 09800132.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 the person. I'm happy to answer any questions. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2695 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'yea'; 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2695, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative David Harris, for what reason do you rise? Senate Bill 2731, Representative Burke. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2731, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Senate Bill 2791, Representative Burke." Burke, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2731 amends the Boat Registration and Safety Act to provide that any person towing someone in a boat, such as a tuber or a skier, must display a 12 by 12 orange flag at the highest point of the boat's helm while towing that person. It's supported by the Department of Natural Resources, the Conservation Police, and Lake County. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"There being no further debate… there being no debate at all, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2731 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Representative Reis. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 97 voting 'yea', 7 voting 'nay', 1 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2731, having received 09800132.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. 20… I'm sorry. Senate Bill 2744, Representative David Harris. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2744, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative David Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 2744 creates a state-sponsored life insurance program for members of the Illinois National Guard. Every member of the active duty, the reserve, or the National Guard is eligible for the federal serviceman group life insurance program. The Secretary of Defense has said a state- sponsored program can also be offered if it's approved, and that's what this Bill does. It… it establishes the state- sponsored life insurance program for the members of the Illinois National Guard. I'd be happy to answer any questions and ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will." Davis, W.: "Representative, when you indicate that it's state- sponsored, does this in any way cost the state money?" Harris, D.: "No. The… the program is offered by the National Guard Association of Illinois. The insurance prior… I believe is offered through New York Life. This simply sanctions their ability to offer the program." Davis, W.: "Thank you very much."
"Representative David Harris to close." Harris, D.: "I ask for an 'aye' vote." 09800132.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2744 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 105 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2744, having achieved the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2765, Representative Hays. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2765, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Hays."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2765 is the extension of the Panther Promise Program. It's been a wildly successful program that allows for a discount of up to $25 hundred per year for students that are low- and middle-income. This has been a program that has allowed Illinois students to remain in our state. It's a program that is renewable for four years. The people at EIU have been very, very happy with this. While at the same time making skyrocketing tuition more affordable, they have had their… they have had their enrollment actually go up. I urge an 'aye' vote and would be happy to answer questions."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will." Davis, W.: "Representative, yesterday during our debate on budget Bills, the Bill that was presented for Eastern Illinois University, how did you vote on that Bill?"
"I suspect I voted 'no'." 09800132.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 Davis, W.: "You voted 'no'. So, this was an opportunity to maybe provide some additional resource to Eastern Illinois University through the budgetary process, correct?"
"I… I would have to review the Bill. I certainly take you at your word." Davis, W.: "I'm sorry."
"I said I would have to review the Bill. But I certainly take you at your word, if that's what you're representing." Davis, W.: "Okay. So, in our attempts to try to do that, would you say that this is an attempt to take money away from the university by offering tuition breaks for students?"
"Well, this was actually an initiative of the university and what they have suggested, Representative, is while at the same time, low- and middle-income students have been able to save on tuition, that their enrollment has actually gone up. So, the net financial effect to the university has actually been a positive effect. And that's really, I think, the… one of the… the hidden gems in this entire program. While at… while saving families and students up to $25 hundred a year, the enrollment at the university has actually gone up." Davis, W.: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No. The President of Eastern Illinois University testified in committee that the enrollment of the university is actually going down, which is why they fired their director of admissions."
"Well, the…" Davis, W.: "No. He testified to that in committee 'cause I asked him specifically that question. So, you're saying the enrollment is actually going up?" 09800132.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"They're suggesting that the students who are participating in this program, those students remaining in college, is markedly higher than the students that are not participating in the program. They're also suggesting that the per… the students that are participating in the discount program, over a four-year period, can save $10 thousand on their tuition. Of course, this is pigeonholed to low- and middle-income students. The low…" Davis, W.: "Here… here's the irony, Representative. I have no problem with the program. I appreciate the fact that the university has taken steps to help low- and moderate-income students. That's… that's fantastic. But if you juxtapose that to the debate that we had yesterday, when there were efforts to try to help the universities, no one on your side of the aisle supported it. So, isn't it kind of weird that you want to encourage the university to offer a break, but to offer them the additional resources, maybe to provide more breaks for more students, you seem to have some challenges with?"
"Well, I believe this program is open to all students, low- income students up to a 150 percent of the federal poverty level and middle-income, 151 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. So…" Davis, W.: "I'm not… I'm not questioning which students it's available to."
"I think this is inclusive to all students." Davis, W.: "Again, I'm just making a comparison to what we went through yesterday, but here's a Bill that may take money away from the university. I… Thank you very much, Representative."
"Thank you." 09800132.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
Speaker Riley: "The Chair recognizes Representative Monique Davis." Davis, M.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will." Davis, M.: "Representative, tell us exactly what your objective is in this Bill. What is your objective?"
"The objective is… is, I think, multifaceted. One, as you know, the cost of college tuition has skyrocketed, particularly in the last 10 years. And more and more families are simply frozen out of the opportunity to attend college. And what Eastern Illinois University was trying to do is, both for low- and middle-income students, is to acknowledge that this is… this is a problem. And this is a problem that's getting worse. And this is a problem that unfortunately, has far too many of our families across the state saying this is unaffordable to us. So, one of the goals is to make college a little more affordable. This is a discount of up to $25 hundred per year that's been in place for the last several years. EIU suggests that this is one of the most successful programs that they've ever undertaken. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that the other universities around the state haven't jumped on board for this. They've also indicated this helps keep Illinois students in the State of Illinois by making college more affordable. This is… obviously, this discount is not a loan. It does not have to be repaid. The other thing that it does is it helps to keep those students who are attending our colleges in college. By making them a little more affordable, those students…" Davis, M.: "Is… is Eastern in your district?" 09800132.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"It is not in my district." Davis, M.: "Do you know in reference to how many students it helps? About how many students are assisted with this program?"
"I don't have the exact number. I will get that to you. I know it's several hundred." Davis, M.: "Okay. So, Representative, Chairman Will Davis is… seems like he's opposed to your Bill."
"I think he said he actually aport… supports it. But I don't want to put words in his mouth." Davis, M.: "Will Davis said he does support your Bill?"
"I believe he suggested that, yes." Davis, M.: "Well, if he supports your Bill, then I will support your Bill, since he is the chairman of one of our Education Committees. And you know, I'm all for any program that assists the State of Illinois in getting kids in college, and helping them to succeed. Now, one of the things, or one of the problems is the economy in our state. And because of the economy in our state, a number of kids are not going to college right away or they're having to drop out. So, if your program, if this helps to keep kids in school, then I do support it also. And thank you for your responses."
"I thank you."
Speaker Riley: "The Chair recognizes Representative Mary Flowers."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Gentleman's Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, college tuition in this state is too blinking high. And unfortunately, that has an effect on our economy. It has an effect on our children's 09800132.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 future. When our kids graduate, they graduate with honors in one hand and a burden in another. And if we all continue to just talk about how high college tuition is and do nothing about it, we're guilty. But the Gentleman over here and Eastern Illinois University is trying to do something about it. We should all join him in saying this one is for the children. This one is for the future. I urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Dunkin."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Chad Hays, I just want to follow up with some of the questions that Representative Will Davis highlighted."
Speaker Riley: "Would you like to ask him a question, Representative?"
"Yes, Sir. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will. Proceed."
"Alrighty. Representative, how'd you vote yesterday on the budget to the Illinois… Eastern Illinois University, yesterday?"
"I think I indicated earlier that I voted 'no'."
"I can’t hear you, Representative."
"I voted 'no'."
"You voted 'no' on Eastern Illinois University's budget?"
"I think I voted 'no' 78 consecutive times."
"Is Eastern Illinois University in your district?"
"It is just outside of my district."
"But most of your students… most of your constituents work there, correct?" 09800132.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"No. No… The students in my geographic area that… that attend four-year universities…"
"You're stuttering, Representative. I can hardly understand you."
"I said the students in my district who attend four year universities would most likely aturn… attend Eastern Illinois University, or the University of Illinois, or perhaps Illinois State."
"So, a waiver. How did you vote on the legislative scholarship waiver several years ago? Were you here?"
"I don't know that I was."
"Well, let… all right. Let me refresh your memory. For years, this House and the Senate has had the opportunity to provide legislative scholarships to all students across the State of Illinois to go to any state university. How did you vote on that tuition waiver for the legislative scholarships?"
"I would have voted 'no' on that. This actually is not a waiver, however, this is a discount for tuition. The…"
"Representative, I just want to be clear on the… on the question. Did you vote 'yes' or 'no' on the legislative scholarship tuition waiver? It's a 'yes' or 'no' answer, Representative."
"We're not… that's not the matter at hand."
"Is that a 'yes' or 'no', Representative?"
"I voted 'no'."
"You voted 'no'. Why and what was your rationale for voting 'no' on a legislative scholarship?"
"Do you have questions related to the Bill at hand, Sir?" 09800132.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"It is very much related, Representative. This here is… you're saying that certain folk who go to a particular school that is impacting you, that's in your district or part of that, your district's catchment area, you're saying give them a break to the tune of $1.3 million for students to go there for a tremendous discount or / a waiver. So, I'm trying to understand the logic, or maybe some of the hypocrisy of you voting yesterday against Eastern Illinois University. You voted against the legislative scholarship for tuition waivers and here you are, right now, asking us to extend in perpetuity no pilot program. You have not spoken on the pilot… you're asking us to vote for a waiver program for Eastern Illinois, which is in your district. Help me understand why we're doing this."
"Sir, it's not… Number one, it's not in my district. Number two, this isn't into perpetuity. It's a three-year extension. The university came to us and indicated that this is a wildly successful program allowing a discount to students of low and middle-income from all corners of the state. They've indicated that it helps to keep students in Illinois. As you well know stu…"
"How so, Representative."
"Well, stu…"
"How does this guarantee that a student who graduates from Eastern Illinois versus Western or Northern are going to stay in Illinois because they received a tuition waiver? Tell me how that's justified in giving them a free waiver at your respective university." 09800132.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"It… it's not a waiver. It's a discount of up to $2500. I think one of the things that they found is both this helps students from low- and middle-income families for the obvious reason that it makes it more affordable to go to college. The other thing that makes Eastern Illinois University a lot more competitive, as you well know…"
"How's…"
"…we have far too many stories of colleges around our state where the tuition now is higher to go to an in-state college than it is to an out-of-state college. I have many, many…"
"Representative, so where and how does Eastern Illinois University make up the cost? Because there is a cost for this tuition waiver?"
"They indicated to me that the participants staying in school, et cetera, has actually been a net plus for them because of the… the yield of their college recruitment of the students who have been able to participate in this program…"
"Representative…"
"…puts more bodies in the classroom, so to speak."
"Representative, that's very nice and theoretical. Let's speak to the numbers here. Maybe you need to ask your staff about this 'cause clearly there's some… maybe some misunderstanding. How does the Eastern Illinois University college system make up its $1.3 million loss with this program in place?"
"They make… about 400 students a year are held by this. They make it up in fees and housing, et cetera, et cetera…
"Okay. Okay."
"…all the things that come along with having…" 09800132.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"So, it's a fee increase on students? Is that what it is?"
"No."
"Wait… wait a minute now. I want to he… let's follow your logic. Again, you voted against Eastern Illinois University yesterday. You voted against tuition waivers a few years ago. And today you're saying give Eastern Illinois a free run on a tuition waiver solely because students stay in Illinois, or it's good for the students?"
"Sir, if you would like students from your district not to participate, I think that's a mystery."
"No, that's not the issue. Representative, where does the money come from? "
"That's a mystery that you have to explain on your own. This is not even controversial. This has been wildly successful."
"Representative, wait a minute. It's $1.3 million. It's not controversial? This is a spending increase and a fee increase because what they save in tuition they charge them. And by the way, Eastern Illinois University, you know the university that you did not vote on yesterday, they're raising their tuition this year, again. They're raising their tuition for every program. They're raising their fees for every program. Where is the cost going to come from, from Eastern Illinois University?"
"I don't know if that is accurate."
"You don't know?"
"I do… I do know, for the four-year universities, for some time Eastern Illinois University has been the most 09800132.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 affordable. And I think this was a step a few years ago by Eastern Illinois University…"
"Representative, where is the cost going to come from?"
"…to do something that I think is extraordinarily creative. I think it is aimed towards… I think it was…"
"Representative, where is the cost going to come from? Ask your staff right there if you don't know."
"Representative Dunkin."
"I've been told that Eastern Illinois University, in fact, did not raise its tuition. But I think the important…"
"Wait now… wait a minute, hold on."
" Excuse me, Gentlemen."
"Are you telling me…"
"Excuse me. Excuse me, Gentlemen. Excuse me. Representative Dunkin, there are a lot of people who are going to be asking questions. So, could you bring your questioning to an end, please?"
"To the Bill. Representative, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, as a chair of Appropriations who follow each and every one of our state institution very, very closely, in almost finite detail, the hypocrisy of a Member here asking for a special treatment for… that's connected to his district, on a budget of… on… at a school that he voted against, against receiving any money is asking for a $1.3 million tuition waiver. Again, the Sponsor is speaking about a program that, according to my analysis, it says indefinitely extends this tuition waiver. It reeks with hypocrisy. He cannot answer the question as it relates to the cost and where it's going to go. Oh, we know where it's going to go. It's going to go as 09800132.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 a fee increase to the students. It's going to go as a fee increase to the parents. A fee increase to the families. This is… this pro… we're not ready to offer tuition waivers, since I thought we were moving away from free college tuition that someone has to pay for. And it's the families, it's the students. This is pathetically phony. If you voted against the budget yesterday, if you voted against the legislative scholarships, how dare we come back here and say we want to extend this in perpetuity. Vote 'no'."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, there's a number of people who want to testify on this Bill. I don't… after going through what we went through yesterday, I don't want to put a clock on anyone, but can we keep the comments at least succinct, please. The Chair recognizes Representative Jakobsson."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I rise in support of this Bill. Eastern is recognized for a university that many students try to go to who are not necessarily from high-income families. Eastern wants to make sure that these students are able to afford their tuition and maintain their status as students and at the same time, they also want to make sure that they're maintaining a grade point average. Eastern has a history of graduating people who have become teachers, teachers in our State of Illinois. And many of us here have looked around and said, we need to make sure we have a good teaching pool. Eastern has that history. Eastern started this program on their own. They're asking to be able to continue it on their own for another period of time. And I would ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Arroyo." 09800132.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Leader. I was wondering a little bit. Our clock was… we didn't have a clock yesterday when we were calling our budget. And all of a sudden now, there's a clock put on when we want to debate a Bill that is very important to some of us. I had a Bill… I had a Bill…"
"Representative Arroyo, there is not a clock on."
"Oh, okay. Okay. So, I want…"
"So, let's… let's understand there is not a clock on. I do not want to put one on."
"Oh, okay. So…"
"But there is not a clock on."
"Thank you very much, Leader. Chuck… Would the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will."
"You said that this is not a tuition waiver. Why does it say that on the… on the synopsis on the computer, or I might have a different computer than you have on that side of the aisle."
"This is a program that Eastern Illinois University started on its own volition. They term it a tuition discount. It's not a waiver. I guess, I believe the reason…"
"Then why does it say that on the computer? Can you take this Bill out and correct the synopsis on this Bill and say that it's a program, that it's not a tuition waiver?"
"Yeah."
"I have a problem with tuition waivers because I had a Bill in this chamber last year for the deans from all the universities that spent $400 million of giving free scholarships away that cost the taxpayer's money and then you 09800132.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 guys vote against those Bills on your side of the aisle and you don’t want… we should eliminate all scholarships the same way they eliminated our scholarships. Those scholarships are good tools for some of our kids to go to school. The other thing I want to ask you, where is Eastern Illinois? And who would be using those scholarships?"
"Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois. The… I believe the program originally was called a tuition waiver. The Bill, and I have it in front of me, that terminology it's… it's now called a tuition discount. And I think the reason a discount is because it does not waive tuition overall. But certainly it does help more than 400 students annually. This is something that can be renewed up to four years. So, in the context of the cost of college, I applauded Eastern Illinois University when they came up with this very creative program. I was very, very pleased. It was… it's been so positive, in fact, that Representative Flowers, in committee, asked the President of Eastern Illinois University to come to the table and talk about the glowing results of… that this has had and how many low- and middle- income families that it has helped. And that was even in… when this Bill wasn't even being discussed. She had been following it so closely and had been so pleased with their proactive approach and that's something that I very much appreciated in committee."
"Representative, can you tell me how much does Eastern Illinois pay totally for their tuition waivers? What par… what portion of that 400 million does Northeastern give out in tuition waivers?" 09800132.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"I'm sorry. Would you repeat the question, Sir?"
"How much does Eastern Illinois pay in tuition waivers, besides this program? All their tuition waivers. Because you say that this is not a tuition waiver, this is some kind of other program for minority students, middle-income students?"
"It's low and middle income students, Sir."
"So what does middle-income mean?"
"Low…"
"People with… what is the threshold?"
"The threshold, low income students, up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level and middle income, 151 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level would be eligible for the discount program."
"Okay. What is the total cost that Eastern is paying… is paying for those tuition waivers?"
"It's a discount of up to $2500 a year and… and it affects 400…"
"Discount, no, no. I'm asking you how much does Eastern pay for tuition waivers? How much money will they give away, or discount, if you will. What is the amount?"
"It's 400 times… up to 2500 per student for this program."
"I don't have a calculator. Does your person next to you should have that number next to her? Can she tell you…"
"A million dollars."
"How much?"
"It would be a maximum of a million dollars."
"A million dollars. Wow. Could you tell me how many minority students in that area at Eastern 'cause I don't know what area that is?" 09800132.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"I don't have the… I don't have the enrollment figures. I would say that Eastern…"
"Again, Chad…"
"This is called the Panther Promise Program."
"…Chad, can you take this Bill out of the… out of the roll until you correct it and take that tuition waiver out of that synopsis because it says it's tuition waiver. So, if you say it's a program for minority students, write it correctly. It's not written correctly. If it was me putting something in there, you guys would be hammering me about take it out of the record and put the right language. You trying to pass a Bill that you're saying that it's something that it's not on there."
"Well, I'm… I'm reading…"
"If you don't do that, I'm going to urge all my colleagues on my side to vote 'no' and I think…"
"I'm reading… I'm reading from the Bill."
"…because I want to help minority… I want to help minority students, just like you. Everybody on this side wants to help minority students, but this is not helping minority students because this is a tuition waiver and we voted against that. And you guys took all ours… all our tuition waivers. If you guys vote for that, you should give us our tuition waivers back. Then we'll vote for it."
"Sir, I'm not sure that the point you're making is germane to this discussion. But I would tell you that Eastern reports that increased enrollment because of this program has produced $807 thousand in additional revenue for EIU in 2012 09800132.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 and '13 and 482 thousand in 2014 including tuition, housing and dining fees. So, obviously…"
"Chad, you got… you got the wrong language on your Bill. Can you take this out of the record?"
"I'm reading from the Bill. It says strategic use of tuition discounting. That's what the Bill says, Sir."
"My Bill says, tuition waivers."
"That's your analysis. I'm reading from the text of the Bill."
"Look on the board. Look on the board, what it says on the board there, Chad."
"I'm reading from the text of the Bill, Sir."
"Can the… can the Speaker take that and change that on the board? Maybe he could put a program up there, 'cause…"
"They're changing the name from waiver to discount. It says discounting in the… in the Bill."
"…it says tuition waivers. Can you take this out of the record?"
"No."
"Okay. Members, Members…"
"Your staff has it wrong. They're… they're really very bright folks. On this case…"
"…Members, you need to pay attention."
"…they got their wording incorrect."
"Members, you need to pay attention. You know, it's good for the goose, but it's not good for the gander. It's good for some people, but it's not good for some people. We want to be able to be fair here. You took our… our tuition waivers, and now you want to pass a Bill. And then you vote against 09800132.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 the tax for Eastern Illinois. I want to give some of my time to Ken Dunkin if Ken Dunkin has anymore to talk about. Vote 'no'."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Sullivan."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will."
"Representative, we've heard a lot of different discussions on this very simple Bill. When you offer this discount, you're trying to enhance the enrollment to make more money. Is that the purpose here?"
"That certainly is. Eastern Illinois University has reported that that has been the net effect that more low- and middle- income families can send their children to school. And the overall net effect, in terms of revenue on the school, has actually been a positive because of the accessibility to those students."
"So, by offering this discount, you're having more students come, you're making more money, and you're allowing low-income people the chance for an education. Is that the purpose of this Bill?"
"That's exactly accurate."
"Has there any… been any type of corruption involved with this?"
"Not only has there been no corruption, it's been a wildly popular program for the university, for students, and particularly for low- and middle-income students. It really has been, in an era of skyrocketing tuition, it has been a wonderful, wonderful created program." 09800132.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"So, if we don't pass this Bill and this goes away, would you say that potentially we're going to have decreased revenue to the institution and we're going to have less people at the poverty level going to school and getting an education to lift themselves up out of poverty. Is that correct?"
"It would be a lose-lose. You would have students not being able to access higher education and the revenue for the university would go down at the same time."
"Thank you. To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is very simple. We're trying to get access to education for low- income students. I know that we want to rehash the very flawed legislative scholarship program that we voted to abolish. We did that for a reason. There's no matrix in how you awarded those scholarships. Would it be nice to have it? It would have been nice to have the matrix to do it, but we had some people that were doing it willy-nilly. The Gentleman has an opportunity to raise revenue at the institution so we don't have to have more tax dollars, and give the opportunity for low-income families to go to college. Why do you want to vote against that? Please vote 'aye'."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Reboletti."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I find that some of the commentary from some of the previous speakers talking about hypocrisy, that the hypocrisy is talking about spending revenue and appropriating it when you don't have a revenue source. And then you appropriate numbers at a higher number, anticipating a tax hike that has not yet occurred. So, here's where the real hypocrisy comes in. Eastern Illinois University, which is in Charleston, Illinois, which is about 09800132.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 200 miles south of where Elmhurst is, where I attended undergraduate university. The university's enrollment was extremely low for a number of years. So, the administration at EIU came up with an idea of how to encourage enrollment and provide more opportunities to people in the low-income categories. So, they came up with an interesting way of doing it, giving an opportunity to students who may not have gone to college. And so now, because you didn't like the fact that I didn't vote for the Bill, and let me tell you why I didn't vote for the Bill, Representatives. Representative Davis, I'll use your name in debate, I know you want to speak again and Representative Dunkin. I voted against it because if you recall, we all agreed at 34 and a half billion dollars for our budget and by the time the universities came along, the state had already spent that amount. Additional hypocrisy is when we had to let the universities go out to the bond market to get additional dollars to pay for things that we weren't paying for. And there was a question about minority enrollment at Eastern Illinois University. Let me share some statistics with you. EIU has 24 percent minority enrollment. And just because it's in Charleston, Illinois, does not mean that each Representative here doesn't have students attending that university. If you don’t like my vote about funding yesterday, great. If that's the reason you want to vote against the Bill, that's fine. Explain that to the constituents that will be hurt by it. That's where I'm coming from. If that's where the attack is, that's great. And Representative Davis, you and I talked about the… the problem at EIU a few years back because we were concerned about the enrollment and how to get those 09800132.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 opportunities back up. So, I don't even know though, if that budget that was passed yesterday is even going to move forward. And you know why that is, my Democratic friends, because the Speaker of this august Body filed Motions to reconsider each and every one of those Appropriations Bills. So, we have no idea what the funding streams are going to be. We have no idea what the mechanisms are going to be, what the revenues are, if we even have a budget. So, therefore, Ladies and Gentlemen, if this Bill should be collateral damage from yesterday, then so be it. I guess EIU will move forward without that assistance and with less students with the lower level of income and less opportunity."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Burke, Kelly Burke." Burke, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this Bill. As we debate the challenges we face economically, some of our state universities have reported declining enrollment. I think this is a really interesting and innovative program that seeks to combat, not only the declining enrollment of our universities, but also seeks to find a way to help middle-income people afford college, and that's a very, very important issue in my district. I think it's a kudos to Eastern for coming up with this program and putting it into a form that's been successful. And it would be very interesting to see to whether this could be expanded to other universities. I urge an 'aye' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Dunkin, whose name was used in debate." 09800132.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative, can you speak to why the student population has decreased or declined at Eastern Illinois University?"
"I think there… I think that's a dynamic that is true, unfortunately, across the state and across the country. That it's… there are many factors, but not the least of which is the cost of higher education. You… you look at data from any…"
"Specifically at Eastern Illinois. Do you know why?"
"I don't know that I can answer that specifically to Eastern. I think they probably would be… have the same dynamics as everybody else. When the cost of tuition goes up exponentially as it has over the last 10 years, it really puts a lot of pressure on all families and particularly those from low- and middle-income families to be able to afford… to allow their children to access higher education."
"So, is… all right. So, you don't know the answer. Now…"
"I… I think the answer is tuition is squeezing out students and families from the opportunity to enjoy higher education opportunities."
"Okay. So, why won't they make that tuition and fees relative to the population, the student population and have a meaningfully low cost or an affordable cost compared to every single year raising up tuition, raising student fees? Why can't they do that?"
"I believe Eastern, as it relates to the four year universities in Illinois, has the lowest tuition structure. Also, I have verified that this year their enroll… their tuition increase is zero. And I verified that on the telephone during debate. So, I think Eastern Illinois University, not 09800132.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 only historically has been a leader in trying to keep costs low and affordable, I think this program really in being proactive and starting this pilot program is indicative of that commitment at EIU to trying to reach out, particularly to those families most in need, and say higher education is for you and it matters and it is affordable and accessible."
"Okay. So, let me ask you another question. Would you be interested in this pilot program if you pull this out of the record and let… I add or we add an Amendment that says Chicago State University or Northeastern Illinois University or Western Illinois University, or Northern Illinois University or Southern Illinois University or University of Illinois…"
"The…"
"…could have a very similar program? Exact same. If it's good for one, let's do it for all of them."
"I won't pull it out of the record because this is a initiative of Eastern Illinois University and a pilot program they brought. However, they said in committee that they've been actually a little surprised and they have extended the offer to all other universities that they would sit down with them, talk about the program, how they implemented it, talk about the success of it because, frankly, I think that where you're going with your point, this is a great idea…"
"So, listen. No… no. I didn't say that."
"…and this is an idea that who… that is worthy at many other schools and I think I… I would be happy to work with Eastern and with you to encourage those schools to get with Eastern and expand this." 09800132.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"It was just a… it was just a question, Representative. I didn't say it was a great idea. Here's… so, you still do not know exactly how much the cost of this tuition waiver is. Is that correct?"
"It's a tuition discount, four hundred students at $2500 a student's about a million dollars."
"How much is that?"
"That's about a million dollars. But I would tell you…"
"About a million dollars?"
"…I would tell you that Eastern has reported that increased enrollment produced $807 thousand in additional revenue for EIU in 2012 and '13, and 482 thousand in '13 and '14, including tuition, housing, and dining fees. And I think what they're saying is that because…"
"So, they're making money off of this here."
"…because this is more affordable to more students, there's more… there are more people accessing higher education and the overall revenue implications to the university have actually…"
"So, Representative…"
"…been positive. And that's why it's a win-win."
"I just want to be clear on the numbers here. Let's talk facts. So, right now, you're stating that they're making, the university is making money off of this program?"
"They're saying that when more students are on campus accessing housing and dining, et cetera, et cetera, that the net…"
"Representative…"
"…effect of this is a positive from past situations." 09800132.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Representative Dunkin, can you bring your remarks to a close?"
"I will. I'm try… If he could answer one of the questions. He's being very philosophically vague on details. That's the issue here. And so we're coming up with special… this is… To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, this in and of itself is special legislation for a particular district catchment area for a university that has… that's losing its contemporary approach and progressiveness in attracting students. And so, guess what? The students are going elsewhere 'cause students look at programs that are being offered. That attracts students. Students look at the type of faculty at certain universities or colleges. That's attractive. Students also look at the relevancy of these universities and what their impact is in society. And apparently, some of our universities, and it appears that Eastern Illinois University may be of that ilk, of sort of an antiquated approach that's not progressive, that has not attracted students, that has not attracted professors, that's progressive enough, that's 21st century enough. And so they have to come up with programs, fake programs, that offer tuition waivers to help supplement or subsidize its lack of 21st century educational approach. And so, we come up with this tuition waiver to help try to subsidize the university. That's what you articulated, that's what this Bill does. And if it's good for Eastern Illinois University, let's do it at the rest of the universities. So, I would encourage either that you pull the record… the Bill out of the record or we let all the universities participate in this program. And I just want to 09800132.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 know, last question, are out-of-state students able to participate with this here? Ah. Can out-of-state or international students participate in this here?"
"Please, let's have some order. Mr. Dunkin, you did go to the Bill."
"I did."
"So, bring the remarks to a close."
"I just want to know… I stand corrected. Can international students and out-of-state students participate in this program?"
"You can't ask a question. You were summing up."
"I stand corrected, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter is the Gentleman has all the good intentions in the world, he just simply can't answer the question in finite financial details or substantive details on this program. That's the problem that I have with this here. Now, if this program was at another university that serves maybe a particular population, I don’t know, we'd be having questions up the wazoo. But this is special legislation for a university that's not been current or contemporary enough. So, I'm still perplexed. I think it's very hypocritical on so many merits. I would encourage a 'no' vote."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Davidsmeyer."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates he will."
"Okay. Just to clarify some numbers on here, I looked up tuition. We're talking about 400 students at a max… max cost of this, $25 hundred per student of $1 million. Tuition cost is $11,108; room and board is $8,996. We're talking about 09800132.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 turning down $7 million worth of revenue for a university based on a million dollars that is helping out low- and moderate-income students. So, my question to you is, if I live in a house by myself and it's $3 thousand a month, how much do I pay?"
"Three thousand dollars."
"Okay. If I add one roommate, how much do each of us pay?"
"Fifteen hundred, if you split the cost."
"Fifteen hundred dollars. If I add another roommate, three roommates in a house that cost $3 thousand, how much do I pay?"
"A thousand."
"A thousand dollars. We are spreading the cost of this university further and further by adding more students. So, this money is going further by adding additional students. And I would like to close by moving the previous question."
"We're still in debate, so we can't move the previous question. We'll go to the next person in the queue because you had already spoke. So, the Chair recognizes… Ladies and Gentlemen… Ladies and Gentlemen. Ladies and Gentlemen, here's what we're going to do. First of all, it's a very passionate debate, but I would ask this, if you have some sidebars that you want to engage in, go to the back of the chamber. The second thing is do not shout at the Chair. If you have something to address, let's do it the way that you're supposed to do it. Let's… let's have a little bit of the decorum in here and we can get through this. So, the Chair recognizes Representative Hammond." 09800132.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move the previous question."
"The previous question has been called. So, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2765 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Let's record ourselves, please. Is everybody recorded? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 74 voting 'aye', 14 voting 'nay', 15 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2765, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Bost, for what reason do you rise?"
"Mr. Speaker, thank you, and without yelling and with a most proper decorum I would like the excuse Mr… Representative McSweeney for the rest of the day."
"The record will reflect that."
"Okay. Thank you."
"Representative Tracy, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a moment of civility, and I appreciate the pink tie that you have on and I know everybody wore their tennis shoes this week in support of Race for the Cure, I just wanted to express a point of personal privilege about the Susan G. Komen Foundation race today in Springfield."
"Please state your point."
"The Susan G. Komen Foundation is bringing the first Komen Race for the Cure 5K to Springfield later this afternoon. The race will begin and finish on the steps of the Capitol. And the evening will culminate with a display of pink fireworks 09800132.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 at the end of the race. I hope you all join me in congratulating all those involved in bringing the race to Springfield and to the Capitol grounds and wish them the best in their efforts to raise money to end breast cancer. I know the race and party will be both an honor to those who have lost their fight and a celebration for those who are still fighting and are surviving this disease that touches all of our lives. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker."
"Thank you very much, Representative Tracy. And I've been wearing pink on Fridays for years now, so thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were debating a Bill and for whatever reason, some Member decided to move the previous question when there was still debate left on the Bill. Now, the previous speaker just talked about civility. We had someone speak earlier about how he characterized yesterday's debate and that we need to do things a little differently today. And I can appreciate that. But I don't know why the… the Lady decided to move the previous question. Don't know if she was tired of the debate or the fact that, you know, she thought because we had questions on this side of the aisle that they weren't worth asking or being asked and deserving of an answer. I'm not really sure. But again, if there is a debate going on, a serious debate going on, then I would argue that we should not be moving the question. Yesterday, there was a lot of serious debate going on, on the budget. Now, I stood for an hour on mine. We didn't move any previous questions on that. Now, I'm sure if we had, I can only imagine what the feedback would have been from that side of the aisle 09800132.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 because you wanted to debate the issue. You said it was important enough to get your points on the record, to ask whatever questions you needed to, for that reason. So, I would simply ask, out of respect for sometimes what we want to do in terms of questioning Members, whether it's on this side of the aisle or the other side of the aisle, that we limit the use of that. Now, sometimes we know the Bills get a little loopy and people are just kind of asking the same questions, but I think we all know when the debate is serious enough that we need to allow it to go on. Let the Chair control how the debate moves, whether he uses the timer. Let the Chair do that. Let's try to refrain from doing that, if at all possible. In the… in the case of civility, let's try to refrain from that. If it's a serious enough debate, let the debate go on. Let the Member who is presenting the Bill stand and answer the questions as appropriate, the way that we all do when we debate a Bill. I would appreciate that."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Reboletti."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"I'm looking at Rule… House Rule 59, with respect to moving the previous question. I didn't vote for these House Rules because I think, as all of you are aware, I'm not happy with a few of them, especially the ability for one person to object to my ability to move a Bill forward to be debated thoroughly, but that's a whole different discussion. It does say, however, Representative Davis, that this Rule may be suspended only by the affirmative vote of 71 Members elected. 09800132.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 So, there is a remedy if we don't want to close the debate. And I know that we've done that before on voice votes and on Roll Call votes. And I don't necessarily disagree with you. I don't know… I don't know if I agree with the Lady's Motion. But that’s been done before. Other Members have done that on your side of the aisle as well to move the previous question when they don't like how long the debate has been going. I have… I agree with you that there was… yesterday was necessary as well the debate on this Bill's necessary. But the Rules do indicate there is a way to overrule that Motion."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"Thank you. Fridays are tough at the end of May, particularly when they follow a long day like yesterday. There was an earlier speaker this morning that took umbrage and professionally aired some of the positions he had with respect to how things went down yesterday. I've yet to speak to the Gentleman. I intend to. In my estimation, yesterday was a long day. There were emotions. I think we're seeing today, in the previous Bill, some of those emotions extend over. That's too bad. The fact of the matter is the question in the last Bill was called. There is a procedure for overriding that. And I'll remind the folks on the other side of the aisle that we're regularly the recipient of a Motion calling the question when there are a queue of speakers wishing to speak on issues. So, the Rules are what they are and folks will be reminded, as my colleague Dennis Reboletti just said, they're not our Rules. Thank you, Mr. Speaker." 09800132.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"The Chair recognizes Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"You know, I've heard a lot this morning about everybody that we need to calm down and you know, we want to keep it civil. And I understand that. I… You know, I've been around this process and… but I think that probably the best thing about this chamber is that we are able to use our freedom of speech and sometimes we yell. And Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to you, this chamber has kind of been known for that. And that's not a bad thing. And I think it goes back to the House of Lords and House of Commons and everything like that. And my thought is, is if you… if you want it that quiet and calm, run for the Senate."
"Thank you, Lord Mike. The Chair recognizes Representative Brady."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"State your point."
"I… in my attempts to be a uniter and not a divider in this Body, I would suggest that those who would like to stick around today and have serious debate over any issue, maybe there could be a special time this afternoon that those Representatives could remain on the floor. The rest of us could move on with the people's business and quit wasting taxpayer dollar. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"Please state your point." 09800132.docx 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014
"I just wanted to also add that it's important that Members that believe strongly about something, that they do have an opportunity to speak to it. And I think anytime you see waivers come up, you're going to see people that's going to stand up and speak because for me, waivers has been an issue in my district where people have asked me why are they gone. And if we continue to vote for waiver Bills, then it just makes it more difficult for us when we go back home, when constituents ask us why we're not fighting to bring them back or why we're not fighting to add Amendments to Bills that are on the board. So, I support what Representative Dunkin stood for today as the chair of Higher Education and I urge that we all understand that that Bill was an opportunity for a real discussion about bringing more people from across Illinois to state universities. And we should not let the discussion stop now. We should continue so that we can get more people in college from every community, from all backgrounds. Thank you."
Speaker Riley: "The Chair recognizes Representative Monique Davis." Davis, M.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege."
"State your point, please." Davis, M.: "First of all, I know that moving the previous question is an attempt by a Member to end the conversation on a particular issue. I agree that yesterday, as debate went on for hours, no one on this side of the aisle chose to stop the speeches of anyone on the other side of the aisle. We felt it only fair that they could speak. I just also want to say that 09800132.docx 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 someone made a very derisive remark about Representative Jay Hoffman. Jay Hoffman was here when I arrived a number of years ago. He's always been an outstanding Legislator and even though he was the Floor Leader for Blagojevich, he was never a part of any corrupt behavior. He's still in the Legislature, and he's always held himself aboveboard. He is a Gentleman Legislator. And I'm very proud to say that he is one of the best Legislators in this Body. And for anyone who doesn't know him, to attempt to remove that is very unfair to him and the rest of us in this Body. I think it's important that we recognize that what is important to you may not be important to me, but I should have an opportunity to discuss it and to debate it. We're only asking for fairness and I urge us to remember to be fair to your colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Back to Senate Bills on Third Reading. Senate Bill 2769, Representative Moffitt. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2769, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2769, we've really worked on this language for a couple years and I'm very pleased to tell you, this is agreed language now. There are no opponents. This was an initiative of CMS and what this does is spells out how an employee for the state goes about requesting time off. Recognizes there's been for blood donation… recognizes that times have changed and it's not just whole blood now but blood plasma, sometimes organs, 09800132.docx 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 sometimes platelets. Talks about the time of leave, how much can be granted. And so, it's really a way of encouraging donation of blood, blood parts. In the past, blood even fell under the Act just on organ donation. This actually spells out what blood donation is, platelet donation and blood plasma and organ donation. Be happy to entertain any questions."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2769 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; all those opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2769, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2782, Representative Golar. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2782, a Bill for an Act concerning courts. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Golar."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. Senate Bill 2782 amends the Juvenile Court Act by providing that parents or legal guardians may be appointed as educational surrogates for the minors in abuse or neglect cases. These cases… this is a holistic approach by the Family Defense Center to be and to provide an appointment for an educational surrogate in juvenile court proceedings. And courts generally do not appoint educational surrogates. I'll be happy to answer any questions. And I urge an 'aye' vote."
"There being no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2782 pass?' All in favor state by saying… all in 09800132.docx 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 104 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2782, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. The Chair recognizes Representative Bost."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the record could reflect that Representative Cross is excused for the rest of the day."
"It will be duly noted. Now, Members, refer to Supplemental Calendar #1, House Bills on Second Reading. We have House Bill 5889. Mr. Clerk, read the Bill."
"House Bill 5889, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Second Reading of this House Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. And now, allowing for perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that the House stand in adjournment until Monday, May 19… Monday May 19 at 3:30 p.m. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House of Representatives stands in adjournment until Monday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m."
"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction and First Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 3033, offered by Representative Mayfield, a Bill for an Act concerning education. First Reading of this Senate Bill. Introduction of Resolutions. Senate Joint Resolution 48, offered by Representative Tracy; Senate Joint Resolution 49, 09800132.docx 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 98th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 132nd Legislative Day 5/16/2014 offered by Representative Pritchard; House Resolution 1110, offered by Representative Bill Mitchell; House Resolution 1112, offered by Representative Senger; House Resolution 1113, offered by Representative Scherer; and House Resolution 1114, offered by Representative Brauer, are referred to the Rules Committee. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 09800132.docx 60