"Members shall be in their chairs. We shall be led in prayer today by Pastor Claudius Anderson who is with the Apostolic House of Prayer in Kankakee, Illinois. Pastor Anderson is the guest of Representative Cloonen. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones, and rise for invocation and Pledge of Allegiance."
"Let us pray. Dear heavenly Father, we thank You for this day that You've given to us and, as I stand in the midst of these great men and women that have dedicated their lives to serving the people of this great state, I ask for Your divine presence in this Session. Lord, provide wisdom for every difficult decision, provide understanding, temperance, and guidance in all negotiations. And though the road ahead has many difficult challenges, we have this belief that there is nothing too hard for God. This is a day that the Lord has made. With Your help, we will make the right decisions, we will overcome the difficulties of this day, and we will rejoice, we will all rejoice and be glad in it. Lord, bless and protect and grant sound mind to our troops that put their lives in harm's way that we might betake on this privilege we call freedom. Bless their families and every family that's represented here today. We thank Thee for hearing our prayers and we thank You for answering our prayers. Amen."
"We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Representative Sullivan." Sullivan – et al: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, 09900048.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Acevedo, D'Amico, and Reaves-Harris are excused today."
"Mr. Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives McSweeney, Phillips, Poe, Reis, Stewart, and Tryon are excused today."
"Representative Brown."
"Let the record also show that Representative Anthony is excused."
"Thank you, Representative. With 107 Members present, a quorum is established. Representative Butler, for what reason do you seek recognition."
"A point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Thank you, Sir. Today, obviously, and this week we’ve had a lot of focus on cancer in this… in this Body. Along with Go Gray today, I'm wearing a pink tie in honor of the Race for the Cure and the Komen Foundation that will be right outside our east doors this evening for the Second Race for the Cure in Springfield with thousands of participants and hundreds of survivors of cancer here this evening. So, I'd like to recognize the folks and the organizers and the volunteers for the Race for the Cure this evening in Springfield. Also recognize my seatmate, David Leitch, Representative Leitch, who's been a board member of the Komen 09900048.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Foundation for many years. So I'd just like to recognize those folks and hope they have a wonderful event this evening."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Hurley, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today… well, yesterday, we voted on a Resolution to make today Go Gray in May Day in the State of Illinois. I want to thank all the Members of the Body that dressed in gray. This Resolution was brought to me by a family whose young son died of pediatric brain cancer and she is trying to get awareness out there for other people so they're aware of the devastation and the lack of funding for brain cancer awareness. So, thank you."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Manley, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"I rise on a point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed."
"I have a request. Can we do a redo, Representative Butler? Can we do a commemorative Monday? We'll all wear pink. Breast cancer affects thousands of women in the State of Illinois including my own mother, so I would like to propose that we all wear pink again on Monday. What do you think? All right, thank you."
"Thank you, Representative. Representative Meier, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"A point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed, Representative."
"I'd like everybody to welcome my girlfriend, Cindy, who’s up here to my left in the balcony today." 09900048.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Thank you, Representative and welcome to your Capitol. Representative Brady, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed, Representative."
"Thank you very much. I'd like to ask the Ladies and Gentlemen of the House if we'd stand in a moment of silence for the memory of the undisputed king of the blues, B.B. King, who passed last night. I had the opportunity several years ago to meet B.B. at a concert up at Illinois State University and his great guitar, Lucille. From his days growing up in the Mississippi delta to going across this country and bringing people together with his wonderful style of the blues. He was well known for so many things, but in particular, he would always close his concert with the following; 'I love you always, and remember I'm playing for you.' Let's have a moment of silence for B.B. King."
"The Body will take a moment of silence. Thank you. Representative Flowers."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to also mention B.B. King. I'm from Indianola, Mississippi and B.B. King used to play with my dad, so it was very sad when I heard of his death this morning. And I too, would like to convey to the family our condolence from the Illinois House of Representatives. Thank you."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Feigenholtz, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a very appropriate time to announce that the Illinois General Assembly will be 09900048.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 forming a Cubs Caucus after an amazing sweep of the first place New York Mets. On Wednesday, this coming Wednesday, there is a game at 9:10 p.m. against the San Diego Padres. We will be gathering at 8 p.m. at D.H. Brown's. We will be sending out notices, but it's our year, so please come. And don't wear that St. Louis or White Sox stuff if you… if you walk in the door, but we're not haters. Be there or be square. Thank you."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Sullivan, for what reason do you seek recognition."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and as a follow up to my… the announcement of the Cubs Caucus, I just wanted to talk a little bit about new beginnings. We have a new manager, new third baseman, new second baseman, really good starting pitcher, and a new stadium for a new beginning for the new Cubs. And while we’re still kind of looking up at those St. Louis guys, we’re hot on their trail after that sweep, we know where the White Sox are right now and they might be looking for a new manager pretty quick here, so. All right."
"Watch it, Representative. Representative Breen, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"A point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Well, and I… with no offense to Representative Butler, I've got on my lilac tie because in Lombard it is lilac time. And for anybody who's in the area, we’ve got the Lilac Parade this weekend and you're invited to be there, 1:30 on Sunday afternoon stepping off at Main and Wilson going north on Main and then east on Maple in Lombard. Come see us and come see 09900048.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 the Lilacia Park where all the lilacs are in bloom right now. So, thank you."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Hoffman, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To some of the previous speakers, are you kidding me? Sara, really? You finally swept one series and you're going to start a Caucus? So, on behalf of the 11-time World Series Champion, St. Louis Cardinals, we'll have a… we'll be at Boone's that same night having our own Caucus."
"Representative Cavaletto, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome Ava McClain here as Page for a day from Selmaville… Selma High… Selma Grade School. Thank you."
"Thank you."
"Give her a warm welcome."
"And welcome to your Capitol. Representative Beiser, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of Representative Costello, Hoffman, Phelps, and myself, if the Cubs Caucus would like any pointers on how to form a Caucus we'd be glad to help you. Thank you."
Speaker Turner: "Thank you, Representative. Representative Bellock, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm on behalf of the White Sox Caucus, which has been going strong for 18 years, and they are scheduled to meet, the White Sox Caucus, on Thursday, May 28 at D.H. Brown's from 6:00 to 9:00. And we 09900048.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 welcome everyone for the World Series White Sox since we've been to the top of the mountain, Sara. Thank you."
"Go Sox. Thank you, Representative. Members, on page 11 of the Calendar, under Senate Bills on Second Reading, we have Senate Bill 636. Representative Moylan. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 636, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Amendment #1 was adopted in Committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. On page 2 of the Calendar, under Bills on Special Order, we have House Bill 695. Representative Franks. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 695, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. This Bill was read a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1, offered by Representative Franks, has been approved for consideration."
"Representative Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Republicans request an immediate Caucus in Room 118."
"How long, Representative?"
"One hour."
"The House will recess to the call of the Chair for one hour… call of the Chair."
"The House will be in order. Representative Lang in the Chair. On page 7 on the Calendar, under the Order of Senate Bills-Third Reading, there appears Senate Bill 650. Mr. Hoffman. Out of the record. Senate Bill 751. Mr. Thapedi. Out of the record. Senate Bill 764. Mr. Burke. Out of the 09900048.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 record. Senate Bill 784. Mr. Bradley. Out of the record. Senate Bill 804. Mr. Moffitt. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1222. Mr. Hoffman. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1360. Mr. Sims. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1571. Mr. Kay. Is that a yes, Sir? Please read the Bill, Mr. Clerk."
"Senate Bill 1571, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Kay."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm coming willingly today and presenting Senate Bill 1571 and this is clean up language. And just to briefly discuss it, this corrects an oversight in the Medical Marijuana Pilot Program Law enacted last year. And under that law, government medical programs and private health care insurers are exempt from having to pay for costs associated with medical use of marijuana. This particular Bill would make the law consistent by providing that employers and property and casualty insurers would also not have to reimburse individuals for the costs associated with the medical use of marijuana. This came out of the House from Senator Haine, who is one of the supporters of the original medical marijuana Bill and it came out unanimously. So, I ask for an 'aye' and willing to take any questions."
"Those in favor of the Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please take the record, Mr. Clerk. On this question, there are 105 voting 'yes' and 3 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate 09900048.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Bill 1588. Mr. Sims. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1589. Mr. Beiser. Please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1589, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Beiser."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. This is an initiative of the Secretary of State. It addresses an audit finding on fund dispersments and it makes technical changes, codifies current practices, and has zero fiscal impact on the Secretary of State's Office. It should be noted that this legislation codifies current practice of the Secretary of State and will not change anything of the current distribution of funds. They'll be… it's distributed in the same way prior to the enactment of this Bill."
"Those in favor of the Gentleman's Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please take the record. On this question, there 108 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1603. Mr. Harris. Please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1603, a Bill for an Act concerning transportation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 1603 allows the standard registration fee to be waived for individuals… active duty member who was on a combat mission. That allows that fee to be waived for one year, the year following the time that that person comes back 09900048.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 from an active combat mission. It only provides… or only applies to the standard registration fee. It doesn't apply to specialty plates or vanity plates or any of the others. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Those in favor of the Gentleman's Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please take the record. On this question, there are 108 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1610. Representative Chapa LaVia. Please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1610, a Bill for an Act concerning human rights. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Chapa LaVia."
"Thank you… thank you, Speaker. You look mighty fine today. Gentlemen and Women of the House, what this Bill does, it amends the Human Rights Act pertaining to employment to ensure an employer, employment agency, or labor organization will not be subject to employment discrimination charges for participating in a recruitment incentive program sponsored by a branch of the armed forces that limits a service member's participation based on such member's discharge status. I'll take any questions."
"Those in favor of the Lady's Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Andrade. Please take the record. On this question, there are 108 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received a 09900048.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 1620. Mr. Beiser. Please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 1620, a Bill for an Act concerning motor vehicle theft. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Beiser."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. This extends the repeal date for the Illinois Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act 'til January 1 of 2020. Currently, it's supposed to expire… repealed on January 1, 2016. This is something we did back in the 97th General Assembly, extending it four years. We're simply doing the same thing again."
"Mr. Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Dan, why… I mean, I understand we're just extending the sunset provision. Why? What policy initiative, what good are we trying to achieve here?"
"Well, rather than let it repeal again on January 1, I think it's important to keep this so we can keep this in place. I know the funding part of it has been questionable at times, but I think from just talking to our law enforcement people that are on this vehicle theft prevention task force, it's important to have it in place. And it's my intention to try to get funding for it. So, that's for the extension we’re asking for."
"All right. And then if the funding… my analysis says the council is tasked with studying motor vehicle thefts, providing grants to law enforcement in an effort to prevent such thefts, and providing strategies for car theft 09900048.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 prevention. All laudable, don't get me wrong, but if there's no funding mechanism for this council, should we let it then lapse?"
"I don't think so. I think that if we do get funding we ought to have something on the books ready for it to do… to do its task as opposed to get funding and then it's not there and we'll have to recreate this."
"No, and I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying if the funding does not occur, should we then make a… provide a Bill maybe next Session to disband it?"
"I think that would be something that would be open for discussion, yes."
"All right. Thank you for your answers to the questions."
"Those in favor of the Bill will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Arroyo, Sims. Arroyo. Please take the record. On this question, there are 107 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Returning to page 2 of the Calendar, House Bill 695. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 695, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. The Bill was read for a second time on a previous day. No Committee Amendments. Floor Amendment #1 is offered by Representative Franks."
"Mr. Franks on the Amendment."
"Mr. Speaker, could we adopt the Amendment and we can debate it on Third?"
"Mr. Franks, it's the desire of the Chair to vote on the Amendment. So would you proceed on the Amendment, Sir." 09900048.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Sure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Floor Amendment to House Bill 695 would extend the applicability of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law to all units of local government in Illinois including Home Rule entities and cap annual increases and levy extensions at zero percent going forward instead of the lesser five percent or the increase of CPI. This freezes the extension, but still allows the voters the choice to approve an increase via referendum if they wish. Mr. Speaker, property taxes, as you know, are the biggest issue facing Illinois residents today. The property tax liability that taxpayers bear in Illinois is choking off economic recovery in our state. We have the second highest property taxes in the entire country and the collar counties, particularly, pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Additionally, Illinois has almost 7 thousand units of local government, many with taxing authority, which continually pushes up our property tax burden. Illinois has actually lost population this decade. In McHenry County, for four years in a row, we’ve lost population and the reason is simple: people cannot afford their property taxes. We are literally taxing people out of their homes. In many of the counties, our property tax bill is higher than the mortgage payment and without immediate relief, our state is going to see a continued outmigration of taxpayers and employers. And many seniors on a fixed income can no longer afford to be near their families and our property tax burden can be seen as antifamily which literally tears families apart. And the problem with the automatic increases is that there's also a disincentive towards efficiency because governments will 09900048.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 continue to spend the money because they know that more is always coming. A guaranteed annual increased tax levy sends the wrong message to local governments. So instead of putting the onus on the government to find new ways of being more efficient, they can continue to do business as usual. And this is a recipe for disaster which is wreaking havoc on our economy. Now, I know people are going to be wanting to ask some questions and I was thinking about the Caucus that my friends on the other side of the aisle just did. Mr. Speaker, I'd like a little quiet. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a Bill that ought to unite us. We… many of us have been pushing for this type of legislation for years, and quite frankly, if it wasn't for the election of Bruce Rauner, this Bill would never have made it to the House Floor. This is not a regional issue. This affects every homeowner in Illinois. Now, I know we hear a lot about people saying we have to stick together. Well, I think today we ought to show that the Members of the House of Representatives that we stand together, united in favor of our taxpayers. We should not get pulled into a battle between the executives and our leadership. We know, quite frankly, that some of the battles that we’ve had lately have been partisan. This is not a partisan issue. This is about every homeowner in the State of Illinois. Now, some may argue this isn't exactly the Governor's language. So what? It's a great Bill that is desperately needed, and if you have any question about this Bill, I'd ask you to call the Governor right now. Call him right now and ask if he'd veto this Bill if we put it in front of him. Call him right now. 'Cause I guarantee you that if we pass this Bill he signs it. So, don't hide 09900048.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 behind this and say I'm not going to do anything because we’re going to stick together. Instead, stand for the taxpayers. Now is not the time to be playing politics, time now is to stand up and to be counted. Make our voices heard. We need to fight for our taxpayers and this might be the only time we see a Bill like this. We need to work together for a better Illinois. Let's not be pulled into power struggles with others. This is our House. This is our House. This is the people's House. We have an obligation to stand up and be counted and to vote and to do the right thing for the taxpayers. I'd be happy to answer any questions."
"Mr. Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor would be proud to yield."
"Thank you. Jack, just go through a couple of points before we get to the actual Bill itself, and actually, it's an Amendment. We're on Amendment #1. This is a shell Bill, isn’t it?"
"Well, now it’s filled up with Amendment #1."
"But it's… it was a vehicle Bill…"
"Sure."
"…that we just amended."
"Absolutely."
"So this… this wasn't in committee. This wasn't… this isn't your Bill originally. This is an Amendment to a shell Bill."
"Yeah, and it was fully vetted in Committee. We got some very good questions in committee the other day, and we gave a few more days to have you ask more questions if you needed 09900048.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 or to study it more. So it’s been… it's gone through the process correctly."
"I noticed you're not a cosponsor, maybe you can while we do this, of House Bill 136 which was a Bill that was filed in the ordinary course. It wasn't an extension. It wasn't something the Speaker jetted around on deadline extensions. House Bill 136, I filed, I think the first day we could file Bills. And… and that was… that was an actual tax freeze Bill. Have you seen that Bill?"
"I haven't, but I love the idea. If you'll put me on it, I'd be happy to work with you. But…"
"We'll do just that, and in fact, after we have this spectacle I'm going to move to dis…"
"This doesn't have to be a spectacle, Ron."
"…let me finish my question and statement, then you can respond. After we finish this spectacle, I intend to ask the Speaker to vote on a discharge of that Bill because it’s a real property tax freeze Bill. And I would love it if you would stand in support of that discharge and I'll put you on as a chief-co because that's the Bill that, I think, if it gets out of the House and goes to the Senate where we know it won't be called, but we can go beg the President of the Senate to call it, that's the Bill I think the Governor would sign."
"Don't behind… don't hide behind that Bill."
"I'm not hiding behind it. It's my Bill."
"This Bill is just as good. What is wrong with this Bill? Tell me exactly what you don't like about this Bill that you won't vote for it for. Tell me what's wrong with it."
"The procedure's all wrong. It's every…" 09900048.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Forget the procedure."
"No. I'm not… I'm not…"
"The procedure here stinks. I hate the procedure here."
"Well, then don't be a participant in it."
"No, I have a chance to help our taxpayers and I'm going to use it. And you ought to as well. So, tell me what's wrong with the Bill."
"Everything's wrong with the Bill. Everything's wrong with the procedure. It's a farce. You're being…"
"No, what's wrong with the Bill?"
"To the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I'll answer the Gentleman's questions. What's wrong with the Bill is he's being utilized, he's being used to perpetrate a fraud. This isn't a real property tax freeze Bill. You can put your roll call on it and I'm sure some will vote for it and I'm glad the Sponsor feels so vehemently about it. He was nowhere near helping me get that Bill out of Rules. So, when I'm… I make my Motion to discharge, I'm certain the Gentleman from McHenry will vote in the affirmative, as should the other Democratic cosponsors from the suburbs, because my Bill, HB 136, is real property tax relief. It isn't a shell Bill. It isn't something that was conjured up by the Speaker to try and embarrass the Governor. And I know that some folks are all ginned up saying this our chance to stand together. This isn’t it, because if it was, we’d be voting on a real Bill. So, I know some folks want the opportunity, just like yesterday with the YouTube commercials, to say, I stand with taxpayers. Yeah? Then stand and help me get 136 out of Rules and onto the floor if you're real… if you're for real property tax relief. If you really 09900048.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 care about property tax relief you'll vote on that Motion to Discharge. This is phony. It's a sham and it's not real, and unfortunately, the Sponsor, who I do believe is for property tax relief, is being used. And I think he's being willingly used right now and that's a shame. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Mr. DeLuca."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will my officemate yield?"
"I believe he will."
"Representative Franks, can you please slowly and clearly, for the Body, go through each one of the unfunded mandates that are relieved through this legislation? Just go one by one, please, so that… so there's no confusion of what each…"
"The… the…"
"…unfunded mandate that is relieved in this legislation is."
"The only mandate that is relieved is the fact that governments get automatic tax increases even when property values are falling. So, in my district and yours when property values fell 40 percent, people saw their property taxes rise. That's the only mandate that we’re going to get rid of, so we’re not going to have automatic increases even when property values fall."
"Well, I was going through the booklet of all of the unfunded mandates that the state imposes on all these units of local government. Can you please explain to us which ones are being relieved through this Bill?"
"The only mandate was what I previously said, but Representative, understand that local governments will not get one penny less than they got the year before, not one. 09900048.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Not a penny less. Even when taxpayers have less to give and when their home values have fallen, the municipalities are still going to get the exact same amount. And if they need more, all they have to do is ask. That's all they have to do."
"I understand that and I understand the concept of the Bill, and generally, although this Amendment is incomplete, I'm supportive of the concept. But you still haven't… is the answer there are none, 'cause you haven't answered that question?"
"We don't address any… you know, right now I'm on a task force and I'm working with Members from the other side of the aisle as well as our side of the aisle. And one of the things we’ve talked about is consolidation, and we passed that Bill over right now into the Senate. And part of our task force is a way to relieve unfunded mandates and also for consolidation with schools. So, we’re working on that simultaneously. It's not specifically addressed in this Bill, but we are working on it and I'm working closely with the Lieutenant Governor on that issue."
"You know, we debated a Bill in here a couple weeks ago that I spoke pretty strongly in opposition to that affected non-Home Rules only that could effectively eliminate a potential revenue stream for them. And there were no unfunded mandates relieved in that legislation. This one, again, we are imposing another restriction on them. I know they would get the same amount as they did the previous year, but it's still us imposing a mandate, which you, yourself, admitted is a mandate, yet there's no relief. It is incomplete. It is 09900048.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 absolutely incomplete to file this Amendment without addressing those mandates. Wouldn't you agree that this is incomplete?"
"No, I wouldn't. And respectfully, I would disagree, because this is not the vehicle for the mandates. We have other vehicles for that and I couldn't agree with you more, we impose way too many mandates. But this is a separate issue because right now governments are getting automatic increases whether they need it or not. And I can tell you we've had some issues. I can tell… in my county, for instance, one of our… one of our local government units has a $40 million surplus and they keep taxing and keep levying and that's more the money than they can spend in four years, assuming they didn't bring another penny in."
"So, they should be penalized for being…"
"No."
"…fiscally responsible and handling their finances?"
"That’s not a question of being or you could… I'm not saying they should be penalized, but there ought to be an operation where you don't have to always take more because they always do, and right now that's what happens. So, if they need more money they will have the ability to ask the taxpayers for money. But right now, the taxpayers have no way of stopping the increase, and we have to do that."
"Well, you asked the previous speaker what was wrong with the Bill. I am coming forth… what's wrong with the Amendment. I am coming forth with what's wrong with the Amendment and it’s the fact that it does not address a direct correlation to this. I don't…" 09900048.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Well, there will be…"
"…I cannot conceive how you, who certainly understands the way local government works and the way State Government works, to propose this without addressing the mandates at the same time. You’re imposing a mandate, but not giving them any relief."
"I would respectfully disagree with that characterization, because what we’re saying is…"
"It’s not a characterization. I'm reading the Bill."
"the fact…"
"It's not a characterization, it’s a fact."
"…the fact… the fact of the matter is, this Bill couldn't deal with mandates because this is a property tax Bill, but we are working on that simultaneously. And as you know, here, oftentimes there's multiple tracks. Heck, you might have even read about it in Capitol Fax that there's these things called secret meetings going on where people are working on these things maybe right now. I'm not sure 'cause I'm not sure who's actually on those. But the fact is that we can do this simultaneously, and this Bill is not the proper vehicle for that. But I do agree with you that it needs to be addressed and we're… that's what we’re working on."
"Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen, to this Amendment. It's incomplete. The Sponsor asked us to let him know what's wrong with the Bill. I am bringing forth one significant error in this legislation and I don't think we should be voting 'yes' on this. The Sponsor spoke in his opening remarks that this is not a time to be playing politics, but I have a feeling, I have an inkling that there are some press releases and some 09900048.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 social media posts all prepared, all prepared when this vote takes place, but it’s incomplete. It is absolutely incomplete. Thank you."
"Mr. Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, is this a permanent freeze or just for a year or two?"
"Permanent."
"So, do you have any estimate of what impact this permanent freeze will have on our units of local government over the next 10, 20 years?"
"I'm told by staff the Department of Revenue won't have those figures for some time."
"But in advancing this legislation, aren't you curious about the impact this is going to have on the people that provide education and our public safety and our roads and all the other services that we expect local government to provide?"
"I would submit that there won't be an adverse impact on government. I think there'll be a positive impact on our taxpayers who won't nec… who won't have to pay higher taxes automatically. This is our only chance to freeze that. But let me tell you, if any government whatsoever, any government whatsoever, states that they don't have enough revenue, all they have to do is ask the taxpayers for more money. That’s it. What's wrong… what's wrong with engaging with our citizens and saying, you know what, if you want these services, we're 09900048.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 going to need to tax you some more. Would you like that or not?"
"So, I think it's great that we ask our voters what they think on these certain issues and I would like to see them weigh in on this particular issue. But one of the biggest issues that this tax affects, as has already been pointed out, is our public education system. Do you know how much education consumes of that local property tax?"
"It takes the majority. And I tell you, I'm glad, Bob, that you brought that up because we need to blow up how we fund education in our state. It is broken. It does not work. You know, a few years ago that's what we talked about here, about fixing education funding, but instead we got sidetracked with pension funding, which we didn’t fix either. But that is the biggest issue because that is what brings up our property taxes and we need to fix that funding."
"So, rather than jump off the cliff though on this issue of funding education, shouldn’t we fix that before we try to freeze the source of funding for education?"
"We’re not jumping off any cliff. I don't think anybody can honestly say that if you get the same amount of money as you got last year that we're somehow pushing you off the cliff."
"So then let's…"
"We're asking… we're asking you to do…"
"…let's take that as an example though."
"Please." 09900048.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"So, as we look at a lot of our units of local government that are providing the services, isn't the biggest part of that cost of providing the service for personnel?"
"Typically."
"And certainly in the case of education it's personnel. So, now we’re going to say a freeze forever on wages for our families…"
"Not at…"
"…and we debated that yesterday."
"…not at all."
"Oh, come on."
"All you have… listen, in my county, we run referendum all the time. You know, the same value house in McHenry County as opposed to a house in Cook County, same value, we pay two and a half times more in property taxes than that same valued house in Cook. That isn't fair and why are we doing it? Because we vote for referendums so we can fund our education because the state doesn't. In Marengo, where my kids went to school, or I went to school, or my parents went to school the state pays less than 11 percent of our funding, but that's not how it is in other areas. We need to fix that, but we cannot continuously beat on our homeowners and drive them out of state. And that's what this is about. Are we protecting our taxpayers or are we protecting our governments? We need to protect our taxpayers."
"Well, but our taxpayers expect the Legislature to come up with workable solutions and you're not providing a workable solution before you cut us off at the knees."
"When you're in a hole you stop digging." 09900048.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Well, I would hope. And I would hope that that's part of our budget discussions this year. That's what we’re talking about. That's why we've got to hold the line on spending, but I fail…"
"This will hold the line."
"…to see that we get agreement in our working groups."
"Any vote that doesn't do… if you don't vote for this you're saying don't hold the line on spending and to have automatic increases and perpetuity. Let's always get… take more from the taxpayers. A 'present' vote or a 'no' vote is exactly saying, tax and spend more."
"But your vote also says that we’re not for working families like you said you were yesterday."
"This has nothing to do with that."
"Today, this is a vote for our educators who are working families."
"You’re trying to make this a partisan issue."
"And now you’re going to cut 'em off at the knees and say, no more increases in our schools. I'd like you to come to my school district and say that."
"I will, because everybody has to do more with less, and if they need more, all they got to do is ask. And don’t make this partisan. You know this is… this is all about statewide."
"I don't intend it to be partisan."
"This is statewide and a lot… a lot of us… Listen, let’s not make this worse. A lot of us campaigned on this. A lot of us…"
"I know we did…"
"…a lot of us voted for similar…" 09900048.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"…and that's why we need a solution."
"…a lot of us voted for similar legislation and now you have the opportunity to fix this."
"No, we don't. Is this a Bill or this just an Amendment? Didn't you just hear the Speaker say, no, we're not going to vote on the Bill, we're going to vote on the Amendment."
"Well, let's bring it right to Third then. Pass the Amendment and get it there."
"Well, I would like to, but somehow I feel our procedures aren't going to allow that. So, again, this is nothing but a charade to dealing with a problem that we need to be dealing with in this House. We need to change the way we're funding education. We can't continue to rely on property taxes to fund our children's future. It's time this state got behind it and made some real reforms. I'll vote for real reforms. This is a façade."
"We are going to go to the two minute timer. Mr. Wehrli for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative, as I understand this, this applies to all Home Rule units including in the City of Chicago. Is that correct?"
"It does."
"So, I know down here in Springfield, news from what I call the outside world doesn't typically get here, but are you aware that recently Moody's downgraded the City of Chicago's bond status to junk along with the public schools and the park districts, which results in $2.2 billion of bonds 09900048.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 being callable. Meaning that the bond houses could pick up the phone and say we would like our money. Are you are of that?"
"I am."
"Are you aware that the City of Chicago, the public schools in Chicago, and the park districts in Chicago are billions in dollars in debt due to their pension systems?"
"I am."
"Are you aware that Chicago property taxes haven't been raised, historically, for decades?"
"I am."
"So, when you ask what's wrong with this Bill, and I will now speak to the Bill, I'll tell you what's wrong with this Bill. This does nothing more for Chicago than allow top cover for their burden to not fall upon them. This is a shift of income to areas outside of Chicago where the debt was incurred. This doesn't allow them to solve their own problem. It pushes it on to the rest of the state. That, Sir, is what's wrong with this Amendment."
"Mr. Bradley for two minutes."
"Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Is this the Governor's proposal, Representative?"
"I'm told that it's pretty similar to what he had come up… I… I think it might even be verbatim from what he was talking about in these secret working groups."
"And all you’re doing… all you're doing is saying you can't get it automatically."
"Right." 09900048.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"You're freezing the CPI automatic increase, right?"
"Exactly."
"A district can still go and get an increase if they want, if they choose to do that, right?"
"Right."
"They still have that ability, right?"
"Absolutely."
"It's just not automatic anymore."
"Right."
"So, we have a Democrat Legislator who has picked out a portion of the Governor's agenda and is supportive of that and is advocating and fighting for that portion of the agenda and you're meeting opposition for trying to work as a bipartisan on an issue that you believe in."
"I'm shocked. I can't believe the arguments I'm hearing from the other side."
"To the Bill. What I hear from people are two things. They want us to look for opportunities to work together. Now, yesterday was a core value, yesterday was a vote on value. That was something that we believed in very strongly on this side of the aisle and we fought it. Today, we have one of our Members asking for a reasonable limitation to an automatic tax increase and it's my opinion we ought to support him. People want tax relief. They want property tax relief. This is an opportunity to give it to them. Don't be scared. Don't hide behind procedure. Make the vote on the Bill."
"Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields." 09900048.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Representative Franks, can you tell me… can you tell me that the nearly $13 thousand I paid in property taxes this year will be the same amount next year under this Bill?"
"Actually, it could go down, but you must have a pretty nice place."
"No, I don't. I don't. I just pay a lot of property taxes in Wheaton. It is a problem."
"I hope you’re tired of paying these high property taxes, 'cause most of our…"
"I'm ti… you know what, stop eating up my time. I've got specific questions."
"I'll give you more time. I'm not worried about that. We had more time yesterday."
"Okay."
"Aren’t you tired of paying high property taxes?"
"No, Jack. Jack, I'm sorry. I'm asking a question now."
"All right. So am I."
"I want to know…"
"It works both ways."
"…if you can guarantee that my taxes will not go up under this Bill. Can you guarantee that?"
"All right. What hap… it could go…"
"Can you guarantee me that my…"
"No, of course not."
"Of course not."
"I can't tell how your governments are going to spend your money."
"Okay. Can you tell… can you tell the rest of the audience whether or not…" 09900048.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Listen, you're in DuPage."
"Wait… I'm sorry. Well, I…"
"We saw what happened with the college in DuPage."
"Jack, I have a specific question to the Bill."
"We saw how they spent money."
"Would you… Mr. Speaker, would you let him ask… let me ask questions of him and let him respond?"
"I think that's a fair request."
"I think it is. Thank you. Would you let me know whether or not debt load is excluded from this Bill on obligation bonds of school districts and others? Is it excluded from this Bill, yes or no?"
"Yeah, the bond exceptions remain."
"So, that means that if you have a school district that has backloaded debt that must be paid because that was the agreement in order to take on the debt, does that mean if it's backloaded and you have an increasing debt load payment that despite your freeze, property taxes could still go up? Is that correct?"
"I believe the debt service extension is outside of the parameters of this Bill."
"So, what you’re telling me then is that you truly are not going to be able to freeze my property taxes and guarantee that freeze next year for an individual's property? Is that correct? Is that correct?"
"You're taxes could go down and they could go up."
"I'm asking could they go up. Under your Bill, do you really freeze my taxes?" 09900048.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"It depends what the mill rate is? It depends how your assessor…"
"Exactly."
"…takes care of your home."
"Thank you very much."
"But the fact is… but the fact is… what we’re limiting here is the amount that the government gets automatically."
"I'm sorry, but can make his…"
"If they want more all they have to do is ask for it."
"…he can make his closing remarks. I have questions and you’re eating up my time. I want additional time, Sir."
"You'll have to find someone on your side to yield two minutes to you."
"I want time yielded to me immediately to finish this line of questioning."
"Oh, you want it immediately?"
"Yes, I do."
"Will someone on the Republican side… Mr. Sandack yields two minutes."
"Thank you very much. So, do you understand the independent factors that make up your property tax Bill? Do you understand that it is a quadrennial reassessment year? Do you understand that the last year of declining EAV is now coming off 'cause they look at a three-year moving target? Do you understand when that happens that all that can affect an individual's property tax bill? Do you understand that, yes or no?"
"Do you understand that you're a Sponsor of Representative Sandack's Bill that operates the same way as this? Do you understand…" 09900048.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"It is not the same Bill at all, Mr. Franks."
"It's almost identical."
"Now, Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. Let's be clear here. This Bill in no way tells an individual… thank you, Kelly Burke, for taping me. I don't understand that but great. This Bill in no way guarantees any particular individual that their property taxes will be frozen, and in fact, commercial property as a percentage of the EAV in my county has declined. It has declined, which means individual residents are picking up a greater part of the tax burden. That's exactly what's happening. So, Mr. Franks and his Bill cannot guarantee that any individual is actually going to have his property taxes frozen. It is a disservice to sit here and tell people on the House Floor that you're freezing property taxes when first of all, debt load is outside of it. And in fact, my home school district is going to be paying three percent more in debt this year than they did last year and it is outside the property tax cap limitations, and it's outside the prevue of this Bill to do anything. I am not finished. Additionally, the only way that you're going to keep… continue… the only way that you can…"
"Representative, your time has expired. The Chair recognizes Mr. Riley."
"Okay. I need more time"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Representative Franks, you know, often… can we have some order, Mr. Speaker? Representative Franks, it's… you know, one of the things that I have noticed, especially during some 09900048.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 of these debates, you know, we talk about political theater. I think there's enough of it going around on both sides of the aisle. This is a very, very important measure that you have here, but one of the things I want to ask you is, has anyone asked you whether or not ideas like PTELL and even Home Rule are anachronisms that really hurt units of government at this point, they sort of outlived their uses."
"Yeah, that's a really good point, Al. PTELL, we found during the economic downturn recently, actually hurt the taxpayers tremendously because PTELL had automatic increases even when your property taxes… even when your property values fell. And the last speaker, for instance, she voted against… last time she voted against freezing property limitation rates even when values fell. And I think that's a little crazy, because it's not fair to taxpayers when they have less… when they can't go borrow against the equity on their home because it's fallen by 40 percent to have automatic increases."
"Well, one of the things I want to say, because I'm running out of time, is this is an unfinished Bill because we have these issues that really have to be addressed. Many people talked about schools. We had three Bills over six years that no one wanted to get on. I was a cosponsor of 750 and 2288 and 174. So, if we really cared about different ways of funding education we would've gotten behind those Bills. This isn't the way to do it. Did you hear from the Northwest Municipal Conference? Did they say that they wanted this, because they're listed as an opponent?"
"They're not happy with it." 09900048.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Mr. Riley, your time has expired. Please bring your remarks to a close."
"To the Bill. Often, you know, you don't pay a lot of attention to who the proponents or the opponents of a Bill are, but if you look at your list and see that units of government that really need this, and this is bipartisan. I've gotten a lot of calls from Republican areas and Democratic areas to save their parks and their schools and their local governments that try to serve the people. This Bill is not soup yet, and frankly speaking, a Bill that would have a proponent of the Americans for Prosperity I'd be against anyway. Vote 'no'."
"Mr. Mitchell." Mitchell, B.: "I yield my time to Representative Ives."
"Representative Ives for two minutes."
"Thank you very much. Let's go back to the idea of commercial property and how it has declined so that residents, particularly, have to pay more. And this is definitely true in the City of Chicago, and in fact, right here I have the last… the top 12 sales in the last year on Chicago property. And let's talk about the assessment property… of property and how it's skewed towards residents against commercial. Because if you want to actually freeze resident property tax rates and look at it in a holistic manner then you need to look at this and understand that the Willis Tower sold for 1.3 billion, but it's on the books for 534 million. The next highest property sold for $850 thousand and it's on the books for 42 percent of that amount or $380 thousand. Now, these top 12 properties, which I'm happy to share this list with 09900048.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 you, shows that commercial property in the City of Chicago is woefully undervalued. One recent sale sold for… is on the assessment records for only 11 percent of its sales price. It's interesting to note that of the seven properties on this list… seven of the twelve are represented by somebody who sits in this chamber for property tax appeals. So, if you want to talk about fairness in property taxes, we need to look at that as a solution too. Now, let's talk about what else is a problem with this Bill. The truth is Wheatland Township, Wheatland Township levied $0 last year. Zero dollars. You're now going to freeze them from ever raising property taxes again? This Bill doesn't have a carve out for municipalities that have done the right thing in the past. So, the real way that you could actually freeze property taxes is to control costs, but nobody wants to talk about cost controls. Nobody wants to talk…"
"Representative, you're time has expired."
"Okay."
"Mr. Brown yields two minutes to Representative Ives. Now you may proceed."
"Thank you. So, what's driving up property tax costs? Well, I'll tell you this much, it's certainly pension costs. So, we need to go back to the drawing board about real pension reform and it needs to include municipalities. The truth is when you look at police and fire pensions, they have escalated in cost a lot, a lot. And in fact, when you’re paying somebody let's say $100 thousand police & fire salary, you're paying an additional $30 thousand, taxpayers are, just for their pension. It's an inordinate amount, and anybody who thinks 09900048.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 IMRF is in good shape needs to question how much we're spending on that because IMRF themselves in the report said that on average municipalities contributed 13 percent of salary costs to IMRF. Most IMRF people also have social security. You're approaching 20 percent of the salary costs of that individual also going to pensions. The last thing that we should talk about when we’re talking about cost control is one of the biggest things that has just come up recently and that's the fact that school districts pick up the pension costs for their teachers, notably, Chicago. Chicago… oh, I've been paying my share of my pensions. I've been paying it. Oh, the 1981 deal was in lieu of salary increases. Well, let's be honest, the cost that they estimated in the paper, I believe, was about $123 million. The truth is that that is hidden. That is hidden from income taxes at both the federal and the state level when you take it as a pension pick up instead of salary. That amount alone for that one year then costs the State of Illinois, at the 3.75 percent income tax rate, $4.6 million. We need to talk about right- sizing government. We need to talk about cost controls, but all you want to do is put up a Bill and you can't even guarantee, you cannot guarantee that you're going to freeze my property taxes because all these other factors…"
Speaker Lang: "Representative, your time has expired. Representative Anthony yields Representative Ives two minutes."
"The other problem with this Bill. The problem with the Bill is that you are looking at a two-year cycle, two-year cycle to put a referendum in place from the time you start 09900048.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 the referendum process to the time that you get the money. It's a two-year cycle. There's no way that you can waive off not having some sort of Amendment in place that allows municipalities and school districts to do the right thing in the intermediate time frame when you're going to wait two years for the entire referendum cycle to go through. All of us agree that property taxes are a problem. People in my district… there are seniors coming in every day to the assessor crying saying they can't sell their house because the taxes are too high. They can't stay in the house because the taxes are too high. I agree, it's a problem, but this Bill doesn't solve it. It doesn't solve it. It's not fair and we need to go do the right thing. We need to go back to the drawing board. Thank you. I don't think I need more time right now."
"Mr. Kay for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"So, Representative, here we go again. I'm looking at the opponents and you correct me if I'm missing any or you think that I'm in error. Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance is an opponent. The City of Chicago is an opponent. IEA is an opponent. The South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association is an opponent. Have I missed any so far?"
"There's a lot more."
"Okay. Will County Government League is an opponent. The Chicago Park District is an opponent. Interestingly, Illinois AFL-CIO is an opponent. The IML, an opponent. The Illinois 09900048.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Fire Chiefs Association, the Metropolitan Marriage Caucus, AFSCME. AFSCME. Northwest…"
"Mr. Kay, I'll stipulate to all those opponents, but part of being a leader is standing up and doing the right thing…"
"Sure it is. I…"
"…and you've done that in the past."
"Yeah, you don't need…"
"You stood with me before on a very similar Bill, Dwight."
"…Jack, Jack…"
"You voted with me."
"…Jack, you don't… you don't need to yell at me."
"You stood with me."
"You don't need to yell at me."
"Okay."
"I can hear very well, thank you."
"Okay."
"And I'm not yelling at you. I'm just asking you if you're aware because my hypocrisy only goes so far and yesterday you stood up, you stood up and these people were the very people that you defended. Today, you’re saying, oh no, let's turn our backs on these people."
"This is part of the Governor's turnaround agenda."
"Well, here's… here's…"
"This is part of things that you've…"
"Jack…"
"…campaigned on and voted for…"
"…Jack… Jack, we don't…"
"But now you're hiding behind procedure and you're playing partisan protocol games." 09900048.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"This is my time to talk not yours."
"I thought it was… I thought it was Jeanne Ives time, I'm sorry, but the fact is, could we stop playing politics and can we talk about the Bill? And you know it's a good Bill because you voted for this same Bill two years ago."
"Jack…"
"You did."
"…you don't need…"
"Don't be a coward."
"Let me tell you something…"
"Have the courage to do the right thing."
"Your time has expired, Mr. Kay. Mr. Batinick gives you two minutes."
"Representative, again, you don't need to yell. I can hear perfectly fine. This chamber yells a lot. We spent yesterday doing the very same thing for no good reason. So, Representative, I'm going to tell you what the problem with your Bill is… or your Amendment. It's not going to go anywhere. And you know it and I know it."
"I don't. I think it should."
"Yeah, well you do. Now, let me… let me ask you a couple other questions. Who's had control of the Governor's Mansion, the House of Representatives, and the Senate prior to this year?"
"I would say that the citizens of the State of Illinois…"
"Excuse me."
"…have made the… have made the elections and they decided to do a change."
"Okay, but that's… that's not… Jack…" 09900048.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Which I think is great because, if it wasn't for Bruce Rauner, this Bill would never have made it to the House Floor and this might be our only chance."
"And if it wasn't for Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, we could say a lot of things too."
"Yeah, that's true."
"But what I'm trying to get at is simply this. You've had the opportunity for a long time to introduce this Bill. Why didn't you do it?"
"I have."
"Not this Bill, you didn't."
"I've done other versions of it and I've been working on this for a long time."
"Why now? Why now?
"Because this is part of the Governor's turnaround agenda and I met with him right after the election and I told him I agreed with this and I told him I would work on this with him. I am dead serious about this as everyone in this chamber ought to be. Vote 'yes' or 'no', but don't make fun of the Bill. Quit hiding behind procedure. You're either with the taxpayers or you're not. Or if you want higher taxes, that's okay. A lot of people on my side of the aisle are going to vote that way and I don't begrudge them."
"You know, Jack…"
"But let's not attack this process."
"…you don't have… you don't… you don't have to yell."
"A 'yes' or 'no' vote. No 'presents'. No hiding."
"Jack, you don't need to yell. I keep telling you that because you don't seem… you don't seem to be able to answer 09900048.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 my questions and that's part of the problem here. Let me ask you this. If this is such a good idea, do you have a worker's compensation Bill that'll fix the system?"
"I'd be happy to work on that. I think we're voting next Thursday on that."
"Because we’ve lost… we've lost… we've lost more businesses than we've lost people…"
"Mr. Kay, your time has expired. Representative Bourne is giving you two minutes. Please proceed."
"Good. And so, we haven't done anything with that either, have we?"
"I'm happy to work with you on that."
"Well, no, my question is why haven't we done it before now?"
"That's a… We did a few years ago. Mr. Bradley had a…"
"Well, that was a sham just like this is."
"No, it wasn't a sham."
"Well, sure it was."
"The problem was the insurance companies kept all the dough…"
"Jack, you couldn't…"
"…and if they would've cut their rates we would've been in a much better position. It wasn't a sham. It was not a sham."
"Jack, you don't even know how to calculate rates for worker's comp, so let’s be honest with each other. It was a sham. Why didn't you do something with TORT reform, other than you're a lawyer?"
"I voted against the unconstitutional Bill that the Supreme Court threw out." 09900048.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"No, I'm talking… how about… how about venue reform, Jack?"
"And I believe that people who are injured ought to be compensated."
"How about venue reform? You could've changed that."
"I'm happy to work on that. Why don't you guys work on property tax relief, which you all campaigned on…"
"Well, you know what…"
"Here is your opportunity to do something and to have your rhetoric match the reality. I'm tired of pretenders. A vote 'present' is a vote for higher property taxes. Get on the program if you really believe what you say."
"Well…"
"If you really believe what you campaign on, if you really believe it you will stand with the taxpayers."
"If you want to play games…"
"Jack, I… here's… here's the problem…"
"If you want to play games…"
"…here's the problem…"
"…and wait for a grand bargain that may or may not ever happen…"
"…you and… you… you…"
"…be my guest. This is our time."
"…you don't… you know, I've told you this eight times now. You don't have to yell. I understand that that's a tactic you use and others use to deflect answers. So, here's the deal, there's not a person in my district who doesn't understand that I am for real tax reform and a procedure that'll get us there, and this procedure doesn't get us there because this is not a real Bill. And you know what, it's somewhat 09900048.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 offensive, quite frankly, for you to come here and say, you know what, this is what we need to do when you could've done it five years ago, ten years ago, 15 years ago. I've had Bills in Revenue I can't even get 40 seconds of subject matter on with respect to tax freezes and tax carve outs and tax relief. So don't tell me that all the sudden…"
"Mr. Kay, your time has expired. Representative Winger would like to give you two minutes."
"Excellent. So, don't tell me, Jack, that this is a real, genuine opportunity…"
"It is."
"…that you're bringing forward to us because it really is not."
"It really is because if you don't like the timing I don't have any control about that. I've been trying and fighting for this for years. This is the first time that it's ever been able to get to the floor. You know, part of politics is the art of the possible and sometimes you can't get everything, but here is the opportunity to fundamentally change the system and to stop automatic increases. So, I agree, I wish we could've done this five years ago or ten years ago 'cause it was desperately needed…"
"Well, my friend, you could have."
"…but today is the day it gets on the floor."
"My friend, you could have."
"I couldn't. I tried."
"To the Bill, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to… you know, there was a very famous general by the name of Anthony T. McAuliffe, and in fact, he fought at the Battle of the Bulge, and you 09900048.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 know what, when he was asked to surrender he had one word; nuts. And this is nuts."
"Representative Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, you put the two-minute timer on and this is a significant subject which I think deserves more than just the two minutes, but the two- minute timer is on. I was going to ask questions of the speaker… of the Sponsor about what we do about the annexation of property, the construction within a district, the expiration of TIFs, but I'll just go to the… just go to my remarks on the… on the Amendment itself. No one in this chamber, I am willing to bet, has campaigned without talking about property tax reform. My constituents come to me and they say, how can my value of my house go down and my property taxes go up? And we talk about extensions and equalized assessed evaluations and state equalizers and levies and circuit breakers and their eyes glaze over and understandably so. The system needs real, genuine reform and what does that take? That takes hard work. It's not easy. It takes hard work on the part of lots of people. The Governor is on the right path. He is taking a holistic approach. Yes, there's a freeze potential in there, but he's taking a holistic approach as to how local districts can handle a property tax freeze. The Sponsor in this House said… the Sponsor of this Bill said this Bill never came to the House Floor. The Sponsor is a thoughtful Legislator and last year or the year before, he put in a Bill that said if the EAV goes down in a district, the districts are frozen. I voted for that Bill and it passed the House and it went over to the Senate. We've had freezes 09900048.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 before here in the House. I'm not going to defend taxing districts. They spend too much money. There's never a level amount that they're willing to… willing to go out with, but the Governor's approach is the right approach. He talked, potentially, at one point about a two-year freeze and then ammonification of the PTELL limit. That's the approach to take."
"Mr. Harris, your time has expired. Mr. Andersson is going to give you his two minutes. Please proceed." Harris, D.: "Thank you very much and I will close. You know, we're talking about limiting the Local Government Distributive Fund. We're talking about for those Home Rule units of… excuse me, non-Home Rule units of government, they're not going to take advan… not going to be able to take advantage of red light cameras which is a Bill that we passed here. We are putting districts in a strait jacket. This is not the right approach to take, and we know that it's not the right approach to take. Do I have a concern about the process? You bet I have a concern about the process and the procedure. I don't think this is real. I'm willing to bet that this Bill never gets to Third Reading, okay. But it's a Roll Call. It's a Roll Call out there when we cast the vote. I don't care about the procedure. I'll tell the Sponsor this. A bad Bill is a bad Bill. I don't care what the procedure is. This is a bad Bill and it deserves a 'no' vote. I'll probably be banished from the Republican Caucus. I'll probably have my seat up in the gallery, but it deserves a 'no' vote. And I'll stand by my 'no' vote when those postcards go out come election time. Thank you." 09900048.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Representative Wallace for two minutes."
"My apologies. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"Thank you. So, as many in this Body may know, I represent a city that a couple of weeks ago adopted the Governor's turnaround agenda during one of their city council meetings. And while I was very open about the fact that I disagreed about the points of working families, prevailing wage, Right to Work, there are some pieces of the agenda that I think many of us in this Body can agree on. And so to that point, I just wanted to ask Representative Franks was… again, you've mentioned the turnaround agenda. What was the impetus for this particular Amendment and this Bill?"
"The impetus?"
"Yes."
"The problem what I'm seeing, and I can't tell you how many constituents come to my office or when I'm going and talking to folks, that the biggest issue facing them is property taxes. And we're losing population 'cause people, frankly, cannot afford the property taxes anymore. And it's tearing families apart and I'm seeing, you know, grandparents having to leave and going to lower cost states. We're losing population, we’re losing employers, we're losing… it's a brain drain and it just isn't fair and we're second highest in the country…"
"Yes."
"…and it's… it's something that we have control to try to help fix and I feel it's our obligation to at least level the playing field so if folks… just to say that if you want more 09900048.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 money, all you have to do is ask for it. And this isn't changing how much money they're going to get. They're going to get the same as last year, but if they want more just put a little… a break on it. So, instead of having an automatic increase, you have to ask. That's all this Bill does."
"Okay. And so, in what way will this benefit municipalities because they're going to have to come forth with referendums to be able to pass additional increases?"
"They may or they may get more efficient because what I've…"
"Representative, your time has expired. Will you complete your remarks, Representative Wallace?"
"Golar is going to give me more time."
"Representative Golar yields two minutes."
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry. I forgot where I was going with the answer."
"Well, so I was saying how will municipalities benefit because they will have to come back for referendum to do this."
"I think this will also require more efficiencies because right now, automatically, the local governments will get additional funds with doing nothing, so I think this will make them tighten their belts. Like every taxpayer's had to do over the last decade, many of our constituents have had to make… do more with less, and we should demand the same of government. They're not immune to the economic realities that we all face. So, maybe there might be some cuts or maybe 09900048.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 they're going to say, you know what, we don't want to cut; we need more money, so we’re going to ask you for more."
"Okay, thank you. And then I have one final question. This is very simple. Yes or no. Would you support this Bill if it came from our Republican colleagues?"
"A hundred percent. I don't care where Bills come from. I look at the merit of the Bill on its own."
"Okay, thank you. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. I would like to state that in the true spirit of bipartisanship and in an effort to make sure that I am looking out for the constituents of the 67th District, I will be voting 'yes' for this measure."
"Mr. Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the Journal show that Representative Fortner is excused for the remainder of today."
"Thank you, Sir. Mr. Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. You know, many of us served on local government boards prior to coming to this General Assembly. I know on my local government board I opposed all four property tax increases that faced us, both in my time as trustee and as acting Mayor of the Village of Lombard. One of those years, we did actually successfully get a tax freeze in place. It was the first tax relief for over 20 years for the people. We even were able to get rid of our village vehicle sticker and fee permanently. We achieved this end through careful governance, appropriate budgeting, and we ran a lean government. Even within the context of all the mandates imposed by this General Assembly on local 09900048.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 government, we were able to get the job done. However, there is that assumption by some in local government that property tax payers are a piggybank and they treated that annual vote to increase property taxes as if it were automatic, formality, on autopilot. So, for that reason, we do need property tax relief and we do need a freeze. And the language in this Amendment or some version of it, because it appears that this specific language has some legal defects, that language should be brought to the floor in the form of a real Bill on Third Reading. Every real Amendment on every real Bill we've seen in this General Assembly has been adopted as a matter of course after which we debate the substance of the Bill, but not this one. Beginning of the consideration of this Bill, the Majority Leadership made it clear that we are not going to get a real vote on a real Bill. This Amendment is more theater and it should be rejected through the use of a 'present' vote which is a protest vote. In particular, for those who have a real record of freezing property taxes in the past so that our constituents, again, will get a real vote on a real Bill coming down the pike. Thank you."
"Representative Conroy for two minutes."
"Thank you, Sponsor… thank you, Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor yields."
"And I'm confident I can do this in two minutes. So, we've heard a lot about how high property taxes are. I hear it all the time being from DuPage County. We heard about $13,000 property taxes in Wheaton. I'd like to tell you about another town in DuPage County. It's called Glendale Heights. Glendale 09900048.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Heights, which I'm very proud to represent, has the highest property taxes in DuPage County. It also has the highest level of poverty, school districts as high as 67 percent. To the Bill. Glendale Heights does not care about procedure. Glendale Heights wants their property taxes frozen and I will be voting 'yes'."
"Mr. Davidsmeyer for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor yields."
"When you first started out you talked about property taxes and you said this was the most important issue to the State of Illinois, and then when speaking to another Member who mentioned education and school funding reform that was the most important issue to the State of Illinois."
"No, I said to our taxpayers, to our homeowners property tax…"
"You said in the State of Illinois."
"It is. I mean, it's statewide. It's not a regional thing. It is the thing that people talk most about. That's the thing that affects them the most and that's what I hear most… more than anything and I bet you do too."
"What about jobs?"
"That's big too."
"That's probably a…"
"But property taxes are those that I hear constantly because in my area, in the collar counties, we have some of the highest in the entire nation and we're actually losing population 'cause people can't afford to stay in their homes 09900048.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 because the property taxes are higher than their mortgage payments."
"And if we weren't sending jobs out of the State of Illinois, we would have revenue and we wouldn't have to…"
"That's a big issue. You're right."
"…force… force local governments to do this. Could you explain the automatic increase?"
"Right now… how it works now is that governments can get an automatic increase of either five percent or the consumer price index, whichever is less. So, over the last years, I mean, our CPI has not been very high because we haven't had high inflation rates, but they still get an automatic increase if they choose to take it. And the vast majority, the vast majority, choose to take it even… even when property values decline. So, here you are in a situation where you're under water on your mortgage, you can't get rid of the house if you wanted to unless you write the bank a big check, and to add insult to injury, while you're down the government kicks you in the head and says, and by the way, I'm raising your property taxes on the house that's not even worth the mortgage you have on it."
"And I realize I'm coming to a close. I will bring it to a close if you give me a couple extra seconds. The automatic increase is… would mean that if no action is taken it would automatically go up to that five percent. It would automatically go up to the CPI, whichever's less. This is not an automatic increase. The city councils and local governments have to vote to allow for the increase, correct?"
"Correct." 09900048.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Okay. So, this is not automatic. This… your local governments can vote against this, correct?"
"They can, but you know, sort of like the guy who has the ability to remain silent, but just not the opportunity to… just can't. He can't make himself. I… the vast majority of our local governments tax to the max. And it's not… it's not really up for debate. I think we can all agree that they have the right not to…"
"Correct."
"…but in a vast majority of the cases, they don't have the ability not to."
"So, they do have the ability to cap tax increases. Thank you."
"Representative Fine for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor yields."
"I'm in favor of property tax relief, but I believe that we need to include our local governments in the process. They need to be included in the conversation because they are the ones who are going to be impacted the most by these decisions. We are looking at taking away things like the Local Government Distributive Fund, changing our school funding formula, not to mention many of the areas that are facing a pension crisis. For example, in the Village of Glenview for levy year 2014, 67 percent of the property tax levy is dedicated to pension liabilities. That means only 33 percent goes to public safety and all the other services that the village provides. I feel we need to continue working together to find a comprehensive 09900048.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 solution that will protect property taxpayers, our schools, our services, and our local governments. Thank you."
"Representative Nekritz for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Amendment. There has been one, and I would dare say only one, thing that the Sponsor has said today that I would agree with. I think I'm going to quote him here. Part of being a leader is standing up and doing what is right. Let's talk a little bit about the context in which this Amendment is being brought today. Our local governments have union contracts that they're obliged to fulfill. We wouldn't give them any opportunity to deal with that. The Supreme Court, our neighbors across the street, have told us there's no way, no how you can touch the pension payment and that pension obligation has to be paid no matter how much of your local government dollars it is consuming. We are considering cuts to the Local Government Distributive Fund, up to 50 percent that's been proposed. We just made cuts to education when we did the FY15 fix. We just made cuts to human services when we did the FY15 fix. All that is bearing down on our units of local government, and despite all the rhetoric on this floor about local control, local control, local control, this is what we’re debating today. Those individuals are elected to do their job. We need to give them the tools to do their job in the best way that they can. Again, I'm going to quote the Sponsor. Let's stop playing politics. This is why I'm voting 'no' and I want to stand with my colleague from Arlington Heights when the mailers come out. He and I represent a lot of the same communities. At least we're going to get the same mailer." 09900048.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Mr. Sullivan for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Many of you know what I do back home in the field of property taxes and I've done that for roughly most of my adult life, so I do understand the issue and I understand the people that come into my office and the senior citizen that has to choose between medicine and paying their fuel Bill or paying their property taxes. But Ladies and Gentlemen, I think because of my job I've been put on this work group and there's been some hammering of the work groups in secrecy. We have a very good process going in and a very thoughtful discussion on not just one tiny aspect of what we're discussing in regard to property taxes, but previous Representatives have brought up mandate relief. So, if we're going to freeze one end we need relief on the other end for our local governments, and so mandate relief is one that has to be discussed. This Bill has been put together for one reason and it's politics, and we get it, and it does do what the Sponsor says it does, but that's one piece of what we should be talking about. And in these groups, you know, we talk about consolidation, and I know the Representative from McHenry is a big proponent of consolidation. He had a Bill to do such. There's no way, under this legislation today, to do consolidation because you have to figure out where the levies go, but in our discussions we're talking about that. And so, that should be part of the overall Bill, but it's not, so it's an incomplete Bill. We talk about debt load. We have many school districts that have different debt loads. This adversely affects their ability on those debt loads because we haven't addressed it within the 09900048.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 Bill… this Amendment, I take that back, but in the work group we are having those discussions. We talk about TIF districts, the expiration of TIF districts where new property comes on or just building new property. That is not addressed in this Bill completely. What it does is it expands the base and lowers the rate. I get that. I know how it works, but we need some type of relief for our units of local government. So, I'm talking more about the process here. I get what the Bill does. We all know what this Bill does, or this Amendment, but it's not complete. And so if you let the work group that I sit on and the Gentleman from Arlington Heights, who gave a very passionate speech, and the two very capable folks on your side of the aisle that are on this work group, we're making good progress. Unfortunately, we want to take one piece for, you know, political theater as opposed to the Governor's approach which is a holistic approach. He gets what taking money away from local governments means, so he wants to bring other pieces to the table as a total approach, a total reform. That's what…"
"Mr. Sullivan, you're time has expired."
"I'm almost done. I'm almost done."
"Thank you, Sir."
"That's what we should be talking about. We're not talking about it in this Bill. And so, if you want government consolidation, you think maybe we have too many units of government, this is the wrong vote. This is the a vote that you shouldn't be taking and because it's not… it's not complete, I'll be voting 'present' and I'm going to go back 09900048.docx 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 to that work group and we're going to continue to talk about that and I hope you guys will to. Thank you."
"Representative Bryant for two minutes. Lady chooses not to speak. Representative McAsey for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Amendment. I rise in support of this measure. While serving as State Representative these past few years, I have had conversations with countless residents in the communities that I represent, countless residents, who all have identified the same principal concern, their property taxes, their property taxes skyrocketing, their inability to make ends meet and afford those property taxes. I have heard from more homeowners than I can count who struggle with taxes year after year that rise at a rate greater than their incomes increase. These tax increases have been even more frustrating, even more infuriating in recent years because as property values in these communities have declined, property taxes continue to rise. The communities that I represent have also, in recent years, been ravaged by home foreclosure. In the time that I've been in office, I have worked to try and stabilize our communities and keep people in their homes. And something that's become very apparent is that it is not the cost of people's mortgages that are driving them out of their homes, it is the cost and the increases in their property taxes. Our communities need this sort of property tax relief. Earlier this week, I received a phone call from a Bolingbrook resident named Donna. She called my office to express her frustration. Donna lives in a very modest home in Bolingbrook. She shared with me that when she purchased the home in 1989 her tax bill 09900048.docx 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 was $2,860.46. This year, the tax Bill that she received in recent weeks is for an amount of $6,572.46. That represents a 230 percent increase. Inflation hasn’t gone up like that. Her income hasn't gone up like that. She struggles to meet the needs of her family which includes a son with disabilities, a child with autism. This is an unaffordable situation and today we have an opportunity to take meaningful action. Donna represents just one frustrated homeowner like homeowners all across our state and communities all over our state desperately in need of relief. Vote 'yes' today on this Amendment. Let’s help people in our communities. Thank you."
"Mr. Morrison for two minutes."
"Thank you, Speaker. To the Bill. I just want to be a strong supporter of my taxpayers, my constituents who are facing property taxes that are driving them out of their homes. It's a discussion that I've had with them frequently and it's why as both a citizen, as a parent, as a State Legislator I've gone to my local school boards, I've talked to school board members, I've talked to administration of the schools to say we've got to be more friendly to the taxpayer. But this Bill is not the way, this Amendment is not the way to get the relief that the taxpayers demand. I strongly urge a vote on House Bill 136. Representative Sandack, I'm a proud cosponsor with you. We need to get that Bill out of the Rules Committee and vote on that. Thank you."
"Mr. Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record show that Representative Anthony is excused for the remainder of the day." 09900048.docx 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Thank you, Sir. Representative Manley."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I rise in support of the Gentleman's Amendment. Many of us spend a great deal of time meeting and talking with our constituents. A lot of people have told you that today. I personally spend a lot of time knocking on doors. I do this every week. Any time I'm in the district I'm knocking on doors and I believe that if you want to really represent people and you want to do it well you need to know what they think or how they feel, and the only way I know how to do that is to go to their door and ask them. During these conversations a multitude of subjects are brought up. Some of the concerns that my constituents mention are fueled by anger or fear and a lot of that is fueled by that negativity I mentioned yesterday during my remarks. Of all the issues we talk about there are some constants and the two, and we’ve talked about this a lot today, the two main concerns that my constituents have, and I would imagine most everybody on this floor has as well, is property tax and bipartisan efforts to find solutions to get things done. Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. We know this. We’ve heard it repeatedly. Most of us would agree that the property tax system, as it exists today, is broken. I represent three large senior gated communities. All… this is the only time I can say all. All of those residents, all of them, talk about being afraid of being taxed out of their homes. Every one of them. Most of those seniors are on fixed incomes and as the property taxes rise, I mean, you do the math. They're afraid and they're going to be… they're afraid they're going to be taxed out of their homes." 09900048.docx 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Representative, your time has expired. Can you conclude your remarks, please?"
"I will."
"Mr. Yingling gives you his two minutes."
"Hey, thank you, Sam. Many families… many families have made… are forced to make tough decisions whether or not they can stay in their homes and pay their property taxes. They’re having to decide between college or health care or even healthier types of food which are very expensive. When I was elected I promised to fight for property tax reform and today we have the opportunity to come through for our constituents on two of those major concerns. Under the category of property taxes, we can support this Bill and freeze them. I'm hoping that this Bill will cause a chain reaction that might lead to long overdue property tax reform. We all want that. We should not make good the enemy of perfect. We’ve heard that many times. Nothing we’ve done on this floor has been perfect. The property tax system we have in place is flawed. The property tax system provides increases without regard to whether or not the stewardship of our tax dollars has been handled appropriately. Under the category of bipartisanship, we have a chance to work with the Governor. Passing this will help every family in every district. Please vote 'yes'."
"Representative Scherer for two minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Member of the House. To the Bill. The people of my district are struggling. I come from a district with one of the highest unemployment rates in the State of Illinois, not to make short of what other people are going through. But nonetheless, this Bill stops the automatic 09900048.docx 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 insurance that their rates can go up. It gives people their own voice on whether they want their taxes to be raised or not. In all good conscience, I must urge an 'aye' vote on this Bill."
"Representative Moeller for two minutes."
"Thank you, Speaker. To the Bill. I previously served on the Elgin City Council and we recognized as a Body that property taxes were a problem and were making it unaffordable for many residents in our community to stay in their homes. So I am supportive of property tax reform and reducing the property tax burden on our citizens and I have a record of doing that. And I think that this Body should engage in the pursuit of reducing the property tax burden on our citizens; however, I think that that approach needs to be done in a holistic and comprehensive manner. When you look at states that have frozen their property tax rates, they have a tax structure that provides for the funding of public services that's progressive and equitable and fair. Here, we are looking at one part of a solution that without looking at how we’re going to allow our school districts and municipalities and library districts et cetera to continue to provide the services that they need to provide to our citizens. So, while I support property tax reform, we need property tax relief in this state, we need to… we need to look at the whole picture so that we’re not shortchanging our communities, threatening the quality of education in our state, and jeopardizing the future of our state."
"Mr. Franks to close." 09900048.docx 60 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"I want to thank my colleagues for a very spirited debate and I appreciate it, but I'm also disappointed. I'm tired of secret working groups. I don’t think that we should be doing that. This is the venue for our discussions, in the open on the House Floor. The secret plans that may come. It's just… it's not right. I heard some people talk about the… what about the local municipalities and what about, you know, the money. Ladies and Gentlemen, we can't pretend that there isn't a problem. We’re talking about cuts to our budget because we don't have the money. So, everyone is going to have to sacrifice and let's not pretend that if you vote 'present' that there… that this somehow going to save… save these folks 'cause you're… that's being dishonest. I heard some folks say, well, there are proposals that somehow… that the Governor may want to cut the LGDF funds and there's no guarantee that those funds are going to be cut. Actually, my experience with taxpayer funded lobbyists is they typically get what they want. You know, the only way the LGDF gets cut is if everyone on that side of the aisle votes for that cut, and I don't think you're going to do that. But understand that a 'present' vote today is the same as a 'no' vote because it means you had a chance to stop automatic property tax increases and you refused to do the right thing because of political games. Now, this could be part of a grand bargain, but if you vote 'present' I think it'll be interpreted there's not enough support to freeze property taxes. And I want to reiterate that I respect everyone's position on this issue and whether you… whether we agree or not, and I want to give kudos to my friend from Arlington because he said how he was going to 09900048.docx 61 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 vote. But a 'present' vote is simply hiding under the bed hoping that the monster's going to go away. It does nothing to advocate your beliefs. Vote for or against this. We have almost 13 million people in this state who want us to stand up and do something on their behalf and when you go back to your districts tonight people are going to ask whether you voted to freeze property taxes or whether you played political games. It's time to step up and to do the right thing. Nobody, nobody, nobody can take away your ability to take a stand except you. You won an election and that voting switch belongs to you. You promised, you were entrusted by your citizens to do the right thing. So don't go pat yourself on the back if you go and vote 'present' that you somehow did something noble because you were holding up the system in hopes of some type of a grand bargain. The procedure arguments were specious and you know it. This is a real Bill that's definitely needed. It's a real Bill that we ought to take a stand on. It's a real Bill that's time has come and I wish it would've come earlier, as one of the… one of the opponents had said. But what really bothers me is many of you who had voted for similar legislation are going to hide today and not vote and you're going to vote 'present'. Tell us where you stand. There's no quarter here. If you vote 'present', understand it's a 'no' vote. We have one opportunity. That opportunity is now to help the taxpayers and I bet that most everybody here said that they are for freezing property taxes. Now, it's time to put up or shut up. Please vote 'aye'."
"Those in favor of the Amendment will vote 'yes'; opposed will vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted 09900048.docx 62 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there 37 voting 'yes', 23 voting 'no', 38 voting 'present'. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments, but a balanced budget, Home Rule, and state mandates note has been requested but not filed at this time."
"Please hold this Bill on the Order of Second Reading. Chair recognizes Mr. Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of order."
"State your point, Sir."
"Thank you, Sir. Pursuant to House Rules, I move for the discharge of House Bill 136 from the House Rules Committee. Under House Rule 54(a)2, all Motions are assigned debate status and I wish to debate my Motion. Upon conclusion of the debate, I ask for a recorded vote on the Motion to discharge. Under Rule 49 and Article 4 Section 8(c) of the Illinois Constitution, any vote shall be recorded by… shall be by… shall be by recorded vote whenever five Representatives shall so request. There are at least five of my colleagues whose hands are up right now that wish for a recorded vote on the Motion to discharge House Bill 136 from the Rules Committee."
"Mr. Sandack, the Chair rules your Motion out of order. Under House Rule… may I finish? Thank you. Under House Rule 18(g) there's a specific way to make a Motion to discharge the Rules Committee. Your Motion does not comport with that rule, Sir. Mr. Sandack."
"Thank you for recognizing me again. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We specifically requested a roll call 09900048.docx 63 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 vote on my Motion pursuant to the rights granted in the House Rules and under the Illinois Constitution. This breach of the rules should be corrected immediately and with a Roll Call vote on my Motion to discharge."
"Sir, your Motion is out of order. Mr. Sandack."
"Thanks for going through this process, Speaker. I really appreciate it. Under House Rule 57(a), I move to appeal the ruling of the Chair and there should be a recorded vote to discharge House Bill 136."
"Mr. Sandack, under the House Rules, this ruling is not appealable. Mr. Sandack."
"I rise on a point of personal privilege then, Mr. Speaker."
"State your point, Sir."
"For those that were confused by what just happened, that was simply an abuse of power by the person in the middle chair right now who doesn't want a sunshine vote on a real Bill. The Speaker… I'm sorry, the Sponsor of the last Bill went on and on about the propriety of his Bill. My Bill was sitting in Rules. It's a real tax freeze Bill and all I… by the way, there were Democrats, a large number of Democrats on that Bill including the Sponsor of the previous Bill. It's a real tax free… property tax freeze Bill, a real one that we all could've voted on, but you just saw what happened. No way a real Bill is going to the floor. No way, no how because the wizard there said it's not going to happen. And you know what, that’s unfair because this rule… because this issue deserves the propriety of real debate. Not staged debate, not spectacle, not farce, not what's been going on for the last 09900048.docx 64 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 two days. I am massively disappointed that we can't get a real debate on a tax… property tax freeze Bill, which should be debated, and I think the Sponsor of the previous Bill would agree with me that it should be really debated in real Bill form so that we can give taxpayers real relief. Last points. There's been some talk about secret meetings. I have no idea why the previous speaker wasn't appointed by the Speaker of the House to any of those committees. He should be. He should be. He should be at least on the local consolidation meeting group or maybe on the pensions groups too. Certainly should be. I wish I could help you there, but I can't, but you could help me. You could've voted to help get this Bill out of Rules and move a real Bill forward that would've offered real relief. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"The Chair recognizes the Majority Leader."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. Rule 18(g) does provide a procedure under which Members may ask for the Rules Committee to be discharged on a measure brought to the floor. The procedure is clearly outlined in Rule 18(g). You need three-fifths of the Members of each Caucus to sign a petition asking for that discharge and each Member who signs that petition must be a Sponsor of the underlying Bill. The Sponsor of the most recent Motion does not have three-fifths of the Members of each caucus behind his Motion, and under Rule 18(g), it also clearly states that rulings of the presiding officer related to this subsection may not be appealed and the subsection may not be suspended. So, the Chair was absolutely within its rights reading the Rules correctly, reading the Rules in a way that shows that the 09900048.docx 65 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 maker of the Motion did not meet the requirements of Rule 18(g)."
"Mr. Riley."
"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please proceed."
"These Rules and Rules of the House exist for a reason whether we like them or not. We were all sent down here by 108 thousand people and you have a right to say what you want to say. And we've gotten sort of testy, and that's okay, but don't insult the Chair. The Chair is the Chair. Excuse me. You know, I'm speaking, so everybody should listen. And see that's one of the problems around here. These Rules exist for a reason. Many of these Rules go back to somebody that we know on your side of the aisle years and years ago. So, whether you like the process or not, let's respect each other and let's respect the Chair. That's why the Chair exists. Thank you."
"Mr. Kay."
"Point of personal privilege."
"Proceed, Sir."
"The previous speaker made some good comments, I think, and I think we probably ought to respect the Chair, I mean, after all, you're there for a purpose. But I think we need to also respect the fact that each and every individual Member represents a body of people, and the fact that the Rules are skewed in such a way that we can't do that in the same manner that the folks across the aisle do is troublesome. And I think that's what one of the Members on our side of the aisle was trying to point out. We don't make the Rules. You all do and 09900048.docx 66 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 those Rules are sort of skewed against us and very much in your favor. And maybe that's just the way it goes, but it's not the way it should be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Mr. Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record show that Representative Wehrli is excused for the remainder of the day."
"Thank you, Sir. Mr. Sullivan."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed."
"When we talk about Rules and what happened today, remember, your first vote when you're in this chamber were for the Rules. These are your Rules. Does 18(g) or whatever it is that precluded us from having this discharge was not from a previous General Assembly. This is your wording. The wording that you brought forth to suppress this type of vote. And so, when you voted for your Rules you suppressed the ability for us to have a vote on a very substantial Bill. And so, when we talk about not debating a true property tax Bill votes have consequences, and your Rules have consequences that are being shown today on our ability to try and get that out. So, here we are and, hopefully, next General Assembly we can have a more thoughtful discussion on the rules and maybe an open discourse, open debate on what we want to do. And so, that's we all we asked the first time when we wanted to have the Rules. And I get we're going to go back to '95, '94 when a previous General Assembly had it. They weren't right then, they're not right now. And that's a Republican saying that. Thank you." 09900048.docx 67 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015
"Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
"Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 483, offered by Representative Riley. House Resolution 484, offered by Representative Brady."
"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it and the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. The Chair recognizes Mr. Wheeler."
Wheeler. K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Point of personal privilege."
"Go right ahead, Sir." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. I am proud to introduce a Page for the day. Tyler Perkins, here from Millbrook, Illinois. Come up here Tyler. He's a sophomore at Joliet Junior College studying agricultural business. He'll be transferring to Southern Illinois University also studying agricultural business and he'll be minoring in political science 'cause he's inspired by this debate today. Thank you for coming and being a part of it. Give him a warm Springfield welcome. Thank you."
"Thank you for being with us Tyler. And now, leaving perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie… moves that the House stand adjourned until Monday, May 18 at the hour of 1 p.m. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the House does stand adjourned 'til Monday, May 18 at the hour 1 p.m."
"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 485, offered by Representative Feigenholtz. House Joint Resolution 76, offered by Representative Ford. Senate Joint Resolution 3, 09900048.docx 68 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 48th Legislative Day 5/15/2015 offered by Representative Costello. These are referred to the Rules Committee. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 09900048.docx 69