Illinois House Floor Debate — May 22, 2015

"Happy Friday. The House will be in order. Members will be in their chairs, those who are here. We shall be led in prayer today by Vicar Daniel Joyner Miller, who is with Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirits in Lincolnshire. Vicar Miller is the guest of Representative Sente. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off cell phones and rise for the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Vicar Miller."

"We'll be led in the Pledge by Representative Sommer." 09900053.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie."

"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representatives Mautino and Turner are excused today."

"Mr. Brown."

"Mr. Clerk, please take the record. We have 113 Members present and we do have a quorum. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."

"Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions. Don't get too excited, Members."

"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolution. Those in favor say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolution is adopted. Mr. Brown is recognized."

"I don't believe that's why you were recognized, Sir."

"Did you have an announcement about your caucus, Sir?"

"All right then. The Chair recognizes Representative Bellock."

"Please proceed."

"Welcome to Springfield. Mr. Clerk, on the Order of House Bills-Second Reading, there appears House Bill 1287. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. Brown is recognized."

"Seems to be on the board, Sir."

"The Chair is shocked, shocked."

"And how long do you anticipate your caucus, Sir?"

"The Chair… the… the House will recess 'til the call of the Chair. The House will be in order. Chair recognizes the Clerk."

Speaker Lang: "Representative Bellock. No running, Representative. Representative Bellock."

"That's all right, Representative."

"Mr. Brown." 09900053.docx 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"The record will reflect that. Mr. Clerk, House Bill 1287."

"Mr. Hoffman on Amendment 1."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back. Amendment #1 is the… the Governor's causation Amendment. It's from the Illinois Turnaround Agenda of the Governor. It's regarding the workers' comp… workers' compensation reform that he has proposed. Amendment #1 would indicate that the causation standard for an individual to be able to collect under the Worker's Compensation Act should be raised from any… an any cause standard to a major contributing cause standard. The accident at work must be more than 50 percent responsible for the injury compared to all other causes. This is the Governor's proposal. I believe that this proposal would… would result in many people who, under the workers' compensation system, would not receive… would not receive compensation. As you know, we had a lengthy hearing about two weeks ago where we heard testimony from people, not only from Illinois, but Indiana, Oklahoma, and throughout the… the nation regarding workers' compensation. The testimony of a Stephen Emery, who described how he received a severe injury caused by 30 years at work in coal mine and left him unable 09900053.docx 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 to work and he can no longer even lift as little as five pounds. He worked since 1979 as a… as a coalminer and worked at Inland S… Inland Steel where he pulled pillars, dragging 90 pound support beams from one part of the mine to another. When in… when Inland Steel closed in 1989, he then began working at the Willow Lake mine in 1996. For 13 years, as an aboveground coalminer, Stephen would smash a hammer against rocks thousands of times every day. Eventually, his body broke down and he started to experience intense pain in his hands, but he waited 2 years before he finally started seeing a doctor in 2009. His thumbs were fused and a metal plate and screws were inserted into his left hand. Stephen testified that return… he returned to his work duties, but when swinging the hammer, he shattered a plate in his left hand and needed surgery again. He still could not lift more than five pounds. He can no longer work. And Stephen… Stephen's company tried to stop him from getting workers' compensation because they indicated that this could have been caused by him playing baseball as a youth. He testified that he didn't even play baseball, yet, as a result of… of their testimony, they were attempting to deny him compensation. If Stephen was in another state that would have these type of causation standards that are similar to the Governor's Turnaround Agenda, he could have been denied compensation. This is directly from the Governor's Turnaround Agen… Agenda. Unfortunately, I'm asking for a 'no' vote."

"Mr. Sandack."

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

"Sponsor yields." Wheeler, K.: "Representative Hoffman…"

"Yes, Mr. Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "…I've had some great discussions with you. Yes, Sir."

"Sponsor yields." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. Representative Hoffman, we had some great discussions in… in Labor Committee. You held a… what would you call that… an open forum, effectively, for different organizations, different people to come in and be advocating for or against certain parts of what we've been talking about and I appreciated that. And you talk about your brother-in- law, who I believe is a drywaller. Is that correct, Representative?"

"Yes." Wheeler, K.: "You know, it's funny 'cause I have a stepbrother who's a drywaller and it's been his career. And you made me think quite a bit about that process. You talked about a guy who runs a jackhammer for a career. Well, I did that when I was putting myself through college. So I appreciate all those issues. And I thought about those people that we'd be affecting by raising the causation standard to 50 percent just by itself like this Amendment would do. Those repetitive strain injuries are an important issue. And my original language, which I believe, may be some variation on what the 09900053.docx 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 Amendment we're talking about today is, is something that you posted in committee and I never called. And I never called that Bill because it didn't include something to protect those workers. So had this Bill and the Amendment that we're proposing today actually gone through committee, Jay, I would have actually brought language that would protect a worker like your brother-in-law or like my stepbrother 'cause they are, they're giving their body to a career. And we should keep those people in the workers' compensation system where they… where they belong. So you mentioned this Bill is the Governor's Bill. You know, I know you're part of a working group on this and I… I'm sure this was discussed at some point in time in there, but I'm not part of that working group… or I wasn't part of that working group. So independently, Jay, I went to the… to the Governor's team repeatedly and requested language that would protect a worker with repetitive strain injuries to keep them inside the workers' compensation system where they belong. So I'm also going to urge a 'present' vote from the entire Body because there's a better answer than this and those people that do give their lives and their careers in those kinds of… of vocations deserve to be part of this system, and we should work on that approach rather than this one. Again, I urge a 'present' vote."

"Mr. Batinick."

"Mr. Bradley."

"You may not remember, but the way that we got to workers' comp in Illinois as it is now is that there was an agreement or a tradeoff made by business and labor. And as part of that discussion, the benefits of workers were reduced in… in terms of more certainly with regards to the payment of claims. And part of that discussion was getting away from the standards and the burdens of proof that were requisite in regular cases. So they took it out of the civil courts. I actually passed a Bill a few years ago to just get rid of workers' comp because in getting rid of causation you bring back more damages, you bring back contributory negligence, you bring back all kinds of things that happen in regular court. But after the Cherry Hill Mine Disaster in the early part of the last century, this was a decision that was made. And when I tried to get rid of workers' comp, which would put causation back on the table, there was gnashing of teeth. There was gnashing of teeth. So I stand in opposition because this wasn't the agreement that was made between labor and between the business community with regards to the way that we deal with injured workers. You can't just take a piece of it; you have to take the whole thing. And to say that you're going to put causation 09900053.docx 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 back on the table and not give workers back their additional injury rights is not the way that the State of Illinois wants to go. I'd ask for a 'no' vote."

"Mr. Hoffman to close."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just… to the previous speakers, I do appreciate your comments. But you have to understand the context of… of this Amendment. You know, we're… it's… it's Friday. We're due to adjourn next Sunday. I understand the Governor may be filing some type of Bills, finally today. We're a little over a week away from the final adjournment; we're finally seeing some Bills. We got to move the process forward. We can wait. I don't know what's going to be in the Bills. I can only tell you what we've discussed whenever we've discussed it in our working groups, when we had his turnaround agenda working groups. And basically, what was discussed is if a person… if a person… an accident at work, must be more than 50 percent responsible for the injury compared to all other causes. Now, what was discussed is what Representative Bradley talked about, is if it isn't 50 percent, if it's found not to be 50 percent, then you could possibly go to civil court. Now, is that what we really want? Do you really want to litigate these things in civil court? That was what was in the Governor's proposed language that we talked about in our working group. I don't think that that's what you want. I don't think that that's the result that you want. Oregon, in the Oregon study, they have indicated that there have been no known cases in which workers have prevailed at a trial if that is the remedy. The remedy should be this. The remedy should be this. If you are injured at work, there 09900053.docx 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 should be a system in place, where if it is repetitive injury, that you should be fairly compensated. You talked about my… my brother-in-law. He worked for 30 years hanging drywall. He worked for… out of the union hall and probably worked for as many as 30 employers. One day, all of a sudden, his body breaks down and he has to get carpel tun… or rotator cuff surgery. Now, I wish that the final employer wouldn't be a hundred percent liable, but that's our system. What we should do is look at a way of assessing liability so that everyone in the system possibly has to compensate that individual who was… who was injured as a result of repetitive trauma. They shouldn't have to wait and go to court. They shouldn't have to wait and go to trial. And they certainly shouldn't have to go and prove that the final employer that they were working for is over 50 percent at fault as a re… not even at fault, but over 50 percent of the injury as a result of that accident at work. So we're putting this up here to move the ball forward. Let's give… if we're going to do workers' compensation reform, this is not going to be part of the workers' compensation reform 'cause this side of the aisle is not going to accept it. I urge a 'no' vote."

"Those in favor of the Gentleman's Amendment will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Fortner, Harris, Ives, Jesiel, McSweeney, Morrison. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 0 voting 'yes', 69 voting 'no', 38 voting 'present'. And the Amendment fails. Mr. Clerk."

"Mr. Hoffman."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Amendment #2 contains what is called 'AMA guidelines'. The language that would limit the Commission, the Industrial Commission, from using only one of five factors to determine permanent partial disability would be eliminated under… under the Governor's proposal. This would allow, according to the Governor, the Commission to solely base an award on AMA guidelines. We heard testimony of, when we had the hearing of the Committee of the Whole, from individuals and from experts who had indicated that Indiana exclusively uses… utilizes the AMA guidelines. Under the Bill that Representative Bradley referenced in 2011, there were five factors to determine… to be determined by the Commission as to what compensation would be… would be provided under permanent partial disability. One of those factors… one of those factors was AMA guidelines. The Governor's proposal would say that the AMA guidelines, which it… is from the American Medical Association, would be the sole factor. Incidentally, the AMA guidelines, themselves, indicate in the guidelines that they should not be a sole factor. There is testimony from a Laura Summers, who was injured as a nurse in Indiana, who would indicate that the AMA guidelines wou… have resulted in her only receiving a $10 thousand award and Judge Corrigan who indicated that in Illinois Ms. Summers would have been eligible for wage differential. Also testifying was John Coffell, who worked at Goodyear plant in Oklahoma where AMA guidelines were adopted only months before he was injured, actually six weeks before he was injured, and he is… he and 09900053.docx 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 his family have barely enough to keep his family from living below… above the poverty line. He is declaring bankruptcy. Suzette Burakiewicz, she was also a nurse in Indiana, worked at a nursing facility. She was severely injured and as a result of the AMA guideline, she received inadequate compensation. She specifically indicated in Indiana, you know, there are no options for me. We believe that we should follow the guidelines themselves and they should continue to be one of the factors, but not the sole factor. I ask for a 'no' vote."

"Mr. Brown."

"Thank you, Sir. The record will reflect that. Leader Durkin is recognized."

"Sponsor yields."

"I voted 'no'. I think…"

"I'm not the Sponsor. Speaker Madigan was an in error by putting this forward, so I voted 'no'."

"I voted against it because I didn't… I didn't believe that we should deny injured workers compensation. It's the Governor's proposal, not mine." 09900053.docx 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"We can hardly wait."

"We can hardly wait."

"We have eight days."

"We can hardly wait for the Governor to finally put a proposal forward."

"Look, I've been… I have been asking for the Governor to please put his agenda forward. It was going to be 11 Bills, then 10 Bills, then 7 Bills, then 6. So we're… we don't know and why would he wait to put them forward 'til we leave town?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was answering a question I was thinking of. I'm sorry."

"It's all going on."

"It is."

"I'm voting 'no'."

"Yeah."

"Mr. Sandack."

"Mr. Kay."

"Sponsor yields." 09900053.docx 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"I… It was a long hearing. I apologize. I don't recall."

"I apologize. I… I remember him testifying. I don't recall the… whether they were his clients or not. I don't… I apologize."

"And wait, I'm not trying to… you can enlighten us."

"Well, we… I generally… genuinely have attempted to work through a lot of these issues. Some of these issues we're just not going to agree on. I don't believe that the Gov… I don't believe that this side of the aisle, as the vote indicated, is going to agree to an individual not being fairly compensated who is hurt. If you want to talk about how we can save employers money while still compensating injured employees fairly, we're willing to discuss that. And we will bring some… some of that forward. But when we continually talk around the same issues, things that we just cannot agree to because injured workers will not be fairly compensated, it's very difficult to negotiate."

"This has to do with the AMA guidelines. The next Amendment is the fee schedule."

"As far as the premium rates or…"

"…compensation?"

"Yeah. There's… there's five factors that are contained in the law that was drafted in 2011. One of those five factors that can be taken account… into account is the AMA guidelines. And… and I just want to quote from the… from the AMA guidelines themselves. They are very specific in that they… they indicate in disability valuations the impairment rating is one of several determinations of… of disablement. Impairment rating is a determinant most amenable to physician's assessment. It must be further integrated with contextual information typical typically provided by nonphysician sources regarding psychological, social, vocational, and agricational issues. In other words, the guidelines themselves say it shouldn't be the sole factor, yet in the… in the working group, the proposal is that the AMA guidelines would… could be the sole factor."

"Mr. Bradley."

"Just wanted to remind everybody that since 2011 when we did the reforms, that the cost of workers' comp in Illinois has gone down over 25 percent and that's including a looking at years that took place before the 2011 reforms. And so, the expectation is that the rates will continue to fall even at a potentially escalated rate because we're now getting into the category of only examining years subsequent to the reforms. Now, over 25 percent of reductions, which more to come, is significant and a significant portion of those reductions whether the changes that were made with regards to considering the AMA formula. As part of the considerations, rates are down over 25 percent. The 2011 reforms worked. Vote 'no'."

"Representative Ives."

"There's only one more speaker, Representative. The Gentleman's on your side of the aisle. I'm sure you'll indulge Mr. Hays." 09900053.docx 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"On that exciting note, Representative Hoffman to close. Do you want to answer the question for him?"

"I mean, seriously. Okay. Just vote 'no' on…"

"Those in favor of the Gentleman's Amendment will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Bennett, Chapa LaVia, Fortner, Ives, Jesiel, McSweeney, Morrison. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, 09900053.docx 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 there are 0 voting 'yes', 69 voting 'no', and 38 voting 'present'. And the Amendment fails. Mr. Clerk, Rules Report."

"Returning to House Bill 1287, Mr. Clerk, please proceed."

"Mr. Hoffman on Amendment 3."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is also a proposal of the Governor's Turnaround Agenda regarding workers' compensation. His proposal would… would be a 30 percent reduction from the 2011 reforms regarding the medical fee schedule. There has been… the testimony of the Committee of the Whole had some grave concerns about access. And I received a letter from a physician in the Metro East who indicated that my pa… my patients, the injured workers of Illinois, depend on quality service specialists. Good results means workers can get back to work, get back to their lives and families. In the end, that helps businesses in Illinois to prosper. And I'm extremely concerned that these type of reductions in the fee schedule will result in physician specialists not providing services to injured workers. In addition, we heard testimony from Kim Janis of the Illinois State Medical Society who indicated that the fee schedule reductions have already had 09900053.docx 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 an nega… negative impact on injured worker's ability to access the most critical medical care in Illinois. A.J. Wilhelmi of the Illinois Hospital Association testified that there's been a profound impact on the State of Illinois, on the people of the State of Illinois and in piticular… particular, on access to quality health care for injured workers. I urge a 'no' vote."

"Mr. Sandack."

"Of course."

"I urged a 'no' vote and I intend to vote 'no'."

"Earlier… or last week, yes."

"I did."

"I mean, can I tell you something. It's… I'm getting a complex."

"A lot of zeroes going up on the board here."

"No. I… you know, the future's the future and I can't predict the future."

"Look, come on."

"You know what this… Here's what we're talking about here today, all right."

"We don't believe that injured workers should not receive adequate compensation. You guys want to take a strong 'present' vote, go ahead. Really strong, showing guts. There you go."

"Mr. Bradley."

"2011 down over 25 percent, more reductions to come. A big part of that success was a reduction in the fee schedule. We reduced the fee schedule 30 percent… 30 percent in 2011. Many people in this room voted against that proposal because 09900053.docx 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 we reduced the fee schedule so dramatically. The effect has been the reduction of workers' comp rates by over 25 percent with more to come. Vote 'no'."

"Mr. Hoffman to close."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now, you know… look, I've stood here and I've taken it, okay? I've taken it because I understand you guys are upset that you wish that you weren't put in this position. You wish that you didn't have to vote to deny injured workers compensation. You wish you didn't have to vote against your doctors and your hospitals. You wish that you wouldn't deny access. You wish that they would be fairly compensated, if they provide care 'cause they support you. But look, I didn't put this proposal forward. This comes directly from the Governor's proposed language. The problem is you can't handle the truth. You're running from the truth. When are you going to start facing and look at yourself in the mirror and understand this is your proposals, not ours… not ours. We're not the ones saying doctors shouldn't be adequately comp… adequately compensated. We're not saying surgeons should be… shouldn't be adequately compensated. We're not saying hospitals have… shouldn't be adequately compensated. We're voting 'no'. Vote a strong 'present'. Look yourself in the mirror in the morning and understand there hasn't been a Bill put forward by the Governor. There hasn't. What are we waiting on? We got eight more days. We got eight more days. I said last week Rome is burning… Rome is burning and we're doing nothing about the budget because we're languishing in this stuff… this stuff. You want to talk about employers reducing their obligation 09900053.docx 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 and their premiums, I'll talk to you about it. You want to talk about denying injured workers adequate compensation, we're not going to talk about it. We're voting 'no'."

"Those in favor of the Gentleman's Amendment will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Breen, Fortner, Ives, Jesiel, McAuliffe, McSweeney, Morrison. Any of you wish to vote? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 0 voting 'yes', 69 voting 'no', and 37 voting 'present'. And the Amendment fails. Mr. Clerk."

"Mr. Hoffman."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Bradley, who was a leader with the 2011 reforms, talked about the reduction that NCCI and other industry experts has indicated should have resulted to employers in pre… premium rates as a result of the 2011 reforms. We heard testimony on the Committee of the Whole, as well as before the Labor Committee, and since 2011 there's been a reduction of 18.1 percent in advisory rates and 19.3 percent in advisory loss costs. This is the testimony the National Council of Compensation Insurance or NCCI. Over the same time, average rates have risen 9.1 percent nationally. The point being is we don't believe that we're seeing these premium reductions as a result of 2011 reform being passed on to the employers. This provision would provide that there would be a prior approval of rates that the Department of Insur… Insurance can make a determination as to whether or not the rates are excessive prior to them being… 09900053.docx 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 being put on the employers. The current system is that there is no prior approval of rates. We think there should have been reductions in rates to the employers if the burden on the employers should… should have been reduced as a result of the 2011 reform. In addition, this… this would follow 25 states which require prior approval rates, include… including the neighboring states of Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. On this… on this, I'm proposing a 'yes' vote."

"Mr. Bradley, whose name was used in debate."

"Again, during the Committee of the Whole, in response to the advisory rate reductions, there was a question asked by myself to the panel. And can you show that those reduction in rates was actually passed on to businesses in Illinois? And they couldn't answer that. We need that these advisory rates to be passed on to businesses in Illinois. What we did worked. The rates are down; pass that on to the businesses. One final point I'd make on a technical matter, the evaluation of the rates is based on, my understanding, a six-year average. We don't even have a full adjusted rate evaluation because part of the preworkers' comp reform years are still being put into those numbers. So once we transition into an evaluation of all postcomp reform numbers, the rates are going to drop even more significantly. What we did worked. What we did was difficult. What we did continues to work. And we need to make sure that those savings, those sacrifices or reductions in benefits and costs, which is benefits to workers, costs to the medical community, is being passed on in sufficient amounts to the business community of Illinois. I stand in support of that effort." 09900053.docx 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Mr. Kay."

"Sponsor yields."

"Well, I can tell you that the National Council on Compensation Insurance testified that there should have been an 18.1 percent reduction. Those are… those are their advisory rates. But as you know, in… in discussions that we have had and the insurance industry has indicated, that that has not been the case. Now, I assume what happens is insurance… or according to the testimony in the Committee of the Whole, insurance rates are based upon experience factors. They're based upon the type of industry you may be in. For instance, pro… I would assume, a construction industry probably has higher rates than receptionist type or service employee type of a job. So…"

"I mean, if you know, you could enlighten us."

"The point is it's not… we're not saving it because the insurance industry may not be passing it along. All we're…" 09900053.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"I said may not. I said may not."

"I'm telling you what was testified to by the experts. There should… the 18.1 percent advisory rate reduction is what they said should have happened."

"That's correct."

"Incidentally, I'm not stipulating anything. Okay?"

"Listen, you talk… when you talked earlier about the… yeah, you always do… you talked earlier about PPD. Well, can I tell you something? Thank God you're not my lawyer because you're absolutely wrong and as an injured worker, I would've… would've been neglected and would've been neglectful for what you said PPD rates are… are calculated on."

"I don't have to. It's in the law." 09900053.docx 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"I apologize. I was talking to staff. I'm sorry."

"No. It… So, what we… what this would do is it would give the Department of Insurance… incidentally, the head of the Department of Insurance is appointed by this Governor. It would give them the right to review the rates and prior approval."

"No, they don't. There is not prior approval in Illinois."

"There is not prior approval in Illinois and not to determine whether rates are excessive. They say if they… if they believe there's a competitive market, then the rates are 09900053.docx 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 just filed and they basically don't review them. This is prior approval. There are 25 other states that do this. And we always point to Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin as having lower rates. They have prior approval. All we're doing, under this Amendment, is saying to the… the Governor's appointed head of the Department of Insurance that you will pri… have prior approval of rates to determine…"

"…whether or not what NCCI is saying should happen or shouldn't happen."

"No. We're… we're trying to regulate to make sure employers aren't…"

"…being charged excessive rates."

"We're trying to make sure employers aren't being charged excessive rates. Now, if you don't care about employers…"

"…vote 'no'…"

"…or vote 'present'."

"But the Department of Insurance can and that's what this Bill would do is allow the Department of Insurance to review rates." 09900053.docx 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"It's all right."

"My point was we're not saying we're going to regulate the rates. We're saying the Department of Insurance will be able to review, like 25 other states, to make sure that the rates are not excessive."

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying… I'm saying what…"

"I'm telling you the facts. NCCI said an advisory rate reduction of 18.1 percent as a result of the 2011 law. And I'm saying that Indiana and Iowa and Wisconsin, that everybody says have lower rates, they have prior approval of rates. We don't for whatever reason. That's what this would do."

"No. I've… I'm afraid I haven't. I'm sorry."

"My proposal… my proposal requires free… prior authorization to determine whether or not rates are excessive."

"No."

"Just what I said. It allow… it gives the Department of Insurance the ability to make sure that rates are not excessive."

"If a company does not have excessive rates, then the Department of Insurance will let them keep the rate that they filed."

"I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to make a profit."

"I… I don't know that, but I do know that… I do…"

"I do know this, that Indiana, which we always point to, Iowa, Wisconsin, and 25 other states have insurance companies that write workers' compensation insurance. I would assume they're all making a profit or they wouldn't be writing their workers' compensation insurance. And all of those states have prior approval rates."

"That is not true."

"They are… they are capped at 20 percent."

"Well, if you want to deny injured workers representation then put that Bill in. We'll vote against it."

"Yeah."

"Mr. Kay."

"Can we bring our remarks to a close, Sir?"

"Mr. Reis."

"Sponsor yields."

"Mr. Tryon."

"Sponsor yields."

"That's… that's not what I'm saying."

"I'm… That's not what I'm saying."

"Could…"

"My… my point is this. We, like you, would like to reduce the burden on employers, but not at the expense of people who are legitimately injured. So, I have put forward several ideas in the working group. This is one of them and that's… and you talk about Indiana, and Iowa, and Wisconsin, this is the law in Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. So you're basically making my closing argument for me by saying that… that it works there. And all we're saying is…"

"…certain things… certain things…"

"You're upset…"

"Representative Riley in the Chair. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Leader Sandack."

"The Sponsor will yield."

"Speaker Madigan is the Sponsor."

"I do."

"I have been… I don't believe so. The answer to that is… But… but can I just… can I…"

"Can… just… you really can… got to try and be a little bit fair to me here, okay? You… Representative Tryon has indicated I have actively attempted to work through some of these issues with our working group. We have put forward… people said we didn't put things forward… we put forward no less than five Bills to the working group that we said we could… we could support. This is… is an issue that we have discussed. This is an issue that's happened in other states. This is something that can help employers. Okay? It really can. And it's helping them in other states. But, no, there weren't any working groups that I know of. There were a lot of Leaders meetings of… of all the Leaders, but I wasn't a part of any of the working groups."

"Not that I know of."

"So, we're elected as well. Okay? And…"

"…we're elected as well and… and we have an obligation to the people that elected us. I agree with you. I… I personally will work with the Governor in a bipartisan fashion. There are just a few things here that we are against. That's it."

"The Chair recognizes Representative Franks."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've been listening to debate and I haven't spoken today, but I feel like I need to because a number of my colleagues are decrying the process and decrying the procedure. I don't think we all love the procedure here, but at least we're having a debate. What I'm concerned about is that the Governor said he's going to put his turnaround agenda today after we leave sometime on… So, we won't see it 'til Monday. And he's going to give us six Bills with less than a week to handle them, dropping us on at last minute, which you all are decrying over there about these Bills, and said you've got five days, take it or leave it. Vote for it or you're here all summer. That process stinks. That's worse than this because at least we are debating. And I'd encourage you to get involved now. Tick tock, people, tick tock. And if the Governor is listening, please file your Bills. Please file your Bills. We would like to discuss them. We would like to debate them. We would like to negotiate them. We can't negotiate with something that isn't in written form. At least now we have something in written form. And I heard some of the histrionics. That's… forget the procedure now, 09900053.docx 44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 let's move on to the substance of this fourth Amendment. I've heard the histrionics from some decrying it and I don't know, obfuscating and I don't… I'm not even sure what the numbers they were saying. But this is not a radical idea, folks. Almost half the states in the country are doing exactly what the Sponsor is asking us to do. Our neighbors in Indiana, and Wisconsin, and Iowa. And Indiana, and Wisconsin's like, geez, it's almost like the Messiah lives in those states. 'Cause that's what I'm hearing all the time. We got to be like Wisconsin. We got to be like Indiana. Here's our chance. And what do we get, we get people standing up and saying, oh, you're going to take away their ability to make money. And we're doing the exact same thing that they're doing. That's all we're proposing. And we hear constantly, constantly, constantly, the biggest problem facing our employers, or one of the biggest problems, is our workers' compensation costs. Well, heck folks, there's 300… there's 300 companies providing workers' comp costs here. They're here 'cause they're making a lot of dough. They wouldn't be here if they weren't. Now, you talk about the real costs but you don't want to look at the folks who are profiting off of it. We're not saying you can't profit. We're saying please be upfront. Let us know what these rates are and let us review those. I can give you some anecdotal stuff. I mea… I mean, I'm not a businessman like some. I'm a farm boy from Marengo. But I can tell you, a few years ago… that's it. I'm not as smart as these guys. I get it. But I… but we… but we had this debate on the House Floor on an unconstitutional Bill to put caps… Could you hold that down, please? Please? Thank you. We had 09900053.docx 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 a debate on the House Floor about unconstitutional caps because we were talking about these high costs for medical malpractice. Right? And I voted against that Bill because I thought it was unconstitutional and the court, you know, did rule against it. But we're talking about these rates. Now, Mike, you know what? The rates are so high because these companies are making so much money. So, like, I'm going to do a little experiment. Like I said, I'm not a businessman, but I wanted to try an experiment. So, what I did is I started an insurance company. I got to dress up in a new suit, got to go to Lloyd's of London, got the whole deal and I started an insurance company that provided insurance to doctors. Boy, it was interesting because all I did was charge 20 percent less than what the other did and you wouldn't believe how much… how much business we got. But the fact is I was able to do that because we were able to know what some of the rates were. It was real… it was called real competition. We're asking here to emulate what's working in other states, those states that many on the other side of the aisle wish to emulate, being Indiana, and Wisconsin, and asking to level the playing field so our companies can do the same. And our goal here is to lower the rates. We always say we want to lower the rates 'cause we want to save our businesses here. If you really want to save businesses in Illinois and you want to make us more competitive, this is a no-brainer to vote for. Okay. So let's try to move past the histrionics and the game playing because there's going to be plenty of that next week and maybe we're going to be here all summer if we don't do the all or nothing thing. But folks, we have an opportunity to make a 09900053.docx 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 difference on this. We ought to make this difference and I'd encourage an 'aye' vote."

"Members, there are a number of people who still want to speak. And let's try to keep our remarks as succinct as possible. The Chair recognizes Representative Christian Mitchell." Mitchell, C.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"He indicates he will." Mitchell, C.: "Jay, I want to make sure… I'm… I'm a little lost this morning, so I want to check in, I guess, on a few things. Now, typically, when we kind of divide things down the aisle by Party, we have some orthodoxies we fall into. Democrats, for the most part, stand with labor and in this case, Trial Lawyers. And Republicans, as I understand it, are… tend to be probusiness. Is that, you think, an accurate description of our political system?"

"It's fairly accurate except for moderates like me." Mitchell, C.: "Of course. Of course. And of course, the… the farm boy from Marengo. I understand we've got some exceptional folks here. But what's confusing me is, it's my understanding that, according to the Gentleman from Marion, that we lowered workers' comp rates a few years ago and those rates were never realized by businesses. And where'd they get lost? I'm trying to understand."

"Well, I can only tell you what was testified to at the Committee of the Whole. NCCI indicated that they had an advisory rate of 18.1 percent reduction as a result of the 2011 reform. And if you talk to the employers' groups, like 09900053.docx 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 the Manufacturers Association that testified, and they would say that they have not seen that reduction." Mitchell, C.: "So… Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. What I think the Gentleman's testimony reveals to us is that those rates, those savings, are being swallowed up by insurance companies. Now, everybody on this side of the aisle is decrying process. We had a couple days of decrying process and random attacks on this side. I had my name mentioned by the Gentle Lady from Wheaton who apparently isn't voting this morning. And it's… it's just been interesting to watch people hide behind process because Republicans say they want to save money for businesses and we have on the board, right now, an Amendment that would save money for our businesses. Yesterday, everyone was talking about how much they love education and they care about poor kids and how sad they are. And they're defending millionaires. So we're defending millionaires and we're defending insurance companies and we're talking about process, but we're refusing to ever take a stand on anything that would actually advance the ball for the things that we care about. We've got on the board a Bill that everyone says makes sense. We had a previous speaker talk about how the other Amendments also made sense, but because they haven't been washed in the blood of these working groups, somehow, they're not valid. And it just doesn't make sense. If you care about lowering rates for businesses, if you care about making sure insurance companies don't have usurious rates that are breaking our businesses and destroying our families, you vote 'yes' on this Bill. That's what you do. It's on the board. It's a Bill we all agree on. It's a Bill we all think 09900053.docx 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 makes sense. Just vote 'yes'. Stop hiding behind process. Stop protecting millionaires. Stop protecting insurance companies. Just vote 'yes'."

Speaker Riley: "The Chair recognizes Representative Keith Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"He indicates he will." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. Representative Hoffman, in a previous debate you had mentioned that you were willing to… I may have this out of context though… make sure… make sure I have it correct, that you were willing to sit down and discuss workers' compensation reform that didn't diminish the value to the injured worker and fam… balance that with lower costs to employers. Is that accurate?"

"It's accurate." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. I… I now invite you to any time you want to sit down and do that. I sincerely ran for office as a small business owner, an employer, someone who's signed the front side of a whole lot of those work comp insurance premium checks. And I had the understanding with my colleagues across this state, who own those businesses that do the same things that I do, that this is a cost driver that's not just affecting them personally or making them not into the millionaires they hope to be someday, but it's affecting their ability to hire their neighbors and put those people to work. That's why I got involved in this process. That's why I ran for office. That's why I was glad to serve with you on the Labor Committee because these are important things that we can get right for this state that actually don't cost this 09900053.docx 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 state money. It's not a budget issue. This is just a practical regulatory issue that we can solve and make a better case for investing in this state, for hiring people in this state, growing this state and ultimately, then we can talk about fixing our budget problems by then. So this is an important matter to me. And I'm… I'm really looking forward to that conversation. In fact, I invite everybody from both sides of the aisle to that discussion 'cause I think this is something that we need to get right for all the workers in Illinois. And there's an answer and part of that, I hope we get to debate, what the Governor is going to propose. I know you haven't seen it. I haven't seen the… the draft either yet, but I'm excited about the fact that we can discuss that, Jay. So, I look forward to doing that with you next week."

"Let me just say that I agree with your comments. Okay?" Wheeler, K.: "Thank you."

"And in the time… the short time I've known you and you served on the Labor Committee, I take that as genuine in really wanting to do something of… and to me the goals are simple. And what the previous Representative, Representative Tryon, indicated is exactly right. This is an issue we need to address. But really, to me, it's an issue of how can we save employers money, make them more competitive with other states while still maintaining the ability of an injured worker and an injured family to… to survive. It's that simple. Now, somewhere there's an answer and I agree with you." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. I appreciate it. I look forward to working with you on that. Today's line of Amen… Amendments aren't in total of that answer. I think you agree with that 09900053.docx 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 since you didn't vote for any of them either. But let's… let's go back to the process just real quickly so maybe those who haven't looked at the… the actual results see them. Before 2005, Illinois's work comp premium rates were somewhere in the middle of the pack. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I… I don't know that it was 2005, but there was… there was a period in the not so distant future…" Wheeler, K.: "Or past, right."

"…or distant past when we were in the middle of the packets." Wheeler, K.: "Right. And then in 2005, we made some reform work here in Illinois. We drove our rates up to be the third highest in the country according to the Oregon study. Which precipitated then, if I understand correctly, the 2011 reforms that were worked on here. I was on the sidelines then supporting reform that would drive down those costs. And a result of that instead of 18 point… 18 percent reduction, we had… we've dropped somewhere around seventh in the pack of the United States in the Oregon study for work comp premium rates. You… you saw the same thing. I think I saw it in committee with you, Jay. Now, in order for us to actually achieve what we're talking about, this insurance reform you've got on… on the board here, which I want to discuss with you more and understand better, even if that magic billion dollars, that our friend attorney Menchetti talked about, were actually in… in the process here, I don't believe, with my math, that that would actually drive us anywhere near the middle of the pack over that period of time. So we have to look at the cost factors for our state. When we held the 09900053.docx 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 work comp Committee of the Whole hearing on the floor, our friend from the insurance industry presented numbers to us that said that Illinois has a PPD award rate of 554 per 100 thousand workers. That sounds like mumbo jumbo, doesn't it? Well, let's put it in context. The national average is only 337 per 100 thousand workers. So we've got people that maybe not belong in actually the work comp system driving up our costs. Hence, the reason why we need more comp reform. Another Representative mentioned the fact that the insurance companies are just making way too much money. So I try to figure out where these costs are because the costs matter. Insurance companies have to have a profit to continue, but the self-insured companies in Illinois that have policies in other states and have costs in other states testified in our Labor Committee, Jay, that they have seen no real reduction that matches the NCA site… the NCCI rate reduction or advisory rate because the costs haven't gone down with that. But they don't have a profit to worry about. They don't have marketing costs and overhead costs and HR costs with that. They just have to deal with the cost. Municipalities said the same thing to us. So we have to address more than just this insurance component. And that's the point I'm trying to make to everyone in this Body. We have to have a comprehensive workers' compensation reform. I think that's going to have to start with whatever the Governor's proposed and work from there. And I look forward to and I encourage… I implore everyone to work on this. This is an issue that we can help make this State of Illinois a great place to invest, grow a business, create more jobs. Thank you." 09900053.docx 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"The Chair recognizes Leader Sullivan."

Speaker Riley: "The Chair recognizes Rep… Representative Nekritz."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Amendment. I'm delighted to make these remarks on the heels of those by the previous speaker. Because when the… when these… when the Governor's working groups were first… I wouldn't even say announced… when they were first formed and it was… the mere existence of the working groups was a secret. It wasn't that they… that the work was being done, it was the work was secret. The mere existence of the working group was secret. Certainly, the identity of those people on the working group was secret and… and I… I'm fascinated now that it's… now that we're talking about the working groups as though they're some big… like process that everyone should know about and there were no restrictions on them. I… my name's been out there. I'm on one of the working groups and I was under very strict instructions that that first working group to say nothing about the fact that we were meeting, that I was there, what the topic of discussion was, what we were… what anything was said in that 09900053.docx 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 room. It was all designed to be very, very secret. And now, it's a weapon being used against us to say that… that we have these working groups and they're work… and they're… they're making progress and there's discussions there. And I… I'm just… I'm just befuddled by this that when we try to bring legislation forward and have it debated in public that somehow the existence of this… the secret working groups and the work being done in that is now being thrown back at us as though somehow we're… this side of the aisle is doing something that is a bad process and we shouldn't be engaged in this. I… I just find this… the… frankly, the hypocrisy of that to be just stunning. Thank you."

"The Chair recognizes Representative Demmer."

"He indicates he will."

"Yes."

"I think this would go a long way to addressing…"

"I'm not saying it would… it should be all, no."

"I think that's yet to be determined." 09900053.docx 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Thank you."

"Could you overnight it 'cause I can't wait?"

"The Chair recognizes Representative Batinick."

"Representative Batinick, are you speaking to the Bill or are you speaking…"

"There is a process. The Sponsor will yield."

"That's what they testified, 18.1."

"It's actually a study done by the State of Oregon."

"Yeah, not NCCI. The Oregon study."

"Yeah, it could be in."

"I'm sorry."

"My… What I… what I'm saying to you is that this proposal, we believe, would provide, not price controls that was tes… that was mentioned earlier, but would just oversight of the insurance industries similar to 25 other states."

"So, I'm trying to recall the exact testimony that I believe that NCC… NCCI testified that the 2016 rates will be the first rates that will show all postreform after 2011. So I anticipate that 18 percent being higher as a result of the reforms being totally in place."

"They didn't indicate."

"Representative Hoffman to close."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I… I just wanted to… to say that this, I do believe, will go a long way to making sure that actually employers will see reduction in their costs. It'll make sure that they can be competitive with other states. Previous speakers indicate that this consain… contains some type of a price control. There are no price controls in this Bill. It's just oversight, review and making sure that the rates are not excessive. This will go a long way to making sure that employers in Illinois are competitive. You know, you guys on the other side of the aisle, I respect things that you said but I can guarantee you, and I'm just predicting having not seen it, that the Governor's proposal is going to contain a lot of the things that we voted down in Amendments #1, #2 and #3. And what would they do? They would deny access to health care for injured workers. They would deny injured workers benefits that they deserve. And they would deny compensation and fair compensation to injured workers. That's why we're doing this today. That's why we're doing this today; to put forward something positive that actually is going to reduce the cost to employers. You guys have me all the way up 'til the point where you say, so, I urge a 'present' vote. I urge a strong 'present' vote. Now, if you're against it, vote 'no'; if you're for it, vote 'yes'. Whether we're going to call this on Third Reading or not, I would like to… I would like to call it on Third Reading. So, 09900053.docx 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 hopefully, by the time we get to the point of calling this on Third Reading, you guys will take something other than a strong 'present' stand. I urge an 'aye' vote."

"So, the question is, 'Shall Floor Amendment #4 to House Bill 1287 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Please record yourself, Members. Fortner, Ives, Jesiel, McSweeney, Morrison. Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, with 68 voting 'yea', 0 voting 'nay', 39 voting 'present', Floor Amendment #4 to House Bill 1287, is hereby adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Clerk, keep this Bill on the Order of Second Reading. Leader Lang in the Chair."

"Mr. Tryon is recognized."

"On which Amendment, Sir? You're referring to Amendment 4?"

"Thank you. We want the record to be clear. Thank you. On the Order of Senate Bills-Second Reading, page 14 of the Calendar, there appears Senate Bill 47, Mr. Dunkin. Mr. Dunkin. Out of the record. House… excuse me… Senate Bill 107, Representative Conroy. Please read the Bill."

"Representative Conroy."

"House Bill #4 is a gut and replace. It becomes the Bill and provides the assessed value of a home cannot be increased because a homeowner makes modifications to make the home more accessible for a disabled person and provides a homestead exemption for veterans with a service connected disability."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 202, Mr. Zalewski. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. Zalewski."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to adopt Floor Amendment #1. It adds language regarding when the case is assigned to… from the chief judge for the purposes of timing."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 368, Mr. McAuliffe. Mr. McAuliffe. Out of… Do you wish to run that, Sir? Out of the record. Senate Bill 379, Mr. Riley. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. Riley."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Floor Amendment #1, essentially, just adds some technical language that deals with land use of Cook County in construction rules."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 508, Mr. Crespo. Out of the record. Senate Bill 627, Mr. D'Amico. Mr. D'Amico. Please read the Bill."

"Mr. D'Amico."

"Mr. Sandack." 09900053.docx 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment's adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 805, Representative Mayfield. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1381, Mr. Verschoore. Out of the record. Senate Bill 1630, Mr. Wheeler. Please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 1919, Mr. Evans. Out of the record. We now move to some Resolutions sponsored by Representative Lilly. The first one is HJR38. Mr. Clerk, please read an appropriate section."

"Representative Lilly." 09900053.docx 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly. Today, I present House Resolution… House Joint Resolution 38. As a fan of St. Joseph Hospital… High School… High School for over 36 years, this is the first Resolution that sets the sage… stage for the next two Resolutions. I present HJR38 to celebrate Gene Pingatore. Gene Pingatore is the winningest coach in Illinois high school basketball history. He has been a mentor, an educator, both on and off the court for over 50 years at St. Joseph High School in Westchester. In 46 years, as head coach, he and the Chargers have captured over 27 east suburb… suburban Catholic Conference championships, 2 Catholic League North titles, 9 prestigious Proviso West Holiday Tournament Championships, 31 State Regional titles, 12 State Sectional titles. His team has qualified for 7 Elite Eight Tournaments. And this year, St. Joseph Hospital Charger… excuse me… St. Joseph High School Chargers qualified for the Final Four in Peoria and won the Illinois High School Association 3A State title championship with a record 29 to 6. Coach Ping coached over 11 professional all stars: 9 in the NBA and 2 in the NFL. He is also a 9-time recipient Coach of the Year through the Pioneer Press and the Suburban Life paper. Gene Pingatore, a lifetime resident of Westchester, Illinois, has one daughter, Lisa, and three grandchildren; Aaron, Kelly, and Jack, and a lifelong friend, and fiancée, Gio. Due to his dedication to the children of Illinois, and his contributions to the community, I ask that we designate Cermak Road between Wolf Road to Westchester Boulevard as 'Gene Pingatore', affectionately known as 'Coach Ping', Road. I ask for your 'aye' vote. Go, Chargers." 09900053.docx 64  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015

"Mr. Mitchell on the Resolution." Mitchell, C.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Resolution. Hey, Coach, I… I said last… or said a couple weeks ago when the St. Joe Chargers were here, the state championship team, that it wasn't going to be the best day of their lives because of how St. Joe's emphasized building men of character in addition to basketball players. And what I didn't get to say was that much of that credit goes to you, Coach. I… I want to thank you personally for all the advice and support you've given me over the years. And I know that there are countless young men and now, probably young women, who would share that sentiment. I know that Evan would agree and much of the great young man that we see and are about to honor as well, is due to the time that you spend with him. So, we love you, Coach. We're so proud of you and congratulations."

"Mr. Welch."

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

"Sponsor yields."

"I want to begin by first commending our Sponsor for bringing this initiative forward. I am honored to join her as a chief cosponsor of this initiative. I have lived in the 7th District, where Westchester is located, my entire life. Having been a Proviso grad, I have been a witness to a number of St. Joseph victories over my Panthers and my Pirates. I got to tell you, everyone growing up in the 7th District, if you are a basketball fan, a basketball player, they all grew up wanting to play for the legend Coach Gene Pingatore. We have heard of the great college coaches, Coach K and Coach Wooden of UCLA and Coach Calipari from Kentucky. But on the 09900053.docx 65  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 high school level, there is one name that rings throughout the entire State of Illinois and I am happy that he calls St. Joseph High School and the Village of Westchester and the 7th District home. And I think this Body should all stand and give this coaching legend, who is present with us here today, a round of applause."

"Representative Bellock."

"Mr. Cavaletto."

"Representative Lilly moves that the Resolution be adopted. Those in favor will vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Flowers, Jesiel, Morrison, Wheeler. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 110 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And the Resolution is adopted. Congratulations, Coach. House Joint Resolution 39. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Lilly."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, Ladies and Gentlemen, because of Coach Pingatore we can talk about Isiah Thomas. Isiah Thomas attended St. Joseph High School in Westchester from 1975 to 1979. He led St. Joseph High School Chargers to the Illinois Health… Hos… High School Association Class 2 1978 State Championship game. Under the leadership… under the coaching style of Coach Ping. As a resident of Chicago's west side, he set many high school and collegiate and professional records in basketball. He played for the Indiana Hoosiers and now is the member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, a 12-time NBA All-Star, Isiah is named one of the NBA 50 greatest players in the history of the game. He led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989. Isiah Thomas graduated with a BA from Indiana University and a masters from the University of California. As a former coach of the Indiana… Indiana Pacers, he is a very talented individual who has now went on to do sports television analysis for the NBA television. He is a busy professional. Isiah is the youngest of nine children raised by his mother, Mary Thomas, and he has… who has inspired him to improve the lives of the disadvantaged families in Chicago where he has founded the Mary's Court to support health, safety, academic and personal achievement for children and youth of Chicago's west side. At this time, I ask for your 'aye' vote for a young man who has taken basketball to greater heights and supports 09900053.docx 67  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 many youth activities throughout our great country. I ask for your 'aye' vote."

"Representative Reaves-Harris."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to thank the Sponsor for sponsoring this Resolution. Isiah Thomas is extremely instrumental on the west side of Chicago. He acts as a mentor for some of the underprivileged youths on the west side of Chicago. I've been out there with him on a number of occasions. And his dedication and commitment to the community is shown. And so, again, thank you, Sponsor, for sponsoring this Resolution and thank you for adding me as a cosponsor."

"Those in favor of the Resolution will vote 'yes'; opposed vote 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Batinick, Leitch, Pritchard, Sims. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 109 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no'. And the Resolution is adopted. House Joint Resolution 40, Representative Lilly. Mr. Clerk."

"Representative Lilly."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Coach Pingatore as having his hand on some of the best. Evan Turner, my nephew, an American professional basketball player, currently plays for the Boston Celtics in the NBA. Evan Turner attended St. Joseph 09900053.docx 68  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 High School in Westchester from 2004 to 2007. He was one of the top high school players in the nation in his position. As a high school senior in 2007, he ranked #2 in the state. Evan was part of the Chicago Area sophomore class that was considered to be the best in the history of the State of Illinois. Evan led the Chargers to win Proviso West tournaments, ESCC tournaments, RB's regional tournaments, and LaGrange Sectional Tournaments, receiving individual accolades of most valuable player, all state, all consensus conference, and All-American nominee. As a freshman at Oh… Ohio State, Evan led the Buckty… Buckeyes to the 2008 NIT championship. In 2009, he was a Big Ten scoring championship, All-Big Ten first team, All-Big Ten Conference Tournament team, became one of five among the top ten conference players in averaging points, rebound, and assists in a… in the same season. In 2010, the Big Ten season, Evan Turner broke his back after slipping off the rim. Many prayers went out for him. And he was dedicated to a comeback. His comeback was remarkable. He went on to assist the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten Conferences and he made and allowed the Buck… Buckeyes to enter the Elite Eight by… after hitting a buzzer beater against Michigan State. He went on to win 12 of 14 national player awards in 2000… in 2010 and he holds the most careers and single conference player of the week awards, for that year. Evan received the Naismith Award, the National Association of Players, the Oscar Robinson Award, Jessie Owens and Associated Press, just to name a few. Evan entered the NBA as a point guard, but ended up playing shooting guard, small forward and point guard. He is de… he is considered a 09900053.docx 69  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 very versatile and talented basketball player. Evan has been in the NBA playoffs four times in his five-year career. Evan has a heart of gold as he supports the youth throughout Illinois and Boston, Massachusetts. Evan is a lifelong westsider. He's the youngest of three boys of all, which who attended St. Joseph Hos… High School. Darius and Richard. He was raised by his mother, Iris; his father, James. And he has a very close-knit family who loves to vacation together. At this time, I'd like to say to my nephew, we are proud of you and this street is for you. God bless you."

"Mr. Beiser on the Motion."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Representative Lilly for bringing this forward. I just want to say, when Camille first came into the General Assembly, I was sitting close to her and we got to talk quite a bit and she told me a lot about Evan and how he handles himself. And I've watched him, sometimes on… when he was with Ohio State, but more now that he's with the NBA. And what she told me and what I've gathered from just watching him and how he carried himself really was both one and the same. Today I had the very good fortune of getting to meet him in person and speak to him for a few minutes up in the gallery. And in an era when professional athletes sometimes are in the news for the wrong things, I just want to tell Evan, in front of all these people and in front of your family especially, the way I thought you were and the way Camille described you are and the way you presented yourself this morning, I want to say thank you for renewing my faith in professional athletes. Thank you, Evan."

"Mr. Mitchell." 09900053.docx 70  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 Mitchell, C.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Amendment. I have a bit of a unique relationship with Evan. He was a freshman when I was a senior, but I… I will tell a… just a brief story. The last time I saw Evan, he was back on the south side of Chicago at the Bud Billiken Parade. And one of the things that I admire most about the Evan that I… I got to speak to for a few minutes this morning is that he hasn't changed. He's still the smart, humble, hardworking kid that I got to see coming in to St. Joe's and hasn't forgotten about where he came from. So it… it's hard to follow your Auntie. I call her Auntie too, so I guess that makes us brothers. I'll just say that we all love you and we're very, very proud of you. Congratulations on all you've accomplished."

"Mr. Ford."

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

"Sponsor yields."

"Congratulations, Representative Lilly, and congratulations to Evan Turner, and the coach, and his grandparents, who are in the gallery, on the hard work that you've done to raise a fine young man. But I… I support this Resolution, but I have to remind you as a Chicago Bulls fan, you remember Michael Jordan… you remember 63 against the Boston Celtics. I want you to score 63 one day. Good luck, Evan Turner."

"Representative Gordon-Booth."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I personally do not know Evan, but I know Evan through, obviously, his Aunt Camille, but I also know the things that he has done for St. Joe's High School. My nephew, John Johnson, Jr., was on the St. Joe's basketball team last year and he would always talk about 09900053.docx 71  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 the things that Evan would come back to the school and do for, not just the basketball team, but all of the guys at St. Joe's. They would have opportunities to go to basketball tame… games. They would hang out and it was all because of Evan. He helped build a level of camaraderie with the young men at that school that was really incredible. And obviously, the professional accolades that he has are wonderful, but what really strikes home to me is the way that his family operates with one another. I sort of live vicariously through the stories that Camille shares with me every year about how their family gets together. And Evan, and Camille are truly at the… the center and they are the nucleus of keeping their family tight. And I just wanted to share this simple story because just watching your all's family stay… remain so connected and so close, it has inspired me to continue to try to keep my family close in that same way. So I want to thank both of you."

"Mr. Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like Representative Beiser, we sometimes get an opportunity to see how professional athletes act. And trust me, we've seen them on TV and sometimes they get into real and serious trouble. But we hope that the gentleman standing in the gallery, Mr. Turner, will set an example for all professional athletes in the manner in which he conducts himself and the manner in which he presents himself. Earlier while he was in the gallery, there were some young people visiting, as well who weren't sure who he was, but when they figured out who he was, Mr. Turner was kind enough to take selfies with them, allow them to take pictures 09900053.docx 72  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 with him as well. And so, we appreciate… appreciate the way he handled himself. And he may or may not know, I don't know if his Aunt told him, that a few weeks ago Representative Evans put together a House-Senate basketball game. Did she tell you about it? A little bit. Oh, and she didn't tell you how she got in there and banged with the big guys. You know, she suffered a little bit: knee, ribs, hip. But nevertheless, she got out there and played in true spirit. And she was telling us that that's the way she used to bounce you around when you were younger and she was playing basketball with you. So we appreciate your Aunt for everything that she does and thank you for visiting with us today."

"Representative Lilly to close."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And if I could ask that if you could join me on this Resolution… I'd like to add all of our Members here to this Resolution that I have submitted today because you have made me and them very proud that we do good work here in our great state. If you wouldn't mind adding them. Also, we have a reception. The Secretary of State is sponsoring a reception right after Session or as soon as we can finish up the great business of our great state. Thank you."

"Lady moves that all Members of the House be added as cosponsors. Is there leave? Leave is granted. And all Members of the House are added as cosponsors. Those in favor of the Resolution will vote 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Hernandez. Please take the record, Mr. Clerk. On this Motion, there are 111 voting 'yes', 0 09900053.docx 73  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 voting 'no'. And the Resolution is adopted. Congratulations, Evan. Ladies and Gentlemen, moving to page 4 of the Calendar, under the Order of House Bills-Second Reading, there appears House Bill 813, Representative Gabel. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Gabel on the Amendment."

"Thank you… thank you, Mr. Speaker. This proposed legislation establishes a hearing panel to hear petitions for boundary changes in schools in Cook County. Currently, there is not a process for this that… that seems to be fair."

"Those in favor of the Amendment say 'yes'; opposed 'no'. The 'ayes' have it. The Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."

"Third Reading. Please read the Bill."

"Representative Gabel."

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, as I said, this Bill establishes a hearing panel to hear petitions for boundary changes in Cook County. In Cook County, the regional office of education was abolished and in this district, three intermediate service centers were established. And what this legislation does is it allows a representative from the 09900053.docx 74  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 intermediate service centers to decide if residents would like to detach or annex onto another school district."

"Mr. Sandack."

"Sponsor yields."

"Well, I…"

"…in… in from Cook County? So in some places it was… it was to be heard by the township trustee, but in this case there isn't a township trustee. Or it was to be heard by the school district that the group wanted to detach from."

"Yes."

"Correct."

"Correct. Correct."

"Thank you."

"Mr. Pritchard."

"Sponsor yields."

"So as you heard in committee, they… they felt that it should be an elected body that hears it and the… the ICS is not… ISC is not elected, but the three proposals… but they did agree that they recognize that this was a problem. And the suggestions…"

"…they had was for either the state board to hear it or Cook County to hear it and those didn't seem reasonable."

"Well, I… I think they felt that the… that the school they wanted to annex with is a better school district. And they also said that the other school was much farther away across a highway and they wanted their children to be able to be with the other children in the neighborhood."

"Not… not that I know of."

"I wouldn't think so."

"I mean, it's… it's the group in Winnetka wanting to go from one school to another."

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

"Sponsor yields." Davis, W.: "Representative, I believe I heard you say that the group would prefer to have an elected body hear this appeal, correct?"

"That is what the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents said." Davis, W.: "Okay. So, in Cook County, we know have ISCs."

"Correct." Davis, W.: "And they are spread out throughout Cook County. I believe there are three of them who have all the rights, responsibilities, and duties granted… to them, via legislation, that an ROE would have, correct?"

"Yes." Davis, W.: "Okay. So you want to undermine an ISC by suggesting…"

"No, no, no. I want the ISC to be able to make this decision." Davis, W.: "You want the ISC…"

"Yes." 09900053.docx 77  STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 53rd Legislative Day 5/22/2015 Davis, W.: "…to be able to make the decision, not an elected group."

"Correct." Davis, W.: "'Cause the ISCs are not elected."

"Correct." Davis, W.: "Okay. So, this is to suggest that the ISC…"

"Yes." Davis, W.: "…which is in place and has the authority of an ROE to hear their…"

"Correct." Davis, W.: "…the appeal. Okay. Thank you very much."

"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? Please record yourselves. Franks, Mayfield. Please take the record, Mr. Clerk. On this question, there are 102 voting 'yes', 7 voting 'no'. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Ladies and Gentlemen, an announcement for you. All Bills in House Committees and on… still on the Calendar will have their deadlines extended until Friday, May 29. One week from today. And now, leaving Perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that the House stand adjourned until Monday, May 25 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 25 at the hour of 1 p.m. Have a wonderful weekend."