"Members are asked to be at their seats. We shall be led in prayer today by Wayne Padget, the assistant doorkeeper. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones, and rise for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance."
"Let us pray. Bless this House and all who serve here, Amen."
"We shall be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Sauer."
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record show that Representative Skoog is excused today."
"Representative Reis."
"Please let the record reflect that Representative Bill Mitchell and Barb Wheeler are absent today."
Speaker Turner: "With 114 Members present, a quorum is established. On page 2 of the Calendar, under House Bills on Third Reading we have House Bill 6630. Excuse me. On Senate Bills under Third Reading, we have Senate Bill 513. Leader Currie. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 513, a Bill for Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. As you all know, the EDGE tax credit, Economic Development for a Growing 09900157.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 Economy, met its sunset deadline December 31, 2016. There's a lot of discussion about this credit. Is it exactly the right credit? Does it need to be reformed? Expanded? Contracted? And while those discussions are proceeding, it seems prudent to make sure that we do still keep this in our toolbox in order to avoid losing a potential new, Illinois employer to another state that has a similar economic incentive. So this measure extends the life of the EDGE credit just for five months, exactly as the credit is today, word for word, five months 'til the end of April, giving us an opportunity to consider all the proposed changes that are out there. I'd appreciate your 'aye' vote."
"Representative David Harris is recognized." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, just a very brief comment. I know that the EDGE tax credit has been somewhat controversial at times, but I will tell you that it is a program that we have that allows us to be competitive with other states. All this does is extend the deadline, makes no changes to the program whatsoever, just extends the deadline of EDGE until the end of April of 2017, so that if there is a replacement, we can talk about a replacement, but we need to have this competitive tool in place. I strongly encourage a 'yes' vote on this Bill."
"Representative Kay is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor will yield."
"Leader, just two real quick questions. Typically, it's been my experience that when we make these extensions, we extend 09900157.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 them out until the end of the fiscal year. Why are we not doing it this time?"
"Because there's been so much discussion about what the EDGE credit actually should look like. There are some who proposed expanding it. Others have proposed that it needs to be trimmed back in certain kinds of ways. And I think that those are all important conversations. I think it's, as the previous speaker said, critical that we keep this tool in the state's economic development toolbox, while we discuss what kind of EDGE credit we ought to have at the end of the day."
"Fair enough. Thank…"
"So, it's a five-month extension."
"Fair enough. Thank you. I have another question. What is your interface with respect to the EDGE credit discussions? What is you interface with the Governor's Office?"
"My understanding is the Governor has proposed several changes in the existing EDGE credit, so has Speaker Madigan, so have other Members of the Legislature. In fact, the House Revenue Committee and the House State Government Committee, two years ago, held extensive hearings on what our economic development tools should look like. So there are plenty of ideas out there, and I think that we will all work together with people who proposed changes and decide together, in a bipartisan way, what makes best sense for Illinois."
"Yeah. Thank you, Leader. To the Bill. EDGE credits are very important. I have been somewhat disappointed in previous years, and I'm talking six years ago, to find out that we don't do much to tick-and-tie, track money together, and find out how these credits are really working, but it is an 09900157.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 important advantage to Illinois to compete with neighboring states because they do the very same thing and to some extent greater. My only hope is that we are committed to working with the Executive Branch of government because that hasn't seemed to have been the case lately. And EDGE credits is something that we all need to be involved in, participate in, and decide upon for the state's best interest. Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. So this is pretty rich. Here again you have lame duck Session, 60 votes needed, and let's give tax credit to large corporations that come in and ask for it. It's the same thing with the Exelon Bill that we passed in Veto Session. Let's let one big, large corporation come in and bully their way in to a massive bailout for their particular organization. Now, I find it interesting that I actually proposed EDGE credit reform four years ago…four years ago, but of course, my Bill, that basically said, look, we're going to treat all companies the same; we're going to do it in a transparent way; we're going to make sure that everybody is eligible for tax credits when they create jobs in the State of Illinois. Oh no, that Bill, gets no call in the Revenue Committee. It doesn't even come out of the Rules Committee, even though it got national attention by the media. So, here again, this is a tax credit that everybody knew was going to sunset, everybody knew needed to be worked on, and we had loads of time last year when we barely met, and when committees met, on average, four times. We had plenty of time to do something about this EDGE credit, to actually revise it into a tax credit that was eligible for 09900157.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 everybody, including small businesses, but instead, we're waiting until the last minute to do something for a failed program. For example, the state has spent $1.3 billion to bring in 34 thousand jobs through this tax credit since 2001. But overall, Illinois is still down more than 100 thousand jobs on net during the same time period. In fact, we're bleeding people every day. We have the largest outmigration out of any other state, and this is not an answer to the program. We don't need to extend this tax credit, just like we didn't need to extend the tax credit for the River Edge Development Projects, just like we didn't need to extend the tax credit for the low-income housing programs. If you haven't figured it out, Illinois is $11 billion in debt, and you as Democrats, sit across the aisle and have railed against tax credits for large corporations, saying they should be taxed more, and on the opposite end, you run a Bill like this that doesn't do one bit to reform a failed program. A failed program that the Chicago Tribune did an entire expose on. Instead you're running this at the last minute when you had all these years to come up with a better solution. The answer to this is no. Vote 'no' on this tax credit and force us to come up with a better program in less amount of time than five months. In fact, you guys have proven that you can pass legislation in a matter of two hours when you put your mind to it. Instead, you're going to do something like this. So let's do the real work. Let's look at maybe the THRIVE program that I've heard so much about, but don't know a whole lot of details about yet. Let's make this simply another credit that you fill out on your Illinois tax form, rather than going 09900157.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 through a secretive process that only involves large corporations. Let's do the right thing here 'cause I know you guys can do it 'cause you can pass anything in two hours. Vote 'no' on this and let's get some real reform in place."
"Chair recognizes Representative Morrison."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Ives made a lot of points that I was going to make, but I just want to add this, that I belong to a number of Chambers of Commerce. I did as a small business owner; I still do as a Representative for my district, and what frustrates them and what frustrates me is when the large employers, who we certainly want in Illinois, we have many, we want more, we want them to grow here, but they grab headlines. They grab headlines when they expand, they grab headlines when they threaten to move, they grab headlines when they actually do move. But we know that the vast majority of our citizens are employed by small and medium businesses. They do not… they do not… have the clout that the large employers have. And so, as a public policy, it does not make sense to raise taxes on everyone… individuals, small businesses, medium businesses, large businesses, and then give these special carveouts for the large ones that have clout, that grab the headlines. We all know small businesses that have closed. They don't grab the headlines. They don't get the news coverage. And yet, they employ the vast majority of our citizens. And so, good tax policy are low taxes, flat taxes, equally applied for small employers, medium, and large. That's what we need if we're going to grow as a state. I would urge a 'no' vote."
"Chair recognizes Representative Batinick." 09900157.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"Mr.… Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I want to echo, again, what previous Representatives said. I will be supporting this measure. I believe it's a four-month measure, a temporary measure. This needs to be fixed to include small businesses, which actually do create the majority of the new jobs. I will not be voting for this… for the EDGE credits to be… to continue the way they are without reform. So I will be voting 'yes' now, but I strongly encourage the Body to change the way we approach this issue. Thank you."
"Representative Franks is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I spent a lot of time working on this issue. I had a lot of hearings on this issue. And the fact of the matter is, that our EDGE program is broken. It's not successful. There is no empirical evidence that the moneys that we spend incent the companies to do anything different than that we… that they would normally do. What we're doing is basically giving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds without any real measure or metric to determine whether we're getting a return on our investment. It's been so perverse that what this… what this actually did, in many occasions, was to subsidize the firing of taxpaying Illinoisans under the guise and the lie of job retention. Because what they had done is they would set an artificial level of how many folks that a company would have to retain in order to get this incentive, but oftentimes, the retention number was hundreds of employees less than what they started with. So as a result, we were subsidizing the firing of taxpaying Illinoisans; understand, that's what EDGE has done. EDGE also requires a large capital outlay by businesses, many 09900157.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 of whom don't have that capital, therefore, are not eligible. EDGE also does not help service industry, which is much of our economy, as are small and medium businesses, that's what they do. The EDGE credits really help the larger, multinational corporations, many of whom do not pay taxes in this state. So, I understand that we need to have economic incentives to be able to compete, and we don't wish to unilaterally disarm, but understand, that there is not one iota, not one shred of evidence, that this program in its present sense actually works. So, to vote for this to go for an additional year is not sound public policy. I could see continuing it for a few months in order, so we would not unilaterally disarm. Four months? We're going for the whole fiscal year, 'til the end of May? The whole…"
"April."
"'Til April. Okay. I would charge this Body to revamp this completely because what we need to do is to incent all employers in this state, from the smallest employers on up, to grow our economy. We will solve many of our problems in this state if we put more people to work and to grow our economy. This is not the answer. We need to be incentivizing small and medium-sized businesses, so they are not the ones subsidizing the large businesses that don't pay taxes. I'd encourage you to look at this very carefully and to revamp this system completely, going forward."
"Leader Currie to close."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. A four- month extension gives us time to figure out the right way to 09900157.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 do economic development incentives. I appreciate your 'aye' votes."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 513 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 101 voting 'yes', 12 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present, Senate Bill 513, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 2 of the Calendar, under Senate Bills on Second Reading, we have Senate Bill 2799. Representative Breen. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2799, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. This Bill was read a second time a previous day. Amendment 1 was adopted in committee. Floor Amendment #2, offered by Representative Breen has been approved for consideration."
"Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an agreed Amendment between AARP and the Illinois Manufacturers and other entities. So, I would move for the adoption of the Floor Amendment and then we would debate it."
"The Gentleman moves for the adoption of the Floor Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 2799. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Mr. Clerk, Senate Bill 2799, Representative Breen. Please read the Bill." 09900157.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"Senate Bill 2799, a Bill for Act concerning Regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, this is an Agreed amendment to the Employee Sick Leave Act, which this Body passed earlier in the General Assembly. It went into effect January 1. There were several issues with the Bill at the time, and what this does is now cleans up some of the language. We've exempted collective bargaining agreements, railroads. Also, clarify, there was a bit of unclarity raised by folks whether paid and unpaid sick leave were covered under the Act. And this Bill will clarify that both paid and unpaid are covered under the Employee Sick Leave Act. Again, it's agreed language between a variety of business and consumer advocates. I would seek you the adoption of the measure."
"Chair recognizes Representative Wheeler." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you. Representative, the definition of personal sick leave benefits is being revised to exclude long- term liability… disability, short-term disability, insurance policy or other comparable benefit plan or policy. For purposes of legislative intent, does this exemption also include a major disability plan that is jointly run by a union and the employer?"
"Yes. For the purposes of legislative intent, yes. This exemption does also include a major disability plan that is jointly run by a union and the employer." Wheeler, K.: "Thank you, Representative." 09900157.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"Representative Breen to close. Oh, excuse me. Now, Representative Breen to close."
"Thank you. Again, agreed…"
"Excuse me, Representative."
"Oh sure."
Speaker Turner: "There was confusion with the lights. Representative Ammons is recognized."
"Thank you. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I haven't had as was expressed by one of our colleagues across the aisle, enough time to really analyze what this Bill would do, and I would really love you to explain it. And to start, I'm reading here that it adds language to personal sick leave benefits related to stepchildren and domestic partners, but also limit personal sick leave benefits related to stepchildren and domestic partners. Can you explain that?"
"Well, no. The original definition Section did not have stepchildren, which was really… those stepchildren, domestic partners which… so, putting those folks in it was really, I mean, my understanding the intent of the Body not to exclude folks like stepchildren, in particular, in dealing with the Employee Sick Leave Act. And so, that… they are added now under the agreed language."
"Can you… can you tell me what the limit is in relationship to those two sets of people, either domestic partners and stepchildren, versus other partners that are in the… that are currently in the Sick Leave Act?"
"Well, when… the addition of the stepchildren and the domestic partner is under Section 10 and its employee may use personal sick leave benefits, and it talks about 'child' and 09900157.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 now we add stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law. So, we've added those folks. There's no… there's nothing, as I understand it, taking away from these folks. In fact, in Section (b) we had not included stepchildren, so those are added in Section (b)… subsection (b) under Section 10. So, it's an addition, as I understand it, not any sort of a subtraction. There's only an add of benefits for those folks and a clarification."
"So, just to clarify. It doesn't limit them to a certain amount of time based on their relationship? It's adding the availability of the use of this for those two categories of people."
"Oh, no, and just to be clear there's no difference between… they get the same benefits everybody else does. Yeah. That's… I'm going back to my language just to make sure. And yeah, if you… just page 2 if you've got the language in front of you, it's on page 2. So, we're just adding stepchild, domestic partner. And actually, domestic partner was already mentioned in the other Section. It was omitted inadvertently from Section… subsection (a)."
"And does this change… how does this change impact collective bargaining rights that may… some of these areas may be impacted by?"
"Right. Well, and what we've done is exempted to ensure that you are not invalidating, diminishing, or otherwise interfering with a collective bargaining agreement. And so, that way you avoid any legal issues with the collective bargaining agreements." 09900157.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"And I'm sure you worked on this for longer than this period that I'm experiencing it, but was there any additional opposition from the AFL-CIO, who I see on my paper has no position on this at this point? Did all the negotiations clear some of those concerns that may have come up?"
"It's my understanding, I mean, I have a long list of agreed proponents. And I have… AFL-CIO is neutral, and there were no opponents. There's not been any opponents to this particular measure."
"Okay. I appreciate you taking the time. Thank you."
"Sure, thank you."
"Representative Breen to close."
"Again, would appreciate the support of this Body for this fix to ensure that the Employee Sick Leave Act can really, fully reach its intended scope, and to be able to be effective for years to come."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2799 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2799, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 3 of the Calendar, under the Order of Resolutions, we have House Joint Resolution 170, Representative Welch."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Joint Resolution 170 is very important to the members of my district, particularly in Bellwood and Melrose Park. The Honorable Mayor Frank A. Pasquale of Bellwood is retiring this coming May. He has 09900157.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 served as the mayor of Bellwood for the last 15 years. Prior to that, he served as a Village Trustee for 6 years and as a Memorial Park District Commissioner for 20. Mayor Pasquale was instrumental in the building of the overpass on 25th Avenue over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks that just opened on December 22. The building of that overpass was desired for over 30, 40 years, but it was because of the persistence and determination of Bellwood Mayor Frank Pasquale that this project came to fruition. The Village of Melrose Park is a strong proponent of this initiative, along with the Village of Bellwood. We are working very closely with IDOT to identify the proper location for the signage. And I'm asking for adoption of House Joint Resolution 170 to honor the Honorable Mayor Frank Pasquale."
"Gentleman moves for the adoption of House Joint Resolution 170. All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 111 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', and 0 voting 'present', House Joint Resolution 170, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby adopted. Senate Joint Resolution 57, Representative Butler."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And on this, could… I could ask for the Body's attention on this Resolution, I would appreciate it. Senate Joint Resolution 57 designates Illinois as a Purple Heart State. I think all of us are certainly aware of the importance of awarding a Purple Heart to those who have served in our military. And I would certainly encourage any… any of my other colleagues here, who especially those 09900157.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 with a military background, if they'd like to speak on this, I would appreciate that. Several other states have already enacted this designation to create a Purple Heart State for their state. It's a way to honor those who have been awarded the Purple Heart. It's a way to recognize those who have sacrificed for our country."
"Shhh."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a way for those of us to recognize those who have sacrificed for our country through bodily harm, who have given the ultimate sacrifice. I'm proud to offer this Bill as the Member of the House who represents the recently dedicated Illinois Purple Heart Memorial at Oakridge Cemetery here in Springfield. It's a beautiful… beautiful new memorial. If you get an opportunity, go out to the War Memorials area. It's a beautiful new memorial added out there. I'd like to thank the Springfield Chapter of the Order of the Purple Heart, the Hayes-Krell Chapter, for their leadership in advancing this legislation, and especially my friend, Tom Jones, who is a recipient of the Purple Heart from Vietnam. Tom's a wonderful individual, and he has really advocated for this designation. And also to my friend, Joe Schaler from Logan County. He's headed up the Logan County Veterans Assistance Commission. They were really driving… driving forces behind this designation. I'd like to thank Senator Brady for his leadership in the Senate on this as well. In Illinois, you know, we have Interstate 72 that runs right through here in Springfield, that's the Purple Heart Highway. We have Illinois 57… excuse me… Illinois 75 which is part of the Purple Heart Trail. This is just designating our 09900157.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 state as a Purple Heart State. It's just another way of us to really show that we honor those who have served in our military, and who have been injured and given the ultimate sacrifice. As I said, we will join other states in being designated a Purple Heart State. And Mr. Speaker, if it's okay, I would ask that all Members be added as cosponsors to this legislation 'cause I'm sure this is important to everyone. And I thank the opportunity… thank you for the opportunity to offer this today."
"Chair recognizes Representative Chapa LaVia."
"Thank you, Speaker. And I'd like to thank… will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor will yield."
"I'd like to not only thank Representative Butler, but honor us. As we stand this right now, it has to give you goosebumps. This is how important it is to be a patriot in this country. But there is no… no sacrifice greater, and you'll find passage in the Bible, going to lay one's life down for a fellow man. And this is what we call… we call people every day to do to represent the fabric of this country, and the uniform that they wear, in whichever branch they serve. I am humbled, always, when we have something like this, of this magnitude. It might be a simple symbol, Senate Joint Resolution 57, but it comes to the core of who we are. This is the way we should always be. This is the way we should always be. So I want to thank everybody for standing and giving homage and honor. But we each stand here… we each stand here because someone laid down their life and died for this country. So, thank you to all my colleagues, and especially 09900157.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 Representative Butler and Senator Brady for your going and doing this. Thank you so much."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We want to thank the Sponsor for this Resolution, but I have two Purple Hearts that happen to be in my life and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to give them some recognition while we're doing this. And one is Commissioner Medley. He's a Purple Heart. He's 90 years old. He has a great moving company on the south side of Chicago. And we have Mac Arthur. He's a famous soul food restauranteur on the west side of Chicago. He's also a Purple Heart. So, I'd like to have their names in the record for this honor."
"Representative David Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, I certainly applaud the Sponsor for this Resolution. And I just want to clarify one of the things that he said on a couple of occasions. He said that… which recognizes those individuals who have served in the military. You know, the military has very specific regulations on what needs to be done in order to earn an award. And the Purple Heart was established by George Washington back in the Revolutionary War and has continued to this day. And in order to earn the Purple Heart, a service member must be wounded, killed, or died of his or her wounds in action with an opposing force or with an enemy force. In other words, you have to bleed for your country to earn the Purple Heart. And that blood could be a serious wound, it could end up obviously, in death either immediately or later. So, those individuals who have earned the Purple Heart have done an extraordinary service to this 09900157.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 country. And I'm glad to see that Illinois because of this Resolution, hopefully, will be a Purple Heart State. Thank you."
"Representative Costello."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Resolution and to Representative Harris's point. There is no one in this country that is more deserving of thanks and praise than those men and women who have laid down their lives or been injured on the battlefield, protecting all of us here at home, our Constitution, our freedom, in this great country. I would like to thank Representative Butler for bringing this forward. It's past time that this occur. And I would just like to ask that the Body take a moment of silence for those men and women who have given their lives for our country."
"The Body will take a moment of silence. Thank you. Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for this Resolution, Representative Butler. My uncle is a Purple Heart recipient, and he never married, so he never had children. And, I'm the recipient of his Purple Heart. He is still alive. However, he understands that there's nobody else really to give such a memorable item to. I have also become the recipient of all my other uncles' uniforms, awards, and such that I have quite a collection right now. And I just bring this up because I think it's important that when less than 1 percent of the population of the United States has ever served, or even has a family member who has served, it's important that if you do come in contact with family members… I think it's important that we collect those memories, that we collect those important 09900157.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 awards, and that we pass it on to the future generation, so that they understand how important that service was to keeping Americans safe around the country. So, again, thank you for this Resolution."
"Representative Butler has requested that all Members be added to the Resolution. Seeing no objection, all Members will be added to Senate Joint Resolution 57. The Gentleman also moves for the adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 57. All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Joint Resolution 57, having received the Majority, is adopted. Leader Bellock, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just regarding the last Resolution, I'd like to thank Representative Butler, but I'd also like to thank all the Members of our General Assembly who have served our country so faithfully and just say thank you to all of you for all you have done for our country and the State of Illinois. Thank you."
"Thank you, Representative. On page 2 of the Calendar, we have House Resolution 1551. Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 1551 is an opportunity to recognize the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Morrow Plots at the U of I. I hope all of you will keep in mind the Morrow Plots are the oldest, continuous agricultural research fields in America. There's 09900157.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 only one other field anywhere in the world that predates it, and that's in Rothamsted, England. It's very important that we have research like this and what they represent. Not all the research that's advanced agriculture is at the Morrow Plots, but the concept. Keep this in mind. In 1876, when the plots were established, average corn yield in Illinois was 30 bushel per acre; compared to now, a state average that sometimes either pushes up against 200 or actually occasionally goes over 200 bushel the acre, about a… a sevenfold increase. Research was important in making that happen. I think it's good that we remember the importance of agriculture. It is our number 1 industry in the State of Illinois. And if we… it is there as our number 1 industry and stays there because of great research such as at the University of Illinois and other places. This is a way to honor that. We want to keep it number 1. Thank you very much."
"Gentleman moves for the adoption of House Resolution 1551. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Page 2 of the Calendar, under House Bills on Third Reading, we have House Bill 6630. Representative Batinick. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 6630, a Bill for Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Batinick."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 6630 is an important Bill. As I talk to small businesses, seniors, homeowners, family members, just people around the state in general, property taxes are one of the biggest issues forcing… forcing 09900157.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 them to move out of the state. We're bleeding jobs in the state because of it. In the past couple of decades, we've seen our property tax bills go up in real dollars by nearly double, so the issue isn't money. So, this is a property tax freeze that includes Home Rule communities. You can still apply for a referendum to… to raise taxes if necessary, but I believe this is an important step to bringing back our state's economy. And I urge an 'aye' vote."
"Members, can we please bring the noise level down in the chamber. Thank you. Representative Wallace is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Thank you. I'm concerned as we… all the things that you stated are certainly true. We have, obviously, an overreliance on our property tax base for school funding. So, not only are we being taxed and taxed and taxed, our education system is one of the lowest funded systems per pupil… actually, it is the lowest… in the nation. So, I am… I'm concerned about taking on this type of reform, while not also taking on school funding reform. Is there anything that you could speak to in terms of school funding as your… as it relates to your Bill?"
"Sure, absolutely. Number 1, we're towards the bottom of funding from the state level, but our overall spending per pupil is not towards the bottom. And property taxes have increased dramatically over the past several decades, so it's not a money issue. I do agree that there needs to be other reforms to make this Bill work best, but somebody has to go 09900157.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 first. And, kind of the analogy I talked about in committee was, you know, a family doesn't make drastic steps to the way they spend money until they either lose a job or have an, you know, an expense. So, we need to stop the bleeding on the property tax side, so that we can force the reforms that are necessary. But I agree. School funding reform is something I've talked about quite a bit, written op-eds about it. And I'd love to work with you on that."
"I would love to do the same. I mean, I think it's absolutely appalling that we spend, what roughly $7 thousand per pupil for education; however, we spend over $50 thousand to house an inmate in Cook County Jail, and over $40 thousand in Winnebago County Jail. So, I just think we have our priorities mixed up, in terms of what we're willing to invest in the individual citizens of our state. I do appreciate you being willing to step forth, because we do need property tax relief. I'm just not certain that this is the way to go, especially given the fact that we have not addressed the issue of how we'll continue to adequately and even maybe increase the funding for our students' education. But thank you for this Bill."
"Chair recognizes Representative Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to talk to the Bill because I have one that's similar, but I understand that we're not going to be calling Senate Bill 1919. Is that correct? Okay. Assuming we're not, I'll be working with Mr. Batinick on this. This is a Bill that we have seen before, Ladies and Gentlemen. It's a Bill that I had filed. We had passed one almost identical earlier in the spring with 71 votes. And the 09900157.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 difference with that Bill was it was for non-Home Rule communities. We tried to pass the Home Rule community… for Home Rule and unfortunately, it didn't pass. This Bill is the second bite at that apple in order to get Home Rule communities with the same property tax freeze. I would submit that besides the lack of a budget, that property taxes are the biggest local issue facing Illinois residents today. Because the property tax liability that taxpayers bear in Illinois is choking off our economic recovery in our state. Illinois has the second highest property taxes in the entire country. And the collar counties, particularly, pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation on a per capita basis. I can tell you, in McHenry County, where I live, our county pays more than 99.9 percent of all Americans. Additionally, Illinois has almost 7 thousand units of government, many with taxing authority, which continuously was going… is pushing up our property tax burden. As we all know, Illinois has lost population this decade. And in McHenry County, four years in a row, we've lost population. And one huge reason is very 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 payments. And without immediately 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 live near their families. Our property tax burden has become anti-family because it tears families apart. A policy issue… another big issue is that the automatic increases in our present system serves as a disincentive 09900157.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 towards efficiency. Governments will continue to spend more money because they know more is always coming. A guaranteed annual increase in tax levy sends the wrong message to local governments. And so, instead of putting the onus on the government to find new ways to being more efficient, they can always stet business as they always have without fear that anything will ever need to change. Even though the economic reality of the taxpayers has changed substantially, our system hasn't. So, this recipe for disaster is wreaking havoc on our economy. Ladies and Gentlemen, this Bill is the ultimate statement in local control. This Bill will not prohibit governments from getting one penny less than they got the year before. Nothing in this Bill prohibits them from going to the taxpayers and asking for more money. All this Bill does is stop automatic increases that government gets every year regardless of whether they need it or not. And our citizens can't afford business as usual in the continued escalation of our property tax. We all know that we have terrible fiscal problems in our state, and we're going to be asking for a shared sacrifice. Local governments are not immune from this economic reality. We all must do more with less. So, we're in a deep hole, and the only way to get out is stop digging, and that means to stop burdening our taxpayers. So, we must pass this Bill to stop the automatic increases that are harming our citizens. This isn't a silver bullet. It's not a panacea. It's a start. So, I'd ask for your support in Mr. Batinick's Bill in protecting our families and our homeowners. We can't hide under the bed and pretend that the monsters are going to go away. We have to confront 09900157.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 those monsters and we have to… and that's why we need to vote for this Bill."
"Chair recognizes Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Well, I don't know if I'm going to say what you're going to say, but will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor will yield." Davis, W.: "Representative, have you had a conversation with your colleague Representative Pritchard?"
"I've had several conversations but not with my colleague, here, but not on that particular… not on this particular Bill. No." Davis, W.: "Well, my concern is that as we look toward, like the previous Representative said, school funding reform."
"Yep." Davis, W.: "I can assure you that issues like PTELL, tax caps, tax rates, and all of that, are very much a part of our conversation. And so, I will be concerned about if this Bill were to pass, and possibly become law, because we feel like there's an urgency to do something, that it has an adverse effect on what we're attempting to do with school funding reform. So, not necessarily saying that you shouldn't try to do it, clearly, this is something you feel passionate about, but I'm concerned that as we look at this huge issue of school funding reform, and it's a big issue, there's been a lot of work put into moving the conversation forward up to this point, that what you're suggesting even and we are considering these kinds of issues in that conversation. As a matter of fact, one of our small working groups is specifically about property taxes. So, it is a very important part of what we're 09900157.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 doing, and I'm just concerned that if we move this issue forward, the adverse impact that it could have, possibly on what we're doing, relative to school funding reform. And, that's why I encourage you to talk to your colleague, Representative Pritchard, who as the Minority Spokesperson on the Appropriations Committee that I chair, is very intimately involved stet and there are other Republicans and Democrats who feel strongly about the concerns about property taxes. And, I can point to one sitting on this side of the aisle, at the end of the second row there, Representative Mayfield, who has Lake County in her district, feels very strongly about it. So, trust me. Many Members feel how you feel and I just would caution. That's all."
"Yeah. Let me answer a bunch of those questions for you. Number 1, I understand what's going on in Lake County in Representative Mayfield's district. And it is… it's part of the negative economic feedback loop we have going on, right? So, specifically, to the school funding group you guys are working on, I think anything that comes out of that can actually be supplemental to this. The reality… the reality of this is, especially in a district like yours, a property tax freeze, it's not enough. And I'm hoping something can come out of that School Funding Reform Commission that actually forces a property tax drop. Look, one of the other Representatives spoke about this earlier, about the amount of money we spend on incarceration rates in Cook County. I'm a product of Cook County, and I saw what high property taxes did to the businesses in Cook County, and I saw that what that did to the job opportunities in Cook County. If you want 09900157.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 job opportunities, if you want lower incarceration rates, we need to freeze and lower property taxes. Those things go hand in hand. So, I've been following… I wanted to be on that commission. I've been following it closely. And I think the work that you do can and will be supplemental to this, not adversarial to it." Davis, W.: "Well, I'm not suggesting it's adversarial, but again, I'm just… I'm just alluding to the fact that there is an ongoing conversation and dialogue about that. And I get freezing and lowering property taxes. And there are some implications with that, in terms of how municipality can provide services if property taxes are freezed and/or lowered, but what I can assure you, in our education conversation, is that… is that what I'm concerned about is making sure that the local jurisdictions understand what we're doing here, and the implications it could have. In other words, it's often that local jurisdictions will point the finger at Springfield about what we're not doing to try to help them, and clearly, this is an effort to try to help. But what I'm suggesting here is that what we hope to do at the end of the school funding reform conversation is to provide enough resources from the state that will encourage local jurisdictions to look to lower their property taxes, but it's going to be their responsibility to do so. We are only going to set the stage. Now, if a school district or any other taxing body feels that whatever growth we have we feel that we should be able to capture it and use it. If they can make that case to their constituents, and their constituents are willing to support that effort, God bless them in order to do 09900157.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 so. But I'm just wanting to make sure that we do what we're supposed to do here in Springfield to at least give them the tools to be able to do it. If they want to provide… if they're already providing a high-quality education, and want to continue to tax at a higher rate in order to continue to provide that, that's their choice, but I want to make sure that we provide what we need here in Springfield, so that if a community like the ones you're talking about, who whatever… feel that they're being overtaxed, or you know, high tax rates whatever… however you want to describe it, that we're saying, at least from our perspective here, we've done what's necessary, and then encourage the local folks to make those decisions versus them being dictated necessarily from here to them. So that's… that's my only caution. And I appreciate what you're saying about maybe it can be, in addition to, but give us an opportunity to work to include it in there versus moving a Bill like this. That's all."
"Right. Two things: 1) I think this is going to force the action on your committee. I think it's going to help. And number 2) we have to start somewhere. We're not going to be doing it all at once. This is the first step. Number 3) you still have the ability to go to the voters. The local voters can still make that decision via referendum. So, it is the ultimate local control, if they want to continue to raise the property taxes because they're happy with the way their schools are run so." Davis, W.: "But what you hear, and that what we all hear, is that the problem is in this building right here, and I can appreciate that. And what we're doing is trying to eliminate 09900157.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 the fact that we're the problem and give them what they need in order to make those decisions versus them necessarily being dictated from here. We just want to give them the flexibility to make their own decisions. And maybe, from your perspective, if this passes it forces the conversation, but I think we've seen sometimes that forcing a conversation from this perspective sometimes can be a little detrimental. That's all. And I'm just… offering a word of caution. Thank you very much."
"I appreciate your words."
"Chair recognizes Leader Lang."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Thank you. Representative, I just have a few questions, and then I'm not even going to give a value judgment on the Bill. Just a few questions."
"Sure."
"Can you and I agree that every Member of the chamber, no matter how they vote on your measure, cares deeply about the high property taxes we have in the State of Illinois today?"
"Sure. Yes?"
"All right. And, can we also agree that all over the state local government officials are elected, whether it be a school board, a township, a village, a city, or a county. We have elected officials all over the state of Illinois that could make these decisions, if they chose to do so. Is that correct?"
"I will answer that with just a yes. I'll expand on that later, but yes." 09900157.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"All right. And, only my final question. If this Bill passes today out of the House, is it going to get called in the Senate before we adjourn sine die?"
"No."
"Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative David Harris." Harris, D.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question of the Sponsor."
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield." Harris, D.: "Representative, as you know, we had a discussion both on this Bill as well as another Bill in the House Revenue Committee yesterday, Senate Bill 1919, and this… both Bills were reported out to the floor. Let me just pursue some of the questioning that we had yesterday, if I can. Is this a tax freeze… a property tax freeze?"
"Well, it's a levy freeze." Harris, D.: "So what it does, is it extends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, known as PTELL, to all units of government, including Home Rule units of government."
"Correct." Harris, D.: "Correct. So, it also allows, however, that as an example, if there were significant development of perhaps a corporate entity within a taxing district's boundaries that… that assessed value could be added…"
"Correct." Harris, D.: "…to the property tax. So, an individual's property tax bill, what they get in the mail, could go up even if this Bill were enacted into law."
"If that scenario did, it would go up much less than if the Bill was not passed." 09900157.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 Harris, D.: "I understand, but there is that possibility that the hope for economic development that we want to see within our communities… if that, indeed, occurs, and that's new development within a taxing body that's added to the tax rolls and can get passed on to the property taxpayers…"
"Correct." Harris, D.: "…thus resulting in a higher tax bill. So, we have to be careful when we talk about a tax freeze…"
"It's a levy." Harris, D.: "…because my tax bill could go up. Okay. The previous speaker made reference to the fact that the constitutional possibility of this House Bill 6630 becoming law seems to me to be zero. Is that correct?"
"It is, however, I think that this is an important debate to build momentum into what’s going to be just a wonderful 100th General Assembly." Harris, D.: "Do we know if the other Bill, which passed the Revenue Committee yesterday, Senate Bill 1919, as amended in the House, if that Bill is going to be called, which could, indeed, go to the Senate, and be passed into law before they adjourn sine die?"
"I do not make those decisions." Harris, D.: "I'd be very questionable as to whether or not that Bill gets called, but given the fact that you have admitted that the possibility of this Bill becoming law is, quite frankly, zero, it is an important discussion, but in reality, this really turns out to be a symbolic vote for all of us who want to vote for some sort of property tax limitation, correct?" 09900157.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"Correct." Harris, D.: "Thank you very much. And I encourage a 'yes' vote."
"Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. So it's very unfortunate that this is simply a symbolic vote, when last year we had plenty of opportunity to vote on real property tax reform, and in fact, this chamber took a vote on a property tax freeze, in some form or not, 17 times. Unfortunately, only 1 time was there a real Bill on the floor, which was Representative Franks's Bill. It passed to the Senate, and, of course, the Senate didn't take it up. And so, even though this is a symbolic vote, it's an important conversation to have once again 'cause property taxes are not simply a problem maybe in suburbia where I live, it is decimating, decimating south Chicago. And there's no doubt about it. Mark Lennon of WirePoints writes this about it, In over 150 municipalities, rates exceed 3 percent, which is double the national average. In the south suburbs, the four townships directly south of the city, rates average over 5 percent. Many others have rates over 4 percent. It's not just Chicago metro areas. Statewide, Illinois has the highest property taxes in the country, averaging 2.67 percent, according to a study by CoreLogic. That's 78 percent higher than the national average. We're complete outliers here. We're not even just average. We are so far beyond average that this has got to stop. And the only way to make government more responsible fiscally is to cut off the money spigot, and this does that for now. But the truth is, you need more 09900157.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 massive reforms. Again, the Illinois Policy Institute highlighted NBA star, Dwyane Wade's home. It is also located in South Holland, Illinois. It's available for just $350 thousand. Why? Because the property taxes are $58 thousand a year on a $350 thousand house. Would you pay for that…"
"Excuse me, Representative. Excuse me, I'm sorry. Members, it is increasingly difficult to hear the debate. Can we please keep the noise level down in the chamber? Thank you very much. Representative Ives."
"So let's highlight a specific example of what's happening. Let's look at Dwyane Wade's property down in South Holland, Illinois. Right now that's available for 350 thousand. That's because the market is discounting it in price based on the property taxes. And, this is happening all over Illinois. Why? The property taxes there are $58 thousand on a $350 thousand house. If you don't think this is just a South Holland example, you can go up to Glendale Heights where our assessor will tell you, there's $300 thousand houses that have property taxes on it of $10 thousand. You can't continue to do this. People are paying more in property taxes than they're paying in a mortgage. This is unsustainable. Everybody…everybody, I guarantee you, in this chamber, has an example when they knock on the door of a constituent, and they say, we cannot afford to live here anymore. We are leaving. We found property in Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, you name it, Indiana, where they have a 1 percent cap on property, a 1 percent cap, which is what I want to move to, so you get 1 percent of your EAV and nothing more. People are fleeing the state over property taxes. Don't kid yourself. 09900157.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 We have to freeze these 'cause if you don't cut off this spigot for government money, and it's the same thing in Chicago, if the Bond dealers don't stop borrowing money to Chicago, you're never, ever going to get reform. The only way to do it is to freeze the money flow. And then, we're going to get the reform. So, if you're waiting to do this in conjunction with reform, I'm telling you right now, it's not going to happen. You've got to cut off the money and force the reform. Vote 'yes' on this Bill."
"Chair recognizes Representative Mayfield."
"Thank you so much. I'm going to speak to the Bill. And in particular, I want like to speak to my district because we have an interesting dynamic. I have one end of my district that is low income, low property value, extremely high taxes, and the other end is high property value and even higher taxes. How can I justify homes in the Waukegan area that have tax rates starting at 5 thousand all the way up to 30 thousand dollars in one city, in Waukegan, $30 thousand tax bill. How are you ever going to sell that home? You're not. And that's the problem. If you look at the number of foreclosures that we have, in just my district, the number is astronomical. You cannot drive down one block and not see a house that's going into foreclosure, simply because the taxes are too high. I've knocked on every… not every but just about every door in my district, and I hear it over and over, from one end of the district to the other, and the same message is out there. My taxes are too high. I can no longer afford my home. I had a senior citizen that came to me with a $24 thousand tax bill on a $150 thousand house. She had been taxed out of her home, 09900157.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 and she didn't know what to do. So, we went to the assessor's office. We went through all the steps to get her property reappraised, so that we could get her bill down, but she still cannot afford her taxes. We have to stop this spigot, of just taking, you know, taking our hands out of our taxpayers' pockets. We have to say enough is enough. This Bill does not freeze taxes because they can still go to referendum and justify why they need to increase taxes, but it stops the automatic increasing of the taxes. And, I think we need to look at that. I think we need to look at some of these EAVs that are out of whack with reality. How can you have an EAV or assessor that's saying your house is worth 500 thousand, but yet you cannot even sell it for 200? There is something wrong here. And there's something wrong with these taxes. And I'm asking everybody vote 'yes' even whether it's symbolic or not. We need as a chamber… let's put together a committee to really look at these property taxes. Let's do something that is going to be beneficial to everyone across the state. I'm losing individuals to Wisconsin daily. That same $30 thousand tax example I gave you, that same house, in Kenosha, which is right across the border, twenty minutes from my door, the taxes are only 3500. Which would you rather pay, 3500 or 30 thousand? I think this is a no-brainer. Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Thapedi."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Mark, I have a couple questions for you. I know that we've been talking quite a bit this Session about property tax relief, and I think that you answered Leader Lang's 09900157.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 question, that essentially everyone in this chamber wants to see some type of property tax relief. Isn't that accurate?"
"Yes."
"So, when we're talking about property tax relief, I do know that, at least it's my understanding that property tax relief is a component of the Governor's Turnaround Agenda. Is that accurate?"
"Yes."
"So, how does this Bill jive with the Governor's version of what he would like to see as far as the Turnaround Agenda is concerned?"
"I would say that this is a cleaner version. It's frankly Representative Frank's version. It's the original Democrat version of a property tax freeze. It doesn't include anything else in terms of how to make the freeze easier for the municipalities or the school districts to deal with it."
"So if this Bill were to pass today, would it be fair to say that we could check this off of the Turnaround Agenda list, that at least one of the components of the Turnaround Agenda has been satisfied?"
"Right. I think it would have to pass here, and the Senate, and get signed to be checked off, but, yes."
"Okay. So are you sure about that? I mean 'cause I'm looking here at the laundry list of proponents and opponents to the Bill, and I don't see where the Governor's Office has weighed in one way or another. So, do you know where the Governor's Office will be on this Bill?" 09900157.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"You know what, I'm not going to speak for the Governor's Office, so I don't know. I can try and have somebody try and find out for you."
"But what is your understanding?"
"Well, my understanding is that they would pass… they would sign this Bill if it hit the desk. It obviously can't because the Senate will be out before this Bill can hit the desk, but my understanding is that this is something the Governor wants."
"All right. And I also recall earlier in the Session that I think that we ran a property tax relief bill, maybe 14 or 15 different times. Do you recall that?"
"I do. I think it was more than that actually."
"I'm sorry?"
"It was more than that, but yeah."
"All right. Fair enough. So how does this Bill compare to that Bill? What is the difference between the two, if anything?"
"Yeah, that was Representative Bradley's Bills, and his had several Amendments in it. It dealt with things like, I believe, prevailing wage, maybe, might have been in there as an Amendment and some other issues. That's all stripped out. This is similar to House Bill 695, that Representative Franks ran, and almost identical to House Bill 696 that passed but didn't include Home Rule."
"Okay. And again, looking at the laundry list of opponents to the Bill, and there's one proponent. Who are the Americans for Prosperity? Who are they?" 09900157.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"I believe they are a free market type of group. They're a… you know, I don’t know how to describe them."
"I mean, what does that mean? Free market? I mean, I know we're not talking about international trade, so what are we talking about?"
"I don't have the Americans for Prosperity charter memorized. So they generally… they're generally a group that believes in lower taxation, more freedom, things like that."
"Okay. And I'm going to ask you to speculate, if you don't mind, for a moment. Okay? Why do you think that they're so many opponents to the Bill?"
"Well, I'm going to tell you something. I think that there is a lot of people that sit on school boards and other small municipalities that are tuned into us in government and know how to become an opponent on this. And I think that there's probably about 3.4 million families that have asked will proponents of this Bill. And I can tell you that there are five advisory referendums, if I have this correct from my notes, about five advisory referendums in terms of whether they supported a property tax freeze or not. None of those referendums got less than 85 percent. So, we can make a list of people that are in tune with what we do inside the bubble, but I think that there's millions and millions and millions of proponents for this Bill."
"We think that there can be millions and millions and millions of proponents, but why is only one listed?"
"Because they're not in tune with this, and frankly, this came up rather quickly. But if you look at surveys, if you look at the referendum results, when this has gone to 09900157.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 advisory referendum, it's been strongly… you know people have strongly supported this concept."
"So, again, earlier you said that this Bill essentially is not going to rise to the level of becoming law because of the time…"
"Correct."
"…sequence we're faced with now, as we're wrapping up the Veto Session. So would it be fair to say that this is basically a trial balloon?"
"You know, I would have ran the Bill a week ago, two weeks ago, if we would have had the time, so I guess at this point it's somewhat of a trial balloon. It kind of lays down a marker that at least us, as a Body, realize that… you know, that we need to address something regarding property taxes, whether that comes to fruition in the 100th General Assembly, I don't know. But that's your words, but I think that's a fair way of describing it."
"Thank you, Mark. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Chair recognizes Representative Williams."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I was going to ask a question, but Representative Thapedi artfully already asked the same question, and that's what this Bill's relationship is to the Turnaround Agenda we've been hearing so much about, and is frankly the reason we don't have a budget here in Illinois two years later. So I guess I just want to make a note on the fact that, despite the rhetoric that we constantly hear in the media from the Governor's Office and others, that there's no interest on our side of the aisle in moving Illinois forward and having a budget and 09900157.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 addressing the issues that the Governor is concerned about, passage of this Bill today, I think, would send a strong message among many others that we are interested in moving Illinois forward. If the Governor says a property tax freeze is an important component, let's not keep hearing the same rhetoric from those same parties that there's no interest on this side of the aisle in passing any of those items, because I think that would be completely contrary to the message that we're sending today. Thank you."
"Representative Batinick to close."
"I appreciate all the comments on both sides of the aisle on this. I especially appreciate the last few comments we've had, Representative Williams, Representative Lang, that talked about how everybody agrees that high property taxes is an issue. We have an opportunity to lay down a marker and say that this is… we all realize, in this Body, that high property taxes is an issue that's hurting jobs, that's hurting families, that's hurting seniors, that's hurting small businesses. It's really decimating our economy in this state. And lastly, I just got to… I got to thank Representative Franks, who's on his way out the door today. This was originally his Bill, his concept. I appreciate his leadership on this issue. And I'm looking forward to a strong, green, bipartisan, Roll Call. Thank you very much."
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 6630 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? Members, please record yourself. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 76 voting 'yes', 09900157.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 24 voting 'no', and 6 voting 'present', House Bill 6630, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Ford, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Mr. Speaker, point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Mr. Speaker, is today the last day for the 99th General Assembly?"
"Today is the last day for the 99th General Assembly."
"In that case, I would like to recognize a good friend of mine, Representative Ken Dunkin. I know I recognized him, and he wasn't here, but we actually… both of us were born in Cabrini-Green, and our families know each other well. And Ken Dunkin has been a great friend to me and many members in my family. And so, I think that, when I think about Ken Dunkin, I think about Frank Sinatra, so I pulled up the lyrics and it goes, My Way: And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain. My friend, and I'll say it clear. I'll state that I did it my way. And so, I think that it will be great if Ken Dunkin had some parting words with us, for all the good that he's done for the state. So, I ask Dunkin if he would make some closing remarks."
"Thank you, Representative. Representative Dunkin is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you Representative Ford. I thank the Members here of this distinguished Body. Fifteen years ago… I recall coming into this intimidating and august Body with a large class size, very large class size. 09900157.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 I think they're were about 32 of us, give or take. We were full of ideas and energy, and insight. The first time a Democrat had become Governor in this state in 26 years, so it was a very special time and a very powerful experience for a lot of us. And we had a quick learning curve, that's for sure, because things just started getting done. We had a robust level of enthusiasm and energy towards what we thought the state, or how we thought the state, could benefit. So I remember some of those accomplishments, based off working with colleagues, here, who really I had never met before: downstaters, folk in the suburbs, rural areas, as well as in the city. I recall us working on successful legislation as it relates to sexual orientation, then becoming same-sex marriage success, the Illinois Fuel and Tax Credit. I recall us passing a Bill to abolish the death penalty. Also, I recall us passing, a very close Bill, on the Affordable Care Act. Plenty of veterans Bills, plenty of legislation that reformed, or at least tried to add some value to students staying here in this state. So, I'm very proud of that record, and very proud to have worked with a number of you all, and that part certainly will be missed. On the flip side, you know, there are also some areas, of course, that we have to further improve on. And I'm glad that Members are talking about the issue that is common across this state, at least in the voices of the politicians. That we know we have to reform the way we fund education. We know we have to reform the pension, workers' compensation, property tax, the way we fund human services, the way we create jobs. I think the biggest issue, of us, here in this state, is the massive exodus, the 09900157.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 massive property… or excuse me… population loss. People are leaving the state. And I didn't believe that about 10 years ago when it first was discussed and talked about, but people are moving in different directions because of economic reasons. This is one of the greatest states in the union. It's one of the most diverse states in the union, and it is a microcosm of the country. It's the bellwether of how it is that people in America feel, think, and see things. And so, I was extremely grateful for this experience, to know that we have a strong agricultural state, an incredible state as it relates to tourism, a thriving film and television and commercial industry that has only put people to work. That's where they get the incentives, when they put people to work. We are the only state in the union that has a diversity program in our film tax credit. So, when you see these movies and television shows, they're, for the most part, diverse or striving in that direction. Let me say, you know, a lot has gone on, certainly in my career this year, but I have no regrets. You know, every time we make a vote, we think twice, sometimes three times, on why we made it, or sometimes, we're a little upset with ourselves, or thinking about the reaction that it may engender outside in our districts, on the rail, some of our colleagues. Do we make a decision off… based off of policy? Do we make a decision based off of relationships? These are some of the, sort of the, mental aerobics that we go through in trying to figure out what's the best way to approach public policy here in the State of Illinois. Here's what I really and truly and deeply believe in my heart about most Members here in this chamber. I really and truly believe 09900157.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 that we want to do… you want to do the right thing. The things that you talked about while you were campaigning are things that you want to get accomplished. And I think, with this new era, with the new General Assembly coming in, those are a lot of change. There was a lot of perspective as it relates to whether you were retained or not retained. But I think it's important for all of us to really start looking at how it is that we perform our duties here in government. I mean, I think that's the salient message that I want Members to remember. This is the people's House. It's not yours. It's not the Minority Leader's. It's not the Speaker's. This is your House, along with the people that you were sent down here to represent. And if we don't make real, meaningful, and substantive change right now, in short order, it's going to be a real sad, sad Session coming in. But I'm hopeful. I'm very optimistic. Many Members pick it up and get it after a while, and they see the things they need to do… that they have to do right by the people. Let's do our best to start listening to people. Let me say this in conclusion. It is my hope that we put our best efforts forward when we're looking to reform public education, when we are looking to reform the criminal justice system, when we are looking to retain jobs here in the state, and not just for special interest groups, who may contribute to our campaign or not, some… that we look at some of these areas where most of us wouldn't want to live or do business. I think it's important that we reestablish the perception in the State of Illinois, given the fact that we have issue that doesn't necessarily settle well with bondholders, et cetera. So, I'm proud to have served. I look 09900157.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 forward to adding more value when I leave, and possibly, maybe, working with some of you all. So thank you, all. I'm proud to have served. May God bless you, God bless America, and God bless the State of Illinois."
"Thank you, Representative. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
Agreed Resolution. House Resolution 1569, offered by Representative Currie."
"Leader Currie moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolutions are adopted. Members and staff are asked to be at their seats. We have a couple of Death Resolutions and speakers. Leader Durkin."
"Well, I was just going to say some words about the Gentleman who previously gave his parting comments. And, Representative Dunkin, boy, I'm going to miss you, holy cow. Just for years, there's been a lot of confusion. One letter separates our names. And we've had a lot of fun about it, too, Ted. But have also, for years, have been on the receiving end of some of the questioning my votes. A lot of mail that I've received, some of it pleasant, most of it unpleasant, and I went back and looked at it. It wasn't exactly my vote, but it was yours. But I will just say this, Representative Dunkin, you truly are a man of conviction. I've had a great pleasure of working with you on many years, but again, we've had a lot of fun because of the name confusion, some of it at a local level, but sometimes it's taken itself on an international level, at times. And I will just say this, in 09900157.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 parting, that you've been a friend and you always will be a friend. And I just encourage you to take your family on a nice trip, maybe somewhere in the soft sands and the warm breezes in the Caribbean. And, just do me a favor when you check into the hotel, or wherever you stay, that you sign your name D-U-N-K-I-N. Yeah, thanks. You didn't before, but anyway, good luck, congratulations, and God bless you."
"Representative Flowers."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to take a moment to say goodbye to a friend of mine, Representative Monique Davis. She, if I may say, she really did it her way. She came in her way, and she left her way. And this Body will miss her presence. If you ever wanted a good fight, you can call on Representative Monique Davis. If you wanted a good enemy, you could call on Representative Monique Davis. If you wanted the best friend, you could call on Representative Monique Davis. She was… she is a mother, a grandmother, a proud great-grandmother. She was a great educator and a fantastic Legislator. And for those of you who've not had the privilege of being in her company and experiencing her, I pity you. But for those of us who did, we're better for it. And to my friend, Monique Davis, I love you and I truly, truly am going to miss you. Thank you for your 30 years of service, of truly dedicated service. And if any of us, could be so like Representative Davis, to walk a mile in her shoes, and do as she has done on behalf of all the people of this state, our job will be well done. Thank you."
"Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, point of personal privilege." 09900157.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"Proceed."
"I would just simply like to say that I wish everyone that is on their way out, all of the Members who will not be with us after this 99th Assembly, definitely Representative Dunkin, Representative Monique Davis, and all the others, Representative Jackson, who will no longer be with us. Everyone who's retired throughout this time, but I'd like to especially remember Representative Esther Golar. This was her last Assembly. This will be a totally different row, here, than the row I first sat in, in Veto Session in 2014. But I appreciate everyone who was here during that time, everyone who did instill words of wisdom, and those who showed us what it is like to serve in the way that we feel best for our individual districts. And I think that's something that we have to respect about each other here. We are all here because of the individuals who sent us here. And we may leave because of those same individuals. But while we are here, we have the obligation to do our very best to express what their wishes would be, and that may not look good to some people, some people may disagree with what it is. We all have had those moments, one interesting moment, in particular, for me. But I just want to say thank you to everyone who has served and who will not be with us going into the 100th Assembly, and just express how deeply honored and humbled I am to be able to go into the next Assembly."
"Representative Soto."
"Thank you. I also want to thank all the Members that are here. I'd like to mention Representative Acevedo that's been here for quite a while. And I know that he's retiring, so 09900157.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 we're going to miss him. Oh, he's here. Thank you, Eddie, for being here and serving in the General Assembly. You're a good friend, and we're not going to forget you. I want, also, to remember Monique Davis. Thank you for all your years of service. Also, Representative Dunkin. I wish you a lot of luck. You've been a good friend, so I appreciate it. And, also, Mr. Moffitt, on the other side. Thank you, Representative Moffitt, I'm going to miss you, too, and the other Members that are leaving. I can't remember everybody's name right now, but thank you so much for serving, here, and we really appreciate it. Please thank your family members for, you know, sacrificing, and having you come back and forth to the General Assembly here in Springfield. But I wish everybody luck. Good luck in your future. And it's been a pleasure serving with you. Thank you."
"Members, please be sure to clear off and out your desks. There will be members of the public in the chambers tomorrow. House Resolution 1558, Representative Stewart. Mr. Clerk, please read the Resolution."
"House Resolution 1558. WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives have learned with deep sorrow of the death of our friend and former colleague, State Representative Irvin Ronald Lawfer of Jo Daviess County, who passed away on December 18, 2016; and WHEREAS, A native of Illinois, Representative Lawfer was born on May 15, 1934, in Kent; he attended grade school at Wards Grove School and graduated from Stockton High School in 1951; he majored in agriculture and journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he worked as a reporter, 09900157.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 covering stories for the "Daily Illini" and the "Champaign News-Gazette"; as a young man with deep ties to agriculture, he pledged at the FarmHouse Fraternity, and presided over the house in his senior year; and WHEREAS, Upon his graduation from the University of Illinois in 1955, Representative Lawfer married Patricia A. "Pat" Renken, who was his wife partner in life for 61 years; and WHEREAS, In 1955, at the height of the Cold War, Representative Lawfer joined the United States Army; he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served on the front lines of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); he brought new Illinois findings in the reduction of soil erosion to the attention of his superior officers and was seconded to the Engineering Division of the Eighth Division, working on soil erosion reduction projects at U.S. installations throughout the peninsula and earning the Army Commendation Ribbon for his service; and WHEREAS, Upon completing his term of enlistment as a First Lieutenant in 1957, Representative Lawfer returned to northwest Illinois and took up dairy farming in his home township; as a member of the Midwest Dairymen Cooperative, he was named Outstanding Dairyman of Jo Daviess County; he served as Director and Vice-President of the Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau, and was appointed as Chairman of the Jo Daviess County Agricultural Extension Council; known as a man who was both an operating farmer and an expert in land conservation, he won many recognitions for his expertise, including the 1986 "Master Farmer" Award from "Prairie Farmer" Magazine; he served on the Illinois Agricultural and Stabilization 09900157.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 Committee as an appointee of United States Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz; and WHEREAS, As a leading local farmer and community leader, Representative Lawfer was chosen by his neighbors for public service; he was elected as Wards Grove Township Supervisor from 1974 to 1982 and served on the Jo Daviess County Board from 1982 until 1992; in November of 1992, he ran to represent the 74th Representative District in the Illinois General Assembly, winning by a narrow margin of 860 votes; so popular was his first term service that in November of 1994, when he first ran for re-election, he faced no opposition; and WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer served the 74th Representative District, which comprised all of Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties, and parts of Carroll, Ogle, and Whiteside Counties; as an Illinois House member with experience in farming, land conservation, and local government, he served as minority spokesman on the House Committee on Agriculture & Conservation; he also served on Counties & Townships, Environment & Energy, and many other committees; in the 89th General Assembly, he chaired the House Committee on Aging; and WHEREAS, When Representative Lawfer retired from the Illinois House of Representatives at the close of the 92nd General Assembly, the House recognized his service by adopting House Resolution 1127 in his honor; during his retirement, he planned on concentrating on farming and spending time with his family; and 09900157.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 WHEREAS, From the end of 2002 until the end of 2016, Representative Lawfer fulfilled those life plans, handing his farming heritage on to his family; and WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church; he was baptized at St. John Lutheran Church in Massbach and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kent; he was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Stockton, where he served as member and Chairman of the church council; and WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer and his wife had four daughters, Kathy, Karen, Kay, and Kristine, and a son, Ronald L.; they have nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; and WHEREAS, The death of Representative Lawfer is deeply felt by his family, friends, neighbors and all who knew him; he was one of the men of Illinois who leaves an empty space behind him when he goes; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of former State Representative Irvin Ronald Lawfer; and be it further RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Representative Lawfer's widow, Patricia Lawfer, and their family as an expression of our deepest sympathy and respect."
"Representative Stewart."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's certainly my honor today to bring forth this Resolution, honoring the many contributions to the state and to this country, and to mourn the passing of Ron Lawfer. I'll be brief this morning 'cause I know there are a couple of other speakers that would like to say a few things. But I'm going to just paraphrase a few 09900157.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 comments from my predecessor, Jim Sacia, who wrote an article, Not Enough Good Things to Say about Ron Lawfer. His passion was his family and agriculture. He walked this earth for 82 years, even biblically, that's considered a long life. I know that for Ron Lawfer it wasn't near enough. He had much more to give. He left us all such a great example. Joining us this morning are his wife Patricia, his daughters Karen and Kristine, and his son Ron up in the gallery to my right. I would ask that all Members be added to this Resolution, and that we'd entertain a moment of silence after the other speakers have spoken this morning. Thank you."
"Leader Durkin."
"Thank you. I had the pleasure of serving with Ron Lawfer back in the '90s. And if anybody exemplified Joe Daviess County, it was Ron Lawfer. He was truly the pride of Joe Daviess County, and he would talk about Joe Daviess as one of the most beautiful, breathtaking places in the State of Illinois, encouraged many of us to come up and visit him, take part of that great part of the state, and we did. He was that type of person. Yes, he was a farmer, but he was a very successful banker. And you wouldn't know it. He was a very humble man. And he was the kind of guy who would certainly give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. That was the type of person he was. Ron was the true definition of a gentleman, and a few of us were fortunate to serve with him back at that time, and it was a true pleasure. To the Lawfer family who has joined us today, I want to thank you for sharing him with us during those years. He was an amazing family man, statesman, and most importantly, a friend of all 09900157.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 who served with him and all who got to know him. Thank you. And again, I appreciate the opportunity and the pleasure of working with Ron Lawfer, and just the amazing time I had driving through Carroll County and Joe Daviess County, witnessing and taking in a breathtaking part of the state because of him. Thank you."
"Representative Moffitt."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was truly an honor and a privilege. I was a freshman. We came in together as classmates, and served that entire time with him. He had a great partner, that you've already mentioned, Pat. I know you were right there with him, and also helping a lot on agriculture and different issues. So, thank you for all you… not only for sharing him, but for all the help and being a partner to him. He truly served for the right reasons, to represent his district, not for any self-gain. He was a strong advocate for agriculture. To the freshmen, coming in, if you need to see a model of what a good Legislator is, all you need to do is look at how Ron Lawfer worked and how he went about representing his area. He'd be an outstanding example to follow. He set a very high bar for serving with honor, integrity, and being a public servant. He always called that home district, that Leader Durkin referred to, how beautiful it was. He just always referred to it as God's country, and there was even a little video that he put together promoting that area. But that Ron Lawfer, he was from God's country. We had a Bill to keep the state highways at 55 after the Federal Law went to the sunset that had been put in years ago. And when the Federal Law was sunsetted, it… we had to pass a law 09900157.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017 to keep the two lanes at 55. And Ron, lovingly and jokingly said, we don't need that speed limit, and where I come from, there are natural limits to how fast… the hills and the curves make sure that we don't go over 55. Just to… it used to be in driving there. It's… was just an honor to serve with him. I think one time someone said, or he said, there are probably are more cows in his district than there are people. And he was proud to represent the dairy industry, but agriculture in general. We are honored to have had Ron Lawfer be a Member of the Illinois General Assembly, and we just close, by again, thanking his family, saying that he's an example that you can follow. But agriculture in Illinois and the U.S. is stronger, and Illinois is a better place because of the service of I. Ron Lawfer. Thank you."
"Representative Leitch is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to offer my respect to his family and to the many friends that he's had both here and throughout the state. You know, one of the really most wonderful aspects of having the honor to serve here is to be able to meet individuals like Ron Lawfer. Ron Lawfer, as has been described, appeared to be a common man. He wasn't common at all. He had more money than God. But he did have that common touch. He had that marvelous sense of humor. And above all, he was a marvelous example for all of us to follow. If we were all I. Ron Lawfer, believe me, this state would be in a lot better shape. So, again, I offer my condolences to his family and express my deepest respect for Ron, and mourn the passing of I. Ron Lawfer. Thank you." 09900157.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 157th Legislative Day 1/10/2017
"The Body shall pause for a brief moment of silence. Thank you. Representative Stewart has requested that all Members be added to House Resolution 1558, and seeing no objection, all Members will be added to the Resolution. The Gentleman also moves that the House adopt House Resolution 1558. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. Thank you. Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker, and Members of the House. We all wish the very best to our colleagues in this General Assembly, who will not return to the next, but we wish also the very best to all of those and we wish the very best not only to but of those who will take their seats tomorrow as Members of the 100th General Assembly. And now, I move that the Illinois House of Representative of the 99th General Assembly stand adjourned sine die."
"You've all heard the Lady's Motion. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the 99th General Assembly adjourns sine die." 09900157.docx 55