Illinois Senate Floor Debate — November 15, 2018

Senate Journal of Wednesday, November 14th, 2018.

Senate Journals of June 15th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2017.

Senator Hutchinson, Chairperson of the Committee on Revenue, reports Motion to Concur on House Amendments 1 and 2 to Senate Bill 3445, and Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4560 Recommend Do Adopt.

Inquiry of the Chair, if I might, Madam President.

Thank you. Madam President, as I am sure you're aware and most of the Members are as well, there are but thirty-nine shopping days left before Christmas. So in that spirit, my inquiry is, what time do you believe the departure time here today will be? I, like you, I know, and many others, the -- suddenly have been infused by the -- with the Christmas spirit based off the snowfall on the ground and all. So, do you have a time for us?

House Bill 278. (Secretary reads title of bill) 2nd Reading of the bill. No committee or Floor amendments reported.

Thank you, Madam President. I have motions filed with respect to the Governor's total vetoes on House Bill 4282. I also have motions filed with respect to the Governor's amendatory vetoes on House Bill 3418.

Thank you, Madam President. So good to see you up there this morning. First of all, I -- I…

Thank you. Madam President, I so much appreciate that. And first off, just let me apologize. My voice is, as you know, is a little hoarse this morning. You -- some of you that know me know I like to partake in singing with my colleagues every once in a while and we had a fun night last night. Senator Cullerton was 4  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 out there with me and -- and several others. So…

Thank you, Madam President. Look, I know it's snowy outside. We all want to go home. I want to get you guys out of here as soon as you can, so I'm going to be brief. How fitting is it - this is the last -- the last piece of legislation that I'm going to be moving on in this whole Body - how fitting is it that it's an override of a veto by Governor Rauner? And I -- I might be tempted to tell you how good I feel about that, but I won't. Let me explain the merits of the bill. I think we all know it. This is to help patients with -- who are seeking treatment for Lyme disease. It gives them the kind of treatment that they want; that their doctors say they should get. My friend, Representative Swanson, is over here. He's the sponsor of this bill. I'm glad he's able to -- here to join me. We have a wonderful advocate -- Jennifer Russell's in the audience. She's -- she's worked on this bill. And -- and I -- it's been a pleasure for me to be a part of this. So thank you for letting me be part of this. I'm not going to explain the merits. I just ask for your Yes votes, and then if you can give me a Yes vote on this, I'd like to say a couple parting remarks. But thank you.

5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 To the motion.

Yeah, I just want to say thank you to Senator Nybo and Representative Swanson. This is -- this has been a bill that's been a work in progress and I -- I -- I can't thank the interested parties enough and everybody that was involved, especially Jen - thank you for all your help and, of course, your daughter. I would -- I would just ask for an Aye vote. This is a really, really great piece of legislation that we can move forward, helping people with Lyme disease. Thank you, Madam President.

To the motion, ma'am. Thank you.

Yeah, I -- I just want to real quickly point out Lauryn Russell, who's sitting at home today watching this. She's in school at Mercer County. And she was the young lady that worked with her mother to make this happen and they were crisscrossing the State working on this. I know in one particular time by chance she was talking to the Governor personally about trying to make things happen. But just a real great young citizen, with her mother, that accomplished this. And also, thank you to Senator Nybo and also Representative Swanson for their work on this. Thank 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 you.

I just ask for an Aye vote, Madam President. Thank you.

Madam President, a point of personal privilege.

Madam President, first of all, thank you for the courtesy of allowing me to run that House override. I know our traditional practice is to wait until the second week of Veto Session to do House overrides. That was my last bill and -- that was my last bill and this is my last speech on the Floor. And so -- you know, I know the Senate President, he's not out here right now, but he's been nothing but gracious to me. And this might be hard for me to get through, but I'm going to do the best I can. You know, John says always that there's three ways to go, and I don't know what 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 he says the ways to go are, I don't -- I don't really care, but, tell you what, it's a great way for me to go. I'm very happy. I'm -- I'm sorry that I'm leaving you guys, but I'm -- I'm confident I'm going to a much better place. But - I know we're busy - I just wanted to -- to take an opportunity to thank you. You know, as I've said it before, you know, with my tenure with the House, you know, my tenure here was brief as well too, but it's been truly an honor to serve with each of you and to learn from you, to work with you - hopefully, like I said with Senator Haine the other day, to become your friend. Thank you for letting me enjoy this immense opportunity. I've enjoyed it immensely and it's a privilege. And I think we need to remember how much of a privilege it is, because I think it's easy to forget when we're down here how much of a privilege it is. I'm not going to name names - it's too long and I won't even try - but I want to thank all my Republican friends. I want to thank my Democratic friends, who've been kind enough to help me get some bills passed here. I want to thank our staff. They're the most underappreciated people in this whole building, all of them, any staff, any -- any agency. They work hard, we are demanding people, and they do wonderful work and I appreciate all their help. I want to thank even our communications -- I want to thank the media. You know, the media gives us the opportunity to get our messages out. They treat us fair. They've -- they've never been anything but fair to me in the message I've tried to get out, so I appreciate the media. And finally, I appreciate the lobbyists. I don't think the lobbyists get a lot of thanks around here, but I'm one who's learned very quickly that we don't know how to do our jobs as well as we can unless we have good lobbyists telling us the truth. And so I 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 appreciate all the lobbyists and the government relations people that I've had the opportunity to work with. And so I've tried to pack a lot in, in -- in -- in four years here and -- and, if you just permit me, there's a couple things I'm proud of. I'm proud that I -- that one of the first moves I made during this Chamber was giving my friend, my dear, dear friend, Leader Radogno, the decisive vote that enabled her to -- to stay as our Leader. It's a decision I'll never regret. I'm proud that one of the last moves I was able to make in this Chamber was giving my -- my good friend, Bill Brady - I know he's not out here right now - but a decisive vote that -- that enabled him to become our Leader and -- and my Leader at least for the next couple days. He sits in that position now. I know he's going to do a wonderful job. I'm a huge backer of Leader Brady and I wish him the best. Hey, I've tried to work as collaboratively and cooperatively as I could. Unfortunately, we all know Governor Rauner created very difficult circumstances to make that happen. I could say a lot about that subject and I could say a lot about how I believe Governor Rauner served as a partner to all of us. I won't. All I will say is that I wish the Governor the best in his retirement. He has earned everything that he deserves. And he will -- what -- and he deserves everything that he will receive today, tomorrow, in the next few years and, ultimately, in the judgment of history. God bless, Governor Rauner. Best to you. But even given these challenging circumstances, I think we did some good things. Can I have a -- a -- peace and quiet, because this is something that's serious.

9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate it. The first law I ever sponsored down here was getting EpiPens, allergen -- allergy saving medication, into our public schools and private schools to -- to save the lives for kids who don't know that they have allergies. Then I worked on a bill and we -- we allowed police officers to carry it, and all of you were so kind enough to help me do that. I'm convinced -- I know - we've seen statistics from the State Board of Elections -- Education - that bill has saved hundreds of lives already. If I did nothing else, I'm so proud of that, and thank you for helping me get that measure passed and -- and help save those kids. I'm proud to have been a different kind of Republican. And, I'm sorry, this is going to be some -- maybe hard for some of my friends over here to hear this, but, first, I'm a strong supporter of first responders, and as much as I tried, I tried to support organized labor over the last four years as much as I could. It was challenging. I was proud to be one of the few suburban Republicans supported by the Firefighters Union. Senator Anderson, God bless you, you keep up the fight, because that's important work and -- and I'm sorry that we -- we just had terrible circumstances in which to try to stand up for the people who stand up for us. I'm proud to have voted for the Equal Rights Amendment. I have no apologies for that. It was the right thing to do. I'm never going to apologize for voting for the Equal Rights Amendment. People may say, you know, you did it for political purposes. Well -- well, I know - I'm not going to use inappropriate language here - that's BS. It was the right thing to do. I'm -- I'm glad that I was here to see our Chamber pass the Equal Rights Amendment. I'm proud to have worked with Don Harmon. Thanks, Senator, thank you for that opportunity - I don't 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 know if you're in the Chamber here - to -- to -- to expand the use of medical marijuana to -- to -- to help fight opioid addictions. That was a great bill. And -- and Senator Harmon gave me an opportunity to be involved with that. And -- and as with epinephrine, I think that's a bill that's really going to -- truly save lives and -- and help people avoid, you know, being addicted to opioids and hopefully save lives. I'm proud of that. And -- and also, you know what, you can say it's political, but we -- we need to do something to protect our kids in our communities from gun violence. And, you know, a lot of things have been said over the last month about that, but my -- my heart was in the right place, my intentions were true. It was an honor to be able to work with -- with you all on that and with some of you over here who helped me and -- and I know that that was the right thing to do. I was proud to be one of the few -- the first Republicans ever supported by G-PAC. I was proud to stand up for our LGBT community and that began with taking a real tough vote - Senator Biss, I believe you asked me to take it - to end what I consider to be the abusive practice of gender conversion therapy. I'm proud, and I'll -- I'll wear it till the day that I die, that I'm the only Republican this year in this cycle to have been endorsed by Equality Illinois. It didn't help me, but, I mean, I was proud to have the endorsement, so… To my Republican friends, you may not agree with me on these issues, but I believe with every shred of my body we need to rebuild our party, we need to win seats in the suburbs, and we need more candidates and legislators who stand up for the issues that I've tried to stand up for and that Senator Rooney stood up for and Senator Curran stood up for and -- and some of my colleagues over here. I -- I'd ask my colleagues over 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 here to -- to give some serious consideration about the candidates that we have and -- and who we have run in the suburbs, because - and here's the Republican in me - we are going to win some of these seats back, and -- and -- and it's not going to be me, I'm not going to be running, but I'll tell you out there, I'm going to be knocking on every door to get people elected back here just as hard as you knocked on doors to get people elected over there. So, business is business. So we're going to pick up some of these seats, but we need the right candidates. That's my soapbox. There's -- there's -- I get one last chance to say something meaningful about public service and this is my final statement. I want to -- I want to use it to say something meaningful, and it means something to me personally. I -- I -- I -- I can't imagine there's any one of us who has a family member or a family that's not impacted by mental illness. And -- and -- and -- and -- and we work in a profession that's perhaps particularly prone to the challenges of mental illness. And -- and those who suffer - and -- and I've always felt terrible about this - they should not be forced to suffer to live in silence. They should not be forced to seek -- to seek self-treatment in unhealthy and sometimes dangerous manners. We need to reduce the stigma associated with mental health. We need to fight the stereotype that living with a mental illness means that you cannot be a good employee, that you can't be a good spouse, that you can't be a good person, and you can't be a good elected official. It's not. People with mental illnesses can do amazing things, and -- and -- and as a Body, we need to encourage that and -- and support them. So as I depart, you know, one thing, I'll focus on a lot of different things, but one thing I will be focusing on is making sure - and it will be a 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 passion - that people with -- with -- with a mental illness that they might be embarrassed about it or don't want to share about, that they understand that there is -- there's a supportive community out there and to make sure that they seek the help that they need and to know that there are encouraging friends and -- and supporters that -- that can help them get through this. So that's it. You know, help -- help us reduce that stigma. Nobody should -- should -- should live in silence under those circumstances. So to my friends, my family, my staff, goodbyes will be in private as a private citizen. It's my last day. But for today, it's goodbye. And -- and this will be my last day on this Floor and I'm hopeful that we -- that we may have the opportunity to work together soon. It may be in a different capacity. You won't see me on this Floor. And that I -- I promise this: I will continue to show you the utmost amount of courtesy and respect that you've shown me over the last four years. And - - and all I ask in return is that you extend me the same amount of courtesy and respect. And, Mr. President, thank you for the privilege of allowing me to say some remarks. Leader Brady, thank you for allowing me to serve in your caucus. You guys are my friends. I know I'll see you soon, but it has been a pleasure and thank you so much.

Thank you, Madam President. I'm very excited to introduce House Bill 3274. For the Members of the Senate that may be -- not be aware, the Hardin County Work Camp was shuttered about three years ago, losing several jobs in -- within my district in the County of Hardin. And this -- this bill, House Bill 3274, actually provides the sale of the Hardin County Work Camp to the -- from the Illinois Department of Corrections to the County of Hardin and the sale will be -- the property will be one dollar in a quitclaim deed to create the Hardin County Tri-County Detention Center. So it's exciting legislation for my district to repurpose this facility, so… It passed the -- the committee unanimously. I ask for a favorable vote -- vote, please.

Thank you, Madam President. This legislation is bipartisan legislation that Senator Stadelman and myself have worked on, legislation that will help local communities that have already passed a -- a -- a one percent public safety tax. It allows for broader uses of those dollars. And if the President doesn't mind, I'd like to defer -- I'd like to defer my -- the rest of my time over to Senator Stadelman, who can -- who can explain the amendment a little bit more in detail, if -- if you indulge us in that. And thank you.

Thank you. As I mentioned previously, this is legislation dealing with the one percent public safety sales tax that counties have voluntarily opted to do and this deals with how that one percent could be used. And I would like to defer over to Senator Stadelman to talk a little bit more in detail about what this specifically will do, not just for our county, but also other counties in the future that choose to use this alternative.

Thank you, Madam President. Just one thing, the -- the underlying bill was a TIF bill which has been gutted, so this has nothing to do with TIF. This is not a tax increase at all. This is just saying that counties that have passed a sales tax increase for public safety, it just gives them the option to have more flexibility on how those sales taxes are used. This is supported by the local counties and there's no opposition to this. And we'd appreciate your positive vote on this. Thank you, Madam President.

Will the sponsor yield, please, Madam President?

18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 Thank you. Senator Hastings, I've actually had a -- a couple people visit with me on this bill. Who is the current appointing authority for the members of the sanitary district?

So, is the -- is that signoff, is that actually in statute that -- that gives the General Assembly the power to veto those?

Madam President, as is almost always my instinct, I am wholly embracing Senator Hastings' effort here to remove control from this building and send it back home. Thank you, Senator Hastings. 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018

Thank you, Madam President. This legislation we saw before. It's come back now with just a couple of -- a couple of changes. It fixes an audit finding in the -- in gaming. It also deals with the veterans' preference when it comes to owners and contractors with -- with casinos and also makes some changes in the terminal handler fees. Know of no opposition and would ask for a favorable 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 roll call.

…you, Madam President. For a point of personal privilege.

Thank you. I've got a young man with me, Robert White. I got to tell you a couple things about this guy. First, he interned for Senator Landek this summer. I didn't know that till ten minutes ago or we might not have hired him. But we are converting him. He's a hundred percent Republican now, Senator Landek - I wanted you to know that. We've got him converted. But listen to this. Fifth grade, he went to visit Culver Military School and he told his parents, "I want to go there." And they said, "You will not go there without a full ride." And this young man, in the next four years, worked to get a full ride at Culver Military School, spent his four years there. Fantastic kid. He's at Bradley now, studying international business. His goal is to be -- I said, "Do you got a mission?" He said, "Yeah, I want to be the Mayor of Cicero, 'cause I want to help every child have a good platform to grow from." It doesn't get better than that. Would you thank him for coming to Springfield today? 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018

Thank you, Madam President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chamber. Senate Bill 3-4-4-5 in legislative parlance is the omnibus cleanup bill from the Illinois Department of Revenue. It contains several provisions, such as removing the location requirement from the bulk sales provision, amending the use tax and -- occupation tax to allow for the reporting of all tax-free sales with regards to rolling stock not every twenty days, but once a month, and other intriguing provisions like that. I'll be happy to answer any questions, Madam President.

Message from the House by Mr. Hollman, Clerk. Mr. President - I am directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives has passed a bill of the following title, the Governor's specific recommendations for change notwithstanding, in the passage of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the Senate, to wit: House Bill 5195. I am further instructed to deliver to you the objections of the Governor, which are contained in the attached copy of his letter to the House of Representatives. Passed the House, November 14th, 2018, by a three-fifths vote. John W. Hollman, Clerk of the House.

Yes, Madam President. I have motions filed with respect to the Governor's total vetoes on House Bills 126, 127, 1262, 4284, 4657, 5221, 5342. I have also -- I have -- also have motions filed with respect to the Governor's amendatory vetoes on House Bills 4771 and 5195.

24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 A Message from the House by Mr. Hollman, Clerk. Mr. President - I am directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives has adopted the following joint resolution, in the adoption of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the Senate, to wit: House Joint Resolution 143. Offered by President Cullerton. (Secretary reads HJR No. 143) Adopted by the House, November 14th, 2018. John W. Hollman, Clerk of the House.

House Joint Resolution 143, offered by President Cullerton.

No objections filed, Madam President. 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018

Pursuant to the directive of the Senate President, the regular Session of the Senate is now in perfunctory Session. Communications from the President. Letter dated November 15th, 2018. Dear Mr. Secretary - Pursuant to Rule 2-10, I am scheduling a perfunctory Session to convene on November 15th, 2018. Sincerely, John J. Cullerton, Senate President. Resolutions. Senate Resolution 2180, offered by Senator Mulroe and all Members. It is a death resolution and will be referred to the Consent Calendar. Senate Resolution 2179, offered by Senator Barickman. It is substantive. Messages from the House. A Message from the House by Mr. Hollman, Clerk. Mr. President - I am directed to inform the Senate that the 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 House of Representatives has passed bills of the following titles, in the passage of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the Senate, to wit: House Bill 130. We have received like Messages on House Bills 982, 1167, 1168, 1193, 1594, 4265, and 5971. Passed the House, November 15th, 2018. John W. Hollman, Clerk of the House. A Message from the House by Mr. Hollman, Clerk. Mr. President - I am directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives has accepted the Governor's specific recommendations for change, which are attached to a bill of the following title, in the adoption of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the Senate, to wit: House Bill 5177. I am further directed to transmit to the Senate the following copy of the Governor's specific recommendations for change to the House of Representatives. Adopted by the House, November 15th, 2018. John W. Hollman, Clerk of the House. A Message from the House by Mr. Hollman, Clerk. Mr. President - I am directed to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives has concurred with the Senate in the passage of a bill of the following title, to wit: Senate Bill 309. Together with the following amendment which is attached, in the adoption of which I am instructed to ask the concurrence of the Senate, to wit: House Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 309. We have received like Messages on Senate Bill 752, with House 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 100th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 142nd Legislative Day 11/15/2018 Amendment 2. Passed the House, as amended, November 15th, 2018. John W. Hollman, Clerk of the House. House Bills 1st Reading. House Bill 130, offered by Senator Fowler. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 982, offered by President Cullerton. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 1167, offered by Senator Aquino. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 1168, offered by Senator Cunningham. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 1193, offered by President Cullerton. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 1594, offered by Senator Hunter. (Secretary reads title of bill) House Bill 5971, offered by Senator Landek. (Secretary reads title of bill) 1st Reading of the bills. There being no further business to come before this perfunctory Session, pursuant to House Joint Resolution 143, the Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, November 27th, 2018, at the hour of 12 o'clock noon, or until the call of the Senate President. The Senate stands adjourned. 28