Illinois Senate Floor Debate — February 7, 2019

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) …(microphone disengaged)…and Maroa Christian Church, Maroa, Illinois. Pastor.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Thank you, Pastor. Pledge of Allegiance. Senator Cunningham.

(Pledge of Allegiance, led by Senator Cunningham)

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Lisa Yuscius, Blueroomstream.com, requests permission to videotape. There being no objection, leave is granted. Mr. Secretary, Reading and Approval of the Journal.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hunter.

Mr. President, I move to postpone the reading and approval of the Journal…

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hunter moves to…

…just read by the Secretary, pending arrival of the printed transcript.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hunter moves to postpone the reading and the approval of the Journal, pending the arrival of printed transcripts. There being no objection, so ordered. Mr. Secretary, Resolutions. 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Resolutions Consent Calendar.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Committee Reports.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Appointment Messages.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Introduction, Senate Bills.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hunter, for what purpose do you seek recognition?

For the purposes of an announcement, Mr. President.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Please proceed, Senator.

The Senate Democrats will caucus for approximately fifteen minutes in the President's Office immediately upon recess.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Righter, for what purpose do seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senators Hunter and Righter moves that the Senate recess for the purpose of Democratic and Republican Caucuses. Seeing no objection, the motion is granted. The Senate stands in recess to 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 the call of the Chair. (SENATE STANDS IN RECESS/SENATE RECONVENES)

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senate will come to order. Cole Henke, WCIA, requests permission to film and record. Justin Fowler, State Journal- Register, requests permission to photograph. There being no objections, leave is granted. Senator Hastings, for what purpose you seek recognition?

Thank you, Mr. President. On such a historic day, and my wife anticipates watching on the Blueroomstream every day at home, I just want to wish her a happy anniversary. You know. I love you, hon. I know you're watching at home. And thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Happy anniversary. Let's get some quiet. All Members please report to the Senate Floor for final action. We will now proceed to the Calendar, page 2, Secretary's -- Resolution. Senate Resolution 8. Senator Van Pelt. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Van Pelt.

Yes, this resolution just extends the time that -- allows more time to complete the report for the gang database. 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? The question is, shall Senate Resolution 8 -- as this resolution requires the expenditure of State funds a roll call vote will be required. The question is, shall Senate Resolution 8 pass. All those in favor will vote Aye. Opposed, Nay. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Take the record. On that question, there are 57 voting Aye, 0 voting Nay, 0 voting Present. Senate Resolution 8, having received the required constitutional majority, is declared passed. Senate Resolution 31. Senator Jones. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Jones.

Thank you. Senate Resolution 31 congratulates Division 96 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on the occasion of its hundred and fifty {sic} anniversary. It declares January 16th, 2019 a -- Division of Brotherhood of the Locomotive Engineers {sic} (Division 96 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Day) in the State of Illinois to honor members on their longstanding dedication to public service. Look for a favorable vote. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? There being none, the question is, shall Senate Resolution 31 pass. All those in favor, say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Senate Resolution 70. Bertino-Tarrant. Mr. Secretary, read the 9  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Bertino-Tarrant.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members of the Senate. Senate Resolution 70 declares February 15th, 2019 as Susan B. Anthony (Day) in the State of Illinois and recognizes the importance of her contributions to the women's suffrage movement. The resolution also encourages the General Assembly to continue to make sure that no Illinois citizen's vote will be discouraged based on race, sex, religion, or creed. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? The question is, shall Senate Resolution 70 pass. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Senate Resolution 78. Senator Ellman. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Ellman.

…and thank you, Members of this Senate. Senate Resolution 78 is to declare February 3rd through February 7th as Burn Awareness Week. And I'd like to read some words from a constituent and neighbor of mine. Every year, over four -- four hundred and fifty thousand serious burn injuries occur in the U.S. that require 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 medical attention. Every minute, a burn injury serious enough to require medical attention occurs. Jennifer King, my constituent and my neighbor, lost her daughter nine years ago to severe tap water burns - nine years ago this month. And here are her words: One hundred to two hundred people die every year from scald burns from tap water, just like my sweet little girl. Fifteen hundred people get seriously injured. Her daughter, Mikayla's gone. Nothing's going to heal her family from this loss. Spreading awareness and burn prevention techniques is a first step toward change. It's -- it's been almost nine years since they lost her. That means that between nine hundred and eighteen hundred people have died from the same cause. Over twelve thousand people have had their life changed dramatically. I hope you'll join me in sharing information about Burn Awareness Week with your constituents. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Any discussion? The question is, shall Senate Resolution 78 pass. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. We'll now proceed to the Supplemental Calendar No. 1. Senate Resolution 54. Senator Belt. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Belt.

Thank you, President and Members of the Senate. This resolution is in regards to Rosa Parks' birthday. WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was born on February the 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, the 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 first child of James and Leona (Edwards) McCauley; and WHEREAS, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks on December 18th, 1932; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was a member of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and was an active volunteer for the Montgomery Voter {sic} (Voters) League; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1st, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, and her stand for equal rights became legendary; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to comply with Montgomery's segregation law was the impetus for a boycott of Montgomery buses that led -- led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by approximately forty-two thousand African Americans for three hundred and eighty-one days; and WHEREAS, On November 13th, 1956, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery's segregation law was unconstitutional, and on December 20th, 1956, Montgomery officials were ordered to desegregate buses; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is honored as the "Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement", because of -- her refusal to surrender her seat in compliance with the Montgomery's segregation law inspired the civil rights movement, which has resulted in the breakdown of numerous legal barriers and the lessening of profound discrimination against African Americans in this country; and WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil Rights of -- Civil Rights Act of 1964; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987 with Elaine Easton Steele to motivate and direct youth to achieve their highest potential through the Pathways to Freedom program; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is the recipient of many awards including the Presidential Medal of 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 Freedom, the nation's -- the nation's highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honor Congress can bestow upon a civilian, and the Spingarn Award, the NAACP's highest award; and WHEREAS, Rosa Parks has dedicated her life to the cause of human rights and truly embodies the love of humanity and freedom; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare her birthday, Monday, February the 4th, 2019 as "Rosa Parks Day" and urge all Illinoisans to pay homage to the -- this great American Woman; and be it further RESOLVED, That we commemorate the legacy of Rosa Parks to inspire all people of Illinois and the nation to stand up for freedom and the principles of the Constitution. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? The question is, shall Senate Resolution 54 pass. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Senate Joint Resolution 17. Senator Link. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Link.

Thank you, Mr. President. SJR 17 appoints Carol M. Pope as the Legislative Inspector General at -- for a term from March 1st, 2019 through June 30th, 2023. I will give you a little background on -- Judge Pope. Admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1979; served as Menard County State's Attorney from 1984 to 1991. And 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 I will -- say this, as a Republican, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed her to serve as a circuit judge in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, a post the voters elected her to in 1992, re-elected her in 1998, 2004, and 2010. The Supreme Court assigned Judge -- Justice Pope to serve as {sic} the Appellate Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in 2008, and she was elected to the post in 2012 and retired from the Appellate Court in 2018.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? Senator Tracy, for what purpose do you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the resolution, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Link, to close. Pursuant to the provisions of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, a resolution appointing a Legislative Inspector General requires a three-fifths vote of each Chamber. The question is, shall Senate Joint Resolution 17 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 pass. All those in favor will vote Aye. Opposed, Nay. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Take the record. On that question, there are 57 voting Aye, 0 voting Nay, 0 voting Present. Senate Joint Resolution 17, having received the required statutory majority, is declared adopted. We'll now proceed to the Calendar, page 2, Senate Bills 3rd Reading. Senator Lightford seeks leave of the Body to return Senate Bill 1 to the Order of 2nd Reading. Leave is granted. On the Order of 2nd Reading, Senate Bill 1. Mr. Secretary, are there any Floor amendments approved for consideration?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Lightford.

Thank you, Mr. President and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. Actually, it's a great day. We have finally arrived from many years at a place, where we get an opportunity to lift working families out of poverty who have been frozen. I'm so excited about getting started; I want to adopt the amendment first.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the amendment is adopted. Are there any further Floor amendments approved for consideration?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) 3rd Reading. Mr. Secretary, read the bill. 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford.

Thank you, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. That gives me an opportunity to have a separate introduction. Well, guys, I've got to be honest with you, it's been a long haul to get to this place. In 2014, we passed a minimum wage bill. We ended up gutting that bill and going to referendum, and the voters and those minimum wage workers across the State and those who aren't direct workers said that we needed to raise the wage. We're here in 2019 still debating whether or not those who work hard every day deserve an opportunity to have their basic needs addressed. Senate Bill 1 would allow us an opportunity to do that. It is our minimum wage increase for a fifteen-dollar-an-hour increase that would take effect beginning January 1 of 2020. That effect would take a six-year phase-in to arrive at, so it won't be until 2025 that the full raise will be in effect. But I'm pretty sure the 1.4 million dollars -- one hundred -- 1.4 million workers, excuse me, will hugely appreciate our efforts on today. The bill also provides for a tip credit to remain as it has in the previous stature {sic}, where tipped employees will receive sixty percent of their salary by their employer and the other forty percent is pretty much by the consumer, those of us who tip. The difference would be made up by the employer if they do not arrive at the amount of the minimum wage. And one of the concerns that we found 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 throughout debate is that there's a considerable amount of wage theft that takes place around this particular area. We've addressed that in this legislation to make sure that we strengthen those labor laws and put sanctions in place that would encourage employers to provide the actual tipped wage. We've also considered our youth workers. We know that our sixteen- and seventeen-year- olds are working not just to enjoy movies and have a good time; we found that many of them are actually working to help out - help out in the household. Some of them are actually young parents and they deserve to have a decent wage as well. What we're going to do with them is take them up to thirteen dollars an hour and then they will stifle off there. We also have in this bill a payroll deduction tax credit that will go to businesses who have fifty or fewer employees and many full-time employees. So that could equate to one hundred part-time employees or however the business sets up that two-thousand-hour structure. I think we have -- came to a compromise where we've negotiated this bill. It's not a new subject. It's not happening too fast - say that to the millions of workers who's been stuck at eight and a quarter since 2010 because of our inaction. I'd be happy to answer questions.

Thank you, Mr. President. To the bill.

Members of the Illinois Senate, today I stand and rise as -- 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 not as Senator Sandoval, but as grandson of grandparents that came here over on -- at the turn of the century in the Bracero Program to work in the stockyards and the meatpacking plants of Armour and Swift and to work on the southwest side in Back of the Yards in building the railroads. I speak here this morning as son of immigrant parents that crossed the Rio Grande in 1959 and crossed the river and landed on the shores of Plymouth Rock, Back of the Yards, in search of the American Dream, in search of earning a dignified living wage. They worked hard. This is a great country. It's a great State. Hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, as well as millions of Americans, today are disadvantaged because of the federal wage that's -- it's considered a starvation wage, not a dignified living wage. It is not a wage that we as Illinoisans should be proud of - and we know that. And Leader Lightford has been -- has been preaching that for years. Governor Pritzker has provided leadership and made sure on the campaign trail that if he were elected, he would make this a priority. We must and will increase the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour over the next few years. Access to healthcare, burdensome college debt, access to higher education must follow in the upcoming months. Let us not also forget as we raise the minimum wage for all of Illinoisans, let's not forget about women. Equal pay for women, for women that do the same job that men do but earn less. That also must be on the agenda in the upcoming months. I applaud Governor Pritzker for the leadership provided here in bringing us together today on this historic day and the work of Leader Lightford and the Senate Dems. We have been the leader - this Chamber has been the leader over the last sixteen years since I've been here on many issues that affect the quality of life of many 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 Illinoisans and we're not going to wait for anyone else to protect and increase the guarantees that are afforded to all Illinoisans. I'd ask everyone for a favorable vote here this afternoon. Thank you.

Thank you for the question, Senator. I'm not concerned about Missouri. I'm concerned about Illinois residents who live in poverty that work two and three jobs, who have children that are raised into poverty, families who can't afford -- or can't even think about their children attaining a higher education. I'm concerned about the economic stability that we can bring to families here that gives them more buying power, that gives them the ability to put gas in their car and have insurance and have food and just basic needs. Now the State that you just mentioned, minimum wage is higher than Illinois. You just said they were eight dollars and sixty cents. We've been at eight and a quarter since 2010. If we had kept up with the minimum wage, as we should, we would be in a much better place. I just want to give you an example of what it costs in 2019 down in Champaign-Urbana. Fifteen dollars and twenty cents is where we should be for a single adult with a child and we're at eight and a quarter. So I'm sure their ends aren't meeting. I'm sure they're working more than one job to just get to that place. So my concern is not Missouri; my concern is Illinois.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Schimpf.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford.

Senator, we did talk about regionalization during our debates -- actually, more negotiation. We were just all at the table trying to figure out how to best get to a minimum wage that people can actually live on. And regionalization was an area that -- it just -- it just couldn't be figured out on how do you keep people -- wages lower. Like, how do you decide that someone down in Danville -- how do you decide someone in Danville, who need to make fourteen dollars and sixty-six today, how do you tell them that they should be held lower than fifteen dollars in 2025? That -- the increase is a six-year phase-in, if I may remind you. It's nothing that's happening in the first year. Second year -- it will be a ramp to get us there. And so I don't know how you tell those low wage workers that they deserve to stay in low wages because they live in Danville or because they live in Champaign- Urbana or because they live in Bloomington-Normal. How do you 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 tell your constituents that, that they don't deserve to be paid fair wages because of the part of the State they live in? There was never a proposal given to us, either, for consideration during negotiations. The most that I received was an example of the State of Oregon, an example of the State of New York. And I took a look at those two states and I thought, "Okay, they're not the State of Illinois." And I was not given any proposal.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Schimpf.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford.

Unfortunately, Senator, I was not given that study. But I can say that I've worked with the Farm Bureau over the years. They were invited to negotiations, but I believe IRMA was their lead negotiator. In 2014, they participated in negotiations. In 2011, they participated. I don't know where they were in the negotiations this year and they did not give me that study. But I do want to go back to Missouri for a moment, because I was intrigued. Missouri, so that the full Body know, has just voted for a minimum wage increase to go to twelve dollars over the next three years. So we're actually in alignment with other states across this country on acknowledging the high cost of living and where we need to be to move a lot of our residents out of poverty. And we're -- we'll be the twenty-ninth state. We're not the first state. We're not even in the top ten. We'll be the twenty-ninth state to move our wage higher than the federal wage that exists today. So I believe we're on par with where we ought to be with our neighboring states. I believe we'll be on par with where we should be with the rest of the country.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Schimpf, to close. To the bill.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Collins, for what purpose you seek recognition?

Thank you, Mr. President and Ladies and Gentlemen and -- of the Senate. To the bill.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) …bill, Senator.

First and foremost, I want to commend and applaud Majority Leader Lightford for her leadership, her tenacity, her courage, and her commitment to this cause over the years. And today, here is an opportunity - and thank you for the opportunity, Majority Leader Lightford - here is an opportunity for government to act for the benefit of the common good. You know, many might ask, "Why is this the role of government?" It's the role of government to rectify the policies that have created this great wage divide. Income inequality is not the sole result of unrelenting market and historical forces; it is a direct and tangible result of public policies, whose very design and intent was to redistribute income of wealth upwards. Middle-income workers make no more now than they did in the late nineteen seventies. Such political choices and public policies like steep cuts to social spending, attacks on organized labor, deregulation and privatization and tax cuts for the wealthy are just to name a few. There is something offensive about the term "the working poor". These workers are not lazy. They do not lack initiative. They are poor because of wage 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 stagnation. Many of them do the work and serve many of our loved ones when they change or empty the bedpans in these nursing homes for our loved ones. If you are the working poor living from paycheck to paycheck, one illness or natural disaster can put you on the street or standing in a food line, like we saw many of the federal workers do over the government shutdown. According to reports, the United States has the highest child poverty rates in the developed world. As a state, as a nation, we can do better than that. So I want to commend and applaud the Governor for moving - Governor Pritzker - for moving to try to rectify this income inequality. And this legislation, I am proud to cosponsor, and this legislation will give workers more money to spend in their local communities, boosting the economy, making our State more compassionate and competitive. No studies -- no credible studies bear out the claim that raising the minimum wage is bad for business or leads to higher unemployment. But what we do know for certain is that low-income individuals are more likely than higher income individuals to spend additional earnings quickly and locally. In every corner of this diverse State, in small towns and rural areas, in affluent suburbs and in the inner cities, the people of Illinois went to the polls and raised their voices for raising the minimum wage. The voters we represent ought to guide our conscience and our votes, today and in the future. With that, Majority Leader Lightford, I'm proud to stand with you and urge an Aye vote.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Barickman, for what purpose you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 Senator Hutchinson, for what purpose you seek recognition?

Thank you, Mr. President. To the bill.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

So first thing I want to do is say thank you to my colleague, Senator Kimberly Lightford, because I know, as long as I have been in this Senate, there's one thing -- there's actually two things she will say that there is a reason why she's here - one is education, and we all know that, and the other one is this minimum wage bill, which she's filed every single year since 1999. So for all the people talking about how fast this is going, I want to say to my sister, congratulations on this day, because this is an incredible day, which leads me to the 1.4 million people across the State of Illinois that we're going to help, 1.4 million people who have been waiting since 2010 for an adjustment in their salaries. So what today really is, is an example of the fine -- of a day where we all get tested with our own words. I -- if I had a nickel for every time somebody stood up and said, "No one who works full-time should ever live in poverty." No one who works full-time should ever live in poverty. So while we decry people who require social service assistance and -- and -- and need rental subsidies and assistance meeting their basic needs, but we know that eight dollars and twenty-five cents is not enough to afford a market rate two bedroom apartment without a subsidy - you can't win for losing. Add to that child care, add to that food, add to that the need to go to school, go to work, go to do any of those things that we ask people to do to be full participants in our 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 society. What this means today, regardless of all the noise and the din that we here outside about what's too hard for us to accomplish and what we can't do and how this is moving too fast and any other excuse you can have for not acknowledging the fact that in 2019 if you have ever said, "Nobody who works full-time should live in poverty", today is your day to do something about it. Don't tell me what you believe in - show me. Our constituents need you to show them what you believe in. So for all these people across this State who wondered whether anybody was listening, if anybody heard you, if anybody in these hallowed halls of the General Assembly where we make the laws sees you, I want you to know today that we're going to take a vote that says we see you and we hear you. And today's the day we finally get a chance to do something about it. I urge an Aye vote for a lot of reasons, but most importantly is because there's not a single person sitting in here that doesn't know that we have constituents every day that wakeup when it's still dark outside and they work all day, they string together their, somehow, hourly jobs to figure out how to make benefits, to figure out how to raise their kids, and when they get home it's dark outside and they start the second shift, the one that belongs to their family, and then they get up the next day and they do it all over again. And they don't have a lobbyist. They don't have anybody who's down here lighting fires on behalf of them. They don't have that. All they have is us. And we don't have the luxury of being myopic. We don't have the luxury of only taking one argument and saying that's supreme over anybody else's argument. We're charged with making very difficult, complicated decisions when we sit here on behalf of the one word that's in front of every single one of our titles. No matter where 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 you come from, no matter what your district looks like, no matter how you got to this Capitol, the one word that's in all of our titles is "State". I am a State Senator and there are 1.4 million people across this State who have been waiting for this day for so long. So I am going to hit my button and I'm going to vote Yes and I'm going to do it proudly, even though it's hard and even though, for some, it might be a little scary. 'Cause for those people in my district, I need them to know that I see them and I hear them, and today's the day I finally get to do something about it. Thank you, Senator Lightford. And to the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, I urge strongly an Aye vote.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Rose, for what purpose you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Want to wrap it up, Senator?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator McConchie, for what purpose you seek recognition? SENATOR McCONCHIE: Question of the sponsor.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Sponsor indicates she will yield. SENATOR McCONCHIE: Thank you. Thank you, Leader Lightford. Do you have any estimates or any numbers on what kind of job loss this may result in statewide? 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator, for that question - there you are - for that question, because I asked that question and the business group could not provide any data to show any loss of jobs. In fact, we were in the subject matter hearing for Labor and that question was asked. And on the record, the organization representing said they had no data to show that there would be any business loss. And then, more on a personal note, the same groups, businesses that shared with me back in 2003 that they would go out of business, told me again in 2006 that they were going out of business. So it was really nice to see them three years later. And then I got so excited when I ran the bill in 2010, the same entities who told me that they were going to go out of business in 2003 and 2006 told me in 2010 that they were going to go out of business. And so I'm sure they're still around in 2019, because there's no data to prove that any business have gone out of business or left the State of Illinois as a result of a minimum wage increase.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator McConchie. SENATOR McCONCHIE: Thank you, Leader Lightford. To the bill.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) …bill, Senator. SENATOR McCONCHIE: Thank you, Leader. So my understanding from the National Federation of Independent Business is that their estimate is that 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 this would result in a loss of ninety-three thousand jobs in the State, and there is some historical background to this. So when we raised the minimum wage in 2006, we did it from 2007 to a 2010 ramp. And during that time frame, in the first year alone, we lost fifty thousand jobs in the State of Illinois. Now, I'll comment that this bill almost has no effect on my particular district. My -- the -- the wages in my area are already, predominately in entry-level jobs, fifteen dollars an hour or above. So even with the ramp, we're -- we're already pretty well down the road on this. However, my district is not representative of the rest of the State. And I'd like to echo what Senator Rose just said, in that I believe that a one-size-fits-all approach is exactly the wrong solution for an aggressive measure of this sort, especially given the historical numbers that we have. So this has been done in other states. New York, which is not exactly the bastion of conservative policy, raised the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour, yet included regionalization. There is one rate for New York City, there is another rate for the suburban areas, and then upstate New York had another rate that was then tied to inflation, so that those businesses in those areas that are not as economically prosperous as the City of New -- as New York City or the suburbs are able to afford that as their economies grow. And I believe that this lack of regionalization is -- will further exacerbate the loss of jobs that we've seen in the past. And what jobs are lost in this case? It is entry-level, unskilled jobs that are the ones that end up being lost with -- especially without a regionalization factor. And for many people, this is the first step on the economic ladder to economic prosperity. The first way to get in -- the first job that they get in order to get the skills 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 and get the experience necessary to be able to get well-paying jobs down the road. And so, without a realization factor, this is not a proposal I could support and I would encourage a No vote. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Fowler, for what purpose you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hastings, for what purpose you seek recognition?

To the bill, Mr. President.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

I, too, have a glorious district; it's known as the fighting 19th. And I want to commend the sponsor on taking into accommodation a few things, that being seasonal workers, temporary workers, youth workers. All of that has been included in this bill and I thank you for that. I also thank you for easing the transition of this onto small businesses with the assistance of a small business tax credit that will provide employers relief over a period of time so that employers do not have to lay off workers. I conducted similar surveys across my district, one in the form of an election in 2014, where ninety-two percent of one part of my district said they were for minimum wage, seventy-four percent of another part of my district said they were for a minimum wage, sixty-seven percent of a more conservative part of it -- of my district said they were for a minimum wage. My whole district 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 said they were for a minimum wage; that includes a very conservative part and a very liberal part of the southwest suburbs of Chicago, which was directly hit by the industrial collapse of the south suburbs in Illinois. I also conducted another survey and sponsored a bill for home health care workers, people who have to go to work every day and help people, and whether that means getting them up out of bed and walking them into a shower, helping them bathe themselves or even changing their diaper on a daily basis, a job that many of us in this Chamber would never consider doing. We passed that bill out of the other -- this Chamber and passed it out of the other Chamber and that minimum wage increase was vetoed. Those people have a tough job and they get paid eight dollars and twenty -- eight dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. And it's a shame that they don't get paid more for the tough job that they have to do. And looking across the aisle, I wouldn't want to change any of your diapers for eight and a quarter an hour. I also represent social service providers, those that have to go to work every day where people have developmental disabilities or violent propensities, and they have no help, they have no control over that - they get paid eight and a quarter an hour. And for me today to rise and to speak isn't to make a statement or make a joke about changing diapers on the other side of the aisle; the reason I rose today is to speak directly to them and to say I'm listening -- I'm listening to you as your representative. I see the plight that you go through on a daily basis. I understand what it's like to wake up and not feel valued sometimes. This bill, right here, is giving back to them. And for you, Leader Lightford, I say thank you. I'm looking forward to fifty-nine votes on that board. And if you don't vote on this bill, I hope 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 you have a lot of explaining to do when you go home to those people that go to work on a daily basis and can't make ends meet. Thank you, Leader. Thank you for this opportunity to vote on this historic measure and God bless you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Righter, for what purpose you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) To the bill, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Last person seeking recognition, Senator Koehler, for what purpose you seek recognition?

Thank you, Mr. President. Question of the sponsor.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Sponsor indicates she will yield.

And -- and first I want to make a comment and then ask a question. But, Majority Leader Lightford, thank you so much for all your time on this. I hope that when you add the hours up that you, in fact, have reached the minimum wage on this, so… But I want to thank, as well, the comments of my colleagues, Senators Hastings, Hutchinson, Collins, and -- and Sandoval. I think you've articulated very well the -- the heart and soul of what this is about, because this is a moral issue; that when people who work full-time still live in poverty, that's a moral issue not only for this State, but for this nation, and so we have to address that. Leader, you recognized that we've had some very good discussions amongst our own caucus about just how this affects some of the different areas that we represent in -- in this State. I guess 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 I'd like to have some level of comfort or assurance that -- that this does not end the discussion about, you know, any differences that we might have in economies throughout this State, but that you, in fact, would be involved in those conversations and that this would be something that will be carried on as it goes into the House.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford.

Thank you, Mr. President. I will do my best, Senator. Next week we are not here in town, but I will participate via conference call if there's discussions in the House to do anything different from the measure we send over, Senate Bill 1.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Koehler.

And -- and thank you for that. You know, I think that we have to recognize that -- that this does affect different parts of the State in different ways. And so it's not what we should do. We should be at fifteen dollars an hour. We should have a pathway to fifteen dollars an hour. What I'm talking about is, is -- is how we do that, and with that assurance, I would urge an Aye vote.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Majority Leader Lightford, to close.

Thank you, Mr. President. All I can say is, "My, my, my." I never thought that I would hear a Republican say that we shouldn't be moving people off the rolls. I've never heard a Republican say, "We want to keep people on SNAP", that "We want to keep them 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 on WIC", "We want to keep them on TANF". My entire twenty years here have been Republicans saying, "We need to move people off the rolls", because you never want to fund social service programs. My, my, my. Today is the day that we want to assist those same hardworking poor people. We want to give 'em food stamps - you know why? Because they can't afford to buy food to eat. We want to make sure that they have child care. You didn't care about child care for the last four years. Didn't care about funding it, for sure. Now, today, we care about -- making sure that kids have child care. You know, it amazes me that you used my own information. I'm just so tickled by the concept that someone would even stand on the Floor and advocate for something they've been dead set against publicly for a very long time. A lot was said, Ladies and Gentlemen. I just want to clarify a few things. One of the things that's really important that we could use clarification on is our university systems. I stepped onto the campus of Western Illinois University thirty-three years ago. I am a Leatherneck. You can't take that away from me. I earned a master's degree from the University of Illinois right here at Springfield. It was Sangamon State University. I was part of the first graduating class of UIS. You can't take that away from me. There's nothing that I would do to harm our university system. It was the previous administration that put us in the hole we're in with our university system. We have a commitment from the Governor to ensure that funding goes to our university systems, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. So there's nothing that I would do to harm exactly where I came from. That makes no sense. Not only do we have a commitment for our universities, we also have a commitment for these very programs that -- that Senate Republicans 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 care about today. It amazes me that we can talk about a family that earns sixteen thousand five hundred dollars a year. That is the salary of a full-time minimum wage worker, sixteen thousand five hundred dollars a year. The federal poverty wage is seventeen thousand one hundred and sixty dollars a year. I didn't -- I didn't make it up. According to President Trump - he said, "It costs seventeen thousand one hundred and sixty dollars to live outside of poverty." Yet, here in Illinois, we pay sixteen thousand five hundred for a full-time worker. So we're keeping people in poverty on a national level. That is why you see so many states moving the minimum wage, because over the past ten years, fifteen percent rise in the cost of living, but yet their wages have been held for the last nine years. How do you keep up with a fifteen percent cost in living if your wages never grow? You do what Senator Hutchinson said. You work two, three jobs. You wake up when it's dark and you leave your family and you work the job, then you hop on the bus and you go to the next job and then you come home at night when it's dark. And guess what? You do all of that because you want dignity. You don't want to live on SNAP. You don't want to wait for people to say, "Here is your housing voucher". You want to be able to pay your own rent. These are hardworking people every day. So I encourage us to stop trying to keep people poor. When we talk about rural Illinois, one of the Senators that stood up and spoke about it, he's already got something on his web, right now. It's a big joke to you. It's a farce. You wanted to speak on the Senate Floor so you can go post. You wanted to post. It's already there. And what's so amazing is that rural Illinois -- I have a study too. The National Employment Law Project says, "In rural Illinois, they should be making today 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 fourteen dollars and fifty-eight cents". Yet, they're at eight and a quarter. They won't see that amount until 2025. So there is a phase-in, Ladies and Gentlemen. The business credit is important, because Democrats care about business too. We want to make sure that there are jobs for people to go to. We want to make sure that those businesses are thriving and expanding, and we want to make sure that this credit is clearly understood. Senator, it's monitored {sic} after the EDGE credit that's been around since 1999. It's monitored {sic} after the small business tax credit that's been around since 2010. This is not a new credit that's hard to understand. And lucky for us, we have a new Director of Revenue, who's willing to ensure that it's easily understood for all of those who want to apply for that credit. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, here's what my closing is, a fifteen-dollar minimum wage increase actually creates economic activity. It decreases the reliance on government. What is known is that if there's a surplus, the power, the engines are turning, people have more money, they spend more. We're looking to see them generate nineteen billion dollars in economics. Nineteen billion back into the State of Illinois just because they're working, they're -- they're earning what they're working for, they're able to maybe buy a extra steak. What I also know is that it's long overdue. It's terribly long overdue. So the -- the real question, the real question is, why have we waited so long? The time is now, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. I encourage you to vote Aye and I would even encourage those on the other side of the aisle who believes that this is not the right thing to do, who believe that they would never ever support a minimum wage increase, vote for your constituents who also live in poverty. I encourage an Aye 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 vote.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) The question is, shall Senate Bill 1 pass. All those in favor will vote Aye. Opposed, Nay. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Take the record. On that question, there are 39 voting Aye, 18 voting Nay, 0 voting Present. Senate Bill 1, having received the required constitutional majority, is declared passed. Mr. Secretary, Messages from the House.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Resolutions. On the Order of Resolutions is House Joint Resolution 26. Mr. Secretary, read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Hunter moves to suspend the rules for the purpose of immediate consideration and adoption of House Joint Resolution 26. Those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 the rules are suspended. Senator Hunter moves the adoption of House Joint Resolution 26. All in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Attention, Members of the Senate, for an announcement: Friday, February 15th, - Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention - Friday, February 15th, is the deadline to file Senate bills. Please have the bills filed by 3 p.m. on Friday, February 15th. Senator Oberweis, for what purpose you seek recognition?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Please proceed, Senator.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) We will now proceed to the Order of Resolutions Consent Calendar. With leave of the Body, all those resolutions read in today will be added to the Consent Calendar. Mr. Secretary, have there been any objections filed to any resolution on the Consent Calendar?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Is there any discussion? If not, the question is, shall the resolutions on the Consent Calendar be adopted. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it. The motion carries, 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 101st GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 10th Legislative Day 2/7/2019 and the resolutions are adopted. Mr. Secretary, Introduction of Senate Bills.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Resolutions.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Mr. Secretary, Resolutions Consent Calendar. There being no further business to come before the Senate, pursuant to House Joint Resolution 26, the Senate stands adjourned until the hour of noon on the 19th day of February 2019, or until the call of the Illinois Senate President. Senate stands adjourned. 54