Illinois Senate Floor Debate — June 9, 2004

Thank you, Mr. President. For purpose of an announcement.

The Senate Republicans will have a caucus immediately upon recess or when we stand at ease or however you term it today. Thank you.

7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Now, let me make sure I understand correctly. We had thirty days in which to reject the pay increase.

Now this has to so over -- this has to go over to the -- what do you mean I’m out of order?

Thank you, Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield for a couple questions, please?

Thank you. The first one is: Senator Trotter, why couldn’t we have done this on May 30th or May 31st? Why do we have to do it in the middle of June?

So, Senator Trotter, didn’t you and some of the budgeteers, as they call ‘em, know that we needed a supplemental so we could recapture some federal money before we left here at the end of May, rather than come back here in a kind of special Session?

Just one more question, Mr. President. Senator Trotter, so this is eight hundred and fifty million in supplemental spending. Is it correct to characterize, for we laypeople who are not appropriations folks, that the Blagojevich budget that we left here with about a year ago was eight hundred and fifty million dollars non-balanced?

Thank you, Mr. President. Very quickly, just to the bill. Obviously, I think all of us here roll up our sleeves and will come down to sort of an extraordinary Session any time there’s work to be done, and obviously, there’s work to be done. But I do want to point out, it’s a little frustrating because I believe that rather than burn up a lot of money in travel expenses and other things today, this could have been handled by the end of May. We knew that we needed to do this before we left here awhile ago. And also, to the eight-hundred-and-fifty million-dollar supplemental, I do characterize this as an out- of-whack or unbalanced budget. There were a number of budget assumptions that I think were faulty, including the sale of the Thompson Center and others, and we’re here fixing a budget that was passed last year of Governor Blagojevich’s and his administration that was unbalanced by about eight hundred and fifty million. But I’m an Aye.

Thank you, Mr. President. To the bill.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chamber, I rise with regards to House Bill 953, a provision that we’ve not talked about yet that’s probably not the best-known provision in the bill, and that has to do with the creation of the Managed Care Task Force for Illinois’ Medicaid Program. 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Managed care for Medicaid is a scary term to some. It’s not as scary as having to borrow eight hundred and fifty million dollars here to get us through this budget year, and it’s not nearly as scary as the double-digit growth we are seeing in the Medicaid budget. We all -- regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on, we all want to see that the medical services that are provided for those who need the taxpayers’ help are quality services and they’re accessible, and some of us even want to say more of those people should be able to access those by raising the income thresholds. But the bottom line is, is that one out of every four dollars that we spend out of the General Revenue Fund budget right now goes to Medicaid. At the current rate of growth, that will double every nine years. In twenty years, six out of every ten dollars we spend out of General Revenue Fund will be spent on Medicaid, which means all the wrangling that we’ve done here to talk about other vital State services and building schools or funding schools, we’ll be able to save a lot of time, but we won’t have to debate those issues anymore because there really won’t be the kind of money we need to do any of those things. So, I’m glad to see that that has been made part of this bill. I think it’s time for this State to get serious like other states have. Other states, fifty-seven percent of their Medicaid population is managed care. Illinois’ is seven. We’re about a decade behind, and I hope that this task force is a serious step forward to getting that growth under control. Thank you, Mr. President.

Going to allow me to speak, Pat?

Thank you. You know, just in case the Governor’s listening - that was a call from the Governor, wanted us to come down - I’m sorry, Governor, we’re not available. We’ve got -- pressing business to do on the Floor of the Senate, and we’re not available right now to -- to meet with you, so I’m sorry. On this issue of the managed care, and I have to -- I’ve got to say 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 that this is a -- an issue that we brought to the table, quite frankly, and it’s not -- this is not the -- supplemental appropriation. This is the issue by which we create a fund in which the supplemental appropriation will go into and then also create a task force of eight members, I believe, to -- to look into managed care. And from all indications that we get -- and most states have some form of Medicaid managed care, and I think there’s about seven percent of the population in Illinois is under some form of managed care in Medicaid. We all -- if you are in an HMO with the State, you are in a managed care provider. You -- you are -- your utilization is impacted by the fact that we are enrolled in an HMO. This is nothing more than what most people in Illinois do now, is we’re asking of the Medicaid population. And we’re -- we’re told that there are just literally millions and millions of dollars that could be saved by moving in this direction. So, we appreciate you, Senator Trotter, and the fact that you’ve worked with us on this issue, and we think it should move forward. And hopefully the -- the task force that -- the commission that is established will have some recommendations that will give us a -- a direction in which most of the states of this country have gone and certainly we in Illinois need to follow. Thank you.

Thank you -- thank you, Mr. President. To the bill. First of all, Mr. President, my congratulations to you in the Chair. You have the ability to bring our caucus together, really like nobody else. But to the bill, we’re here because, really, a failure of leadership from the Second Floor. There’s -- there’s no other way that you can characterize this. The Governor has managed somehow, someway to mess up a three-man parade. I still cannot figure out how he did it, but he did it. And now here we are on June 9th trying to pull his cheese out of the fire. And the reason his cheese was in the fire is because he bet wrong on the Clean Energy Trust Fund. He messed that up to the tune of a hundred and twenty-five million dollars. He bet wrong on the riverboat license, the tenth one, three hundred and fifty million dollars. And as we all know, he really bet wrong on the 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Thompson Center and managed to provoke most of his friends in the process. I think over the next few days, and what inevitably are going to be the next few weeks, we’re all going to have to get used to spending a lot more time together, and it’s unfortunate, because it’s a reflection of failed leadership, the failure to make tough decisions and the failure to bring people together that we see out of the Second Floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. Well, first of all, I’d like to agree with Senator Watson about how important it is and how good it is that the sponsor is bringing forward an effort to introduce more managed care into the system of Medicaid in Illinois. We’ll get more mileage out of the money that’s spent. In Illinois, we have about seven percent of the dollars are spent under managed care. An average of our surrounding states, all of the surrounding states, have sixty-seven percent of their spending under that. So I think that it -- it very much is a step in the right direction, and I applaud the effort of both sides of the aisle on that. Last May, many of us cautioned the Majority caucus to avoid revenue gimmicks and smoke-and-mirrors accounting to balance the budget. Now, unfortunately, the reality has caught up with us -- with us in the form of an eight-hundred-million-dollar deficit. I just have a question. There’s -- there’s a hole in the budget now, as Senator Roskam just pointed out, of the hundred and twenty-five million from the -- the raid on the Clean Energy Trust Fund, the sale -- that’s a hundred and twenty-five million; the tenth riverboat license, three hundred and fifty million; and the mortgage on the Thompson Center is two hundred million. That’s about eight hundred million dollars. If those had come into place, Senator, would we have to borrow this eight hundred million?

So, what you’re saying is that we would be borrowing this anyway and we’d be spending it anyway. So, really, is the -- is the point you just made that no matter how much money you give us, we’ll go ahead and spend it?

Just a clarification, Senator, for the benefit of all the Members here. The revenue estimate for this year’s revenue, the repetitive, I’m under the impression from -- I believe it’s the Economic and Fiscal Commission, that we are on track for those revenues as far as the estimates. It’s just these extraordinary -- some people would refer to ‘em as gimmicks, and you might refer to ‘em as one-time. You know, mortgaging the Thompson Center or raiding a fund. Isn’t it true that the revenue 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 estimates -- I’ve seen published reports that the revenue estimates on the ongoing, those have hit the target. So, this isn’t a matter that the economy didn’t come back quickly enough. Isn’t it accurate that the revenue estimates have made their -- hit their marks this year?

Thank you, Mr. President. Just a few brief comments in listening to the comments from the gentleman on the other side of the aisle. I thought Governor Blagojevich began his first term in January of ’03. The -- the issue as it relate to managed care and the -- and Medicaid, I recall when Jim Edgar was Governor and tried to deal with that issue. I didn’t hear you guys say anything. The fiscal crisis we find ourselves in is not due to his leadership. It’s due to what happened due to 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 previous Governors. Now, all the debate about borrowing. He walked into a five-billion-dollar deficit. Perhaps on your side of the aisle -- the Governor said he’s not raising the income tax. I haven’t seen anyone on that side of the aisle say “I want to raise the income tax.” He walked into this. This is not the first time that a chief executive has went into negotiations for short-term borrowing. Ryan did it. Edgar did it. Thompson did it. But none of them inherited a situation that this Governor inherited. And all the hue and cry, “smoke and mirrors,” all this. You need revenue. The Medicaid situation just didn’t hop up during this administration. It’s been there for years, when you had the chief executive, you had the President of the Senate, and you didn’t do anything. Now all of a sudden, you try to give the appearance to the press that the budgetary problems we find ourselves in was as a result of having a new Governor. Any Governor coming into the situation in January 2003 would have had the same problem. It built up over the years. And now this Governor and we are trying to deal with it. It takes borrowing. It takes innovative ways to come up with the revenue to deal with the budget. So, let’s not give the pretense that it just happened. I’ve been here in overtime Sessions before with a Republican Governor. Under Pate Philip as the Senate President, we went into overtime Session. So it’s nothing new. If we are -- if we are genuinely sincere about trying to resolve this issue instead of trying to play partisan politics, then I would say you call a press conference, jump on Jim Edgar, jump on -- on former Governor George Ryan about the budget mess we find ourselves in. But it was not due to this new administration. He walked into it. But when -- when you’re Leadership on that side of the aisle and you stand up saying, “We have a problem,” I haven’t seen any of you stand up and say, “I want to raise some taxes to finance the budget.” You haven’t said that. And you don’t want to accept the blame for the mess we find ourselves in. I’m not fearful of being in overtime Session. We’re all legislators. We’ve got to resolve this issue. And the issue as it relate to managed care just didn’t pop up because this administration is here. If all the surrounding states have some form of Medicaid, then -- blame the previous Governors. Blame the former Senate President and 18  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 yourselves when you had control, ‘cause you did nothing to try to resolve the issue. So that’s the mess we find ourselves in. This is a -- this is a -- a -- an attempt to -- to capture federal dollars so we can pay off some bills in the Medicaid line, the providers and so forth. It’s been done before, many, many times before. So, let’s quit playing games with the issue and do what we’re supposed to do - be responsible legislators. Go ahead and vote for it, as we done it under George Ryan, as we did under Edgar, as we did under Jim Thompson. It’s no different.

Thank you. And for -- just a question. First of all, I’m not going to ask for a verification, obviously, you know. But - - but secondly, I’d just like to point out that I do have my 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Governor Jim Edgar lapel pin on today. Maybe that’s what we need back. But, thirdly, we would request a Republican Caucus immediately.

Well, a -- a caucus is always in order. And knowing that you have a lot to talk about, we will be back on the Floor at 3 p.m. sharp.

The hour of 3 o’clock having arrived, Madam Secretary, Senate Bill -- House Bill 2746. Senator Trotter. Senator Trotter seeks leave to move House Bill -- 2726 {sic} back to the Order of 2nd Reading. Is leave granted? Leave is granted to the Order of 2nd Reading. On the Order of 2nd Reading is Senate Bill -- is House Bill 2728 {sic}. Are there any amendments? I’m sorry. Disregard that. It’s House Bill 2746, on the Order of 2nd Reading. Madam Secretary, are there any amendments approved for consideration?

Senator Trotter.

Senator Trotter seeks leave to adopt Amendment No. 1 to House Bill 2746. Are there any discussion? Any discussion? Senator Brady.

21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Question of the Chair. The board indicates this is on 3rd Reading. The motion is to adopt an amendment.

I believe your eyes was fooling you, Senator. Any further discussion? Senator Trotter moves for the adoption of Amendment No. 1 to House Bill 2746. All in favor, signify by saying Aye. No Nays. Ayes have it. Amendment is adopted. Madam Secretary, are there any further amendments?

3rd Reading. Now on the Order of 3rd Reading is House Bill 2746. Senator Trotter. Madam Secretary, read the bill.

Senator Trotter.

Senator Trotter moves to pass House Bill 2746. Are there any -- is there any discussion? Any discussion? If not -- Senator Brady.

Sponsor yield?

He indicates he will.

Senator Trotter, this supplemental will appropriate eight hundred and fifty million to the Medicaid budget if I heard you correctly, right? And -- and in order to do so, we also are seeking today authorization to borrow eight hundred and fifty million. Is that correct?

22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Senator Trotter.

Senator Trotter, what -- last year when you brought a budget to us and the Governor…

Senator Brady.

Thank you. Last year when you brought a budget to us and the Governor proclaimed it as a balanced budget, he took us out of all the problems that George Ryan created and solved all this problem, what was the year-end balance in that budget projection?

Senator Trotter.

Senator Brady.

We believe it was around six hundred million dollars. Would you agree with that?

Senator Trotter.

Senator Brady.

Senator Trotter, also in last year’s budget, we failed to realize that the federal government was going to give us about seven hundred million, which they gave us and we did not appropriate. Is that not right?

Senator Trotter.

Senator Brady.

Senator Trotter, to borrow the eight hundred and fifty million - and my math may not be good - but if we had a six- hundred-million-dollar end-of-year balance, the feds gave us seven hundred million that we didn’t account for, that’s a billion three. Now, this budget that was supposed to solve all of our problems last year, be fiscally sound and be with -- without holes, now appears to have one huge problem because you’re wanting to borrow and spend another eight hundred and fifty million dollars when we should have had a year-end balance of a billion three, if we simply take into account the year-end balance you projected and the seven hundred million dollars the feds gave us. Now we’re having to borrow another eight hundred and fifty. I mean, this is sure appearing to me to show that last year’s budget was at least two billion dollars out of whack. Would you agree with that through your need to necessitate the borrowing today with the understanding of six hundred -- let me go through this again ‘cause I want to be perfectly clear. Six hundred million year-of-end balance which we should have had under Governor Blagojevich and everyone’s magic resolution to our fiscal problems. Seven hundred million make it a billion three, federal funds. Now we need -- even aside from that, we need eight hundred and fifty million more. My math tells me that last year we passed something that was over two billion dollars out of whack. Would you briefly comment on that? And then I’d like to make closing statement.

Senator Trotter.

Senator Brady.

Thank you -- thank you, Mr. President. Just to close. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is -- last year we predicted that the budget that Governor Blagojevich put in front of us was a budget of massive destruction of the State of Illinois, and it clearly was. We argued with you that your gimmicks - and I shouldn’t say yours, ‘cause they were Governor Blagojevich’s gimmicks - that his projections wouldn’t come together. We argued that the increase in the rolling stock and the truck fees would drive licenses out of the State. They did. Seventeen thousand -- seventeen million dollars just in fees. But it’s time to admit that we made a mistake. This is clearly an indication that we failed last year, and if we don’t admit we made a mistake, we can’t learn from our mistakes. We should have a billion three, if that budget was right, to even meet this underestimated in Medicaid expenditures. And the public needs to know that. I am going to vote against this bill, partly because we haven’t resolved our debt restructuring initiative that we need to have in compliance so that when this money is borrowed, it’s not done in such a way that we don’t bid out who’s going to make what, whose friends are going to get paid what. I’m going to vote against it because we’re masking a problem, a problem -- a financial problem, a crisis we have that we didn’t solve last year. We should be dealing with next year’s budget in a prudent bipartisan way, not masking last year’s problems.

25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Senator Halvorson.

Senator Rauschenberger.

Thank you, Mr. President. I first want to rise in warm support of the sponsor of the bill. He’s done a good job. He and I have had the opportunity to spend some time together over the last few weeks as we’ve tried to kind of pull some things together not just for this supplemental, but to -- hopefully that -- as the Leaders have an opportunity to get together with the Governor, that we’ve got the infrastructure in place to pass a budget. But I do want to rise and correct some misconceptions that were raised in debate earlier and just recently then by Senator Halvorson. And by the way, congratulations on your master’s degree. I would point out that there is some simple math to -- to Senator Brady’s point. His point is that if you had -- if you had seven hundred and eighty-one million dollars of unanticipated federal dollars plus a year-end balance of six hundred million, you would have already paid these Medicaid bills and already received your enhanced federal match. We are borrowing because we needed all seven hundred and eighty-one million of the unanticipated federal money from the Republican Congress and the Republican President to bail out a Governor’s 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 budget that didn’t work very well. And I just wanted to correct some misconceptions in the previous debate. There’s kind of a lot of handwringing when we’re talking about the management of the process. This is unusual for us to be together this late in June. So I -- I would say that -- that if I was in the Majority, I would have to shoulder some responsibility for that, and I know it may not be comfortable over there. But, you know, there is a reason that we’re here after our scheduled adjournment date and our constitutional deadline, and it’s because there’s some management problems on your side of the aisle and in your -- your side of the political process. So, you know, kind of get over it and just kind of get with that part. And -- and to the issue of Senator -- of -- of Governor Ryan. I just think we ought to put that to bed once and for all, and let’s -- let’s just kind of be real honest with ourselves. September 11th hit. We had an unprecedented recession across the country. Forty-seven states went into the tank on their revenues, as well as the federal government. Income tax revenues failed across the country. We had a walk down in real income for the first time in over thirty years in the United States. Unprecedented times. During Governor Ryan’s term, he asked the legislative Leaders to get together to meet on the budget. I remember legislative Leaders on the Democratic side saying, “This is the Governor’s budget. We’re inclined to listen. We don’t think it’s time to overreact.” The Governor, then, cut four hundred million dollars out of his own budget and try to -- tried to manage. During Veto Session he asked for budget discussions and was told by the Speaker of the House, still Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan, that he was not inclined to cut the Governor’s budget. Coming back in January, do you remember the Governor asked for extraordinary authority to cut further in his budget? It was supported by this side of the aisle and not by that side of the aisle. In February of that year, for the first time I -- in my memory in twenty years, a Governor introduced a budget lower than his previous years. George Ryan’s February budget after September 11th was lower than previous years…

27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Will the Senator begin to address the issue that’s before us and not give political speeches?

I’ll -- I’ll wrap right up. And then in -- in Memorial Day he introduced a budget that was smaller yet. This Governor introduced a budget that was larger by a billion dollars…

Will the Senator address the -- the issue that’s before us, please?

Well -- okay. Well, I guess we’re all bored with this. But I just wanted to make sure we had that piece of history. Senator Trotter has done a good job with this bill. He’s absolutely my favorite over there. I like his speeches better than Schoenberg’s, and -- and I -- and -- and I would urge -- I would urge Members on this side of the aisle to help this administration dig out of their hole.

Senator Brady, for a short second time.

Well, thank you, Mr. President. I do. My name was mentioned in debate, but more importantly, one of my colleagues said that Senator Halvorson referenced the fact that I’m an attorney. Make absolutely no mistake: I’m not an attorney. I don’t have a master’s degree. Barely graduated from -- college, like the Governor. Thank you.

Senator Schoenberg.

28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Listening to your remarks, may I remind the Members that the Senate does have some decorum and I -- I wish the Members would adhere to that and not try to drown out other Members when they are speaking. Senator Trotter, to close.

The question is, shall House Bill -- 2746 pass. Those in favor will signify by voting 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 -- on that question, there are 55 voting Aye, 3 Nays, no one voting Present. House Bill 2746, having received the required constitutional majority, is declared passed. Madam Secretary, on the Calendar now is House Bill 2726. Senator Trotter seeks leave to take House Bill 2726 back to the Order of 2nd Reading. Is leave granted? Leave is granted. House Bill 2726 is on the Order of 2nd Reading for the purpose of an amendment. Madam Secretary, read the bill.

Senator Trotter.

Senator -- Senator Trotter moves for the adoption of Amendment No. 1 to House Bill 2726. Is there any discussion? Senator Brady.

Thank you, Mr. President. Just a clarification of the sponsor. Senator Trotter, I believe you said seven hundred and fifty-eight million for education, and I believe it’s seven hundred and fifty-eight thousand.

Senator Trotter

Senator Lightford.

Senator Luechtefeld.

Thank you, Mr. President, Members of the Senate. Just to give you a little bit of background on that -- that shooting facility. For several years now, the Department of Natural Resources has been working on this project. The -- World Amateur Trapshooting Association was having to leave an airport in Ohio that they were located on and had been located since the 1920s, and the State of Illinois attempted to -- to bring them into Illinois. Now, that happened -- that particular facility happens to be in Representative Reitz’s and myself’s district. As I say, the Department of Natural Resources has been working on this three or four years, trying to get them to commit to come into Illinois. They look at it as being a tremendous economic development project for southern Illinois. You know, our Governor has come to southern Illinois a number of times and has said that, you know, he wanted us to -- you know, he -- he certainly wanted our vote, and in many cases, he did get our vote in southern Illinois and maybe was the difference in him being elected than not. And one of the things that he really talked up and promised was this particular facility. It is a huge facility that is certainly not a Member initiative of mine, but I think a capital project that is really worthwhile to investing in for the economic development of that area. This is not necessarily something that is in my district that will only benefit my district. This is -- is a situation that is so huge 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 that it will benefit all of that area. Again, Sportsmen’s Caucus has -- has -- has -- has supported this from day one. It is -- it is a great project, I think, for the -- for the entire State. It is quite a catch if we can get them. Now, here’s the -- the problem with that is that the Amateur Trapshooting Association, after about three years of -- of the Department being after them to come into -- into Illinois, said they finally would, but they would like some guarantee that there will be a facility there by 2006. And if that guarantee is not met by the first of July of this year, then they will look elsewhere to take their -- their facility. Again, it -- it is something I think that is extremely good for the State. You know, we’ve put hundreds of millions into Chicago on a lot of different issues, and this particular issue is an issue that the Governor has committed to do, is good for the area, is good for all of southern Illinois. And again, the Governor has -- he wanted our vote and he went back, and I’m not real sure that he has certainly been there very often since. But this is a huge project that I think is really worthwhile for all of that region. Thank you.

Senator Haine.

Senator Geo-Karis.

Mr. President, will the sponsor yield for a question?

He indicates he will.

This trapshooting bill -- part of the bill in your amendment?

Senator Trotter.

Mr. -- Oh! Madam President and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, I understand there are at least seven thousand people who attend this that come from all over, and therefore, it would help the economy of that area. No matter whether it’s bipartisan or not, it would help the economy and -- which is very much needed in that area, and I certainly speak in favor of that…

Thank -- thank you very much, Madam President. And hopefully through some conversation, I can clear up some of the questions that the previous speaker raised on -- on the issue of the certainty of the ATA coming to Sparta. First, a question of the sponsor.

Senator Trotter, does the twenty-nine million dollars involved here involve any GRF money or is this all capital -- all capital funds under the Governor’s Opportunity Returns Program?

To the bill. Senator Luechtefeld was very accurate in his description of the history of this -- this complex. The American Trapshooting Association has been located in Ohio for many, many, many years. Because of the proximity of that facility to the airport where they’re located, they’ve been given an ultimatum. Because of airport expansion, they were going to have to relocate their facility. The Illinois Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus - many of you are Members of the Sportsmen’s Caucus - became aware of this probably five years ago. At that time, Joel Brunsvold was Co-Chairman with Bob Madigan, and then I took Bob’s spot as Chairman of the -- Co-Chairman of the Sportsmen’s Caucus, a bipartisan group that saw an opportunity here to provide a facility in Illinois to attract the world -- the world competition from the American Trapshooters -- Amateur Trapshooting Association. Literally thousands of shooters compete every year. They have a mile-long set of trap ranges, a 37  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 highly sought venue throughout the Midwest, I guess, and the ATA began looking four years ago to find a new location. They were approached by Joel Brunsvold, and then Dan Reitz became involved, as now he and I are the Co-Chairmen of the Sportsmen’s Caucus. So, this really has been an -- an initiative of the Sportsmen’s Caucus, Brent Manning, for a few years, when he was Director of DNR, and then Joel picked it up from there. The Governor’s been to Sparta a year ago and announced the commitment to invest State dollars under Opportunity Returns, his program. So, if this is pork for anybody, it’s pork for the entire State of Illinois. It’s pork for Governor Blagojevich. He’s committed to this project, and agreements have been signed. I believe there are solid agreements with the ATA, assuming that the facility will be ready to host the 2006 event in August in 2006. That’s two years. Quite a bit of money has already been spent on design and development of the site, laying out where the roads are going to go. Local communities have invested their dollars in the infrastructure to support this. You’ll have tourists, spectators, campers, all kinds of things. This will be the anchor event for future years to attract all -- all types of -- of top-quality shooting sport events in the State of Illinois. So, that’s the history of it. There are agreements in place, and I believe the issue here is that the ATA needs assurances that the funds are committed, as the Governor has said they will be. They need to know that by July 1st, and they have -- they have seized looking for any other sites. So, they are not looking to Missouri or Wisconsin. They’re looking to come to Illinois, and we need to give them that assurance that the funds will be there. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. I just think it’s important to inform this debate on 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 both sides of the aisle. There seems to be a little bit of confusion. I just want Members to understand that there is not a Republican sponsor on this bill. I -- I want Members to understand that I stayed with Senator Trotter the last ten days down here, and you need to know this project did not come from Dave Luechtefeld. It did not come from Dave Reitz. This came from -- and Dave Reitz, by the way, is a Democrat. Okay. Just - - Dan Reitz or whatever Reitz’s name is. He -- he serves in the House. How would I know? But people need -- people on both sides of the aisle need to know this -- this project was requested by the Department of Natural Resources and the Governor’s Office put it on the table. Now, you can vote any way you want on the bill, but before you -- Senator Hendon, get a clue here, okay? I haven’t had a bill out of Rules in two years, okay? This is not -- this is not a Republican bill. This is not a -- this is not a Republican overtime. This is not a Republican budget mess. So, if you want to vote against this, you’re voting against your Governor’s request. Bless your heart. If you want to vote against downstate interests that Senator Forby’s interested in and Senator Luechtefeld’s interested in, bless your heart. But don’t try to make this partisan. You guys haven’t let us have bills out of Rules. You haven’t included us in discussions. You -- you don’t take information from us. So, don’t try to blame us for -- for projects your Governor requested. Call the Second Floor, get on the same page with the other Democrats. Let’s get done with overtime. I agree with Senator Jacobs. Let’s move on. I agree with Senator del Valle. Let’s get going on TRIP. Let’s take this out of the record. Let’s get your work done and let’s adjourn so the people of Illinois can go about their business.

Madam President, just a point of order.

43  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Could you -- could you ask the Secretary of the Senate to check the oxygen over there? ‘Cause Senator Hendon is showing signs of oxygen deprivation.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. For the previous speaker - and I’m not using your name - for the -- the previous Democratic speaker, let me just say that some of us just communicate in different ways, Senator, and allow some of us to let our vote and our actions speak for themselves.

Senator Hendon, to -- you look a little flushed yourself. I didn’t -- but by the way, to set the record straight, I did not call you a thief. I said the legislation you were sponsoring was stealing from funds. The only thing I hope you ever steal is a base against the House in softball.

Thank you, Miss -- Madam President. I -- I did hear my name, I think. But…

44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 By the way, I -- I checked and most of the votes I’ve made this year have been for your bills, because most of the bills have been sponsored by, I think, Democrats and I voted Yes on almost all of those. There’ve been a few, you’re right, and by the way, I did support -- Senator Clayborne had a bill. Senator -- Senator Haine had a bill. You know, there -- they were good bills and we supported them. By the way, I’m always amazed at what a year -- what a -- what a difference a year makes. I can remember when we were in the Majority. I can remember you very well. You may not believe that I remember you, but I do. And I remember you getting up and voting No on almost everything that we wanted. I don’t know -- I guess it’s a little different now that the Majority’s on the other side, but you -- you voted No an awful lot of times. And not only did you vote No, but you got up and screamed and hollered a lot of times about different things. So, a year makes a lot of difference. And anyway, I appreciate you supporting this bill, Senator. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President. Just -- just a few brief comments after listening to the debate. I recall last week when we were dealing with the next fiscal year on the capital program for schools, to build schools so that we can -- and repair schools so that we can begin developing minds. And I recall the debate on the other side of the aisle. And I recall the Minority Spokesperson and his words to the press when a certain portion of those bond dollars were going to Chicago and I had an amendment to make sure that it go to a school that had been promised. And the comments he made, “This is pork at its zenith. It’s pork.” Now, when it come to something that you want, I guess it’s filet mignon. I -- I know you got a Sportsmen’s Caucus. I -- I see your priorities are more -- more directed toward folks having the opportunity to shoot their guns than it is about educating children. How in the world can you stand on this Senate Floor and justify -- I don’t care where it came for -- from, to justify your supporting this project, no matter how much effort that’s gone into it, what promises have been made, and in the same -- and in the same breath, tell all 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 the school districts across the State of Illinois who has passed resolutions looking forward to the -- the construction dollars that we have proposed and tell the person you vote against that? So, I think sometime your priorities are mixed up. It’s mixed up simply because -- when you call the bond program for schools pork and you, in turn, call this economic development, it’s creating jobs. Well, we like to create minds. I recall what was said during debate when one of your Members said, “I came down here to build prisons.” But you -- but you didn’t come down here to build schools. That’s what this issue is about. So, perhaps if you stood and said, “I made a mistake. I didn’t mean all the things I said last week.” But it’s still twenty-nine million dollars. You could not vote for a single schoolchild in this State. You could not help improve the quality of education in this State. You did not want them to have nice classrooms, where they could be wired for the technology with computers. You didn’t want that. But you want a place where they can go and -- shoot a gun. I think it’s more important that we begin to develop minds in this State so that people will be qualified and -- and become gainfully employed in life. That’s economic development. That’s a wise, wise investment. But when you call money for education, when you call construction bonds for schools and when you have the audacity to call it pork and said -- and come to this program, “Oh, this is economic development.” Sure you got a Sportsmen’s Caucus, which is bipartisan. But you should be this way all the time. Is this pork? Our school bonds, construction program, is that pork, when -- when in that program it listed a priority list which had many schools in your respective districts? But you can vote against that, but you stand up and vote for this. Sometimes I know I don’t think you realize what you’re really saying and what you’re really doing many times, and you got to be sincere. But I read what you said, Minority Spokesman on Appropriation. I’m not calling your name ‘cause I can’t pronounce it. But I recall what you said. When I wanted to direct some of those dollars to help build schools that had been promised, the same as the Senator in this district talked about this had been promised, but you said mine was all pork. Well, I don’t care where it came from, it’s still 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 the same identical thing. Maybe -- Senator Silverstein, when he say it’s pork, and it’s not kosher.

Well, I don’t think -- I guess I didn’t know debate had ended. Just a couple questions of the sponsor.

Is this amendment sponsored by yourself?

Are there any Republican cosponsors on this -- on this amendment?

And is there any reason why we can’t take this out of the record? I agree with President Jones. Let’s take this out of the record. You want it out. Take it out of the record. We’re willing to join you. Are you willing to take it out? Are you willing to pull it? Pull it!

Did you say it correctly? Did I understand that the motion failed on that bill?

Because it wasn’t clear from what you said. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam President. As the Senator who represents Ronald Reagan’s hometown, I think it’s most appropriate that we take a few minutes today to reflect on his life and his legacy of a great, great President. The resolution says he was the first president born in Illinois. I believe he’s the only president born in the State of Illinois. February 6th, 1911, Tampico, Illinois, in Whiteside County, little town of about eight hundred, nine hundred people. Then the family moved to Dixon, Illinois, and he went to school there and grew up and spent his young years in Dixon, and served -- I think one of the things I think that he felt proudest about was working as a lifeguard on the Rock River in Dixon. Believes he was responsible for saving seventy-seven lives over numerous years as a lifeguard on the Rock River. Went on to Eureka College in Woodford County. Inspired young people at -- from that college to become Reagan scholars and did a lot for people from the State of Illinois. Certainly, a -- a native son from Whiteside County, Lee County, Woodford County. Great roots here in the State of Illinois. I'd like to invite you all this evening if you have time, at 9:30 there will be a candlelight vigil at his boyhood home in Dixon. Tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock we’ll have a memorial service at his church, the First Christian Church, in Dixon, and then there’ll be a walk led by the Honor Guard from the National Guard to his boyhood home with additional ceremonies at 11:30 tomorrow in Dixon. I believe the Governor plans to attend. Let me next thank the Governor and commend the Governor for his thoughtfulness in naming Interstate 88 as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. In fact, Senator Jacobs and I had a discussion about that three or four years ago when there was some talk in this Chamber about naming other sections of highway after important citizens of the State of Illinois. Most appropriate that we name Route 88 Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. Goes past his home in Tampico, his birth place, and his home in Dixon. He was known as the Great Communicator. He exuded sunny optimism, as we’ve heard reported today, with strong convictions to his ideological principles that he was unwavering on. He appealed to Republicans and to Democrats in a bipartisan manner. In fact, he was a Democrat 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 turned Republican when he talked about the -- the shining city on a hill. Made us proud again to be Americans at a difficult time in our country’s history. Brought an end to the Cold War by strengthening our defenses and taking a firm resolve to President Gorbachev. And we all know his famous quote, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” And if you come to Dixon, Illinois, you’ll see a piece of the -- Berlin Wall with a mural painted on that wall and those words inscribed on the piece of the wall in Dixon, Illinois, in honor of President Reagan, right across from the courthouse. Had a great sense of humor. Known for his humor and the way that he could tell stories. I think many of you have probably read in the accounts in the paper this week about after the assassination attempt, he said to his wife, Nancy, “I forgot to duck.” Got to the hospital. His first comment to the doctors, looked around and he says “I sure hope you’re all Republicans.” And then his love for jelly beans and, you know, we all have our snacks here at the back of the Chamber. And I walked into the -- the phone booth here at the back of the Chamber and Esther, our assistant back there, had some of the -- Jelly Belly Beans. Fifty-four different flavors. He did appreciate some of the simple things in life, as well. So, today we join Americans everywhere in extending our condolences to the Reagan family and we thank President Reagan’s family for sharing him so generously and for giving us such a great and honorable Illinois native son, citizen, President and world leader. Thank you.

Well, thank you very much, Madam President and Members of the Senate. I know I’m going to date myself by the remarks I’m going to make, but so be it. When I was a young man, there was a song that was very popular. I believe it was written by a lady by the name of Janis Joplin, “Me And Bobby McGee,” in which one of the refrains of that song was “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” And many people looking in -- in the United States upon this concept of freedom took a lot for granted. Seems to me that Senator -- that the -- the great President Ronald Reagan reintroduced most Americans and -- and 53  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 the world to what freedom is. And he gave it a quite different meaning than -- than the words and refrains of that song. In fact, I recall President Reagan at an opportunity I had, a chance to see him speak, in 1984 in the Reunion Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, was at a prayer breakfast in which he, at that point, talked about his view of what liberty is and he adopted a biblical approach. He reminded me and -- and something that I had learned as young child that on the Liberty Bell, there is an inscription that’s taken from the Book of Leviticus, in which the Liberty Bell -- that inscription says that it is to be a proclaiming to all of the land that they are free from their captivity. And Reagan literally believed that and stated it in his doctrine that he believed that it was a birth right of the human race to be free and that this was a direct result of a compact at the moment of creation between the Creator God and every individual. And he said that the founding fathers had it right, that the -- the concept of a person with a relationship to a -- a divine being and God had created him, had places in our heart, an upward reach where we yearn for freedom. Those weren’t empty words in the 1980’s because we were engaged, literally, in a life and death struggle, as Reagan coined it, between the forces of good and the evil empire and used terms like good and evil when all of the -- the pundits of the day thought that this was just an awful thing to do. And the fact of the matter is, that but for someone willing to stand up on this planet and point out that there is a difference not only in philosophy, but in -- in the way that we perceive the world, we would not have had a person who changed the world as -- as President Reagan did. I might add, Madam President, if I may just go on, because this is a -- this individual had a very profound effect in my own life. I have told the press today I viewed him as a political father. See, back in 1960 when I was in my senior year of high school, I voted for John F. Kennedy in a mock election. I -- and my mother was a Democrat. She was a union steward. My father was a Democrat. That’s just the way things were. I was raised in Chicago. Then in 1964, there was a young man who was -- at least I -- a gentleman who was making speeches around the nation who happened to be the spokesperson for General Electric, and his name was Ronald Reagan. He was an 54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 actor and he was saying some things that I thought kind of fit the way I saw the world. And I recall in 1964 something known as “The Speech,” which may have been one of the greatest political orations ever given. And I remember telling my mom that, you know, I’m going to vote for Barry Goldwater. And I really thought that my mom wouldn’t serve me supper after that. But the fact of the matter is that he started a movement that coined the phrase “Reagan Democrats,” and I might add, parenthetically, my mom in 1980 picked up a Republican ballot and voted for Ronald Reagan because he was in -- in a Republican primary and a key battleground, State of Illinois. I’ve had personal meetings with Mr. Reagan, much as many of you here in this Chamber have had with presidential candidates. My first such meeting occurred in 1976 when I was a -- running as a -- for State’s Attorney for the first time and I was also a coordinator for Reagan in his race against then -- then President Gerald Ford. And Reagan came to Peotone, Illinois, and to -- to the Atrium - and I’m sure you know where that is, Madam President - and just before he was going to give his speech, he said, “Well, it’s time for me to put on my make-up.” And at that time, the big debate was whether or not he -- he dyed his hair. He reached into his pocket, he pulled out a comb, he smiled, and he -- a couple of quick flicks and he said, “I’m ready to go.” Out on the stage, he -- he gave just a stem- winder and down he came. I know the date very well because it happened to be a date that was not only my birthday, but my daughter’s first communion, and it was the last time that I ever took a political event over a family event because afterwards, I was the only member of my family that went to this -- this political function. But then in 1978, I had a daughter that was born and -- President Reagan again came to Will County and Joliet. She was two and a half weeks old and my wife had missed Reagan in ’76. She says, “I’m going to this.” And she couldn’t find a babysitter and brought this two-and-a-half-week-old baby in -- in the third week of October to this function, walked into the -- and -- and we just listened to a nice speech. And all of a sudden, a -- a woman comes over, grabs -- literally grabs the baby off my wife’s lap, drops him right onto the President’s lap and someone comes over and takes a picture. Afterwards, you 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 know -- I have this picture of Ronald Reagan with his mouth open at least six inches wide trying to figure out what he’s doing with a two-and-a-half-week-old child on his lap. And it -- it brought the place down because it -- literally, it was with everybody watching and it -- it -- it caused some embarrassment to my spouse. In 1980 I had an opportunity, once again, to -- to not only meet with the President, but in a very unusual place. And I was going to my brother’s wedding -- or -- remarriage in California. We were on a commercial flight. I saw a lot of Secret Service people on -- on this airline so I couldn’t understand what it was all about. But I knew there was somebody from the Secret Service. I asked the waitress. She says, “Governor Reagan’s up in first class.” It just so happened that I was a delegate to the National Convention. I had been elected back in March and I -- my daughter wrote a little hand written note about three lines long about how she loved President Reagan and just wished him the best. The next thing we know the Secret Service whisked my daughter, who was eight years old, and my son, six, and brought ‘em up into first class. They were gone for it seemed, you know, twenty minutes or twenty-five minutes and came back. And my son walked up to me and he -- he had this little -- little picture and he said, “Dad, that -- that man up there gave me this.” And of course, my daughter who was a little older, understood that the man up there was running for President of the United States. But in any event, I had an opportunity to -- to be called to the White House by the President and placed on his National Commission of Violent Crimes and had an opportunity to go into a room that’s no -- no larger than the size of our -- of -- of Frank Watson’s Office and speak with about twenty other prosecutors from across the nation and have a quick-give-and-take. But each and every time that I -- I had an opportunity to interact with this man, the one thing I find out is he was quick on his feet and he truly was a funny -- funny human being. But, to me, the one thing that I will always think about is it became fashionable for me as a person who is conservative Republican to be proud of the label. At times the -- the term of anyone who ran to the right of center was that they were a right wing extremist or a radical, they were crazy. Well, this right wing extremist named 56  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Ronald Reagan won forty-four states out of fifty in 1980 and in 1984 came within three thousand votes of winning every state in the United States of America. But the -- the thing that most will stick in my mind is something that he did in changing the world. And that was simply, he -- he answered a prayer, a constant prayer. I’m a Roman Catholic, and back in the 1950s, literally, every Sunday after mass, we knelt down and prayed for the conversion of Russia. Some of you who are Catholics may remember that. And that prayer wasn’t answered for a long, long time. And there it was then in late 1989 or 1990, we found out that the Lord works in his own ways, because the wall came down and the prayer was answered. The Soviet Union literally came apart. Reagan had predicted it would happen because they were - - their who philosophy was flawed, that the -- that atheistic didactic materialism would never beat the system that we had. The iron curtain came down. The world has been changed. I know that very directly. My son last year flew a mission over Afghanistan where his -- airplane was based, believe it or not, in Kyrgyzstan in the Soviet Union. The world has been changed from the time that I was a young man. And in my opinion, it would not have happened but for the fact that we had someone who had the courage, who had the principle, who had the moral leadership to stand up and say that truth does matter. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The wall came down and this young Polish conservative Republican’s prayer has been answered. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam President. I don’t know if this is time for a true confession or not, but I grew up as a Democrat. And my -- that’s just the way it was. Grandpa was. Mom was and so Dan. And as I got later into life, I started to see the light, I suppose, maybe, and -- and that’s what brought me to be a Republican. But then as I look back and -- and I learned and knew of President Reagan, late 1970s I graduated from college and went to work for Ronald Reagan’s campaign. And if anybody reflects back on the time of Illinois history, Ronald Reagan was not the candidate of choice. In fact, everybody -- everybody in the Republican hierarchy of the State of Illinois was for somebody else. And got involved with his campaign early and had the good fortune to come through the primary and go to the general election, and the Reagan campaign tabbed me to be his executive director for the State of Illinois. And that -- what that really meant was the day-to-day operations, the logistics, staff, material, and whenever the Reagan’s were going to be in the State, to help figure out where they needed to be, what they needed to do. And -- but before we got to that stage, before he, once again, was in this race with ten other candidates for the Republican nomination, Nancy Reagan would come into Illinois and my job was to take a station wagon, one security guy from California and pick her up at the airport. So, you know, who’d of thought many, many, many years later I have been the chauffer for Nancy Reagan. And -- and -- and when the -- when Governor Reagan, as Senator Petka aptly put it, came into the State, had the chance to fly with him on his airplane and -- and talk to 58  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 him, have him look you in the eye and -- and actually engage him. I had the honor to go to his conventions, had the honor to go to his swearing-ins. And then he went on to the White House and that’s where I had the opportunity to join him out there, and I decided to stay in Illinois and make my own political career here. So, I didn’t really be a part of President Reagan, but I did get the experience to be with candidate Reagan. And I know Friday on our -- national day of mourning, there’s going to be presidents and kings, queens and prime ministers of the world are going to be memorializing and revering this great guy, but I think what I will remember most is that look in the eye, that touch on the arm and you had this real sense that this guy engaged you. He really meant it. And he had that ability to do that through the television screens, through the radios, and I think that’s, in part, why he touched many of us so to the extent that that is, in part, how he became known to help us be so proud to be an American. He will be -- he will be missed. May God bless the Reagan family and God bless America.

Madam President and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, I met Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, more than -- in the early sixties at a private party in Lake Forest, Illinois. They were both very gracious, very presentable people and very nice people, people that you felt that you could be at ease with them. And I didn’t seem them again until some time later. In 1981, I went to Greece, and while I was there, he had already been elected President of the United States. And let me tell you, Greece looked up to Ronald Reagan and -- like they had not looked up to many another president before, but they did look up to Ronald Reagan. As a matter of fact, they also had looked up to Harry Truman very much, too. Well, one of his days he -- he had a luncheon at the White House for lady legislators, and let me tell you, he and Nancy were most gracious to us. And I want you to know that I had supported Bush against him when he ran for President the first time, although I supported him the second time. But I -- but he was very gracious and so was Nancy, and he was a very honest, forthcoming fellow. I mean, he 59  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 -- he had the courage of his own convictions and he -- he believed in God and he believed in himself. And he had self- confidence of someone who’s not afraid of anyone or anything except his God. And Nancy did a wonderful job for him. She -- she was the light of his life, the love of his life and there was no question about it, they had a great love affair. They were married about fifty-two years, I think it was, and Maureen, his oldest daughter who was Jane Wyman’s daughter, Maureen was very close to her -- her dad and she was very close to Nancy. But Maureen, as you know, passed away from cancer some years ago. And I can honestly tell you that you felt confident with that man. You felt that he was honest and that he’s truthful, and he was. And he was far more brilliant than people gave him credit. In fact, when you stop and think that he wrote most of his own speeches, when you stop and think that he did his own reasoning, when you stop and think that he didn’t need the New York people to tell him what to do, he was a man of the people. Our only President born in Illinois, ‘cause, as you know, Lincoln was born in Kentucky. And when you think of the goodness of this man, he was truly a good person. He was a forthright person and only he was able to manage the Russians the way he did because he was calm, he was poised, he was a gentleman. He was always a gentleman and he always looked like a gentleman. He -- he was proud of his roots, and all I can say is his mother must of done a great job on him because there’s a man who was a credit not only to America, but to the whole world. And I was sorry he passed on, but typical of -- of Ronald Reagan, he told us about his Alzheimer’s about ten, eleven years ago and -- to let the people know. He was very honorable, very honest, very truthful and a real gentleman and a person we’ll never forget. I am closing my office Friday, and I can tell you, all I can say is his memory was wonderful. He was so gracious to us when we met him at the White House and so was Nancy. And God rest his soul and may God bless Nancy and her family and -- and God bless America.

60  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 Thank you, Madam President. As I’ve been listening to the speakers I was just reflecting on a little bit of my life. I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I started thinking about what Ronald Reagan has done for me. In 1976, my committeeman was Don Totten, and Don took it upon himself to support President Reagan at that time. Well, Congressman Crane wanted to become the President also. So there was some very interesting arguments in Kansas City and, of course, I was always for the person who was in office and never go against the person who holds -- the stars and stripes. So, therefore, I was a little disenchanted with the movement that was going on. Came 1980 I received a phone call from Don Totten and he said that he was going to support President Reagan again and he asked me to head up the small business women’s for Illinois, which I joyfully did. After he was elected President, we went to the inauguration. It was the most awesome, beautiful event I have ever seen in my life. The fireworks were in the sky and Americanism was prevailing and you were so proud to be an American. With -- at the time when that gentleman came in, I had my own business and interest rates rose from nine percent to twenty-two percent within a year and a half. That man came in and he brought those rates down, but not only did he do that, what he reflected was a genuine concern for our country, our -- our patriotism, our -- to protect us. And as he said “Gorbachev, tear down that wall,” I had the opportunity because of him to go to Berlin and witness the first free election that they held in East Berlin. It was awesome. Eighty-five percent of the people voted without having one piece of literature in their home, no television sets. They were so joyful with the freedom that they received. My -- my mother comes from the eastern side of Berlin so that had a very special moment for me. Again, Geo mentioned about the luncheon that we were invited to. There has been no President that -- under the time that I’ve been in office that has seen fit to invite women to the White House. President Reagan did. I sat at table ten. It was a perfect “10” day. If you come to my district office, you’ll see the pictures and the -- the menu and everything. And President Reagan was very fond of his California wines and, of course, I’m very fond of California wines, so we had a most delightful 61  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 conversation. He took us to the Rose Garden. I was with Nancy. I was able to have some conversation with her about being a female in office. Maureen was there. It was just like family. We’re losing somebody who has been a perfect example what America should be. And may his soul be rested now and may Nancy find the peace that she needs to find after all those years of taking care of her beloved husband.

Yes. Thank you very much, Madam President and thank you, Senate President Jones, for allowing us to have this memorial service here today in honor of our -- our fallen comrade and our former President and a great Illinoisan. One of the previous speakers talked about his radio prowess and I don’t know if you recall this, but he -- I think you said WOC and WHO. He -- he used to recreate the Cub baseball games. They’d come across on teletype and then you had to fill in, you know, and had to say something about what was going on, not -- not seeing the game, not knowing what was going on. And -- and I’ve -- I’ve heard some recordings of -- of that and -- and he obviously did quite well and -- and he was an avid Cubs fan. And I think it would be appropriate for me to tell him, as I watch the teletype here on my computer screen, that St. Louis is now winning 12 to 4 in the top of the ninth inning, and I know his beloved Cubs and he’s not happy about that, but anyway I -- I just appreciated so much -- he was a very avid sportsman and -- and sports fan and I -- I think that’s -- that’s so important for us, to recognize there’s other aspects of life and -- and he participated in life to the fullest. I had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions and I found him to be a very genuine individual and -- and he caught a lot of ridicule, as you remember, just being an actor. You know, you’d see him on TV and he would be this guy that would be -- portray himself as very sincere and, “Ah, he’s just acting.” Well, that isn’t the way -- that isn’t the way he was at all. He -- he was very genuine and -- and I’m glad to hear Senator Rutherford had the experience that you -- you had, because he is -- he -- he just was interested in you and interested about you. And -- and that -- that, to me, was very 62  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 important as I got involved in politics and then this was in -- in 1974 I got interested in politics. I’d been interested before, but not presidential so much. And I read his book, and he had a book that was primarily on conservatism and -- and kind of followed a lot of what Barry Goldwater talked about and -- and -- and was very fiscally conservative and believed in -- in the opportunities of -- we all have and we have that ability to reach our goals based on what we do and how we -- how we handle it ourself. And we -- don’t -- don’t rely on government. Don’t rely on someone else propping you up. You have the ability. You do it. And that was the message that he delivered to me and I felt -- I -- I received that message, and in 1976 when he ran for President I supported him. And, of course, Gerald Ford was the candidate, and -- and like you, Kay, I -- I did support him in the primary even though at this point in time Illinois was pretty well -- the race had been decided. But I -- that set up the 1980 situation and, of course, I ran for State Representative in ’78. And, I don’t know if you remember this, Dan, or not but when he came to Illinois in 1980, they -- they had a bus trip and it came through southern Illinois and -- and one of the stops happened to be my hometown of Greenville. And he was there and it was a thrilling day for a small little town in southern Illinois to have a presidential candidate stop by and -- and -- and to visit with the people. And it was a great turnout of -- and it rained and it was -- but -- but it -- it didn’t matter. It didn’t dampen the -- the enthusiasm of those who -- who -- who were present. And I happened to have the opportunity to introduce them. I was a sitting State Representative and it was actually orchestrated by Don Totten and -- and Dave Regner who -- who were trying to help me get re- elected to the -- to the -- to the Illinois House. But anyway I -- I and then I come to Springfield and I -- and I really truly have tried to emulate what I think were his principles and his beliefs. And somebody mentioned welfare reform and -- and that’s exactly -- we were the party of welfare reform. We -- we -- we are the party of giving people opportunity, and that’s what Reagan was all about, was let’s get to work, let’s get on the business of -- of making your life meaningful. And I think that welfare reform is something that -- that is certainly 63  STATE OF ILLINOIS 93rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 125th Legislative Day 6/9/2004 important to this side of this aisle. And I -- was obviously very important to him, and we get national recognition here in Illinois for what we did and we’ve -- we’ve made some meaningful change in people’s lives who were stuck in the quagmire of -- of poverty and we had -- maybe you had to kick a few hind ends along the way, but we got ‘em -- into the process of being productive members of society. And that’s what welfare -- reform was -- was truly all about. I just -- and I -- I want to thank -- and I -- the President, once again, for giving us this opportunity. Obviously this was a man who was a true hero and - - and the loss of a great man. And -- and we commemorate his life here today as -- as meaningful to -- to us and all of us. And, thank you.