PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) The -- the regular Session of the 95th General Assembly will please come to order. Will the Members please be at their desks? Will our guests in the galleries please rise? The invocation today will be given by Pastor Ed Ingram, Western Oaks Baptist Church, here in Springfield, Illinois. Pastor Ingram.
(Prayer by Pastor Ed Ingram)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Amen. Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Senator Maloney.
(Pledge of Allegiance, led by Senator Maloney)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Thank you, Pastor Ingram. It’s good to see a young pastor. Refreshing. Madam Secretary, Reading and Approval of the Journals.
Senate Journal of Monday, July 30th, 2007.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Senator Hunter.
Mr. President, I move that the Journal just read by the Secretary be approved, unless some Senators has additions or corrections to offer.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Senator Hunter moves to approve the Journals just read by the Secretary. There being no objection, so ordered. By the way, Senator Hunter, you look very refreshing in your red and 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 white today. WCIA Channel 3 requests leave to videotape. Leave is granted. Fox News requests leave to videotape - my TV. Leave is granted. Channel 19 requests leave to videotape. Leave is granted. Leave is granted. Channel 20 ABC requests leave to videotape. Leave is granted. Leave is granted. The Rules Committee will meet shortly. Will all Members under the sound of my voice please come to the Senate Chamber? We’re about to go to substantial Senate business. We will be going to substantial Senate business. All Members under the sound of my voice, please come to the Senate Chair {sic}. Will all Members under the sound of my voice please come to the Senate Chamber? All Members -- would all administrative assistants please direct your Senator to the Senate Floor? We are about to begin our business for today and you want to be on the roll call. Senator Demuzio, for what purpose do you seek recognition?
Yes. A point of personal privilege.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Go right ahead. Take your time. State your point.
Thank -- thank you, Mr. President. I have with me some guests from Carlinville, Illinois, and I’d like to have Jill Albertine and her two daughters, Madelyn and Lidia, and it -- join me here at my desk. Girls, would you like to come forth here?
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Will our guests please rise and be welcomed to the Senate? Welcome them to the Senate, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate. Welcome, to Jill and your young daughters, with Senator Demuzio. 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 Welcome. This is your last call. Will all Members under the sound of my voice please come to the Senate Chamber? This is your final call. Will all Members come to the Senate Chamber? Senator Demuzio, my favorite Senator today, for what purpose do you seek recognition?
Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. A point of personal privilege.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Go right ahead. Take your time and state your point.
Thank you. In the gallery right behind me, we have visiting with us today from Massachusetts a State Representative by the name of Jim Cursen. And we would like to welcome him. He’s here to see our gallery and our -- our Illinois government at its finest. And we’d like to welcome him. He’s in the gallery. I’d like to have him stand.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Will our esteemed guest please stand? Welcome to Illinois, State Representative from Massachusetts. Welcome to Illinois. You’re here at an interesting time. We are in overtime, so hopefully we can teach you something today that will keep your Assembly out of overtime. Welcome to Illinois. Welcome to the Senate. The Rules Committee will meet immediately in the President’s Anteroom. The Rules Committee will meet immediately in the President’s Anteroom. Would all members of the Rules Committee please come forward so we can begin today’s business? Thank you. Senator Iris Martinez in the Chair. Madam Secretary, Committee Reports. 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007
Senator Halvorson, Chairman of the Committee on Rules, reports the following Legislative Measures have been assigned: Refer to Executive Committee - House Bill 429 and Floor Amendment No. 2 to House Bill 1926; refer to Financial Institutions Committee - a Motion to Concur with House Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill 1167; refer to Licensed Activities Committee - a Motion to Concur with House Amendments 6 and 7 and 8 to Senate Bill 509; and refer to Revenue Committee - House Bill 664. Senator Debbie Halvorson, Chairman. July 31st, 2007.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Senator Forby, for what purpose do you seek recognition, sir?
Point of announcement.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) State your announcement.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will not be in this Chamber tomorrow, because there was a firefighter in my district got killed. His - - his funeral…
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Excuse me, Senator Forby. Could we have some decorum in the Chamber? Senator Forby is up speaking now about a firefighter who lost his life. Could we still have some decorum and listen to Senator Forby? Senator Forby.
Thank you. I just wanted to tell you, tomorrow I will not be here. I’m going to be in my district at a funeral of the 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 firefighter that got killed on the interstate, where a Greyhound bus hit him. So, I’m going to be there tomorrow. You know, we’re trying to get a budget done here. We’re hearing a lot of complaints. I watch TV every morning. On TV it says that we’re -- it costs the State so much money, that they’re saying that, you know, the Republicans said they’re -- we’re spending millions of dollars. I just want to let you know, tomorrow night I’m donating my per diem checks to charity in my district. So, I want to make sure that I am -- Gary Forby is not getting that money.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Thank you, Senator Forby. Senator Munoz, for what purpose do you seek recognition, sir?
For the purpose of announcement, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) State your announcement, Senator.
Licensed Activity {sic} (Activities) will meet in Room 409 at 12:45.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Licensed and Activities Committee {sic} will meet in Room 409 at 12:45. Members of the Licensed and Activities Committee {sic} please take that to heart. Senator Collins, for what purpose do you seek recognition, ma’am?
Thank you, Mr. President. For a point of an announcement.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Make your announcement, Senator. 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007
Announce that Financial Institutions will meet today at 1 o’clock in Room 400.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Financial Institutions will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 400. Financial Institutions will meet at 1 in Room 400. Senator Murphy, for what purpose do you seek recognition, sir?
A point of personal privilege, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) State your point, Senator.
Thank you, sir. We have -- Caitlyn Podbielski has been an intern here this Session and time dictates that she go back to Xavier University for her junior year coming up soon. She’s from Glenview, Illinois. But she’ll be leaving us shortly, after spending this interesting Session with us. So, we’d just like to ask the Senate to give her a warm send-off.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Have a nice time back at school. Thank you for all of the hard work you did while you were here. Thank you. Senator Righter, for what purpose do you seek recognition, sir?
A point of personal privilege, if I might, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) State your point, sir.
Thank you. Mr. President, I would like the Senate to welcome today a young lady who interned with me here in 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 Springfield for a couple years, is a recent graduate from Southern Illinois University College of Law and just got done taking the Illinois Bar Exam, and she’s exhausted, but she dragged herself here to Springfield, Mr. President, to see you and the rest of this fine Chamber. So, if you’d give her a welcome, please, I’d appreciate it.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Welcome. And what is her name, Senator? Senator, could we have her name, please?
I appreciate that. She’s a constituent. Her name is Cara Honselman. We welcome Cara to Springfield. Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Welcome, Attorney Honselman. Just what we need, another lawyer in the State of Illinois. Welcome. Just kidding. Just kidding. Lawyers are great people. Senator Brady, for what purpose do you seek recognition, sir?
Inquiry of the Chair, Mr. President. Mr. President, these introductions are all kind and good. We are sitting here today on the verge of a government shutdown. My inquiry is, does the President of the Senate intend to call an eleven-month budget or a thirty-day budget today? A number of people in my district who work for the State of Illinois and depend on State services are very concerned. And I told them that I would ask the President of the Senate what his intention was today.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Well, Senator Brady, as you know, I am simply the Presiding 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 Officer of the day, even though you address me as Mr. President. I -- certainly that is the proper way to do it. But as Presiding Officer, I could not answer that question for you. I will suggest something, however. If we can get votes on both sides of the aisle, I believe we could get out of here in no time flat. So, hopefully your inquiry is also an indication of your intent to vote for the revenues that are needed to get us out of here, ‘cause I’m -- I’m pretty much ready to go, as well as you are, sir. Senator Brady.
Mr. President, I appreciate that, but it would be irresponsible of me or any Member of this Body to sit here and tell you they could vote for something that they didn’t know what was in it. The State finances of Illinois are very important to the people of Illinois and they entrust us with those finances. Might I recommend to you and your Leadership and the President, Emil Jones, that we simply bring a budget in front of us and that we have an opportunity to vote on that up or down - thirty-day or eleven-month. But, Mr. President, as I refer to you, the people of Illinois are disappointed and they’re wondering what we are going to. And I simply am asking you to ask the President, or you yourself respond as someone that we elected to represent us in leadership: Today, the final day of this month and the final day of this stopgap budget that was passed a while ago, do we intend to continue State government or do you intend to shut it down, or do you intend to offer an opportunity to continue State government for the next thirty days or the next eleven months?
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) Senator Brady, President Jones is on the Senate Floor and 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 has heard your inquiry. So, I will, of -- of course, allow him to answer for himself. But, my comments do stand. It does take votes to get us out of here. President Jones.
Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. It’s very strange that I - - I will have to respond to the distinguished Member, Senator Brady. I was just over there talking to your Leader and you spoke to me, but you never brought up anything concerning the budget. You had an excellent opportunity to do so. Your Leader, myself, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House have been meeting to fashion a full-year budget. That’s our intent, to continue to work to put together a full-year’s budget. Now, for those of us who have been around this place, there is no -- nothing magical about August the 1st. There have been times in the General Assembly where we have gone past the deadline and have put together a budget. So, don’t be all alarmed. Tell the people of your respective districts the truth, that government does not shut down because the budget is not in effect on that particular day. But we’re working collectively together to get a good budget that’s going to take care of the schoolchildren across the State of Illinois and take care of the basic needs of -- as relate to the seniors, and -- which come out of State finances, and things of that nature. So, it’s not a question of just putting a budget up to vote it up or down. That’s not accomplishing anything. So, collectively together, hopefully we will be able to have a finished product where we can pass a budget that will take care of the basic needs of the people of the State of Illinois. And I don’t believe that you are really sincere in the question that you -- that you proposed to the 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 78th Legislative Day 7/31/2007 Chair. You had an excellent opportunity to ask me those questions when I was over there talking to your Leader. But if you want to hold a press conference and rant and rave, you can do all those great things, but at least be sincere about it.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR HENDON) There being no further business to come before the Senate, the Senate stands adjourned until the hour of 11 a.m., tomorrow, August 1st, 2007. The Senate stands adjourned. 10