PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) The regular Session of the 95th General Assembly will please come to order. Will the Members please be at their desks? Will the guests in the galleries please rise? The invocation today will be given by the Reverend Brandon Boyd, Lincoln Christian Church, Lincoln, Illinois. Reverend.
(Prayer by the Reverend Brandon Boyd)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) Please remain standing for the Pledge Allegiance. Senator Maloney.
(Pledge of Allegiance, led by Senator Maloney)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) Madam Secretary, Reading and Approval of the Journal.
Senate Journal of Thursday, August 9th, 2007.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) 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 LINK) Senator Hunter moves to approve the Journal just read by the Secretary. There being no objection, so ordered. Madam Secretary, Resolutions.
Senate Resolution 325, offered by Senators Demuzio and Bond 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 and all Members. Senate Resolution 326, offered by Senator Demuzio and all Members. Senate Resolution 327, offered by Senator Emil Jones, Raoul and all Members. And Senate Resolution 328, offered by Senators Bomke, Lauzen, Peterson and all Members. They’re all death resolutions, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) Resolutions Consent Calendar. The State Journal-Register seeks leave of the Body to photograph the proceedings. Seeing no objection, leave is granted. Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s seek -- would -- would people -- please turn to page 33. And with leave of the Body, we’ll go to House Bill 3860. Senator Trotter. Senator Trotter, do you wish to proceed? Madam Secretary, please read the bill.
House Bill 3860. (Secretary reads title of bill) 2nd Reading of the bill. No committee or Floor amendments reported.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) 3rd Reading. The Chicago Tribune seeks -- leave to photograph the proceedings. Seeing no objection, leave granted. Senator Hendon, for what purpose do you rise?
Thank -- thank -- thank you, Mr. President. Point of information.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 State your point.
Mr. President, last night, even though we passed a budget, there were a lot of things that were not done. And as you know, I was in the Chair so I didn’t have the opportunity to speak on it. But I wanted to speak on it this morning. You know, it is a travesty that Members on the other side of the aisle who are -- respected and revered, both here and back home, would allow a capital program to not come out of this Senate. It’s one thing to get up and say we need to repair the bridges and we need to fix the roads, and then to not support it at the end is a shame. It makes no sense at all when we have bridges falling and collapsing in other states, when we have miners trapped who may never come out of the mines alive, when the resources of those states are needed for their people, it is wrong for us in Illinois to ignore the fact that we have similar problems here in this State. And for Members to get up last night, including the Minority Leader, and claim that they were not involved in the negotiations on the capital program, that they were not involved in negotiations and discussions on the funding sources, including expansion of gaming, is just not true. I know it’s not true. You know it’s not true. And how do you go home, how do you say to the people in your areas, down in Greenville and across this State, how do you say to them that their lives are not worth protecting? Their safety is not worth anything? You know, when I travel back and forth to Springfield, this time on my way down when I crossed that bridge at Joliet, it wasn’t the same as when I’ve crossed it in the past. I kind of slowed down. I was a little hesitant to go over that bridge. The Chicago Sun-Times 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 did a -- a -- a story, saying that there are many, many bridges in Illinois that are in disrepair. It is wrong to deny schoolchildren a building that they can really get their education in, because the roofs are falling in or the -- there are no windows, or the textbooks are falling apart. You put politics ahead of the people. And it is wrong. And I hope when you go back home that you’re able to explain to the people of Illinois how your hatred for the Governor comes before your love of the people of this State. And let me close by saying this: To allow the Chairman of the Democratic Party - the Speaker of the House - to allow the Chairman of the Democratic Party to run the Republican Party and the Democratic Party at the same time, I would love to hear you explain that back home to your people. He wants to run the House Majority. He’s running Cross. He’s running Watson. It’s like the Speaker of the House is the Pied Piper, playing his little flute, and you guys are following him like the three blind mice - Watson, Cross and your caucus.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) All right, Senator. Senator Hendon, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Hendon. Channel 5 Chicago seeks leave of the Body to photograph Session. WAND-TV Channel 17 seeks leave of the Body to photograph Session. Senator DeLeo, for what purpose do you rise? SENATOR DeLEO: Thank you very much, Mr. President. A point of personal privilege, sir.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) State your point. SENATOR DeLEO: 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and Gentlemen, as you recall last night, Senator Cullerton announced that I was much -- much, much older. Yes, it’s still my birthday, Senator Cullerton. Never, in my twenty-five years here in Springfield, I’d ever dream that I’d be spending my birthday in -- in the -- in the Illinois General Assembly. So having said that, I thought we’d do something special today and I had some food brought in. It’s back into the little room here. There’s Chicago-style hotdogs. There’s cannolis, homemade chocolate chip cookies. There’s pop and water. And I ask a little -- invite all Members, please, to help themselves to a little Chicago-style buffet.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) Senator Demuzio, for what purpose do you rise?
Yes, for a personal announcement.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) State your announcement.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. President and Members of the Assembly. We have with us today a staff member -- or staff members that are going to be headed off to Ethiopia. This journey started about a year ago, and if I -- hopefully I won’t start crying, because this is such a wonderful story. And I’d like to have Jenni and Jim Rogal. Last year, they started the process of adoption in Ethiopia and they will be leaving -- this is her last day to pick up Mamush, which means little boy or my boy, and I think that as they started this process and this journey, that they have taken us, and I have had the -- privilege to be a part of this, as many of the staffers here today, and when they started this process 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 back in -- or, I believe a year ago, and then on August the 2nd, they were notified that are the proud parents of Mamush. Now, Mamush has his own website. Okay? And so if -- he’s probably a little ahead of the game from many of us. Okay? But Mamush has his own website. And if you care to see what Mamush looks like, here’s a wonderful picture of Mamush and he will be arriving -- their going to be leave on the 16th and they will be arriving back here in the states on the 26th. And both -- I believe Jenni will be off on mother leave, okay, to make sure that Mamush gets settled here in the United States. They have already met Mamush -- or have seen pictures of Mamush. They haven’t met him yet. But here’s Mamush and I just think, again, that as we start this journey, how privileged we are to be able to be a part of this. And sometimes, as we, as legislators, really don’t take the time or get to know our staffers, but on this particular case I thought all of you would like to be a part of the journey to bring Mamush “little boy” back here to the states for Jenni and Jim Rogal. Let’s give ‘em another hand.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) WLS-TV ABC Channel 7 Chicago seeks leave of the Body to tape proceedings. Seeing no objection, leave is granted. The Senate will stand at ease to the call of the Chair. The Senate will stand at ease. (SENATE STANDS AT EASE/SENATE RECONVENES)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) The Senate will stand at recess to the call of the Chair. 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 95th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 88th Legislative Day 8/10/2007 (SENATE STANDS IN RECESS/SENATE RECONVENES)
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) The regular Session of the 95th General Assembly will please come to order. We will proceed with the Order of Resolution Consent Calendar. With the leave of the Body, all those resolutions read in today will be added to the Consent Calendar. Madam Secretary, have there been any objections filed to any resolutions on the Consent Calendar.
No objections filed, Mr. President.
PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LINK) If not, the -- is there any -- is there any discussion? If not, the question is, shall the -- the resolutions on the Consent Calendar be adopted. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it. The motion is carried. The resolutions are adopted. There being no further business to come before the Senate, the Senate stands adjourned until the hour of 2 p.m., Monday, August 13th, 2007. The Senate stands adjourned. 7