Illinois Senate Floor Debate — March 8, 2011

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) The regular Session of the 97th General Assembly will please come to order. Will the Members please be at their desk? Will our guests in the galleries please rise? The invocation today will be give by Pastor Michael Dye of the Knox Knolls Free Methodist Church, Springfield, Illinois.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Senator Maloney.

(Pledge of Allegiance, led by Senator Maloney)

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Madam Secretary, Reading and Approval of the Journal.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Senator Hunter.

Mr. President, I -- I move to postpone the reading and approval of the Journal just read by the Secretary, pending arrival of the -- of the printed transcript.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) There being no objection -- Senator Hunter moves to postpone the reading and approval of the Journal, pending arrival of the printed transcripts. There being no objection, so ordered. Madam Secretary, Resolutions.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Resolutions Consent Calendar.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) The Senate will stand at ease for a few minutes to allow the Committee on Assignments to meet. The members of the Committee on Assignments will come to the President’s Anteroom immediately. The Senate will stand at ease. (at ease) Senate will come to order. Madam Secretary, Committee Reports.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Jason Ronimous seeks leave to videotape the proceedings. Is there any objection? Seeing no objection, leave is granted. Leader Sullivan.

5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 Thank you, Mr. President. Nice to see you in that seat. I’d like to make an announcement.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Please make your announcement.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s that time of year. I have my green tie on. This evening is a very special evening. It’s our Ninth Annual Sullivan Caucus St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. It’ll be held at Floyd’s this evening, starting at 5 p.m., and certainly invite our colleagues, staff, friends to stop by for the annual -- Ninth Annual Sullivan Caucus St. Patrick’s Day Celebration.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Thank you very much. The ninth celebration of the Sullivan Caucus will be meeting tonight. Thank you very much, sir. Senator Murphy, for what reason do you rise?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) Please proceed with your announcement.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR TROTTER) That is in order. The Senate caucus will be meeting for an hour in the Leader’s Office. Ladies and Gentlemen, after the Republican Caucus, the Senate will reconvene for purposes of committee announcements and brief Floor action. We will then recess for committee meetings. The Senate will stand in recess 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 until the call of the Chair. (SENATE STANDS IN RECESS/SENATE RECONVENES)

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senate will come to order. Will all Members of the Senate please come to the Floor? All Members of the Senate please come to the Floor. We will be doing Floor action. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the following committee announcements: Public Health will meet in Room 212, 3 p.m.; Agriculture and Conservation will meet in 409 at 3 p.m. for bills and Floor amendments; Human Services will meet in Room 212 at 4:15; Judiciary will meet in Room 400 at 4 -- 4:15 p.m.; Higher Education will meet in Room 409, 4:15 p.m.; Appropriations I will meet in Room 212 at 5:15 p.m.; Transportation will meet in Room 400 at 5:15 p.m.; Education will meet in Room 409, 5:15 p.m. Tomorrow: Local Government will meet in Room 409 at 9 a.m. for bills and Floor amendments. Also, Licensed Activities will meet in Room 409 at 2 p.m. for bills and Floor amendments. Again, all Members of the Senate please report to the Senate Floor. All Members of the Senate please report to the Senate Floor. Senator Lightford in the Chair. Will all Members -- sound of my voice please come to the Senate Floor? President Cullerton is standing by waiting for you. President Cullerton, purpose you seek recognition?

Thank you, Mr. President, Members of the Senate. I move to suspend the Senate rules for the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 107. 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Cullerton moves to suspend the rules to allow the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 107. All those in favor will say Aye. Opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it, and all notice and posting requirements have been waived. Senator Lightford in the Chair.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) On the Order of Resolution is Senate Resolution No. 107. Madam Secretary, please read the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Millner, for what purpose do you rise?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Just one -- just one moment, Senator. May I please have your attention? We are in the middle of a resolution that retires a -- a Member who has served for eighteen years. It will only be befitting if you gave professional courtesy and allowed our speakers to say goodbye. Senator Millner.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Martinez, for what purpose do you rise?

For purpose of the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) …the resolution, Senator.

Well, the -- the day has finally arrived and, you know, we’re saying goodbye to a great man, a -- a very caring individual. ‘Cause I -- I got to tell you, when I came to this -- to this Chamber, Rickey welcomed me with open arms. I -- I - - I will always, always, remain so impressed with the West Side organization that he built. I -- I walk in there -- I’ve walked in there in the past and I have never - and I’ve been to organizations all over my district, all outside my district - and I’ve never seen one so much where so many people really came to hear Rickey. And I think he gave Reverend Meeks competition when it came to the audience, ‘cause, I mean, he had rooms filled with people and everybody -- it’s about Rickey. It was about Rickey. And I was so impressed and -- and -- and -- and just -- I really, you know, know that people in the West Side community in his district are going to miss that caring person who really, you know, cared about the seniors, cared about, you know, what was going on. I -- I’m going to miss the conversations on the red lights. That’s going to be really hard for us not to hear from -- the red lights. But I -- but most of all, I think that, if anything, that I’m going to really miss the most is the baseball. The -- our baseball games that we had 10  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 against the House and Rickey running around with the trophy, you know, when we won. He used to say, “Come on, Iris. Let’s go over to the House and walk around.” And I would go with him. I would actually go with him. And, you know, and hold his arm and walk in proudly. Because Rickey cared about, you know, the baseball, and that’s his passion, and I think that every time he took the Senate to victory, it was -- it was a great day in the -- in the -- you know, in the Capitol. So, Rickey, we’re going to really miss you. I’m going to miss you. I’m going to miss those -- you know, those meetings where the -- I think the whole entire community, your whole district, was at your -- at your -- at your meetings of the -- of the community. So, I really -- I really believe that they’ve lost, you know, someone who really cares, someone who really brought the community together, who brought out the votes when it was necessary, but who always, when he said he was with you, you know, he was with you. And I’m going to miss that. So I -- I wish you all the best. I think that I’m probably going to see you in Hollywood. We’re going to see more of you on TV probably. Probably we’re going to read some more books that Rickey’s going to put out there. So I’m looking forward to some good night reading and I think Rickey’s going to provide that. So, God bless you and I hope and wish you the very best.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Maloney, for what purpose do you rise?

To the resolution, Madam President.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Senator. 11  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

Just two quick comments, and -- and I actually have a question of our -- our retiring Senator here. First of all, I, too, admire Rickey’s dedication to the people he represented. I really do. Okay. You always stood up for the people you represented. I -- I appreciate your honesty. There was no gray area with Rickey. You never had to say to Rickey, “Tell us how you really feel.” He always kind of let you know. And I just want to thank him for the ultimate compliment he gave me one time, when after the softball game he told me, he said, “You know, Ed, you’re the fastest white guy on the team.” So my question is, what does that make me now, Rickey? Thank you. We’re going to miss you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Murphy, for what purpose do you rise?

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

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Steans, for what purpose do you rise?

To the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Senator. 13  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

Thank you. So, before I ever joined the Senate, my predecessor told me how much I was going to enjoy working with Senator Hendon. And I got to be honest, I didn’t really believe her. Like, Rickey? You know, he’s a showman. I’m a little North Shore, a little more demure than that west-sider. He is known for his character of being out there. I’ve gone to one of his West Side meetings and, boy, they are -- everybody is there. And it really is -- he holds court and it’s amazing how raucous, but how much work gets done in that environment. And I found him very intimidating for all of that. But when I got here, I found out, not only the guy has the biggest heart in the world, you always know exactly where he stands. He plays it incredibly straight. When there was some important you need to get done, he’s the guy I could go to and just find out what I really needed to do to get it done. And I always could totally trust that what he said was going to be accurate, that he was good to his word. And it -- it’s been quite an inspiration, really, being able to learn from him. I’m so glad we overlapped here. Very sorry he’s going to be gone. Also, just want to acknowledge, not only does he have a big heart, but we all know he has an incredible mouth. You never knew what he was going to say and it’s going to be really missed here in the Senate. And it’s with fond farewell, I say to you, I’m really going to miss you, Senator Hendon.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Haine, for what purpose do you rise? Oh! Excuse me, Senator. Please. The press would love to witness Rickey leaving. Ben Yount, Illinois Statehouse News, requests 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 permission to video. Leave is granted. Senator Haine.

Thank you, Madam President. I wish to speak to the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Please do, Senator.

Thank you. When I first came to the Senate, in 2002 actually, a little earlier than my class, I ran into Senator Hendon and it wasn’t exactly a warm, fuzzy embrace. I was to him a State’s attorney. And I’m sure he -- he looked at me with a quizzical eye - what is a State’s attorney doing here, a member of my caucus? He’s responsible for a lot of the problems in my district. Over the years, he would let me know, quite forcefully, what he thought about one or another issue or bill that affected law enforcement. And I truly believe - this is why I’m rising today - I truly believe that he began to see me and former Chief of Police Millner as reasonable law enforcement representatives. And I truly -- that’s the hallmark I’ve always believed and I’ve cited this on the Floor. Justice Louis Brandeis said, “The hallmark of the law is reasonableness.” And to give Senator Hendon his due, the hallmark of the -- of the law in the United States has been mixed. The law was an oppressive force, used as an instrument of racism. That’s a legacy - and I’ve said that back home when I was State’s attorney - that’s a legacy we have to overcome when we oppose what we believe is a -- is a ill-advised approach or when we support a measure. We have to take a great deal of skepticism and questioning from the Senators who clearly think these issues 15  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 through on behalf of their community, like Senator Hendon. And I always took it with grace. I believe I did. And -- although, at -- at times, it was accompanied by a little bit of a lashing in committee. And I -- I -- I -- so -- therefore, this is not just another Senator who’s known for flamboyant statements. Yes, he represents his district, but he was a clear thinker about policy. His opposition to some of my great ideas contributed to them being actually better ideas, or they contributed to me dropping the matter. My last point, Madam President, is, in my tenure here - I’ve been here since 2002 - there was no one better in the Chair - and I speak with a great deference to you - but there was no one better in the Chair than Senator Hendon. When he was on the Floor, we would, in this row, brace ourselves for whatever might come out of his mind and mouth. But when he was in the Chair, he rose to the position, he knew the rules, he enforced it, and when he stepped on the gas to get us out of here, it got us out of here. His wit, his quickness, his agile dealing with a lot of people of diverse backgrounds, made this Chamber work. And that’s his legacy, the -- he was number one. Jimmy DeLeo, of sainted memory, is number two. But this man, this gentleman, the honoree today, was clearly number one in the Chair. And I -- I -- I -- from the bottom of my heart, I’ve always appreciated his demeanor, his dignity, and his respect for the institutions of this Chamber in -- in -- in that Chair. I -- I always worried that Senator Viverito, of sainted memory, would -- would be in the Chair and then be followed by Senator Hendon and I would get the bends. Thank you, Madam President. I wish you Godspeed, Senator, on your retirement. 16  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Thank you, Senator. Senator Hutchinson, for what purpose do you rise?

To the resolution, Madam President.

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

I just wanted to take a -- oh, I may need to scoot over. I just wanted to take a few minutes to say how much I appreciate the advice and counsel I received from Senator Hendon when I first became a Senator in this Body. I kept saying, “No, I don’t -- I don’t want to necessarily speak up on that just yet. I’m -- I’m a freshman. I -- you know, I’ll listen to what -- I’m a freshman.” He said, “Oh, no, girl, you’re a sophomore. You came here as a sophomore. Stop acting like you’re a freshman. You know how to do this.” And so you believed that I could rise to the challenge and you never, never, stopped telling me that you believed that I could rise to the challenge. And I need to tell you thank you for that. Now, I hadn’t played softball since seventh grade, and I went and I got a practice bat and I said, “I don’t know -- you know, I’m going to go, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hit anything.” He said, “Yes you can. Yes you can. You come out and hit. We’re -- we’re going to go practice.” So we went out to the field beforehand and I hit it. And then we went into the game and I hit it. And I think Senator Murphy caught it. Like -- so I didn’t really help much, but I was just happy that I hit the ball and that my coach told me that, you know, it was another 17  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 time he believed in me, when I didn’t believe in myself. But it was fun. This Chamber is never going to be the same. It’s a totally different place without you in it - a totally different place. And I want you to know that those of us that are still here want to continue to make us as proud as you -- as you’ve made us. We want you to be proud of us when you leave here, look back at what we did and know that you were a part of a Body that included us. I’m proud to say that I served with you, very proud. So, Godspeed.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Leader Radogno, for what purpose do you rise?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Leader.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Collins, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you, Madam President. To the resolution.

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

Now, I don’t have a funny anecdote in -- in conveying to my colleagues in reference to Rickey, Senator Hendon. But let me just say what I believe you brought, or I experienced through the encounter with you. I believe -- first of all, I want to thank you for your humor, your heart and your honesty. I think sometimes we’re swayed by style and showmanship. But I’m just here today to say, beneath that style and showmanship was substance if people were willing to truly listen. And I think you have been underestimated. I’ve seen a lot of the writings in the media, maybe Capitol Fax, and I think a lot of times people do not realize the gift that you really have. You have a very broad, expansive intellect. And I think sometimes you use 19  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 your style and your showmanship, that took away from the true brilliance that you have. Because when you really listen to your arguments, they made a lot of sense. You can come in this -- in this Chamber with a lot of degrees, but the one thing that I think is emblematic of what you brought, as far as policy, is common sense. And so I just wanted to thank you. And another thing, you -- we always knew where you stood, because you were very strong in your positions and you articulated them, so you never had to guess. And that’s a certain level of honesty. It’s not like you said one thing in public and then something else behind your back. I truly appreciate that. And I know for -- for whatever reason, when I went on the Internet to see where the federal stimulus money went - I just wanted to see which districts got the most money - so the other thing I can say about you, you knew how to make a deal, because your district received most of the federal stimulus money, and that speaks to political savviness. And I know to survive in this business, a certain level of political savviness is required. I’m still trying to learn that. But I want to say that I greatly appreciate serving with you. I was proud to serve with you. I respect you for who you are. Besides the style and the showmanship, there is a brilliant black man behind the name of Senator Rickey Hendon.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Jacobs, for what purpose do you rise?

I rise to -- to the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Senator. 20  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

I want to thank Senator Rickey Hendon, Assistant Majority Leader, The Fighting 5th. You know, I saw Rickey do a lot of things. Senator Hendon was a man of his word, but nowhere was he stronger than on the civil unions bill when he stood up and spoke about hypocrisy. And, you know, sometimes we say things and we don’t realize we’re saying ‘em. And in this case, the Senator’s quote, I noted, ended up in the Washington Blade as the fifth-most prominent quote in the country last year. And he was only behind Betty White, Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Bill Maher and Ricky Martin. You know, but I -- I think what really I -- I loved about Senator Hendon was his willingness to fight for what he believed in. And, you know, people don’t realize it, but Senator Hendon fought for individual rights. Senator Hendon has a great distrust of government. And after working in it for as many years he has, I imagine that comes from reality, you know. And I will tell you that it seems to me that -- I want all the young Members to take a really good look at this -- this young man over here, because that’s what leadership looks like. We don’t have much of it around here - nothing against my colleagues or myself, or just society. But, you know, it’s tough to stand up and say what you believe. It’s tough to speak with no filter. We’re so worried about getting our hair right. We’re so worried about our suit looking right. We’re so worried about everybody liking what we say that sometimes we miss the obvious. And Senator Hendon never missed the obvious. I would be remiss if I didn’t talk -- take a second and talk about Senator Hendon’s radio ad. If you haven’t heard Senator Hendon’s radio ad, I advise anyone in the earshot to get on 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 Google and take a listen, because what it will do is explain to you that Senator Hendon wasn’t born in an ivory tower. He wasn’t the kind of person that doesn’t know what’s going on in his district. He understood it and understands it and that’s why his loss today is going to be a great loss to the rights of individuals. It’s going to be a great loss to those of us who distrust government. And most of all, it’s going to be a personal loss to me, because I respect you, Senator. I know sometimes that people mistake your gregarious attitude and good nature for something else, but I know that when you talk, you bleed, and I know that when you fight, you fight for the people you represent. And the real losers in this fight today are the people in your district, because they don’t understand how much you did for them. It’s not easy for a young black man to come to the Illinois Senate and fight for his community and get the most federal funds. You know, white people -- we’re just not handing that out. You better earn it. And you know what? Rickey Hendon earned it. I salute you, Senator. And God bless you and I hope -- I hope your life goes stronger and better. I know this is a chapter and I know you’re going to move on to the next part of the book and it’s going to be good. And I will say one thing in closing, there would be no Barack Obama without Senators like Rickey Hendon and Donne Trotter. Barack stood on their shoulders. And I wish I’d have been in the Senate Chamber when Barack and Rickey almost tangled, because I’d have laid my money on Rickey Hendon.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Raoul. Senator Raoul, for what purpose do you rise? 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011

I rise ‘cause my name was used in the debate. Because…

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

To the -- to the resolution. Everybody’s saying all these nice things about you, you know. I got to point out the lies, you know. Senator Steans said you were getting business done in your office over there, you know. Anytime I went over there, he was just having a good time. Now -- now, Senator Hutchinson, in the presence of her sister over here, couldn’t even -- couldn’t even tell the truth about softball. She said that when she got in the game, she hit the ball and Senator Murphy caught it. And he’s on the same team. So you know they were telling lies about you. So I’m going to tell the truth, you know, ‘cause I’m not that mad at seeing you go, bro. ‘Cause -- because you always put me out there in the center field and I always left the game with a hamstring pulled, or quad, or something. You know I shouldn’t have been out there in center field. I couldn’t catch the ball either. And then, you always made me feel guilty about being from the South Side. You know, I was always the one taking something away from the West Side. But now you’re gone; I don’t have to worry about that anymore. But let me -- let me say one thing. The one -- one last thing I’m not sad to miss is, while Senator Haine complimented you about being in the seat, whenever you were in the seat, you would never let me do a closing argument; you would cut me off. So -- so, I’m glad to see you gone. But -- but a couple of months ago, there was a bill and a bill that you had sponsored in the past, and as I was 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 preparing for the bill, I thought I was going to be able to present it before the weekend and because we had adjourned for the day -- before -- because the House had passed it out too late in the day, we were not able to present it before the weekend had adjourned {sic}. And over the weekend, there was a shooting in Arizona. And as I was preparing to present the bill, I was thinking, how am I going to deal with talking about that shooting in Arizona? And even as the bill was being debated, I was thinking how am I going to deal with that shooting in Arizona? And I forget who -- Senator Lightford was in the Chair. And she recognized Senator Hendon and Senator Hendon said, “Arizona has the death penalty and it didn’t stop that crank.” And of course, Senator Jacobs, that quote was in the papers too. That’ll probably be the number one quote from this year. But there was no better succinct way to dealing with that. And that reflected what you brought to this Chamber - an -- an ability to say things in a very straightforward, direct manner. And we will sincerely miss that.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Noland, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you, Madam President. That’s a almost impossible act to follow. Thank you, Senator Raoul…

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

…at the risk of mentioning your name a second time. But to the resolution. Yes. Too many times has come and I have not taken…(microphone cutoff)…opportunity to speak to these 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 resolutions as our colleagues have -- have left this Chamber. And so I feel -- would feel remiss if I didn’t at long last stand up and -- and speak to somebody who has, quite obviously, been - and he knows - been such a strong supporter of my efforts here in the Chamber and has done so much for my district. There have been many names when I -- before I came here to the Senate, whose names had preceded my awareness of the esteem with which many of our colleagues are held - Emil Jones, of course; John Cullerton; Willie Delgado; Iris Martinez. My apologies to those of you who I’m -- I’m not mentioning. But none, I think, had been -- had I been so aware of as Senator Rickey Hendon, who I knew about while he served on the Chicago City Council. So I didn’t know really what to expect when I got here, and of course, as we all know, we see -- you know, there were great atmospherics and we all come to understand why he’s so -- so renowned, his towering oratory, speaking directly from the heart. And I just wanted to say thank you on behalf of the people of my district, a community crisis center, in particular, probably whose doors, but for the efforts of Senator Hendon, would not be open today. But I especially want to thank him for providing me and -- and my wife a new measure of our commitment to each other. Some of you had mentioned the fact that he speaks the obvious and mentioned his civil union speech, and that’s what I’m referring to. Senator, when you said to the whole world really that, you know, that person that we will spend the rest of our life with, the person that’s so important to us no matter what happens to be our -- may be our gender or sexual orientation, you said that that measure is measured by our willingness in our old age to change their dirty drawers. 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 And so I looked at my wife, I -- we looked up your speech on -- on YouTube and unfortunately that was the one part that was missing from the YouTube excerpt. But, nonetheless, I conveyed that to my wife and every time we have a little -- little difference of opinion, I tend to look at her and say, “Do I pass the Hendon rule still yet today?” And she’ll be here tomorrow and privately I hope that maybe you might address that with her. But I wanted to say thank you for that. I wanted to say thank you for being such a shining example to those of us who may have a little trepidation stepping up to the microphone and showing us how it ought to be done. So thank you for that. Thank you for your leadership, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. Thank you, Senator. You’re going to be sorely missed. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Syverson, for what purpose do you rise?

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

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Hunter, for what purpose do you rise? SENATOR HUNTER: To the resolution, Madam President.

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

Rickey, you and I have had this typical love-hate relationship for many years. One minute we love each other and the next minute we hate each other. We’ve worked on many projects together that were successful for many years, long before I became a Senator. You even coached our softball team and you made sure that women played on the team. First of all, you made sure women were on the team and then you made sure we played on the team, you know. And I don’t know how many guys would ever think of anything like that, other than if -- can you play? If not, you can’t play. But Rickey wasn’t like that. He 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 was always fair, open and honest, you know. So far, no one has stepped up to the plate to volunteer to coordinate the team, so hopefully someone will. But I want to thank you for all your leadership, all of your support, and most importantly, Rickey, all of your genuine friendship that you’ve shown me. A matter of fact, Rickey, I know that you care so much about me that you retired just so that I can become a Leader. And you just don’t know how I feel just to know that you love me so much, Rickey. I’m going to miss you so, so much. The people from the West Side and the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois actually, have lost a great friend and a great leader. You have been the voice of so many people, Rickey. And you’ve had a great sense of humor, especially during those late, late nights when everybody was so tired, ready to go to sleep or just get out of here and do something else. You were up there in that Chair or you was in the back row just cutting up and making all of us laugh and -- and we’re going to miss you, Rickey. We really, really are going to miss you. So, stay in touch. I wish you Godspeed and I wish you the best of luck for your next endeavor. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Kotowski, for what purpose do you rise?

To the resolution.

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

Thank you, Madam President. My first experience with Leader Hendon was when I was running for office and things were 28  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 progressing. They started to look good. And I got a call at my campaign office and somebody said, “Rickey Hendon’s on the line. He wants to talk to you.” So, I was like, okay, all right. And they said -- I said, “Yes, Senator Hendon. It’s Dan Kotowski.” He said, “Hey, I hear it’s going great. I’d like to help.” I said, “Okay. What would you like to do?” He said, “Well, let me ask you a question. Do you have any black people in your district?” I said, “No.” He’s like, “Okay. Good. Good luck. Talk to you later.” So, that was my first experience with him there. I think he did a big favor for me in recognizing that. The second thing, I think -- I want to thank you for something - for playing Matt Murphy as often as you played him. He’s -- he’s struggled with being uncoordinated throughout most of his adult life and struggled with challenges with food, which we won’t get into. But, I want to thank you for playing him, because, you know, it really boosted his self-esteem. It allows him to get on all of these television stations and talk all the time. But there’s something magical that you did for that team a couple years ago. We -- we were here about a hundred days and we were staying overtime and -- and all of us were real frustrated and the House had apparently been beating us year in, year out. And you were walking down the aisles and like in a lather. “We’re going to beat the House. Kotowski, I need you. We’re going to beat the House. You’re going to make a difference. You’re going to beat the House”, and everybody, working us all up into a lather. It was like this is your congregation. We all believe we’re going to beat the House. And it was like we’re playing the Russians. It was like 1980. And the House was there when we were catching and people were 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 diving and getting hits and Kwame Raoul even wasn’t hurt that game. I don’t know how this guy keeps on getting hurt in softball games. This is a game where overweight people can play all their lives and never get hurt and Kwame keeps getting hurt. But even Kwame was getting it. Kwame was making catches and we were running things out. We were winning. And this ought to tell you a story about Senator Hendon. He’s losing his mind on the mound. He’s -- remember, you’re unraveling, and I walk up to him - me, of all people - and I said, “You got to relax.” Now, you can imagine this. This is kind of -- I said, “You got to calm down. You got to take a deep breath.” You know, Senator Millner knows what that’s like. He said it to me. “You got to calm down, Dan. You got to take it easy.” And I’m like talking to Rickey like I’m a yoga instructor. “Rickey, take it easy.” He’s like, “Okay, Kotowski. You got to look out for me.” And I’m thinking to myself, I’m the guy who’s talking Rickey down. I said, “We’re going to win. We’re up by five runs.” And then we won. And then, after the game, we all hugged each other. And it was such a great moment. We all came together. And there’s a picture the next day in the Springfield Journal-Register of Matt Murphy and Rickey Hendon hugging. And I got two words in my mind, “mail piece”. Right? Mail piece. Embrace that piece. Send it out over Palatine. Help out Matt Murphy. But we didn’t use it, because we rose above it, because this was for the greater good, which was beating the House. And we did it two years in a row. But the other thing I want to think about is just how encouraging Senator Hendon was - I mean, when you go to committee, even if you were struggling. Now, all due respect, you can typically tell when Senator Trotter is 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 not happy with you. He’s got this scowl on his face. And you know he’s going to eviscerate you. You can just feel it. And you’re like, “Oh, my God, he’s coming after me. Something’s going to happen.” And Senator Hendon just looked at you, kind of nod your head, and he’s trying to -- you can tell he’s trying to help you. He’s trying to help you. “You know, Senator Kotowski, is this really what you want to do with this bill? You sure you don’t want to do something else with this bill?” “No, I think this is what I want.” “No, I think you want to do something else with this bill.” “I want to do something else?” “Yes. Yes. Let’s get it out of committee”, because he wants to do something else with this bill. And then the press would come over to you and go, “What do you want to do with the bill?” I said, “I don’t know. Something else. Talk to Senator Hendon.” So, we get the bill out. But he was always encouraging, supportive and fair and -- and somebody that you could go to and somebody to keep it light, ‘cause the reality is, you know, at the end of the day, sometimes we take each other too seriously here. But what Senator Hendon was about was making sure you -- you know, you rise above it. You rise above it and you make sure you advocate for what you care about. You be passionate about it. And you’re not afraid to speak your mind. And for that, I’m very, very grateful for you. I’m going to miss you and I’m going to miss your leadership as a coach. And I think it’s -- number one, let me finish with this. I think it’s bad practice to talk about who’s going to take over as a coach when Senator Hendon leaves. I think I’ll do a great job, but I think it’s bad practice to talk about Kotowski taking over as coach of the softball team, very bad practice. But if you want Kotowski 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 to coach - going to speak in the third person out here ‘cause…(inaudible) - you can let him coach, but now it’s bad practice. But, listen, I’m going to miss you dearly. You’ve taken us through some tough times. You’ve taken us through some situations, I think, that just called for leadership to just enjoy the day, enjoy life. I wish you the best, my friend. God bless you and thank you for everything.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Muñoz, for what purpose do you rise? SENATOR MUÑOZ: To the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Senator. SENATOR MUÑOZ: Thank you, Madam President. To Minority Leader Radogno, you will never meet another person like Senator Hendon, but this Chamber will never have another Senator like Senator Hendon. For those of you who don’t know, before I became to -- before I came to the Senate, I was a policeman. And I was a policeman in Rickey Hendon’s district. So when I first got here and Senator Hendon said, “Oh, so I hear you’re a policeman.” And he goes, “Where you at as a policeman?” I told him. “Why are you locking up the people in my district?” And I said, “Senator, they’re calling us to come to their house. They need some help.” So, he kind of blew it off. He walked away. And then I started taking on some crime bills, enhancing penalties. Well, this didn’t go over very well, not only with Senator Hendon. But for those of you who know that were here, Senator Hendon was the pit bull for then who was Minority Leader and then went on 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 to become the President, Emil Jones. Well, he would get up and come after me on my bill, then I would have Barack Obama, then I would have Senator Shaw, and then, at the end, Emil Jones. You guys have no idea what I went through going through those bills back in the day. But I’ll tell you what, though, it’s been fun. Over the years, became some good friends. And I’ll tell you what, my friend, you’ve always been a man of honor, always been a man of your word. When you took on a cause, you championed it. You saw it through. You took care of your district and that’s all -- no one could ever say that you didn’t. And that’s what you did, fight for your district, my friend. You know, we’re going to be sorry to see you go, but, you, having put eighteen years in this great Body, you deserve to leave when you want to leave, my friend. Hopefully, we’ll get to see you soon. Please come back and visit. I wish you the best, my friend. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve with you. God bless you, my friend.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Link, for what purpose do you rise?

Even when Rickey’s around, the mike gets messed up. To the resolution.

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

Thank you, Madam President. Before I start on what I want to say, I want to clarify a few things that were misspoken. To Senator Raoul: Senator Raoul, I echo your comments. On the last game, he put a very old person in right field to protect 33  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 the center fielder who was gimpy. And that was -- the right fielder was me, who was very old, who -- who retired many years ago. And he said, “I need you.” I said, “Why?” He said, “We only have nine people.” So that was one thing. To Senator Jacobs: When you said about who would win the battle, let me clarify. I happened to be in the famous back row in those days and there was myself, Lisa Madigan, Barack Obama. Lisa Madigan was in between Barack Obama and Rickey Hendon. My money was on Lisa Madigan. And to Mattie Hunter: The reason he wanted women playing on our team, because it forced the House to put women on their team and he knew he would at least get one out in the House. I want those facts cleared up, because Rickey Hendon is no humanitarian. Okay. Now let’s get to serious. Rickey, you and I met at a place that I don’t think you remember anymore. And this is when we became friends, because when I first elect - - got elected, I was this white North -- North Shore liberal that everybody had apprehension about, because what was a Democrat coming out of the North Shore doing down here? And it was a first. And then you met me at the Bourbon Street tavern for the first time, and I don’t even drink. But you met me there. And for anyone that doesn’t know where that place was, people like me don’t go into that place. So Rickey was quite shocked when I was in there that night. Correct, Rickey? And then I was all right in Rickey’s eyes after that. Rickey and I had a lot of interactions as years went on. And I became -- got into leadership with Rickey, so I had -- I would say the fortunate -- or misfortune of seeing Rickey the first thing every morning. And I have to tell you, I am not an early riser, but when you get up in the morning and you see Rickey the first 34  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 thing in the morning, it’s better than the strongest cup of coffee that you ever saw, because not only the way he dressed, but his actions the first thing in the morning. And Rickey and I used to sit next to one another. And now I can say this, because now that you’re out of office, I want my hundred dollars back. Rickey was sitting there one morning in one of his bright blue outfits and he had this bright blue pair of shoes on and the shoes had a hole in the bottom of ‘em. And I said, “Rickey, you know, you dress very nice” - and I was saying that facetiously - but I said, “You got a hole in the bottom of your shoes. Do something with it.” I said, “Here’s a hundred bucks. Get a new pair of shoes.” He took the hundred dollars, never got the shoes, and I never got the hundred dollars back. All seriousness, I want to say something about Rickey. One -- one word that no one has echoed about Rickey and that’s loyalty. I got to tell you something about Rickey and loyalty. President Cullerton - and he wasn’t President at the time - and I had a bill that was probably one of the most controversial bills in this Body, and that was Smoke Free Illinois. And we were going around picking up votes. And all the groups said that there’s no way we’ll ever get Rickey Hendon. Rickey was a definite No. And they looked at me, and I said, “I’ll go talk to Rickey.” And Rickey and I sat down in my office for about fifteen minutes. And I’m going to tell you right now, in front of God and everybody else, there was no deal made. But I talked about the merits of the bill to Rickey and we talked about it. Rickey said, “I got to make one phone call.” And I says, “To who?” And he said, “I want to talk to President Jones”, because President Jones, at the time, was out ill at the time, and he 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 said, “I want to just to talk to him, Terry, so that all three of us are on the same page.” And President Jones said to him, he said, “I’m just staying out of it. You and Terry work it out.” And Rickey said, “Terry, we’re friends. We’re loyal. I’m with you on this.” And he voted with that bill. And I just want to say, Rickey, thank you, because, you know, one thing that people don’t realize in this institution, loyalty is a word that goes a million miles. And I will always remember not only that - there was many other incidences. You were up there for me in 2000, when -- when I had a tough campaign and the world was against me. And, yes, Senator Kotowski, I do have African Americans in my district, so I welcomed Senator Hendon up there. And we -- you were there. You never forgot who you were. You never forgot where we were. And you were there for many other people. But your loyalty extended throughout this entire State for your colleagues, your friends, and I think that’s the part that I will always remember about you. And you’re always welcome not only in my district, but in my home and with me at all times. God bless you and Godspeed with you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Righter, for what purpose do you rise?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Absolutely. What’s your inquiry, Senator?

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

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Meeks, for what purpose do you rise?

To the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 To the resolution, Senator.

Senator Righter, he was a straight A student, but he was homeschooled. I, like Senator Raoul, I have to speak the truth. I want to go to heaven when I die and I’m not going to tell all these lies that I’ve been hearing. And I know that we’re tired of hearing about Rickey Hendon about this -- this point. But I -- I just have a few questions and -- and it relates to who. Now that Senator Hendon has retired, who will stall for verifications? Nobody could make up stuff to talk about quicker, and it seemed as if it was almost sensible, like Senator Hendon. Who will use profanity in caucus now that Senator Hendon is gone? Who will wear red shoes now that Senator Hendon is gone? And who will leave early to keep all of us from voting, because we don’t have enough votes, because Senator Hendon is halfway back to the West Side? Who will be bold enough to ask is the President of the United States black enough or white enough? And who will refer to every Governor by their first name? I didn’t even know if Rod Blagojevich or Pat Quinn if they had names. With Rickey, it was always “Rod” and “Pat”. Somebody stole my joke about Charlie Sheen, because I was going to say that that’s where Rickey is going. But who will get all the money that was going to his district? One thing about Senator Hendon - and I think everybody is trying to allude to it in a -- a very special way - and that is regardless of what you think about him, he’s a genuine person. He’s a genuine guy. Rickey, you’re a class act and we’re all going to miss you. And I thought I was going to get leadership when you left, but I didn’t. Congratulations, Mattie. This is quite 39  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 painful, though, because I learned that my new seatmate wears dirty drawers. And I’m trying to decide - do I buy him some? Do I tell his wife to pack him some more? Do I slide my seat over a bit more? I have not quite figured out how I was going to deal with that. Rickey Hendon, you’re a class act and we love you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Muñoz in the Chair.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Lightford, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you, Mr. President. I’d like to speak to the resolution, please.

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

Wow, Rick. Wow. We like partners in crime. I thought I was sad and crying when Jimmy D. left. It’s like all of you guys are leaving. You know, many of you probably just know me and Rickey from being partners in politics on the West Side. But, actually, Rickey and I became friends in ’94. I was a graduate student at UIS and - it was Sangamon State University then - and actually stayed in the St. Nicholas and a lot of the black caucus members - ‘cause African American is a new term - so a lot of the black caucus members were staying in the same building that I lived in. And so I would see Rick and Donne and all those guys, and I was just a young college student. So they’d come by -- well, I wasn’t that young. I belated the point of going to grad school. But Rick like, “You hungry?” 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 I’m like, “Yeah.” He’s like, “I know all broke college students from the West Side is hungry.” And I went, “Hey, I’m not from the West Side. Excuse me. I’m a suburban girl.” So, he’s like, “No, you’re not. You’re from the West Side. I could just look at you and tell.” Now, this was years before I even knew that God was going to bless me to come to the Senate to serve with him. So, four years later, I come to the Senate and even before I got here, Rickey had already committed my vote. That was my first encounter with Senator Hendon. He had already committed my vote. I didn’t know anything about the Legislature. My first vote was, guess what? The boats. My first vote was the boats in November of ’98. And Rickey had already committed my vote, and I appreciate that, because it opened up the door with Pate Philip and he and I became good friends. And -- and then the rest is history from there. I want to celebrate Rickey leaving. I’ve got a weeping spirit. I want to make sure that I don’t cry here. So I want to just tell you guys that he’s like a brother to me. You know, we fight all the time because our politics differ. And what I realized about Rick is that our politics differ, but our end result was so much alike. So it’s a matter of how do we get there? How do we get there? So, one of my campaigns for reelection, I was in a tough race my first reelection and Senator Hendon comes, he say, “Hey, well, you have any Latinos in your district?” I said, “Yeah. Quite a bit.” He came with a sign that said, Kimberly Anna Maria. Vote for Kimberly Anna Maria. My name is Kimberly Ann. And he came to my house and said, “Vote for Kimberly Anna Maria.” I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen in my life, Iris. I did not use it, Rick. I always felt like - and - 41  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 - and, Rickey, I’m going to miss this the most - I always feel like I had somebody to take to the fight. No matter what, I knew you had my back. If I were right, if I were wrong, if I were indifferent, you still had my back. You’d tell me about it later, but you had my back and I appreciate that. My son calls you Uncle Rick. My son -- I told my son, I said -- I said, “West Side, he left the Senate.” He said, “Oh, mom, Rickey’s gone? Uncle Rick’s leaving?” I said, “Yeah.” “Why, mom?” I said, “Well, after you serve for so long, Isaiah, it’s the best thing that you do, when you decide to leave on your own turf, or your own timing, and because you think it’s right.” And the day that you resigned and we got together for our meeting of the minds, as we have for the past fourteen years, I looked in your eyes and I said, “Rick, how do you feel?” And when you said, “I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders”, I accepted that. And I’m so happy for you. They can talk all they want about why you’re leaving, but I know your timing is right. Another thing about Rick - you guys talk about those red shoes and red suits. I have a jazz brunch every year and I have a women’s committee and we always wear red. So Rick walks in and all the ladies are in red. He said, “KK, why didn’t you tell me?” He left my party, went home, and came back in a red suit, red shoes, and did stand-up comedy for us for thirty minutes - free comedy from Rickey Hendon. He is our mascot and we’re going to miss him for that. Rick, we had so many laughs. Oh, my god, we would sing. We would dance. We -- we created campaign speeches. We always have our strategic planning. It’s been a long journey. It’s been a long journey. And so, you always have this quote. And I know all of you’ve heard this. 42  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 He’ll say, “Let me say this and I’ll be done.” How many times do he say that in a close? Let me say this and I’ll be done. Let me say this and I’ll be done. I finally got so tired of hearing that from Senator Hendon. So we’re in meetings and -- and he’s always over aggressing himself, so we came up with a signal for each other that if I tap him under the table - I didn’t sit next to Rick ‘cause I liked him - I sat next to Rick, because I needed to tap him under the table when he got out of order. We’re in a meeting, Rick’s blood pressure’s sky high. He gets out of order. I tap him under the table. He kept going. I tap him under the table. Then he looked at me. He says, “Stop hitting me under the table.” And I’m thinking, you just blew our cover. He wasn’t supposed to let anyone know. I wrote some other stuff down really quick, ‘cause you all know this too. He’s the only guy that offered to meet Senator Axley on the side of the road. Remember that? The only guy. He was the only guy that tackled Robin Kelly after the win in the softball game. Remember that? That’s the guy, kind of, Rickey Hendon is. Yeah, I’m not going to let you leave. He’s the only guy holding up the CTA bus - free rides for seniors, like he did it himself. Rickey Hendon gave all the seniors free rides. If you didn’t see that poster, it’s a sight to see. And lastly, Rick, Rickey’s organization, The Fighting 5th, his Monday night meetings - I would go to his meetings and befriend him and all of his organization is so welcoming to me. It’s like we’re one big happy West Side family. And he crowned me one day as “Queen of the West Side”. He sure did. He crowned me and I got to tell you, Rick, I’m going to live up to it. I’m going to live up to it. Nobody else cried for your butt. I’m going to live 43  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 up to it because -- because our friendship is real. And you know that you have a true person when you can agree to disagree. You know you have a true friendship when he cares about my son and my son cares about him. And my whole family has a relationship with Rickey. And -- and through one of Rickey’s journals -- we -- we’ve been through a journey, and Rickey was going through a situation in his life and I thought I’d help him out. I do a little interior decorating on the side and I thought I’d help him out. You, guys, he gave me five hundred dollars for a whole apartment to redo - a whole apartment with five hundred dollars. I -- that was creativity at its best. But I promise you, Rickey did not stop thanking me. He said that I gave him more oomph than he had had in many years. Yeah, I’m telling on you now, Rick. He was going through his divorce. You know, he’s a single man now. I thought I’d give him the bachelor pad, but it was a five-hundred-dollar bachelor pad. So -- it wasn’t Walmart, honey, I’m good. I mixed it up. Pier 1, you know, all of that, just mix it in, just hit the clearance racks. But, Rick, now that I’m back, I just want you to know that I love you like a brother. I’m not going to look at you, though. I love you like a brother. Our politics will probably always differ, but I know that you cared about the people that you represent on the west side of Chicago. I don’t know if they’ll ever have an advocate as the advocate that they had in you. I -- I don’t know, because no one would go listen to them every Monday night for eighteen years - eighteen years, every Monday night a Monday night meeting. And so, many people miss you already. I can say that I’ll miss you at some point. I don’t miss you right now; just later on I’ll miss you at some 44  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 point. But I’m hoping that God will take you and reward you for that that you have given the voiceless, the people who are not heard in your district. I hope God gives you twofold for that. And if you have a desire to get back into the entertainment business, when you write your first movie, I want to be invited to walk with you on the red carpet, the “Queen from the West Side”. I’ve loved you, Rick. God bless you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Trotter, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you very much, Mr. President. To the resolution. Just, one, want to say, being from Cairo, Illinois, I know how to round up a runaway Senator. It wasn’t easy, ‘cause he was missing in action for a while. But the thing is, is no one’s going to miss Rickey down here more than I’m going to - down here. But part of this is -- is bogus, because unlike many of you, I’ll probably see Rickey this weekend, you know. So I’m not going to miss him that much, ‘cause we’re -- we going to be hanging out. I’ll go over to the West Side and -- and -- I mean, we’re friends. So there’s no question about it. But I feel compelled to speak today because, undoubtedly, there is going to be a book written about this experience. And I just want to make sure that there’s somewhere on record my story before he tells it for me. Part of this thing is -- and -- and it’s sort of been alluded to, of -- of my demeanor and how I act with folks. With Rickey, it was no different. This is the - unless the record can prove otherwise - the fifth time in twenty-three years I’ve said goodbye to folks. First was to, of course, Senator Richard Newhouse, who was my predecessor, and 45  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 that’s a given. You have to do that. The second was Steve Rauschenberger. And I spoke because I didn’t think anybody was going to speak on his behalf. So I got up there and surprising some people did get up to do that. And -- and -- and of -- then definitely President Jones, I spoke then. And just a couple weeks ago, Viverito. And now I’m saying goodbye to my good friend. But, as I said, when Rickey came down eighteen years ago, we had heard of each other. We knew who each other were and -- was at the time, and -- but we’re -- we’re different. Our politics aren’t that different, but we didn’t know that. But Rickey is the quintessential west-sider and I’m the quintessential south-sider. But the thing is, that wasn’t what sort of didn’t pull us together. What it was, is one of my roommates was one of his political enemies. And if you are an enemy of Rickey’s or you have a friend that’s an enemy of Rickey, everybody’s an enemy. What he -- what he found out was, I didn’t like the guy that much myself. So -- so when we found out that we had a common enemy, you know, we went back to that old song, your -- your enemy’s enemies are your allies. We started working together, putting things together. You know, I have a little organization on the South Side, not as great as the West Side, the Fighting 5th. But we started putting things together and just really trying to make things happen. Rickey, I mean, it -- it was good for me. One, we became the -- the Frick and Frack of this Body, the yin and the yang of this Body, good cop/bad cop of this Body. And it was great, because I always likened myself to be the Rickey interpreter. You know, ‘cause Rickey would say stuff and I -- I could see you all over there, don’t know what the heck he’s saying. And then I’d get 46  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 up and essentially say the same thing in -- in the language you all are used to and then I’d get all the points, get all the press. And Rickey would get me later, said, “Man, I said the same stuff. Why did you get quoted in the paper?” I said, “Because they understood what the heck I was saying, Rickey.” You know, it’s -- it’s just that kind of thing. I mean, we’ve - - we are a lot alike, Rick, which is why we -- we went from allies to being the best of friends. We know what we like. We know the different kinds of things and, again, we -- we compliment each other. I didn’t have to say nothing; he already -- knew what I was trying to say and -- and vice versa. Mattie, you talk about he brought women to the team and I heard everyone else, “Rickey never asked me to play.” I mean, I don’t know what that was about. I guess he said, “I know you can’t play, man, ‘cause you’re not going to mess around and get your shoes all messed up out here.” You know. “You’re not going to bust no sweat.” And he was -- he was right. You know, I wasn’t going to get out there and pull no hamstring, pull a Raoul. You know, I was -- as I tell him, “I’m too old for that.” You know, respect the age that we have -- or that I have. But -- but, Rickey, as -- as all these folks, I’m not going to belabor this point. Thing is, you’re loved because you love. I mean, it’s - - it’s a reciprocal kind of thing that we have down here. And when people know you’re genuine, as the good Reverend said, then they’re going to treat you genuinely. I mean, there has been no time that I thought that you were ever out of order down here, because when you’re representing those individuals that you promise to come down here and be their voice in this august Chamber, then you’re for real. And you have to respect that. 47  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 And people don’t understand that the difference that you and the President had was all predicated on that he didn’t understand the needs of your district. It wasn’t about being politically correct. It was about doing what you promised to do when you came to Springfield, and that was to fight for every federal dollar, fight for every State dollar, and whatever you get. Those people in your organization, they understand that. Good Senator Lightford said eighteen years. He did this when he was the alderman. I mean, this was going -- I’m not even talking about that -- the loyalty of his folks. They were doing -- so it’s been twenty years plus that this organization has been together and they do it out of love. What it takes - where’s the good Forby? - a million dollars to do, you give Rickey - and that’s why he understood that five hundred - you give Rickey five hundred dollars and, man, you would have no problems. Rickey’d go ahead and get a six pack and everybody get a cup and they -- they -- they split that six pack up until twenty people drinking off one six pack. No, a hundred people, right, ‘cause everybody just get a swallow. Now, go back out there in the fight. You know I’m right. You shouldn’t be thirsty no more. Maybe -- but they did it, because they said, “We love you and we know whatever you ask us to do, you would do it yourself.” In this last election, every day I would -- Rickey, I don’t know - just like Emil Jones - I don’t know who taught him how to text message, but you’ll get, seven o’clock in the morning, text messages. And he called himself “Grimy”, ‘cause he’d admit, “I haven’t even take my shower yet and I’m out here holding up a sign for Pat Horton for… Come on out.” And I’m, “Rickey, why’d you wake me up in the morning, you know, just to tell me that 48  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 you out there working hard for someone else?” Because Rickey believed in that individual. He will work hard on any issue that he, in his heart, believes was real. Rickey, I’m -- I’m -- what I’m going to miss is being able to go across the hall and laugh at some of these people down here with you. You know, no, Rickey’s a nice guy, but he will talk about you like a dog. You know, and -- and I’ll miss that opportunity -- or going to miss that opportunity, using you as a confidant and using you for one as -- as -- that -- that board. You know, what’s the word? The balancing board -- or -- or sounding board for what can we do to make our districts better? When I read in the paper that you were a little upset with the results of the last election, I knew exactly what you were talking about. Because I know how committed you are for helping not just the people on the West Side, not just the people on the South Side, not just people of color, but how really you love this democratic process and -- and understand how it’s supposed to work for everyone. And when you see things not working as they should, because people have become apathetic or people got some other plan, they’ve manipulated something, it -- it angers you. So when I spoke to you the next day, when you called me that morning and said, “Hey, I’m through.” I couldn’t understand it at the moment, but when we talked in the past week and you said, “Hey, haven’t you been listening to me?” I replayed all those conversations we’ve been having for the past year of how you believe that this system should work better. It could work better. It must work better. And I know, knowing you, how much you put into trying to make that happen. And when it didn’t, you have sense enough to say, “Enough is enough.” I know you’re going to be doing 49  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 other things, working with folks, ‘cause that’s who you are. You’re not going to just sit back at home and write the book or write the screenplay or do rap songs. I know you’re going to be out here in the streets in -- in another venue doing what’s best for the people of this State, and certainly for the people in your community. And I look forward to working with you on whatever that endeavor may be. I love you, Rickey, from the bottom of my heart. And like most teams when they break up, be it Sonny and Cher or Laurel and Hardy and, you know, Dean Martin, Anna Mae and -- Anna Mae and -- and Ike Turner. Right. Right. You all might not get that one. But I’ll interpret that later for you. But the thing is, is the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, they get that one. When -- with most teams, it’s -- it’s not always mutual, one person says, “It’s time to go.” The other one says, “No, let’s stay together a little bit longer.” But, you know, it always ends up working out. So, keep on doing what you’re doing, my friend. You know you can always count on me.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR MUÑOZ) Senator Lightford in the Chair.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) President Cullerton, for what purpose do you rise?

…to the resolution.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) To the resolution, Mr. President.

The other day when Rickey called me and told me that he had already resigned from the Senate, I was very surprised and I was 50  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 very sad. I said, “Rickey, how about if I break the news to some of the closest friends you have in the caucus?” I said, “Have you told anybody yet?” And he said, “Just Trotter.” I said, “Well, let me call Trotter and see how he’s taking this.” Rickey, I called him and I thought I heard him crying after you had already told him you were leaving. I almost thought that Donne was crying. He said, “I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss him so much. I’m going to miss him so much. I want his office.” And then I called some of your other friends, Rickey. Called your good friend, Senator Sullivan. He was very sad that you were leaving. He was so sad. He said, “You know, Rickey’s a Majority Leader, isn’t he?” I said, “Yes, he is.” He said, “There’d be an opening for that, wouldn’t there?” I said, “Yes. Yes, there would be.” And then I called Senator Hunter. Senator Hunter. She said, “Rickey’s leaving? We have a love- hate relationship, but I’m really sorry he’s leaving.” And she said, “I’m so sad that he’s leaving. Now, can I have his office?” I said, “No. Trotter’s already got that.” “Can I have his leadership position?” I said, “No, Sullivan’s already got that.” “Well, what about Sullivan’s leadership position?” And then I called Toi. God, was she sad. Toi was so sad. She -- she’s around here somewhere, within the -- she’s -- there she is. She was so sad, so sad. She said, “Well, what’s going to happen to that leadership position?” And I said, “Well, you know, Sullivan’s going to get it.” She said, “Well, he’s the chairman of a committee.” I said, “Well, yeah, we’re going to have to find a new chairman of a committee. She said, “That would be me, wouldn’t it?” And I said, “Yes. Yes, that would be you.” “But I’m so sad he’s leaving.” Your buddy Kotowski. 51  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 I called Kotowski, “Rickey’s leaving? Oh, my God.” He was just so sad. He said, “Well, what’s going to happen with all those other positions?” I said, “Well, I think Sullivan’s going to be a Leader.” “Well, what about the Appropriation Committee?” Even Maggie Crotty, she was almost in tears, ‘cause she knew -- she said, “He did such a good job on that Executive Committee. Somebody’s going to have to take his place on the Exec Committee.” And, Rickey, to be honest with you, I didn’t realize that the rest of the Members of the caucus knew how much stuff you got in that capital bill for the West Side. I didn’t know. I thought we, you know, kind of snuck that in. So, it turns out that I understand that your replacement is coming next Monday and we’re doing a reappropriation of the capital bill tomorrow before he or she gets here. So, I’m sorry you’re leaving too. You know, there’s so many obviously great and funny and colorful stories about Rickey, but I -- I really do want to be serious and -- and -- and be quick. First of all, Rickey, I really want to say to you publicly how much I really appreciate your support for me. And I -- I want to say that in front of everyone here. I -- I really appreciate it. The people -- I don’t know -- I’ve been here now the longest - twenty years in the Senate, twelve years in the House. I don’t think I can think of very many Senators, or any right now, that knew their district as well as you did and fought for their district as well as you did - just so dedicated to the -- to the West Side and the people you represent. I also know that people would read some of your more colorful comments, they’d form their own opinions of you up in the Chicago media, not knowing what you’re really like and not appreciating - and I would 52  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 surprise people when I’d tell this - this guy is a brilliant politician. He is a really, really smart politician and knows how to put coalitions together, knows how to inspire people to work. I want to also mention, for those of us who have served here, when you were in that Chair, as Senator Haine talked about - again, twelve years in the House, twenty in the Senate - I don’t think of -- I can think of anybody that’s done as good a job as presiding in a fair way and in a quick way, as Senator Haine said. Now we do have Senator Sullivan, who’s going to be in the Chair at some point, and he is an auctioneer. So he may come close to you towards the end, but we’ll -- we’ll find out. So, Rickey, as I say to -- there’s been a lot of these retirements recently and so we remind everybody at the same time, the way you’re leaving is the best way to leave. You’re leaving with a -- as we say, a pension, you didn’t lose an election, you went out on your own terms, you’re still young, you do have your health. And we look forward to seeing you down here as often as you want to come back. Thank you.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Cullerton has moved the adoption of Senate Resolution No. 107. Is -- the question is, shall the Senate adopt Senate Resolution No. 107. All those in favor will signify by saying Aye. Those opposed, say Nay. The Ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Congratulations, Senator Hendon. Wish you a happy and blessful time now. Senator Righter, for what purpose do you rise?

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Ladies and Gentlemen -- Ladies and Gentlemen, can you please stand at ease for just a moment? Committee announcements will be coming shortly. Please, the Senate is at ease. (at ease) Senator Hutchinson, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you, Madam President. I just wanted to take a quick opportunity, really quickly, ‘cause I know we just spent a lot of time.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Personal privilege. State your privilege point.

Thank you. Members of the Senate, could I just make a quick introduction? I know everybody’s talking right now, but I just wanted to quickly say that I have somebody very special… Hello. Hello. Hello. Okay. I think I have somebody very special here with me today. My mother is here. And we were saying such wonderful warm words about Senator Hendon, I didn’t get a chance to introduce you all to her.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Hutchinson, can you give me one moment? Just one moment. The Senate will come to order. My apologies. We were in recess. Senator Hutchinson, for what purpose do you rise?

54  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 Thank you, Madam President. A point of personal privilege.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) State your point.

Thank you for this quick indulgence. I have someone very special with me today and she doesn’t get to come down very often, but she makes it possible for me to be the Senator I need to be when I’m in my district. My mother is here with me today and I wanted to introduce you all to her. Her name is Janice Heno, and really is the reason why I am who I am. So, just join me in giving her a warm welcome to the Senate Floor.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Senator Raoul, for what purpose do you rise?

First of all, I wanted to correct Senator Hutchinson again. That’s her sister, not her mother. Secondly, I wanted to recognize and congratulate my alderman-to-be, a former staffer and a State Representative, Will Burns, who’s on the Floor today.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Congratulations, Representative Will Burns. We’ll miss you here in Springfield. And welcome to Senator Hutchinson’s mother. I hope you enjoy the experience. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the following committee announcements. May I please have your attention, please? Thank you. Public Health will meet in Room 212 immediately. Public Health in 212. Agriculture and Conservation will meet in Room 409 immediately for bills and Floor amendments. Human Services will meet in Room 212 at 4:45. Judiciary will meet in Room 400 at 4:45. 55  STATE OF ILLINOIS 97th GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGULAR SESSION SENATE TRANSCRIPT 14th Legislative Day 3/8/2011 Higher Education will meet in Room 409 at 4:45. All three of those committees - Human Services, Judiciary and Higher Ed - they will reconvene at 11:30 on Thursday morning. So you will go in, you will recess at 5:15, and you will reconvene at 11:30 on Thursday. Appropriations I will meet in Room 212 at 5:15. Transportation, in Room 400 at 5:15. And Education, in Room 409 at 5:15. Senator Trotter, for what purpose do you rise?

Thank you very much, Madam President. For purposes of an introduction.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Please state your introduction.

Thank you very much. I would like to introduce to this august Body my potential -- one of my potential replacements, Edward Wimp, Jr. He’s presently at Monmouth College on the western end of -- southwest end of Illinois. He’s a junior, a business major. His dad is one of my best friends and fellow motorcycler as well. He’s actually the president of the Cheetah’s Motorcycle Club. So he comes from good stock. He’ll be shadowing me for the next couple of days, and I would just like the Senate to welcome him today.

PRESIDING OFFICER: (SENATOR LIGHTFORD) Please welcome Senator Trotter’s guest to the Illinois General Assembly. There being no further business to come before the Senate, the Senate stands adjourned until the hour of 11:30 a.m. on the 9th day of March, 2011. The Senate stands adjourned. 56