March 11th, 2008
Former Lee County Sheriff Tim Bivins on Tuesday began his first day in his new job — as the state senator from the 45th district.
The 55-year-old Dixon resident was sworn in Friday by a Lee County judge to replace retiring Sen. Todd Sieben, R-Geneseo.
Although Bivins was appointed to the seat, he still must be elected during November’s general election. Marty Mulcahey, who works for the Illinois Secretary of State and is the son of former Rep. Dick Mulcahey, is Bivins’ Democratic opponent.
In February, Bivins won the Republican primary for Sieben’s district, which includes the western part of Winnebago County and all of Stephenson County. Sieben has said he hopes his retirement will give Bivins an advantage over Mulcahey during the general election.
Bivins, who was the Lee County sheriff from 1986 to 2006, said one of his legislative initiatives will be to watch the state budget closely.
“We can’t borrow ourselves out of debt,” he said.
In the short term, Bivins’ largest task will be learning how Springfield works and of course, learning names.
“(I’ve forgotten) all of them, including my own,” he said.
March 11th, 2008
Just in case their constituents weren’t convinced, certain lawmakers appear determined to show them that they’re serious about God. They’re backing legislation to create yet another license plate in Illinois, this one saying “In God We Trust.”
Last week, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The Rock River Valley’s four House lawmakers — Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford; Rep. Ron Wait, R-Belvidere; Rep. Dave Winters, R-Shirland; and Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica — all voted for it.
Here is the complete roll call.
GateHouse noted that Rob Sherman, this state’s crusading atheist, has his own take on the bill:
Atheist Rob Sherman believes that if Illinoisans are able to buy license plates saying “In God We Trust,” they also should have the right to purchase “God is Make-Believe” plates.
Sherman, a resident of Buffalo Grove, said he wouldn’t put such a plate on his car, “but if some Christian wants it on their car, that’s fine.”
Initiatives such as this tend to come from lawmakers representing the more conservative areas of the state. In this case, Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, is the lead sponsor. Other lawmakers generally find it difficult to oppose them, so, as was the case here, they get behind them too.
The “In God We Trust” plan is just the latest in a series of measures that lawmakers have used over the years to reassert their commitment to God. In 2005, Rep. David Reis, R-Olney, sponsored a resolution affirming his commitment to keeping the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
It’s not that anybody was threatening, at least not seriously, to remove “under God” from the Pledge. Nonetheless, Reis wanted to make a statement. The House approved the resolution with a voice vote.
