May 1st, 2008
Recall is poised to be the big news of the day here in Springfield today.
After stalling for days, the Senate on Tuesday acted on a proposed constitutional amendment to allow voters to recall unsatisfactory politicians. The background is here.
Of course, they opted against taking the House’s version of recall, and crafted their own.
Today, the Senate is expected to vote on the measure. If approved, it would then go to the House, which will likely have to stay in all weekend to make the mandated Sunday deadline for the proposed constitutional amendment to be on the November ballots. For recall to become a provision in the Illinois constitution, the measure must have get a three-fifths vote from the people.
Not all of the legislators (or reporters, mind you) were happy to hear they would have to work through the weekend. Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago, asked Madigan why recall was suddenly of such great importance in the House. He said topics such as school funding reform should outrank recall.
Madigan had this to say in response:
“This has become such a priority because of Governor Blagojevich.”
Read into that what you will. Everyone knows that Madigan controls the chamber’s business, yet he rejected the final recall bill when the House voted a few weeks back.
Stay tuned. We will update you as things develop.
April 16th, 2008
The Senate is holding a marathon session tonight. It’s just after 10 p.m., and it just adjourned.
Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson was just handed an overwhelming defeat, when his attempt to allow patrons to smoke on the state’s riverboat casinos. This would have amended the statewide indoor smoking ban, which began in January.
Watson, R-Greenville, argued that riverboat revenues have slumped since January, which coincided with the Smoke-Free Illinois Act. The state counts on the money from the casinos as part of its General Revenue Fund. He pointed to Iowa, which passed a similar indoor smoking ban, but excluded casinos.
The Legislature’s Commission for Government Forecasting and Accountability tends to agree:
Several factors are likely contributing to this turnaround in riverboat figures. The struggling econmy along with the higher motor fuel prices are likely lowering the amount of income that consumers feel that they can afford to spend on gambling. In addition, the 2007-2008 winter season has been particularly harsh, producing several weekend storms that likely prevented gaming during normally busy weekend periods. However, it appears that the biggest factor that may be affecting Illinois casinos is the statewide smoking ban that went into effect on January 1, 2008.
You can read the full report here. (Start on page 9.)
Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, argued that the economy is bad and that is why casinos across the nation are seeing their numbers slide.
In the end, Watson lost his bid, receiving only 15 yes votes.
March 12th, 2008
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said he is reworking his bill that aimed to help schools learn more about a job applicant’s past.
Late last week, Syverson’s bill was thrown into flux after it turned out that schools could already check the state-managed list of people who have been accused of sexual misconduct but never criminally charged.
Before the Rockford Republican could present his bill to the full Senate, however, a state agency noted existing law already allows a School District to learn about sexual misconduct in an applicant’s past.
The Department of Children and Family Services tracks potential child abusers — in which DCFS deems a complaint against somebody “founded” — and school districts can access the information if job applicants consent.
So Syverson is changing his course, saying he may introduce different legislation making it mandatory for schools to check applicant names against the DCFS list, something other agencies, like day-care providers, are required to do.
Today he said he is still working with the Department of Children and Family Services and the Illinois State Board of Education to figure out why it can take up to three months for a school district to find out whether an applicant is on such a list, and if there is some way to reduce the backlog.
He also said he is working with these state agencies to spread the word to school districts that they can access this list.
February 28th, 2008
Sen. Todd Sieben, R-Geneseo, today said he intends to resign, and in effect retire from the Illinois Senate, on March 6.
In late January, Sieben said he planned to retire after the Feb. 5 primary to help pave the way for fellow Republican Tim Bivins, a retired Lee County sheriff.
Republican Bivins would therefore enter the Nov. 4 general election as the incumbent, potentially giving him a significant edge over Democrat Marty Mulcahey.
Since the Senate seat is held by a Republican, the district’s GOP chairmen get to pick Sieben’s successor. The district covers much of northwestern Illinois, stretching from western Winnebago County through Freeport to Galena and south to Geneseo. …
Mulcahey said the move smacks of insider, old-school politics — an attitude he claims he would counter as a legislator. …
The Senate district leans strongly Republican, so this development seems like bad news for Mulcahey. It’s largely rural with scattered urban pockets. In the 2004 presidential race, George W. Bush won 56.2 percent of the vote. Democrat John Kerry won just 43.8 percent.
Sieben has had a 30-year career in politics, where he served in the Senate for 16 years. He also spent three terms in House. He is assistant Republican Senate leader.
UPDATE 1
Senators honored Sieben on the chamber’s floor today, as he presented his final bill as a senator.
No one seemed to really care about the contents of the bill during the debate. Instead, one after another, senators on both sides of the aisle spoke fondly of the retiring Republican.
“You exemplify what it really means to be a statesman,” said Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago.
Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, was one of several lawmakers who said they considered Sieben a mentor, particularly when they were freshman senators.
“I don’t have any opposition to the bill, but I do have opposition to Sen. Sieben leaving us,” Lightford said. “I appreciate all the support you have given us over the years, and like you say, you watched me grow here.”
Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, joked with Sieben about the possibility of him staying in the Senate longer.
“If this bill goes down in defeat today, will you stay in the General Assembly long enough to pass it?” Burzynski asked.
In response, Sieben said:
“That decision has been a challenging one since last August, but this will be my last effort for sure so I hope the (voting) board doesn’t go too red too long,” he said.
As Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, opened voting, more than two dozen legislators voted against the bill.
Then slowly a few legislators changed their ‘No’ votes to ‘Yes,’ and suddenly in snowball-like fashion, the ‘No’-voting senators flipped their votes as well.
As Hendon called for the last votes to be cast, the Senate fell silent, watching the board’s final two ‘No’ votes.
Burzynski, as if toying with the idea of pursuading Sieben to stick around, finally flipped his ‘No’ vote to ‘Yes.’ The Senate erupted in cheers, and Sieben, triumphantly throwing his fist in the air, ended his legislative career with his final bill passing, 51-0.
