Week of May 4th, 2009
Many more Senate Bills moved through House Committees last week and there should be plenty of legislation ready for third reading this week. It promises to be a week full of debates and voting on various matters related to public policy that you might want to follow. Don’t forget, you can watch live House action by going to www.ilga.gov and following the links for live audio and video. If something is on the agenda that you need to comment on, you can quickly let me know how you feel by e-mailing me at reddyunit1@aol.com
Behind the scenes, leaders in both parties and the Governor’s staff are working on what appears to be a very difficult budget for FY10. It appears now that there is little support for Governor Quinn’s introduced budget which included a rather sizeable income tax increase. Facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, there are few choices though. Illinois will face either severe budget cuts to most programs or face some type of revenue increase likely in the form of an income tax increase. Lately, I have heard more and more chatter about the possibility of a bare bones budget with some rather deep cuts.
I hear from hundreds of constituents regarding funding for many programs. At this point, most are hoping to keep funding levels the same as last year. However, with revenue receipts down for both income and sales tax, it will be difficult to even keep level funding for most programs unless there is an increase in either income tax or sales tax. There are even those at the Statehouse who believe that both income and sales taxes should be raised. Please continue to let me know what you think. Keep in mind that if we are going to fund State programs at current levels, we would need to find revenue someplace to do so.
The deadline for passing a budget without a super-majority is May 31st. So, there is not that much time left to make very important decisions.
Besides the budget and all of the legislation that is ready for final action in the House during the next few weeks, we have yet to see a package of ethics reforms promised early in the session by the majority party. After the Impeachment and removal from office of Governor Blagojevich, everyone talked a good game about the need for reforms in Illinois. A special commission on government reform was formed and last week they delivered their report.
The report is eighty-eight pages long and contains some very important recommendations as to how Illinois should change the way we do business. It covers topics like campaign finance reform, transparency in state government, changes to the procurement process, and a great recommendation regarding how legislative maps should be drawn in Illinois. The report is powerful and should be used as a roadmap to change our state.
If you will remember, the Speaker also set up a special committee on reform. The committee has met several times, but so far nothing of substance has emerged from the work of this committee. Also keep in mind that this was the partisan committee that contained a majority of one party rather than a bi-partisan commission. It is high time for the discussion to take place on how to change to culture of corruption that exists here in Illinois government. It was wrong to attempt to stack the committee when we are supposed to working to reform that type of control. The next few weeks should be a time that we see major changes in how Illinois government operates.
I think that it is important that the House of Representatives meets as a Committee of the Whole in the next couple of weeks to examine the recommendations contained in the One Hundred Day Report recently published by the Illinois Reform Commission. What happens with this report and subsequent legislation should be displayed in public for all to see. Members of the Commission are ready, willing and able to discuss their recommendations and findings with the general Assembly and the people of the State of Illinois. This is not a partisan issue. Both parties have their fair share of ethical issues that have been highly publicized. This is about working together in a bi-partisan manner to improve ethics in this state and restore the faith of the people of the State of Illinois in their government.
I have already brought forward and co-sponsored a number of measures designed to follow the recommendations of the Commission. I support the creation of a Sunshine Commission (HB4134), establishing a program called PAYGO which requires us to pay as we go (HB3189), and I support a three-fifths super-majority vote before any tax or fee increase could be accomplished. We also need to impose strict campaign contribution limits, establish a transparent bid process which does not allow any influence from the administration or General Assembly and use a computer program system to establish legislative maps.
There are many other reforms that could come out of the Commission’s report. The bottom line is that we must act and a Committee of the Whole should occur immediately so we can do this important work in full view of the people.
Next week, I will let you know what is happening with many pieces of legislation that are likely to be acted upon. I will also update you on any action related to the work of the reform commission. Please keep in contact with me, in addition to e-mail, you can phone 618-563-4128, 217-558-1040 or write to me at 125 South Main Street, Hutsonville, IL 62433 or 222-N Stratton Building, Springfield, IL 62706. I look forward to hearing from you.