Week of November 2nd, 2009
Something very important did not happen during the final week of the fall veto session. After months of talk about how important it was to “clean up” Illinois in the wake of the Blagojevich scandal, a very watered down version of campaign finance reform was passed by the General Assembly. While the new law will change for the better a few provisions of existing law, it fails miserably at addressing the major foundational flaw in Illinois campaign finance law.
The real problem in Illinois is the fact that those who hold all of the power regarding the advancement of legislation are also able to seek and accept unlimited campaign contributions directly from those who might benefit from a certain legislative consideration. The legislation that passed during veto session did place campaign contribution limits (although very high limits) on rank and file lawmakers and legislative leaders for the Primary Election. However, this legislation does not place limits on legislative leaders in the General Election. That means that these already powerful people will be even more powerful during the election cycle that actually sends people to the General Assembly.
There was a real opportunity to change Illinois with meaningful caps on all members of the General Assembly and that did not happen. The culture of corruption that exists in Illinois comes from the combination of power and money that legislative leaders hold. Until we really do something to cap collecting huge campaign amounts, we will continue to see a broken system in Illinois. This legislation, while a step, is only a small step and very weak compared to the bold steps that were so desperately needed here in Illinois.
Another bill that received a lot of attention during the veto session was legislation dealing with cemetery oversight. You might be aware of a horrible situation in a south Cook County cemetery (Burr Oak) where graves were dug up and cemetery plots resold? There were numerous other horrendous things that went on at Burr Oak. Legislation was introduced that would have required costly oversight for all cemeteries in Illinois because of what happened at Burr Oak. I was contacted by numerous Municipal, Township, Religious and private (non-profit) cemetery operators with concerns that they could not afford the new rather onerous requirements of the proposal.
Along with other Representatives and Senators, we worked hard to get non profit, private operators exempted from the new law. The result was a bill that gave us a very good level of exemptions for these cemeteries. The bill passed the House and went to the Senate where it was not even called for a vote. As a result, there will be no new oversight law unless one is passed in the Spring Session. I will certainly keep an eye on this though and make sure any effort to pass such legislation includes exemptions for these small not for profit operations.
While there was some action during veto session on gaming related to cleaning up some procurement issues for the capital plan, legislation that was meant to allow for video gaming terminals in truck stops in Illinois did not receive enough votes to pass during veto session. Video poker and the expansion of gaming to allow for video poker was a hotly debated issue last spring. However, it finally passed as the revenue source for a multi-billion dollar capital bill that would help put people back to work and help repair crumbling roads in Illinois. The legislation that created the video poker expansion also included an opt-out provision for counties (unincorporated portions) and municipalities. So far, several counties and municipalities are considering or have acted on the opt-out provision and others look interested. These opt-outs could threaten funding for the program. So, in an effort to find placement for terminals, the idea of allowing video poker terminals at truck stops is being considered. Those locations would be allowed to operate 24 hours a day. This will be a topic for the spring session for sure as revenue is necessary for the capital bill to be implemented.
Legislation also did not advance to terminate the free rides for senior citizens on mass transit in Illinois. If you will remember, former Governor Blagojevich enacted this provision a couple of years ago. Transit authorities estimate that this costs the system tens of millions of dollars a year. If an income means test were applied that would only allow low income seniors to get free passes, the estimate is that thirty to forty million dollars could be generated for mass transit. A proposal to allow for income means testing did not pass during the veto session.
Unless there are any special session dates added, the General Assembly has adjourned until January 12th, 2010. The complete schedule for spring session is now online at www.ilga.gov. There are serious fiscal problems facing our state next year that must be addressed. I am also crafting my legislative agenda for 2010. As the spring session gets closer, I will keep you updated regarding legislative proposals being considered, budget updates, and you with a provide a rundown of some of the legislative proposals that I will be bringing forth on behalf of the 109th District.
In the meantime, you can write me at: P.O. Box 125, Hutsonville, IL 62433 or e-mail me at reddyunit1@aol.com. You can also read more on my web site: www.peopleforeddy.com or and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RepEddy and www.tweetillinois.org.