Senate week in review

Feb. 28-March 4          Send a link to a friend

[MARCH 7, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois men and women serving on active military duty overseas would receive new benefits and enhanced financial securities under a new Senate Republican initiative proposed last week, according to state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.

The Illinois Patriot Plan, Senate Bill 2060, is a Senate Republican proposal that would ease financial pressures on the thousands of active duty servicemen and servicewomen from Illinois who have been deployed to protect U.S. interests abroad. Provisions of the plan include prohibiting creditors from charging or collecting interest or finance charges exceeding 6 percent per annum while the service member is away and allowing deployed military personnel to terminate cellular phone contracts without a penalty.

The Patriot Plan also allows Central Management Services to purchase bulk long-distance telephone services and make them available at cost to members of the immediate family of deployed service members. The plan prohibits insurance companies from forfeiting the life insurance policy of a deployed service member for any reason. Additionally, utility companies would not be allowed to shut off service to the residence of a deployed service member.

Finally, the Patriot Plan allows a court to delay eviction proceedings for a period of 90 days or adjust the rental obligations of deployed service members or their family, and mandates that any service member who is deployed on active duty for 180 days or more may terminate any motor vehicle lease.

Ethics reform also dominated Senate business early this week, as Republican legislators unveiled legislation aimed at curbing contractual abuses by the Blagojevich administration. The "Responsible Public Contracting Act" is a comprehensive package of legislation that targets questionable contractual and political fund-raising activities by the Blagojevich administration in awarding state contracts, as well as other ethical breaches.

The legislation would:

  • Require that all leases and subleases of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority be considered public information and requires that all leases, subleases, contracts and subcontracts be competitively bid (SB 2003).
  • Halt the administration's abuse of "sole source" and "emergency" exemptions to bidding requirements (SB 2004).
  • Require greater public disclosure of contractors and related businesses and key executives who make campaign contributions, to make it easier for the media and the public to identify potential links between campaign contributions and contract awards (SB 2004).
  • Encourage more competition on state contracts by strengthening contract notification procedures (SB 2004).
  • Force the governor to post conflict-of-interest waivers in a timely fashion (SB 2004).
  • Require timely posting of contract awards on the Internet (SB 2004).
  • Give the state comptroller and treasurer the power to void illegal contracts (SB 2004).

Senate Republicans also introduced measures aimed at other questionable Blagojevich administration contractual and ethical practices, by:

  • Banning the use of state funds or resources for out-of-state trips by public officials if any portion of the trip involves political fund-raising (SB 2010).
  • Expanding the disclosure requirements of statements of economic interest in order to capture a public official's interest in out-of-state businesses, instead of just those doing business in Illinois (SB 2011).
  • Using language proposed by State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka to tighten the existing ban on the use of public service announcements and promotional items (SB 1662).
  • Prohibiting constitutional officers from appearing in commercial solicitations (SB 2007).
  • Enhancing the capabilities of the State Board of Elections website to make it easier to cross-reference contributors' names and their employers (SB 2005).
  • Requiring more timely disclosure of contributions of $1,000 or more (SB 2009).
  • Amending the crime of official misconduct to include special government agents identified under the "shadow government" reforms enacted by Senate Republicans (SB 2008).

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In other news, representatives from the medical community and insurance industry met in front of a special Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, in what was the first in a series of three special hearings on the medical malpractice issue. Thursday's hearing focused on the need for a meaningful medical malpractice solution and included testimony from individuals supporting a wide range of reforms.

Medical and insurance representatives alike explained that setting insurance rates would not get to the root of the problem. They contended that the only way to lower the cost of medical malpractice premiums is to reform the state's legal system. Brady explained that the second hearing on March 10 is expected to feature testimony from opponents of legal reforms, and the final hearing on March 17 will focus on developing a procedure to advance the suggested reforms.

Also last week, persistent problems with the state's current pharmaceutical provider, Caremark Rx Inc., have prompted members of the Republican Caucus to call on a legislative oversight committee to examine the state's new contract with Medco. Republicans want to know how the contract will affect the ability of state employees and retirees to access quality care and how it will affect their ability to harness potential cost savings from a trusted health care provider. Senate Republicans hope to solve any problems in advance if the state's contract with Medco begins in July 2005.

Finally, legislation was introduced to further protect Illinois citizens from convicted sex offenders. Senate Bill 1234 tightens the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act, as well as increases penalties for offenders who do not comply with registration requirements. The Legislature and Attorney General Lisa Madigan have been working for several years to strengthen the requirements of the Illinois Sex Offender Registry and expect this bill will provide the tools to ensure convicted sex offenders obey the law.

These measures were passed by the Senate during the week of Feb. 28 through March 4:

Veterans amnesty (SB 79): Extends a 90-day grace period on the payment of Illinois property taxes to all active duty members of the armed forces.

Ticket for the Cure (SB 1): Creates a new lottery game in which proceeds from tickets sales would go to fund breast cancer research.

Firearm owners (SB 53): Allows registered gun owners to purchase ammunition from a person outside Illinois.

Testimony (SB 78): Provides that prior statements from witnesses who refused to testify and deceased witnesses can be used only if they were under oath and subject to cross-examination.

Controlled substances (SB 102): Makes it Class A misdemeanor for any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer or other person to sell a dietary supplement containing an ephedrine group alkaloid or other specified dietary supplements to a person under 18 years of age.

[Illinois Senate Republican Caucus news release]

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